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Please read all before trying.......
The best way to avoid having to do any of the following is to download a format that is compatible with the PS3 or Stand Alone players. To do this, skip to the bottom of this post...... There are many reasons why a video file may not work(on the PS3). So I have started this thread to cover AVIs and maybe later I will cover other formats. But by and large, many people are downloading DIVX and XVID movies that are showing unsupported on the PS3. This could be because the file may have been encoded in an unsupported format, it could be that the audio is not @ a supported bitrate. Maybe it is a multi part video. Maybe all of the above! The point is that you must first try to figure out what codec(s) are used in this file…. It is my opinion that Sony is trying to standardize these formats. The reason I think this, is because all stand alone DVD player that play DIVX/XVID have a chipset (either MTK/Sigma or ESS) that decodes the files. So it is a standard for stand alone. Any file that will play in the PS3 will also play in a stand alone player. Until Sony opens up to all formats, like MicroSofts console is, you will have to convert to a useable format for the stand alone players....
An .AVI(Audio Video Interleave) file is only a container, and the codec is contained within this extension type (container). The Audio can be a multitude of codec as well as the Video. This can make trying to figure out what combination of codecs work on the PS3 difficult. But if you know what to encode them to or with, then the trouble of knowing what it WAS is not necessary... The .divx extension is also a container, and can easily be changed to an AVI simply by changing the extension to .avi, or adding it to the end of the file name without affecting the contained codec. The PS3 DOES NOT recognize the .divx extension if it is streamed for some reason unless it is on the PS3's HDD…. By simply Renaming the file .divx extension to .avi may enable it to play on your PS3. If not it is possible that it is not a compatible format, and will need to be re-encoded or fixed.
-I have listed these solutions in the order below intentionally. The reason for this is that to keep the best quality of the original video lossless. If you re-encode an already encoded video you will loose quality. A DIVX or XVID file is a compressed(encoded file) copy of another file from another source, like a DVD for instance. This results in a loss of quality, although it may not be much, but by re-encoding this file, you will loose quality, sometimes only slightly, and to most it may not be even noticeable. I do notice this, and it does matter to me. But it may not be necessary to re-encode the video portion of the file in the first place, and in my opinion can be overkill. Although it doesn't seem like you are saving time, it is much faster to re-encode only the audio rather than re-encoding the whole file. If you do not care about the quality of your file being preserved, then skip to the AVI ReComp section..... But please read the whole thing prior. You may find something that you did not already know, or change your mind and try it. It is not as difficult as it would seem....
Programs need for analyzing, direct steam coping, and re-encoding are listed below: - Gspot Found here - Gspot is used for analyzing of videos. You can use it to see if it is a MULTI PART video, or to compare to a known working video to figure out what may be the problem. It will show you the codec used and sometimes the version and build of the codec. All you have to do is open the said file in Gspot. This program is not installed on your computer and is a stand alone…
- VirtualDub found here - VirtualDub is also a stand alone program, so there is no installing. You will have to Un-Zip it and with in the folder will be an Virtualdub.exe. This program has many uses. You can use it to fix MULTI PART videos via Direct Stream Copy, in which I will cover later. You can also us it to merge two video files together. So if you downloaded a two CD movie, you could combine it into one if you wished with this program.
- Nandub found here - NanDub is also a stand alone program, so there is no installing. You will have to Un-Zip it and with in the folder will be an Nandub.exe. Nandub is like Virtualdub but with the added support of AC3 audio. You can use it to fix MULTI PART videos with AC3 audio via Direct Stream Copy, in which I will cover later. You can also us it to merge two video files together. So if you downloaded a two CD movie, you could combine it into one if you wished with this program.
- AVI ReComp found here – ARC is used for converting AVIs (Xvid/Divx) to a format that will work on a stand alone DVD player, and the PS3. For the most part, this program will fix most files right off the bat. But, it will not fix MULTI PART videos by it’s self…. It only converts AVI to AVI, and does a great job of keeping the quality of the original file, and converts to XVID, which in my opinion is the best codec….
- SUPER found here – SUPER is a very good program to convert virtually any format to any format. It is a stand alone program that uses all of it’s codecs internally, meaning that none of the codecs need to be installed on your computer to convert with it. I however prefer using AutoGK to convert my AVI videos, and use this only direct stream copy and convert the bad audio bit streams….
- AutoGK found here – AGK is pretty much GordianKnot, but with an Auto GUI. GordianKnot in my opinion is the best video AVI (especially XVID) converter you can find. But, for all account and purposes, AVI ReComp is the converter of choice for AVI to AVI conversion for the PS3. AutoGK is very user friendly and converts DVD/Vob better than any other to XVID....
