Paul began this thread by saying, "You need to make your files in a format it can read, but H.264 or MPEGs look GREAT! It can read MANY, MANY file formats. "

Could someone please tell me how to do this?

All I've ever done is download my EX-1 footage to Final Cut via Sony's File Transfer software. All my files are 1080i 60 .mov. and the media player won't recognize them. What do I need to do in order to enjoy my magic box???

I don't have the box, but I'm guessing that it won't accept QT files in the EX codec (would be shocked if it did). QT .mov files can have any number of compressors. Apparently this device likes H264 and MPEG. So just use QT Pro or Compressor to convert your EX QT's to H264.

"So just use QT Pro or Compressor to convert your EX QT's to H264."

Thanks, Rob, could you tell me the simplest way to do this?

OPTION #1 (straight from your FCP timeline)
Build your timeline up the way you want in FCP. Go to File>Export with Quicktime Conversion. Choose Quicktime. Then at the bottom you can choose a preset setting. I'd start with LAN/Intranet (that would be a good guess). If that doesn't work, try some of the other "presets" from that list.

OPTION #2 (from a finished Quicktime movie)
Build your timeline up the way you want in FCP. Go to File>Export Quicktime (not Quicktime Conversion this time). Choose a location where to store your Quicktime file. Exit Final Cut Pro, find your saved movie file, right click on it (Control Click) and choose Open with Quicktime Player. Your movie will open in Quicktime Player. Then choose File>Export (or type command E) and you can choose from the same list of file types as Option #1.

Hope that makes sense. I'm at home now and I'm doing all this from memory. :)

Thank you, Mitchell.

I've got it working now (thanks Paul!)and it looks great except for the horizonal lines that erupt during any motion.

I'm shooting everything in 1080i60 HQ.

In the video settings (Standard Video Compression Settings) window I have these settings:

Compression Type: H.264
Frame Rate: 30
Key Frames: Automatic
Frame Reordering: Checked
Data Rate: 8000
Encoding is Best Quality (multi-pass)

Dimensions: 1920X1080 (current)

Any idea why I'm having the line problem? Is there another file type that would give me a better picture (I don't care about file size)?

Thanks for any help!

Arthur

That sounds like a field dominance problem to me. Because you're shooting in 60i (interlaced) you need to make sure that when you're converting the video to a different format:

1) You have your field dominance set correctly. Is 60i upper or lower field dominant? I dunno.....yet.

2) If you're converting from interlaced (i) to progressive (p) you use software that does a good job with it. Honestly, this has been a real problem for us. We haven't found any software that does a great job going from interlaced to progressive.

Maybe you could upload a photo of it?

With all due respect, title of this thread may lead some people to believe that they can simply use WD Media Player to play their EX1 files as they come from the camera. Which is not the case, to the best of my knowledge - you still have to convert EX1 files to the codecs readable by WD player.

So this makes it not some "EX1 magic playback box", but yet another consumer media player.

My issue with WD player is that it only has digital out (HDMI).

I needed component too, so I bought Popcorn Hour A-110 (hey, I didn't name it, OK :)) ...and super happy with it. It has HDMI, but also Component, as well as RCA and S-Video, plus excellent audio output options. May be worth checking out. A-110 (A-100 before it) has a huge following, by the way.

WD Player seems to be great when you have more control over what is playing, and what TV is connected to it.

Alex that would be me. Right now I'm trying to do a one-minute best quality H.264 file on Compressor that looks like it's going to take something slightly short of a geological age to render. This on a new Mac Pro...

I'm VERY happy with the picture quality of my H.264 file created in Quicktime--except for the horizonal line issue--which happens during any motion.

Surely there's a simple way to get a good clean file conversion I can look at on this not-quite-so-magic box that doesn't require a major mastering effort.

I've got over 600G of 1080i footage on my drives that I download via the Sony File Transfer software for three upcoming projects. The best EX-1 picture I've been able to display on my 106" screen before getting the WD TV Media box (which, except for the motion problem, is the hands-down best) was (a) through component straight out of my camera and (b) a 15 minute HD-DVD burned on Compressor.

Arthur, my workflow with EX1 involves transcoding mp4s into Cineform Prospect HD 1920x1080 files right away, as soon as I get the footage.

Everything else happens in Cineform codec, including edit/effects/output to master.

Now, for deliveries, I encode from CFHD to blu-ray. Same BD m2ts file that goes on optical disc, also plays perfectly on my Popcorn Hour A-110.

Very happy with this workflow.

You can also encode into WMV or DivX with very close results. WMV encoding is the slowest, but is also produces the smallest file size with the same high image quality.

