Playing HD content on the 360?

[R99]

Hi guys.

I've not long had my XBOX 360, and while I love it - I just wish it could play off the shelf HD content i.e. blueray.

So, the question is - can you get it to play HD films any other way? I know you can rent them off the marketplace, but the selection is crap.

If for example I downloaded a film, in HD, could I get the 360 to play it?

[randlemarcus]

If you're lucky enough to download WMV format HD content it'll play off a USB HDD. Not sure about digital rights if its secured though.

[Mister V]

yes..

Google Tversity.

It allows you to play almost any format audio/visual file on your 360.

[Steve Evil]

You can also get hold of one of the HD-DVD drives for it for about a tenner these days when they show up, which will allow you to play HD-DVDs, OK it is a dead medium, but the discs are cheap and you'll often find that they throw a load in when you buy the player.

[R99]

OK, next question. How do I get it to play MKV files?

[RJB_666]

R99 said:

OK, next question. How do I get it to play MKV files?

I don't think you can. I tried this a while ago from a portable hard drive. Microsoft need to release another media patch for it.

[Polarbert]

Tversity?

[scorp]

Polarbert said:

Tversity?

That'll do mkv files too.

[:J:]

As the Xbox doesn't play MKV files, why not just plug your PC directly into your TV and save having to mess about with TVersity, etc.. ??

[scorp]

:J: said:

As the Xbox doesn't play MKV files, why not just plug your PC directly into your TV and save having to mess about with TVersity, etc.. ??

2 points.

1) Your pc can store a huge ass library of porn/pirate movies/etc which the xbox can stream over wifi or network cable.

2) You can control the xbox via a wireless controller, or even buy a remote control for it.

TVersity is not much more trickier to setup than it is to copy movies from your pc to a usb harddrive anyway.

Edited by scorp on Tuesday 24th March 13:11

[R99]

Cool.

Tversity was a piece of piss to set up, and its working brilliantly with .avi files. Cant be bothered with plugging the PC into the TV, as it doesn't have a HD output on it, plus I hate wires!

So, regarding MKV files & tversity, all I need to do is add the file into the library as normal and it will stream away and give me 1080p viewing pleasure? Cant wait for the first file to finish d/l so I can try it. Or do I need to do anything differently?

Its an 8GB file though, will that make a difference?

[The_Jackal]

Transcode 360 requires no setup and you can just play all your vids from your PC through Media Centre on the 360.

[R99]

OK, well I cant get the .mkv to play on my XBOX through tversity.

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong? I have the 'transcode when necessary' box ticked, and I have even tried splitting the file into two as I thought it might be the size causing the issue?

HELP!

Edited by R99 on Wednesday 25th March 18:27

[dave_s13]

had nowt but bother using tversity and transcode360 to view .mkv files.

I got it to work but it was dead clunky and you could skip back/forward...and other stuff.

I have an HTPC now so don't need it too.

Easiest way round is to get hold of HD WMV files, it plays them lovely.

Will MS ever release an MKV patch? I don't think they will meself.

[R99]

OK - after failing miserably with the .mkv files I have found a piece of software that converts them into .mp4 video files.

They are still the same size as the original .mkv's and play fine on the 360 through tversity.

My question is though, is this a HD format - the picture quality looks fantastic on my 1080p telly, but not sure if I'm actually watching true HD?

[Greg964]

R99 said:

OK - after failing miserably with the .mkv files I have found a piece of software that converts them into .mp4 video files.

Was it quick, or did it re-encode the whole thing? I'm after a quick way of changing mkv > mp4/wmv

R99 said:

My question is though, is this a HD format - the picture quality looks fantastic on my 1080p telly, but not sure if I'm actually watching true HD?

You'd have to plug in a different HD source and compare. But hey if it looks fantastic, who cares!

[R99]

It was pretty quick - the software is called XenonMKV.

Looks like I spoke to soon about them playing with no problems, keeps jerking every few mins for about 1-2 seconds. Really annoying!

The picture quality is very, very good though. Certainly better than a standard DVD using up-scalling through HDMI.

[Greg964]

R99 said:

It was pretty quick - the software is called XenonMKV.

Looks like I spoke to soon about them playing with no problems, keeps jerking every few mins for about 1-2 seconds. Really annoying!

The picture quality is very, very good though. Certainly better than a standard DVD using up-scalling through HDMI.

Cheers, i'll check that out.

Regarding the jerking are you wireless or hardwired? I had similar problems streaming HD files wirelessly but using a cable instead fixed it.

[Webber3]

Greg964 said:

R99 said:

It was pretty quick - the software is called XenonMKV.

Looks like I spoke to soon about them playing with no problems, keeps jerking every few mins for about 1-2 seconds. Really annoying!

The picture quality is very, very good though. Certainly better than a standard DVD using up-scalling through HDMI.

Cheers, i'll check that out.

Regarding the jerking are you wireless or hardwired? I had similar problems streaming HD files wirelessly but using a cable instead fixed it.

I tried streaming over a wireless connection and it was pretty poor to be honest. Different types of wireless network are better for streaming than others, but encryption routines and even cordless phones can slow them down. Wired is the way to go for streaming.

[R99]

My XBOX is wired into the router, but laptop is wireless, as is my desktop.

I guess I could try using an Ethernet cable with the laptop when I want to stream movies, bit of pain though!