Transcode 360 Beta 2 - She’s alive!
Published by runtime 360 April 1st, 2006 in TranscodingTranscode 360 Beta 2 has been released, featuring a radically overhauled engine for playback of XviD and DivX (as well as a wide variety of other formats), boasting higher picture quality, lower CPU consumption, faster than real-time transcoding (using FFMPEG under the bonnet); super-tight integration enabling Pause, Skip Forward and Backward, Resume and Restart while transcoding without any need for non-standard user-interface conventions.
My sincerest thanks go to blog-regular bmaltais who has helped tremendously with the prototyping, tweaking, testing and documentation, and of course jmel who’s about to have his bandwidth zapped!! 
Download Transcode 360 Beta 2 here.
Enjoy!
Happy downloading all!
Wow! Thank you very much. Everything works flawlessly now.
@Ronin,
Can you elaborate on what was not working before? It is always interesting to know what where the benefits of the new release for the users!
The new version works great with one major flaw. Regardless of the aspect ratio of the input file, the output file is always 16×9. If the input file is say 2.35 to 1, the output file is stretched vertically. I am not an expert with ffmpeg, but I know in the last version of T360 the profile in WME forced the output file aspect ratio to be the same as the input file aspect ratio. Can this be done with ffmpeg??
Thanks again.
Ron G.
Yay, works great!
With beta 1 it timed out 9 out of 10 times now it works every time perfectly.
One thing tho, movies with a aspect ratio of 20:9 get transcoded to 16:9, so a messed up AR.
Any workaround for this?
If you guys can host some clips for me to download I’ll take a look at this in the morning/afternoon (whenever I wake up - its 2.30am here!)
Thanks for the feedback, I’m sure we can get this worked out fairly soon - in the meantime have a read through the docs I’ve put up accessible from the project page, and the forums - also google the FFMPEG docs for a through description of the command line arguments. I know the current docs are a little sparse but I plan to augment them over the next couple of days.
For those with aspect ratio issues… try disabling the xbox360 hack in the configuration file and see if this help.
Aspect ratio is certainly a challenge and we may have to make ajustments based on users feedback.
@Martin_G_3D: Try specifying the aspect ratio manually in the config file by adding -aspect 20:9… Don’t know if this will work or not…
@Martin_G_3D: What was the resolution of the source 20:9 file? ie: 444×200
I have tried disabling the xbox360 hack and still no good for the aspect ratio issue. Keep in mind I am using a Linksys extender, but I don’t think that matters. I looked in the log files and the -f in the ffmpeg forces a dvd output to 16×9 for all files. This is not good. It would be perfect if the aspect ratio was forced to be the same as the input file.
Anyway, great work Runtime!!!
Ron G.
@rong,
-f specify the “encoding” format for the mpeg2 file. -f should alway be followed by vob by default. Is this the case in your log file?
Aspect is actually dynamically computed base on source material resolution. The current config is that anything with aspect ratio below 1.5 is set to 4:3 and everything else is set to 16:9.
It might be that the resolution of you file happen to be falling in the range of 16:9.
This aspect rato rule might get change in the future to make is smarter… but for this we will need your feedback to come up with the best model.
I did some quick test with 20:9 and at first glance I would say that the 360 is the culprit… VLC will playback my 20:9 file with proper aspect ratio but the 360 will stick to 16:9… almost like if it was not able to understand aspect ratio other than 4:3 and 16:9 in mpg files…
It can certainly handle them since DVD with 20:9 aspect will display properly…
We might have to ask MS to get to the bottom of this…
In the mean time we could pad the transcoded video with black bars at the top and bottom to compensate…
Great work guys!
Tried this out just now and I must say it works great. No problems found yet. Will try out some more video files tomorrow.
Also do you think it would be possable to transcode DVD image files?
Hi everyone,
I am trying to download by clicking on the download link (http://runtime360.com/download.php?site=1&file=transcode360-v1.0-B2.zip) but unfortunately either I receive a corrupt zip file or I am forwarded to the following link:
http://runtime360.com/projects/
is it only me ?
So how do I get 5.1 surround?
@Puma81 + xeeker: I’m pretty sure with a bit of tweaking of the commandline arguments in the config file both is possible. The default options we’ve chosen are conservative and should work for most folks, I’m using this beta to work out what settings work best in which cases.
Keep an eye on the forums and project pages which I intend to update with more info/guides.
I anticipate the next release will be out in a much shorter time frame as the ‘difficult’ engine stuff is mostly out of the way.
@ilkeraktuna: Thanks for pointing this out! There was a problem with the code linking to the download, should be fine now.
bmaltais
-f specify the “encoding” format for the mpeg2 file. -f should alway be followed by vob by default. Is this the case in your log file? - Yes…no matter what the aspect ratio of the input file, the output is always 16×9, not good.
Runtime,
The aspect ratio issue is really a show stopper for me as you know anything other than 16×9 source material will be distorted on play back. I have reinstalled the T360 version 1 to avoid this issue. Do you know if there is a way to force ffmpeg to use the same aspect ratio as the original file?
