HomeH.264 on the Xbox 360
Following on from my previous blog entry on Xbox 360 H.264 playback, I’ve finally had the chance to test it out when the Spring Update was released yesterday.
So far, it’s a mixed bag, mainly due to niggly issues related to MP4 media sharing (or the lack of) in Windows Media Player.
What I have found so far:
- Use the Zune software for media sharing, since it supports MP4
- Use Baseline or Main Profile, since Zune only seem to support these
- If you are using the Sharktooth’s x264 profile in MeGUI, you have to set the max bitrate to 10000 (from 25000), enable the Level restrictions to 4.1 (you will have to turn off “P4x4”)
- Use AAC LC encoding, not HC. I used the Nero Digital encoder, LC 96 Kbps profile
- When using the “AutoEncoder” function in MeGUI, try to make sure the “average bitrate” (even if you are using a set file size) doesn’t go too close to the 10 Mbps limit for the Xbox 360. From what I can understand, frames over 10 Mbps will still play, but artifacts and paused playback may result
- Edit (11th May, 2007): With 1080p clips, use Baseline only
- 720p, 1080p works well, as long as you stick to the restrictions above
No doubt I will know more tomorrow after more testing of 1080p, and I will have a guide written before the week’s end.
The playback quality is quite good, as expected with H.264, and I would really like to see some more TV episode downloads being released in this format ready, encoded to be compatible with the Xbox 360.
Edit (11th May, 2007): I have finished writing the Xbox 360 H.264 Conversion Guide.
And I’ve finally churned away from iiNet to Internode as my ADSL provider (reasons listed in this blog entry). I’m now downloading at more than 600 KB/s and uploading at around 40 KB/s, much better than my previous 155 KB/s and 26 KB/s. When I first connected, I was only doing 250 KB/s, until I used Unblocka to tweak my connection.