[Shirou Emiya]

I need help finding out how to convert 720p MKVs to 720p MP4s, but without lowering/reducing the audio/video quality at all.

I'm only asking this because my 160 GB PS3 refuses to recognize MKVs.

P.S.: Links to tutorials for the programs you recommend would be really helpful.

[Dao]

xvid4psp. Very simple program, don't think you would need a tutorial for it.

[Shirou Emiya]

Originally Posted by OtakuDao

xvid4psp. Very simple program, don't think you would need a tutorial for it.

I thought XviD4PSP only re-encoded stuff, but it can also convert too?

I'm gonna have to check this out, thanks.

[gonzozoid]

If your ps3 is connected to a pc, you shouldn't need to convert. All you need is PS3 media server, mkv2vob and cccp.
How To:
after the codec pack is installed, run the PS3 media server. It will detect the connected PS3 hardware. Go to the ps3 and search for media servers. On the PS3 media server software go to the tab called navigation/share settings. Under the subsection Shared Folders, use the plus icon to add folders u want to serve to the PS3. Any unsupported formats will be automatically transcoded using existing codecs on the computer to something the ps3 understands. You need a beefy system for this on the fly conversion but the good thing is 90% of all files will play in this manner. If by any chance your ps3 complains that it cannot play the file and the file is corrupt, you can force ps3 media server to the transcoding. There will be a folder called #transcode# or similar in the folder of the media file you wanna watch (this is on the ps3 ui when browsing the media server). You can manually force encoding and also you can select the audio track and subtitles if there are many in the single mkv file.

[Shirou Emiya]

Originally Posted by gonzozoid

If your ps3 is connected to a pc, you shouldn't need to convert. All you need is PS3 media server, mkv2vob and cccp.

How To: After the codec pack is installed, run the PS3 media server. It will detect the connected PS3 hardware. Go to the ps3 and search for media servers. On the PS3 media server software go to the tab called navigation/share settings. Under the subsection Shared Folders, use the plus icon to add folders u want to serve to the PS3. Any unsupported formats will be automatically transcoded using existing codecs on the computer to something the ps3 understands. You need a beefy system for this on the fly conversion but the good thing is 90% of all files will play in this manner. If by any chance your ps3 complains that it cannot play the file and the file is corrupt, you can force ps3 media server to the transcoding. There will be a folder called #transcode# or similar in the folder of the media file you wanna watch (this is on the ps3 ui when browsing the media server). You can manually force encoding and also you can select the audio track and subtitles if there are many in the single mkv file.

My PS3 is not connected to our computer, since they are in separate rooms, and I'm not allowed to move either of them (PS3 must stay in my bedroom, and the PC must stay in the family/living room).

Besides, we don't have a router (wired or wireless) for my PS3 to connect to the internet with.

[asiandj]

Use MKVToolNix to demux the mkv files, then use MP4Box to mux the tracks to MP4 format.

Alternately, xvid4psp is a good option. Set format to MP4 and use 'copy' for video and audio settings. The same method should work for MediaCoder as well.

[liveman]

just use youtube downloader,works perfectly for me to convert things,altho it takes a while to do it

[Shirou Emiya]

Originally Posted by asiandj

Use MKVToolNix to demux the mkv files, then use MP4Box to mux the tracks to MP4 format.

Alternately, xvid4psp is a good option. Set format to MP4 and use 'copy' for video and audio settings. The same method should work for MediaCoder as well.

Thanks alot asiandj , your first method worked like a charm !

[KazamaKira]

try handbrake. it's easy enough.

[Shirou Emiya]

Originally Posted by KazamaKira

try handbrake. it's easy enough.

I'll experiment with this soon, hopefully it's faster and more newb friendly than using MKVToolnix + MP4Box.

[RazzMaTazz007]

Oreimo NCOP1 720p .mkv (BD) Size: 65.54 MB

( Click to show/hide )

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Converted Using PSPVC 3.91 Size: 32.8 MB
(Note: If you're having problems converting 10-bit mkv's update your Codec Pack)

( Click to show/hide )

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Converted Using XVID 5.10.305.0 Size: 20.5 MB

( Click to show/hide )

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

PSPVC 3.91 Used this Presets (Didn't change anything in the Audio Options)

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

somehow i kinda like the converted video of PSPVC

[nx6]

Originally Posted by RazzMaTazz007

somehow i kinda like the converted video of PSPVC

You need to look at your three screenshots again, side-by-side.
PSPVC is changing the color saturation, and possibly the contrast, too. The XviD4PSP encode more closely matches the original.