Keep up the great work.
Ron G.
@ron - I undestand completely; I’ll hammer out a new update within the next day or so and perhaps you’ll be willing to help me test it?
Runtime,
Wow, that would be great. I will certainly be available to test any builds for you and provide feedback as necessary. Just let me know when. You have my email address if you want to send me a private build for testing.
Ron G.
Great work, Runtime! Thanks for putting this together for us, and seeing the Xbox 360 reach its full multi-media capabilities!
Couple of questions:
1) Am I understanding correctly that in beta 2 it is no longer possible to edit the WME profiles to encode at a resolution “same as input file”? That was working great for me (16:9 HDTV).
2) Since you are now transcoding to mpeg2, are you getting 5.1 / AC3 output from the xbox 360 (assuming source file is AC3)?
For me, beta 1 was awesome–with the exception of not being able to FF and Rew…and no 5.1…If you can get those to work, I couldn’t ask for much more…
Thanks!
@Railgun,
In theory AC3 audio should be doable. We could not get this working for the beta release.
The aspect ratio is certainly a pain in the b..! This will probably be one of the first item to fix with you guys help.
You might not be aware but the 360 has some strange behavior when it comes to mpeg2 picture size and aspect ratio.
We sort of have to fight against them when transcoding and we have yet to come with the perfect solution.
Right now TC360 will transcode the file to the same resolution as the input file with some res adjustment only when required to fight the xbox 360 bug (hence the 360hack flag).
Hopefully we can find a good compromise. What kind of system do you have? NTSC or PAL?
Hi Runtime,
Thanks; this beta is really a great one. I loved the integration.
Btw, I just found out what was my problem when installing Transcode 360:
I am not using English as regional settings and language.
If I remove .Net framework 1.1 and it’s Service Pack and then install it with English regional settings (and language) prior to installing Transcode 360, I can install it. Otherwise it fails to register wiht RegisterMCEapp.exe.
Will there be a seperate thread for feature requests ?
This release is great but I still can’t use it when watching divx with my wife (she can’t understand English without subtitles).
Also, I am available for testing any beta release candidates.
Thanks.
@bmaltais
NTSC system here…(USA)
For the first time, I watched an entire movie last night via TC360 beta 1, and was very, very pleased with the picture quality.
Source file was an H.264 rip from a DVD (FairUse 2.2), with AC3 audio. Source file H.264 bit rate was ~2000kbs. WME encoding profile was set to 2500kbs. Audio output was set to 320kbs/44khz/2CH WMA 9.1.
It’s CPU intensive as hell, but I offload the work to my gamebox (A64@2.7GHz + x1900XTX). I think the video card helps with the transcoding process, especially with H.264. I see CPU utilizations of ~60-80%.
If I could get 5.1, it would be 95% DVD quality, IMO.
Another observation…
Moving to MPEG2—won’t that mean we will need to have a much higher streaming bitrate to get the same quality as WMV9?
I understand that CPU utilization is a problem for many, especially if the source file is H.264, but I communicate wirelessly (802.11g) with the X360, and would hate to run out of bandwidth needed for a fat MPEG2 stream…
Railgun,
This could certainly be an issue since the default is to do same quality as input file. THis mean that en encode is vbr with not bitrate restriction.
If you feel that this is tyoo high you can change the parameter to let say… 6mbps encoding which should still look awsome.
@Railgun: Broadcast HDTV bitrates typically average between 6-12 Mbps MPEG2, depending on how your 360 is hooked up to the network you should have enough with a wireless G connection (~ 22Mbps real world perf - 54g is a marketing con - thats just the signalling rate).
@ilkeraktuna: Theres a whole forum for feature requests
Have you signed up on the forums? Once you guys do, I’ll add you, Railgun and Ron to the testing group.
Great work, it’s flawless… almost.
Kudos to you for making the first Xbox360 transcoding tool that works in my network. No other does.
BUT (and thta is a major problem to me), as far as I know, ffmpeg does not work with subtitles. If there is no way to integrate subtitles with the video in real time, I’m sorry to say that I’ll be forced to stay with version 1 (Media Encoder & ffdshow combination). It’s really a pity. Hope that you look at this serious problem (at least for us, foreign language speakers) soon.
Runtime,
I signed up to the forums.
ready
I noticed that when I go back from my running movie with the wrong aspect ratio/zoom, it still runs in a miniature window in the lower left corner of the tv-screen. But now it has the correct zoom/aspect ratio, with black lines padded above and below.
@Runtime
Your math looks good…even at 12Mbps I should have some wireless bandwidth headroom, so works for me
Still, I’d like to see an option on streaming format (codec, WMV or MPEG2), although I think we’re going to have to send MPEG2 if we want the X360 to recognize a 5.1 AC3 audio signal. Then again, I may not know what the heck I’m talking about!