-MULTIPART VIDEO- You may have a movie that plays the first few seconds of the movie, or, it acts like it is going to play, but just hangs there. Not locking up the PS3, but just sits there. Or you may have just re-encoded a file because it was unsupported, and it now only plays the first few seconds. This is because it was a file that had an unsupported file format that was also Multipart..
First you should verify that it is by opening it up in Gspot, but it will not always show as multipart. If the audio is AC3, then you will need to use NANDUB. If it is mp3, then you will need to use VirtualDub. Gspot will also tell you what codecs are used, if they are installed on your computer, the size of the file, audio codecs used, bitrates, and a whole plethora of info. If this is a MULTI PART video, re-encoding it alone will not work. YOU MUST RUN IT THROUGH VD OR ND. If it is a multipart file and you try to re-encode using only ARC, only the first few seconds of the source file will be encoded. If it is a multipart with the wrong codec, you will have to run it through VD or ND prior to re-encoding the file in ARC. If you have confirmed that this is a MULTIPART video, do the following. ***Note*** If your video has AC3 audio, virtualdub will not work. You will have to download NANDUB. The steps below work the same for NANDUB. ***Note*** I am using hotkeys in this example, you may do the same thing by using the tool bar at the top of Virtualdub. 1. Start VirtualDub (should be in a folder, since it is not installed on your computer), and open the file using hotkeys by hitting Ctrl+O, and leading it to the path of the file. If you get a message saying "VirtualDub has detected an improper VBR audio encoding in the source AVI file.............", use NanDub instead, opening it in the same manor.
2. Once it is loaded, hit the “home”. This will set selection start of the file.
3. Next hit “Ctrl+Right” keys. This moves to the end of the file.
4. Next hit “End” key. This will set selection end of the file.
5. Now goto the tool bar and click on the Video tab, and select “Direct Stream Copy”.
6. Goto the Audio tab and verify that “Direct stream copy” is also selected here. If it is not, do so….
7. Finally hit the “F7” key, and save as. It is ok to save as the same file name if you wish, as this doesn’t change the format, encoding or anything, just combines it… But if you would rather change the name to have a duplicate, you may do so…. Hit Ok, and it should only take a few minutes, depending on the size of the file…..
This should have been all that you needed to do. Check by trying the file on your PS3. If not, it may still be a codec that is not supported by the PS3, and you should try the following.
-SUPER- If your movie comes up with an error saying that it is unsupported, you may skip to the AVI ReComp procedure below and try re-encoding it, or try the next steps which should only take a few minutes start to finish and save the quality of the Video. Most of the time it is as simple as the audio. By doing the next steps, you may save yourself lots of time re-encoding, and end up with a lossless Video. If when you analyze it with Gspot, and all the codecs look like they should, try this. I am going to outline this using SUPER, as it is the simplest and most user friendly way to do it. You can use Virtualdub to do the same, but it is not set up to do it in such easy steps… Sometimes this is the only step you will need to make, and because it only takes a few minutes versus re-encoding the whole movie (which can take hours), it is best to try this first. It is NOT overkill.... It will not harm the original file, so I suggest that before trying to re-encode it with ARC, you should first try this. - Open SUPER and drag and drop your AVI to the window at the bottom.
- Select Output container as AVI, Output Video Codec as XVID, and Output Audio Codec as mp3, although you aren't going to be converting the video.
- Check mark “Stream Copy” for the Video, and for the Audio “Sampling Freq” set at 44100 or 48000 depending on the source file, and Bitrate at 128kbps.
Click “Encode” at the bottom of the window. All this is going to do is COPY the video without changing it, and re-encode the audio. This sometimes works, and only takes a few minutes....
If your resulting file has skew, it may be because virtualdub within the program saw the audio as having an improper VBR audio encoding in the source AVI file, and basically changed the header. It will not throw up this message. By changing from ffmpeg to MEncoder, it will ensure that it will not change the header and keep the resulting file in sync with the video.... I am sorry but at this time, I have not tested MEncoder on all files to see if it will work, with all files. But I do know that it does with those very few that have skew problems.... Be sure to save this file, as sometimes it is both the audio and the video that is not supported, and at this time, it is very difficult to distinguish which is the problem with any given video. If you tried the last step and it did not work for you, loading this new file into ARC and re-encoding it will. -AVI ReComp-
AVI ReComp is good for one thing, and that is to convert AVI to AVI and a format that is useable for the PS3 and other stand alone DIVX/XVID players…. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for this use!!!!
- Open ARC, and open your "Source File". You will notice that it also tells you what codec is used and if they are installed on your computer. Also the bitrates, resolutions, frames, frames per sec, etc.