And I thought the OP wanted to not change video quality at all? Both of these options are doing new h264 encodes that have the subs burned in and quality is being lost (the fact the file sizes are so much lower says enough).

There is no way to make this into a format that can be natively read by the PS3 and keep it as it was, simply because the PS3 cannot render ASS subtitles. asiandj's remuxing idea is the closest since it saves the original video and audio tracks.

PS3MediaServer is the solution with the least hassle as you don't have to wait for the transcode to finish and transport it manually to the PS3. Although it does use MPEG2 as the streaming codec, which is less efficent than h264, it makes up for that with a high bitrate. MPEG2 is the format HD TV broadcast are carried in on American cable TV.

How do you do network play on the PS3 with no router?

If you want to avoid issues like this then you should look for anime being done by a guy called "deadfish" on NyaaTorrents. He does modern h264/mp4 encodes and hardsubbing and his stuff's not bad.

[Shirou Emiya]

Originally Posted by nx6

There is no way to make this into a format that can be natively read by the PS3 and keep it as it was, simply because the PS3 can't render ASS subtitles. asiandj's remuxing idea is the closest since it saves the original video and audio tracks.

I'm not trying to watch anything with subtitles on my PS3 though.

I just want to watch dubbed anime, cartoons, movies, and tv shows on my PS3...I am not really interested in watching subtitled anime etc on it.

Originally Posted by nx6

PS3 Media Server is the solution with the least hassle as you don't have to wait for the transcode to finish and transport it manually to the PS3. Although it does use MPEG2 as the streaming codec, which is less efficient than h264, it makes up for that with a high bitrate. MPEG2 is the format HD TV broadcast are carried in on American cable TV.

Thanks for that informative query....sadly I don't have a router (wired or wireless), and my mom's computer odes not meet the minimum system requirements for PMS, trust me I've tried running PMS before.

Originally Posted by nx6

How do you do network play on the PS3 with no router?

I don't. I play all video games offline, which I prefer (I'm anti-social/shy).

Originally Posted by nx6

If you want to avoid issues like this then you should look for anime being done by a guy called "deadfish" on NyaaTorrents. He does modern h264/mp4 encodes and hardsubbing and his stuff's not bad.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

[nx6]

Originally Posted by Shirou Emiya

I'm not trying to watch anything with subtitles on my PS3 though.

I just want to watch dubbed anime, cartoons, movies, and tv shows on my PS3...I am not really interested in watching subtitled anime etc on it.

I would be surprised if you really couldn't play back MKVs. I can play them on my Sony blu-ray player. Do you occasionally get to connect the PS3 to the internet to look for firmware updates?

More likely the issue is the video/audio codecs used in the MKV. The PS3 should be able to play back 8-bit h264/high up to level 4.1 with no issues. I recently re-watched [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in English using Mysterysword's BD encodes (they're posted here somewhere and there's a torrent on NyaaTorrents for the set). The blu-ray player had no issues playing the files off a flash drive, could read the chapter markings from the original discs, and I could change between the audio tracks and subtitle tracks fine. The subs were taken from the R1 DVDs and only had typeface styling applied to them. The bluray player could display them (in it's own crappy font) too (there are almost no subs needed in the dub version so I didn't care about that).

Since lots of anime is done in Hi10P now, transcoding into something the PS3 can understand will be required, regardless of whether its subbed or dubbed and that will cause quality loss.

Thanks for that informative query....sadly I don't have a router (wired or wireless), and my mom's computer odes not meet the minimum system requirements for PMS, trust me I've tried running PMS before.

PMS will only transcode when required. It keeps profile files that tell it what the device can and can not read on it's own.

Almost all video files have to be remuxxed into a MPEG/TS/M2TS stream because playing back a MP4 or MKV requires being able to see both the start and end of the file, and that doesn't work when it's streaming. But remuxxing the original video and audio takes little computer horsepower. Tweaking settings might work for you. It may have been trying to transcode files to add subs you didn't want, for example, if these were dual-audio files. Or it might have been an issue with low network speed you were having and not the computer really.

Anyway, you can still do remuxxing without having to use MKVToolNix and MP4Box manually. Just use Xvid4PSP and set both audio and video for "Copy" mode.

