Stream Video to XBMC at DVinfo.net

Nathan Pease · March 10th, 2006, 07:00 PM

Hi all,
I just registered for this forum because of my interest in the Sanyo HD1. I have been lurking on the threads here and have been experimenting with some of the sample clips. XBMC (Xbox media center) seems like it would be the perfect way of playing the video from this camera on a persons HDTV. For those who are not familiar with XBMC here is a link for a review that I found on line.

http://www.mindmanifesto.com/sky/XBMC.html

I have been able to successfully stream the raw 9mb mp4 files from my computer to xbmc. The resolution looks great but it is dropping frames. I stripped the audio track out so that I only had a file with the raw video and it played perfectly. So it would seem that it could be done with a little tweaking. I have not tried the 6mb HD clips yet to see if they play.

Has anyone else done any experimenting with XBMC or come up with a good way of displaying video from this camera on an HDTV.

Chris Wells · March 12th, 2006, 04:09 PM

The XBox hardware doesn't have nearly enough oomph to push 720X1080, even if the content is local. Also, there is no HDV cableset for this system that is capable of transmitting 720p... 480 is the best you can get.

That said, I have found a great way to view your videos through Xbox Media Center. A free application called Pocket DivX Encoder will convert a movie rapidly and optimally for Xbox. It is actually designed for devices like Pocket PC, but since many of those devices sport resolutions of 640X480 and higher, it works well for Xbox.

Simply open the app and choose your desired size, choose your video, crank your quality sliders to the max, and press direct encode. Your resultant video will be compatible with Xbox Media Center, as well as every player I've been able to find. It won't be HDV any more, but at least it'll function on your hardware.

This technique is also effective for transferring the video to iPod, Pocket PC, PSP, media phones, Archos... you get the idea. You'll find this little app makes your video much more versitile.

Note: Make sure to archive your originals for when you own hardware capable of playing 720p.

Frank Klein · March 13th, 2006, 06:01 AM

Maybe ask also in xbmc forums. I heard playback of 720p video with XBMC is just below 20fps. You could experiment with different audio codecs (mp3) to check if more fluid playback is possible. Also be sure that any kind of video post-processing is disabled!
Btw. with the optional component cable the xbox with XBMC can do 720p and even 1080i, however not much people use it, because the very limited Celeron-like 733Mhz P3-CPU.

Nathan Pease · March 13th, 2006, 09:40 PM

Chris I think we are talking about two diffrent things. I am talking about the open source XBMC not Media Center Extender for Xbox from Microsoft. My XBOX does play these videos at 720p with no problems when the audio is stripped out. I am going to experiment with some diffrent audio codecs and also try the 6mb clips from this camcorder. The video from this camcorder looks very good at 720p on my home theater projector. Does anyone know if the xbox 360 or the PS3 can play these clips out of the box?

BTW XBMC does a very good job of upconverting all video files to 720p or 1080i.

March 10th, 2006, 07:00 PM	#1
Nathan Pease New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 18	Stream Video to XBMC Hi all, I just registered for this forum because of my interest in the Sanyo HD1. I have been lurking on the threads here and have been experimenting with some of the sample clips. XBMC (Xbox media center) seems like it would be the perfect way of playing the video from this camera on a persons HDTV. For those who are not familiar with XBMC here is a link for a review that I found on line. http://www.mindmanifesto.com/sky/XBMC.html I have been able to successfully stream the raw 9mb mp4 files from my computer to xbmc. The resolution looks great but it is dropping frames. I stripped the audio track out so that I only had a file with the raw video and it played perfectly. So it would seem that it could be done with a little tweaking. I have not tried the 6mb HD clips yet to see if they play. Has anyone else done any experimenting with XBMC or come up with a good way of displaying video from this camera on an HDTV.

March 12th, 2006, 04:09 PM	#2
Chris Wells Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kelowna, Canada Posts: 148	Re-encoding for Xbox, PPC, Phones, Ipod, etc... The XBox hardware doesn't have nearly enough oomph to push 720X1080, even if the content is local. Also, there is no HDV cableset for this system that is capable of transmitting 720p... 480 is the best you can get. That said, I have found a great way to view your videos through Xbox Media Center. A free application called Pocket DivX Encoder will convert a movie rapidly and optimally for Xbox. It is actually designed for devices like Pocket PC, but since many of those devices sport resolutions of 640X480 and higher, it works well for Xbox. Simply open the app and choose your desired size, choose your video, crank your quality sliders to the max, and press direct encode. Your resultant video will be compatible with Xbox Media Center, as well as every player I've been able to find. It won't be HDV any more, but at least it'll function on your hardware. This technique is also effective for transferring the video to iPod, Pocket PC, PSP, media phones, Archos... you get the idea. You'll find this little app makes your video much more versitile. Note: Make sure to archive your originals for when you own hardware capable of playing 720p.

March 13th, 2006, 06:01 AM	#3
Frank Klein New Boot Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 5	Maybe ask also in xbmc forums. I heard playback of 720p video with XBMC is just below 20fps. You could experiment with different audio codecs (mp3) to check if more fluid playback is possible. Also be sure that any kind of video post-processing is disabled! Btw. with the optional component cable the xbox with XBMC can do 720p and even 1080i, however not much people use it, because the very limited Celeron-like 733Mhz P3-CPU.

March 13th, 2006, 09:40 PM	#4
Nathan Pease New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 18	Chris I think we are talking about two diffrent things. I am talking about the open source XBMC not Media Center Extender for Xbox from Microsoft. My XBOX does play these videos at 720p with no problems when the audio is stripped out. I am going to experiment with some diffrent audio codecs and also try the 6mb clips from this camcorder. The video from this camcorder looks very good at 720p on my home theater projector. Does anyone know if the xbox 360 or the PS3 can play these clips out of the box? BTW XBMC does a very good job of upconverting all video files to 720p or 1080i.