Software needed

[flm_savage]

Does anyone know is there is any reliable software out there that can transcode multiple media formats\containers so they can be streamed to an Xbox 360? I would prefer one that can utilize cuda.

 

[B-MILLER]

I had seen something like this online a few weeks ago.Trying to remember what it was.

 

[flm_savage]

I have tried Tversity but it apparently doesn't play well with Win7 X64

 

[hamz9561]

Try CuCuSoft iPod converter. I run it under Win 7 x64. It allows you to code for the AppleTV which has similar resolution settings. I use it to put all of my DVDs onmy home network. It is shareware and it runs $20 for the full version. They offer free upgrades for their products.

 

[flm_savage]

that just re-encodes video. I need a full time manager that can transcode (encode on the fly) all of my movies and stream them from a network share so the 360 can play non native formats. I need something powerful since the majority of my movies are 1080P so the smallest file size is around 6gb and i have several over 20gb each.

 

[bergoff]

i would like to know also. i'm running 7 64 bit also. if you find it out let us know. i've been trying to figure it out with no luck.

 

[Greyryder]

I know VLC will do live streaming, but I'm not sure if it'll do what you want it to. DScaler is based around the concept of using a PC at the heart of a home theater, so it might work.

I'm afraid that all I can offer are wild ass guesses.

 

[flm_savage]

i would like to know also. i'm running 7 64 bit also. if you find it out let us know. i've been trying to figure it out with no luck.

Will do. I am going to keep looking this weekend. I think alot of software is geared around accessing local drives and not network drives. This is fine but my current home server was only designed to store and balance media. Its atom processor and lack of video makes it useless to transcode so until i get a new server built, i wanted to use a faster machine (laptop) and just access the network shares.

I know VLC will do live streaming, but I'm not sure if it'll do what you want it to. DScaler is based around the concept of using a PC at the heart of a home theater, so it might work.

I'm afraid that all I can offer are wild ass guesses.

VLC is great as a lightweight media player with support for anything. The problem is that VLC starts to choke a little when you get past 720P. It will play 1080 but it doesn't like it and it artifacts when you skip around.

 

[HPIguy]

flm, try playon media server, I'm pretty sure it has support for Windows 7 64 bit. I've been using it with a WD TV device, and the 360 both. It isn't free, but they offer a 14 day free trial so you can see if it works, and it's cheap at $20 a year, or $60 for life. I love it, been watching all my Hulu content in HD with full surround, which is why I bought the WD TV, the Xbox has too many issues with audio codecs. Not to mention the WD TV supports so many file formats, unless I'm doing Hulu, there is no need to transcode with third party software at all.

http://www.playon.tv/

 

[flm_savage]

ahh, thats the other one i forgot. Playon. I ran it on my server before but lacked the horsepower. I will give it a shot on the laptop now.


I have owned and returned two dedicated media streaming devices. I had the seagate goflex tv with had a sluggish interface and overall poor gui and i also had the WD TV Live plus. The plus was much better but would lock up from time to time on me especially when using netflix. I also didn't like not being able to search netflix. With the new xbox update i can search netflix and i think the interface for navigating to shared storage is ok.

I will give playon another shot tonight and hopefully it works....... thanks

 

[HPIguy]

ahh, thats the other one i forgot. Playon. I ran it on my server before but lacked the horsepower. I will give it a shot on the laptop now.


I have owned and returned two dedicated media streaming devices. I had the seagate goflex tv with had a sluggish interface and overall poor gui and i also had the WD TV Live plus. The plus was much better but would lock up from time to time on me especially when using netflix. I also didn't like not being able to search netflix. With the new xbox update i can search netflix and i think the interface for navigating to shared storage is ok.

I will give playon another shot tonight and hopefully it works....... thanks

NP man, glad to help. Yep, I'm running it on my lappy, dual core AMD 2.0's with 3GB of RAM, and it runs awesome. Watched the first episode of Walking Dead last night in full HD with surround with no buffering or frame rate issues at all, over a wireless connection no less. I just bought the WD TV live + a few weeks back for a couple reasons, mainly I'm on my third Xbox 3.60 in as many years, and I try and take all the strain off of it I can. There have been two firmware updates in three weeks, and last night's was quite a large file, haven't been to the site to see what all the updates were though. Let us know how it works for you.

 

[flm_savage]

Good deal. I am on my 4th xbox so if this one dies i'm not sure what i will go with.
The new laptop has a corei5, 150gb ssd, 4gm ram and the nvidia NVS5100M chipset so it should be able to process anything i throw at it.

I will be running at 100mbit since i am still holding out for a dual band wireless N router with a gigabit switch.

If all goes well i will start the planning for the server.
I am thinking an average processor, 4g ram, beast mode video card and a name brand but nothing crazy mobo should be all i need.

 

[HPIguy]

Good deal. I am on my 4th xbox so if this one dies i'm not sure what i will go with.
The new laptop has a corei5, 150gb ssd, 4gm ram and the nvidia NVS5100M chipset so it should be able to process anything i throw at it.

I will be running at 100mbit since i am still holding out for a dual band wireless N router with a gigabit switch.

If all goes well i will start the planning for the server.
I am thinking an average processor, 4g ram, beast mode video card and a name brand but nothing crazy mobo should be all i need.

Yeah, I'm sort of in the same boat with the Xbox. Problem is, we have so much dough wrapped up in games and accessories, they kinda have you by the uh......short and curlies. I'm still running 802.11G with no issues. Keep in mind, that on the transcoding side, the video card isn't as important as the processor if you decide to go the media server route. Since the PC is simply re-encoding frames of video, without actually outputting it to a display but rather sending it over a network to another device that handles the graphic output, it eats up CPU cycles very quickly. So the MB chipset and processor are more important if it's only a media server. Now if you also want to game on the PC, that's a whole different story graphics wise. Unless you just enjoy the building process, PC's are so cheap pre-built now you could just order one and have plug n play as quick as you can move your library over.

 

[flm_savage]

from what i have been reading the software is geared more towards using the gpu to transcode the video using parallel processing. Cards with cuda technology are geared specifically for that.

I know when i re-encode movies if i use a cuda profile it completes 8X faster than a comparable cpu rofile.

I'll have to do some more reading to be sure.....

 

[flm_savage]

Well i solved the problem the hard way. I built an HTPC. Here are the specs in case you care. Its not a super speed demon gaming rig but it functions beautifully as a htpc.

Shuttle SH55J2 H55 Intel 1156
Intel Core-I5-661 (integrated memory controller and gpu among other things)
4Gb Corsair XMS3 Dominator 1600mhz
2x1Tb WD Caviar Hdd's



Its got hdmi straight to the tv and i use my phone (droid X) as a media center remote via wifi. So far it has played every 1080p video i have thrown at it flawlessly. Cores at full load get to around 50C and idle is around 38. Thats not bad IMO for stock shuttle cooling. During 1080p movie playback the cpu is at ~5% utilization.

 

[B-MILLER]

Shuttles are soooo sexy!!!!

 

[flm_savage]

Thanks man. They have been very reliable for me in the past and I like their cooling designs. Perfect htpc size too.