- Select your "Output file" and destination. Also select the "New AVI size". If the source file is for example 700mb, then you should use 800mb. Rule of thumb here is that your destination file should be slightly larger than the source file. Increasing it by a great number will not make the video look better, and will be over kill. Just try to keep it one larger than the original. It will insure that the new file will keep it’s quality….
- Now click on the “Additions” tab. Here you can change the resolution and audio. You need not change the resolution or resize it. Just leave this alone. Click the "Audio" tab and choose “convert audio streams”. Select CBR and use 128kb/s or higher... Be sure to click “Use”….
- In the Settings tab, I like to checkmark “delete temporary files”, so that you don’t clutter up your HDD…. These setting go back to default after each job, so you will need to do this every time, if you wish to…
- And finally the Queue tab. Pretty much just what it says. You can queue many files back to back and let them run over night, or just this one. Then click start…
This may take an hour, two, or even three, so just leave it for a while and come back later. Check to see if it works on the PS3. AutoGK for some reason does not convert the audio of an AVI, and I am sure it is something wrong with the GUI and Lame (the audio converter). For this reason I would only suggest using AVI ReComp, as I went back and fourth between SUPER and AGK with one file that I could not get to work, no matter what I tried, and then after trying ARC, I was able to get it to work… In fact the only file(s) I was not able to get working with ARC alone was the MULTI PART video. I listed AutoGK because it is a VERY good program for other uses, and you will get unmatched quality converting to XVID with any other program, PERIOD!!! If you are converting from DVD/Vob it is the easiest and close to the best program to use for people that are not Converter savvy… Just be sure to use the hidden settings after you have loaded a source file by hitting Ctrl+F9, and in the bottom right hand corner you will see "compatibility" (global option). Enable the stand alone support, and select ESS. I will probably outline a how to for AGK later...
Here is a list of it’s feature copied from their website: Program features support of:
- DVD/VOBs(unencrypted from hdd), MPEG2, MPEG1, transport streams (including multi-program ones) and AVI/DV input sources
- XviD or DivX(5/6) output formats
- AC3, DTS, PCM, MPA input audio tracks
- AC3, DTS, MPA, CBR/VBR MP3 output audio tracks
- two audio tracks in AVI
- external (vobsub) or internal (burnt-in) subtitles (with support of forced subs)
- HDTV input/output resolutions(upto 1920x***) and frame rates (50/60fps)
- automatic crop and resize based on compressibility of the source to achieve best results
- automatic detection of input source: PAL, NTSC, FILM, HYBRID
- automatic deinterlacer and IVTC
- automatic split into CD-sized chunks for main video and external subs SUPER has been upgraded to Super 2008! I have mentioned in past threads that Super didn't do a great job at ecoding XVID or DIVX. The Video was choppy (skipped every 1 second), and the quality wasnt' there. Well, 2008 is a different story. It is a very good program and you can convert FROM just about any format TO any format. It is a stand alone program, meaning that no codecs are needed to be installed on your computer. They are contained within the program. Best of all, it is FREE. Here is a link to all the features, codecs and what you can do with it.
THE BOTTOM OF THE POST
To avoid having to re-encode, or fix a file all together, it is best to just download a movie that is known to work with the PS3. While the isn't an easy way to know what files will play ahead of time, there are sources to download these file that are known to work. I use a program called Utorrent to download with. You can google it and download the program. Next would be to find a site to search for torrents. I suggest www.superfundo.org .... There you will find at the top of the page two tool bars, the second one has a list of "rippers". These are users that have done all the work of encoding these files for you and letting you download them. The "rippers" that are most likely, and most of the time have compatible files, but not always are aXXo, DUQA, RoCK(high quality XVID), newartriot(encodes in very high quality h264 with AC3 5.1), MvUp(some work some do not), and KLAXXON. There are others, but these uploaders I know for a fact encode to the correct format. Most of these files are very high quality, and you are sure to get the actual rippers files, unlike at other torrent search sites. Once you have clicked on one of these "rippers" names, you will find a list of torrent files. Click on the one that you want and Utorrent will automatically open with an "add new torrent" window on top. This you will see, has all of the files that are included in the download. You can pick and choose exactly what you want or don't want.... You are not limited to this torrent search engine. There are many many others.... MiniNova.org is another very good one. You can see comments on the files to see what people are saying about it before you download it... Have fun!
****as with my other thread(s), I will be adding to, modifying, and editing this page to make it more user friendly, understandable, and informative. All suggestions will be taken into consideration, and possibly added to this post, with your permissions of coarse….
Message Edited by redbullssg on 02-12-2008 09:08 PMMessage Edited by redbullssg on 03-14-2008 10:05 AM
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