It’s my understanding that the current 5.1 limitation in TC360 beta 1 is a limitation of WME, not TC360. Even encoding manually, I can’t get it to accept a 5.1 source file without it “folding” it down to 2CH. However, The X360 should be more than ready to decode an MPEG2 stream with an accompanying AC3 audio stream.
In any case, I’m all for some beta testing—let me know how I can help.
Railgun
I think I am into something regarding aspect ratio problem. This could well represent the core solution for the next beta of Transcode 360!
Go and read the Forums/Support/Bugs/Aspect Ratio bug discussion and let me know what you think! This might also provide subtitles at the same time!
Just installed the beta2.
I get an error, however, that the buffer directory cannot be found because it is looking in the c:\program files… path. I have my system on the D: drive, and so T360 is installed in d:\program files…
I’ll try to force the install to place it on the C: drive and see if that works, but perhaps the path should be dynamic based on system drive settings?
@ironic: yup its a known issue (my bad), please see the forums.
In fact folks can we keep support issues in the forums were they can be easily tracked.
I’ve run into a bit of an issue in Beta 2:
When I try and transcode a divx/xvid file on my Xbox 360, I am getting an error along the lines of:
“The file is currently in use by another application…”
Nothing is running on my Media Center PC and no one is accessing those files. I had no issue with Beta 1, but I am getting this error with Beta 2.
Thanks in advance
Hello,
I am having a problem with beta2. I uninstalled beta 1 and then installed beta 2. Everything seems to work, but the audio/video sync isn’t right. It seems the audio is behind the video for whatever reason.
Is anyone else experiencing this?
Thanks
Thanks for making what the Xbox 360 has been crying out for since it’s launch.
At last I can now watch films on the 360 and have control over them.
Hopefully one day it will all be possible to encode on the 360 itself rather than on an Windows MCE machine.
I can’t wait until it gets as configurable as XBMC.
At last the old xbox can go..Yipee.
Anyone want to buy an old xbox with XBMC installed!!!!
Great work guys keep it up.
Thanks, Thanks and Thank again!
You linked into xbox live profile Nice.
Would you please consider the DVD image playback option. This would make the program outstanding.
I installed Transcode360 Beta2 into a different folder then the one given in the installation.
When I wanted to encode a DIVX, Transcode gave this error:
‘Could not find part of the path “C:\Program Files\Transcode360\Buffer”‘
after I reinstalled it to the default path everythung worked OK!
Thanks for the great work you guys are doing! Transcode360 is a great tool
Congratulations runtime!! - great application which has made the 360 into the MCE extender that M$ failed to do
I got the “C:\Program Files\Transcode360\Buffer” bug to even when installing to the default directory.
But then I have a German XP version and “Program Files” is called “Programme” in it.
Anyway, after creating the dirs and copying some stuff over Transcode works quite well.
Great once again! I’ve been waiting with great expectations for your new release of Transcode360, and I still wish you were a girl so I could marry you
Too bad about the subtitles though. Oh well, it takes like half a minute to switch back to Beta1 if that is necessary.
Anyways, keep up the great work
Glad you’re happy, lol my wife had a good laugh at that!
Runtime first I would like to say Great Work. Got this hooked up to 42″ high def panny it is awsome been watching blue planet all day pq is stunning. now a question does anyone know how I can get transcode to access files in on a different drive or folder on my PC. Asking this cos most of my avi’s etc are on my D: drive and only have limited storage on c: any help much appreciated.
jaspo,
go to my video, push info button on remote and select add folder. From there it should be fairly self explainatory
bmaltais
thank you for the promt reply works a treat now.
Just in case you guys and gals are wondering what is happening, we are activelly working on the next Beta release of Transcode360.
We are activelly coding/testing/banging our heads against the TV set to a produce quality product.
We are trying to get as much feature requested as possible but there are things that won’t make it in this release.
So stay tuned and enjoy Transcode 360 Beta 2 in the mean time!
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know about a very minor bug with Beta 2. I have my operating system installed on E:\, not C:\. Transcode 360 kept looking for C:\Program Files\Transcode360\Buffer, so I had to manually edit the Transcode360.config file to change the drive letters. You may want to make this automatic in the future.
Thanks for an incredibly wonderful product!
beta2 is working fine i must say, but with far from all movies, a log of them i just get the error “Unable to queue video file for transcoding and streaming” ?
tried with 2 files in same share on a lacie ethernet mini (NAS drive) one works, the other don’t :/ can’t see any difference with them, both are xvid compressed.
but just being able to play SOME is a big progress
)
l8r
-Deco
Just got a 360 and was very disappointed to find the video video crippling - then someone told me about Transcode 360.
Had a spare dual 500 Celeron machine that couldn’t quite hack the on-the-fly encoding, but just got a P4 1.8 off Ebay for £100 and all works beautifully.
Great solution! Your hard work’s much appreciated.
Wireless, streaming, Sopranos to be watched!
Laters!