[Shirou Emiya]

Originally Posted by nx6

I would be surprised if you really couldn't play back MKVs. I can play them on my Sony blu-ray player. Do you occasionally get to connect the PS3 to the internet to look for firmware updates?

I just said we don't have a router (wired or wireless), so how else can I connect my PS3 to the internet?

Yes, we do have an ethernet cable (came with the PS3), but sadly it's too short, we'd need a MUCH longer cable, the computer is nowhere near the family room HDTV or my bedroom HDTV.

(unless it's possible to display PS Home etc on the computer?)

By the way, my PS3's current firmware version is 4.11.

Originally Posted by nx6

More likely the issue is the video/audio codecs used in the MKV. The PS3 should be able to play back 8-bit h264/high up to level 4.1 with no issues. I recently re-watched [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in English using MysterySword's BD encodes (they're posted here somewhere and there's a torrent on NyaaTorrents for the set). The blu-ray player had no issues playing the files off a flash drive, could read the chapter markings from the original discs, and I could change between the audio tracks and subtitle tracks fine. The subs were taken from the R1 DVDs and only had typeface styling applied to them. The bluray player could display them (in it's own crappy font) too (there are almost no subs needed in the dub version so I didn't care about that).

Huh, so MKVs can be played on the PS3?

Originally Posted by nx6

Since lots of anime is done in Hi10P now, transcoding into something the PS3 can understand will be required, regardless of whether its subbed or dubbed and that will cause quality loss.

I see...thanks.

Originally Posted by nx6

PMS will only transcode when required. It keeps profile files that tell it what the device can and can not read on it's own.

Almost all video files have to be remuxed into a MPEG/TS/M2TS stream because playing back a MP4 or MKV requires being able to see both the start and end of the file, and that doesn't work when it's streaming. But remuxing the original video and audio takes little computer horsepower. Tweaking settings might work for you. It may have been trying to transcode files to add subs you didn't want, for example, if these were dual-audio files. Or it might have been an issue with low network speed you were having and not the computer really.

Anyway, you can still do remuxing without having to use MKVToolNix and MP4Box manually. Just use Xvid4PSP and set both audio and video for "Copy" mode.

Hmm, would MKVToolnix + MKV2VOB also work? Someone recommended that to me.

(apparently I need to create a new "uncompressed MKV file" first, before I can run it thru MKV2VOB?)

[nx6]

Originally Posted by Shirou Emiya

I just said we don't have a router (wired or wireless), so how else can I connect my PS3 to the internet?

Same way you connect your PC. With an Ethernet cable.

But you don't need Internet access on he PS3 either. You can download updates from the Net on your PC and then install them with a USB flash drive (don't know if a burned CD would work).

Directions are [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] on the Playstation support site.

Current firmware is 4.31
You can see release changes [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] on Wikipedia.

Huh, so MKVs can be played on the PS3?

Not 100% sure about a PS3 (don't have one). But I would expect a PS3 to support all the same formats as a Sony blu-ray player (since it is one after all).

Hmm, would MKVToolnix + MKV2VOB also work? Someone recommended that to me.

XViDPSP is a front end for x264, MKVextract, MP4Box, and a bunch of other open-source programs. When you use XviD4PSP to just copy the video and audio tracks from a MKV file into a new MP4 it's using those same programs. It just saves you some of the hassle of using them yourself.

(apparently I need to create a new "uncompressed MKV file" first, before I can run it thru MKV2VOB?)

I don't know why you'd want to make a VOB file unless you're going to burn a DVD (like for a regular DVD player). The PS3 can parse MP4 files and probably MKVs as well. You just need the audio and video formats in there to be compatible and remove extra stuff you may not need.

Is there a certain encoding you have that wont play back as it is on the PS3? I could take a look and see if I can see what's stopping it (you don't need to upload it somewhere. Just paste the file name here or tell me group, show, resolution, etc).

[RazzMaTazz007]

Originally Posted by nx6

You need to look at your three screenshots again, side-by-side.
PSPVC is changing the color saturation, and possibly the contrast, too. The XviD4PSP encode more closely matches the original.

doesn't matter it looks good anyway
quality lost you say it's hardly noticeable

so meh...

just sharing my thoughts hehehe

[Shirou Emiya]

My issue/problem has been solved, using MKVMerge GUI2 + YAMB/My MP4Box GUI.