I use TMPGenc products to encode into DivX and all flavors of MPEG, including Blu-ray.

Check TMPGenc Express (v 4 is current, I think) - it's great. However it does Not directly accept EX1's mp4 files, sorry.

That's why I was a bit surprised with this thread's title.

Arthur and Alex,

Sorry if my title for this thread is misleading. I meant this device is perfect for viewing and showcasing EDITED MASTER files, once transcoded to one of the acceptable formats. I have many MASTERS that, as a MAC user (which isn't supporting Blu-ray) I couldn't show very easily, or sell to my clients. Now I can, by using this box. I would never consider it for looking at raw footage due to the long conversion times. However if you look at this whole thread, someone does mention that RAW EX files can be viewed directly without transcoding by simply changing the name to .m2ts I believe, though there will be no sound since it's 48k.

Anyway, this device is a god send for watching final masters! I could output to HDV to show people but that loses quality compared to the EX XDCAM format. That is what I meant by this is the magic box to view EX footage in it's full 1080p glory. (Again, only my final MASTERS are transcoded and put on it due to the lengthy conversion times) I have no knowledge of the Popcorn machine, and it sounds like a winner too. I'm hoping with the new firmware update to the WD (due in January) that it will handle 48k audio and possibly EX files directly (which it should it it can play 48k audio since they are MP4's).

Sounds like the Popcorn Hour A-110 is better than the Western Digital as you can have a nice big 1Tb hard drive inside the unit, rather than an external drive that the WD needs.

Downside is its twice the price!

After installing HDD inside A-110, make sure to also install a large, quiet fan.

Original Popcorn's design does not have provisions for the fan, which is a shame since the thing runs hot.

Rigging your own fan will ensure that both HDD and the A-110's board are cool and will last much longer than without a fan.

excellent discovery Paul.

Thanks Paul,

I'm getting a great picture through Compressor but wouldn't I get a better picture from my raw footage (without further compression)?

Can anyone tell me how to rename my XDCAM files to a .m2ts file so they will play "natively" on the WD? I shoot in 1080i60 HQ. I've already uploaded my files to my Mac Pro via the Sony File Transfer software.

Steve Gibbons posted this one week ago:

"If you copy the .MP4 files off the SxS cards to a USB drive (flash, hard drive, etc) and then just RENAME them to a .M2TS extension, you can play the video NATIVELY on this Western Digital media player."

On a Mac, just click once on the file to select it (turn it blue) then about 2 seconds later click on the title again. It will turn white and you will be able to change the file name and extension to what ever you want. But maybe this isn't what you were really asking?

Simply changing EX1 file's extension from mp4 to m2ts did not work on A-110 player - it could not play the file.

Are you sure this works with WD player?

Okay, I'm going to stick my neck way out with this answer.... (probably the wrong answer)

Any chance that when he said M2TS he meant that if you stick the MP4 file in a folder labeled VIDEO_TS (like on a DVD) it would play? Because I've never heard of many 4 character extensions.

Just a suggestion of something you might try....

m2ts is a standard extension for Blu-ray MPEG2 files.

They play just fine with A-110 player.

But not the renamed mp4 files.

I'm just repeating what Steve Gibbons posted on the 18th. I tried to rename a few files and they wouldn't play.

I'm not sure and my stuff isn't fired up at the moment to try this but maybe only 720p files will play with this file extension name change?

Update now available for the Western Digital TV HD Media Player:

WD TV Product Update

1080p24...yummy.

Will this device playback AC3 5.1 surround?

I just bought the HD TV and was wondering can I use a HDMI to AV component cable if my TV set only support component? Please see this ebay posting, will this cable works?

HDMI Male to 5 RCA RGB Audio Video AV Component Cable - eBay (item 350139975605 end time Jan-11-09 20:04:03 PST)

I don't think HDMI supports analogue signals at all? That cable looks totally passive to me? More likely you'll need an active converter box. What model HD TV is it to not have HDMI?

Since DVI-I supports analog video, it stands to reason that HDMI could as well.

Oh, and my five year old Toshiba 56" HDTV only has component. ;-)

DVI-I supports analogue, DVI-D doesn't, HDMI is digital only based on everything I've read.

edit: Just rummaging around the net turned this unit up. http://www.hdfury.com/ Adds HDMI 1080p in to any RGB screen.

Yep, just looked up the pinout:

HDMI Connector Pinout
Pin Number Signal Name
1 TMDS Data 2+
2 TMDS Data 2 Shield
3 TMDS Data 2-
4 TMDS Data 1+
5 TMDS Data 1 Shield
6 TMDS Data 1-
7 TMDS Data 0+
8 TMDS Data 0 Shield
9 TMDS Data 0-
10 TMDS Clock+
11 TMDS Clock Shield
12 TMDS Clock-
13 CEC
14 No Connect
15 DDC Clock
16 DDC Data
17 Ground
18 +5V Power
19 Hot Plug Detect
20 SHELL

So, definitely no, a passive cable cannot convert HDMI to component. An active converter box of some sort would be required. That hdfury device looks interesting for several reasons ...

HDFury is a great device, BUT it does not convert signal's refresh rate or resolution.

So your TV will have to support exactly the frame size and frequency of the digital signal being converted.

I've run into this limitation of HDFury while trying to feed HDMI signal via HDFury to a particular monitor with Component input - but that monitor did not support 1920x1080 natively on Component input, and that was the end of it.

(On a side note, HDFury seller Monoprice.com was most helpful in making me understand what was going on, and has resolved the issue to my complete satisfaction.)

Please Help!
 

Could anyone please tell me how I can get this thing to work????? I've spent days trying to figure this out. WD has been completely useless.

My footage is all in FCP, everything shot at 1080i60.

By exporting to Compressor and choosing "H.264 for DVD Studio Pro" I get a really good picture but no audio. I have "Include PCM Audio" checked.


How do I get the very best picture I can get WITH AUDIO from my EX-1 files in Final Cut and onto my home theater screen via this magic box????

Please help and PLEASE be specific!

Eternally grateful for the help,

Arthur the techno dumbass

I struggled with this too.

I finally figured out you have to export as 44kHz as it won't work with 48kHz.

I don't know if that's your problem, hopefully that will fix it for you.

It's nothing to do with it being 48 Khz, the WD TV doesn't support PCM audio, even at 44 Khz. Export as H.264 with the sound set to AAC at 48 Khz and the audio will play back just fine.

I wrote a small review about my findings with the WD TV on my blog at http://www.pauljoy.com/?page_id=1046.

Paul.

What monitor are you using to view from this box?
 

I am wanting to get myself one of these beauties but I don't have any HDTV monitors at home apart from an HD Ready 42" Plasma. I have been looking at a Samsung LCD Computer monitor with a res of 1920x1200, but would I be better served by buying a full HD LCD TV monitor at 1920x1080p?

James, Paul,

Thanks very much, I'll try your tips tomorrow. I was amazed at the picture this thing delivered on a 52" plasma at the Asheville Visitor's Center. They ordinarily display our SD nature DVDs on it and the difference in PQ was huge. We're definitely going to be investing in some more of these these boxes for point of purchase display.

Paul, very nice review on your site, thanks.

I have hooked it up to my 42" Panasonic PX70 HD ready plasma at home and it really looks wonderfull. The TV upscales to 1080P, but I´m not sure it does from the WD. I´ll have to check.
I will bring it over to my brother to hook it up to his Sony full HD 40" to compare one of these days.
I´m biased though, I prefer the picture of my plasma in general, even when we both use PS3 to watch Blu-ray video

I have found an inexpensive BenQ 24" computer monitor with HDMI input and is 16:9 1920x1080p, so I imagine this monitor would be perfect for this box. Only, the monitor has no speakers. Does anyone know if I run RCA audio out of the anaologue outputs whether this would work, and if so, would the audio be in sync with the vision through the HDMI?

Shaun,

Yes, you can use the RCA audio outputs with the HDMI output. They are perfectly synched. You have to set it up in the "Settings" menu to output "stereo" instead of "Digital". I should mention the DAC converter is pretty poor. Your best off to use the digital Toslink connection if possible. I mean for $100 I wasn't expecting the DAC to be very good, and it isn't!

Paul Joy,

Thanks for figuring out the audio issue with this thing. I was thinking it was 48k audio, but it's the PCM reason! Now how are you taking your MASTERS and just changing the audio without a lengthy re-encode and loss of quality? I'm using FC Studio and would love to hear of a simple QUICK solution! Right now I'm taking my HDV master of a 1 hour show and making a MP2 HD Program stream of it so it'll play. It's a 6 hour render!!!

Hi Paul, I simply exported an H.264 file from the FCP timeline using compressor and in the encoder section changed the audio settings to AAC format.

Disturbing interface?
 

I have a TviX mediaplayer. Between clips I get some annoying grafics telling the name of the file and a "Play" notice.

Are there such messages on this WD player too? If so, is it possible to deselect them?