Some Xbox 360 encoded movies don't play smoothly

[tabicat]

I am using the Xbox 360 preset to convert convert some ripped DVDs for playback on my Xbox 360 from a USB-attached external drive. On some videos, I can see an obvious lack of smoothness when playing it on my 360 vs. the original DVD.

An obvious example is The Last Unicorn. I had to turn on deinterlace for this movie. I wonder if that has something to do with it.

I can't be certain, but it looks like the framerate is not consistent, as if it's speeding up and slowing down several times a second. I find it hard to believe that my Xbox 360 can't handle playback of MP4s, so I can only assume that the video itself is encoded irregularly.

I played the same MP4 on my MacBook Pro (dual-core 2.2GHz), and I see the same problem, so I don't think it's my 360.

Has anyone else seen this? Is there anything I can do about it?

[rhester]

Sure, you can post your Activity Log as directed by the sticky in this very forum about how to ask for help.

Rodney

[zelet]

I've run into this same problem with the latest build of Handbrake. I'm not sure what the problem is but the same movie will play perfectly smooth over a wireless connection to a MacBook. I think it's the Xbox 360.

[tabicat]

I'm restesting some of my movies, now that HandBrake has been updated. It could be that the bitrate was too high. The most recent version has a preset for Xbox 360 and PS3, whereas an older version only had one for the PS3. Interestingly, the preset for the Xbox 360 uses a lower bitrate than the one for the PS3. This leads me to believe that the Xbox can't handle the higher bitrates as well.

Unfortunately, I don't have the movies any more that were causing the most problems, so it might be a while before I find a good example.

[avngr9]

I am having the same issues with poor playback on my Xbox 360. I have actually been selecting the PS3 Preset in 0.9.2 (just click-n-go) and been very pleased with the results. However, since I have upgraded to 0.9.3 encoded video appears fine in QuickTime and WMP but when I play it back on my 360 the video stutters. I have very similar symptoms another user on the forums is having “…jerkyness/stuttering was still noticeable during any scenes with panning shots.”

I view my videos from a USB drive. Fearing that or my Xbox was the problem, I formatted the drive and put a movie on there that I knew had played right prior to upgrading. I also put two other clips from another movie on there that was encoded in 0.9.3 one with the default PS3 Preset and another with the default Xbox 360 Preset. The video that was encoded with 0.9.2 played fine and the two files done with 0.9.3 had issues with stuttering. I’ve also tried streaming it but again with no luck.

One thing I should note is I did try encoding a movie using the PS3 preset (in 0.9.3) but instead of the H.264 (x264) encoder I used the MPEG-4 (FFmpeg) encoder. That file DID work so that makes me think there is an issue with the H.264 encoder or maybe just an advanced setting I’m missing. Unfortunately I didn’t save my preset from 0.9.2 so I have nothing to compare it with. As for the other advanced settings I’m just not sure where to begin.

I have tried 0.9.3 on Vista with DVD43, a XP machine with DVD43, and another XP machine with AnyDVD. All three had the same issue with Xbox 360 playback. I’ve included the activity log for the last job I tried. It’s the first 8 chapters of Hitman encoded on an XP machine with DVD43. I just chose the PS3 Preset and hit start.

Code: Select all

### Windows GUI 0.9.3 2008112300 
### Running: Microsoft Windows NT 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 
###
### CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+ 
### Ram: 1982 MB 
### Screen: 1440x900 
### Temp Dir: C:\Documents and Settings\pmartin\Local Settings\Temp\ 
### Install Dir: C:\Program Files\Handbrake 
### Data Dir: C:\Documents and Settings\pmartin\Application Data\HandBrake\HandBrake\0.9.3.0 
#########################################

### CLI Query:  -i "D:\VIDEO_TS" -t 1 -c 1-8 -o "C:\Documents and Settings\pmartin\Desktop\Hitman (PS3 Preset).mp4" -f mp4 -p  -e x264 -b 2500 -a 1 -E faac -B 160 -R 48 -6 dpl2 -D 1 -x level=41:me=umh -v 
#########################################
[12:26:15] hb_init: checking cpu count
[12:26:15] hb_init: starting libhb thread
HandBrake 0.9.3 (2008112300) - http://handbrake.fr/
2 CPUs detected
Opening D:\VIDEO_TS...
[12:26:15] hb_scan: path=D:\VIDEO_TS, title_index=1
[12:26:15] scan: trying to open with libdvdread
[12:26:15] scan: DVD has 18 title(s)
[12:26:15] scan: scanning title 1
[12:26:15] scan: opening IFO for VTS 1
[12:26:15] pgc_id: 1, pgn: 1: pgc: 0x1586630
[12:26:15] scan: vts=1, ttn=1, cells=0->34, blocks=0->2498974, 2498975 blocks
[12:26:15] scan: duration is 01:34:13 (5653176 ms)
[12:26:15] scan: checking audio 1
[12:26:15] scan: id=80bd, lang=English (AC3), 3cc=eng ext=1
[12:26:15] scan: checking audio 2
[12:26:15] scan: id=89bd, lang=English (DTS), 3cc=eng ext=1
[12:26:15] scan: checking audio 3
[12:26:15] scan: id=82bd, lang=Espanol (AC3), 3cc=spa ext=1
[12:26:15] scan: checking audio 4
[12:26:15] scan: id=83bd, lang=Francais (AC3), 3cc=fra ext=1
[12:26:15] scan: checking subtitle 1
[12:26:15] scan: id=21bd, lang=English (Closed Caption), 3cc=eng
[12:26:15] scan: checking subtitle 2
[12:26:15] scan: id=23bd, lang=Espanol, 3cc=spa
[12:26:15] scan: checking subtitle 3
[12:26:15] scan: id=25bd, lang=Espanol, 3cc=spa
[12:26:15] scan: checking subtitle 4
[12:26:15] scan: id=27bd, lang=Francais, 3cc=fra
[12:26:15] scan: title 1 has 25 chapters
[12:26:15] scan: chap 1 c=0->1, b=0->59559 (59560), 176670 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 2 c=2->2, b=59560->115954 (56395), 126561 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 3 c=3->3, b=115955->202513 (86559), 190724 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 4 c=4->5, b=202514->353064 (150551), 319046 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 5 c=6->6, b=353065->464478 (111414), 250578 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 6 c=7->8, b=464479->640283 (175805), 391170 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 7 c=9->9, b=640284->694818 (54535), 128465 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 8 c=10->11, b=694819->802226 (107408), 234729 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 9 c=12->13, b=802227->946583 (144357), 324024 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 10 c=14->14, b=946584->1151677 (205094), 465044 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 11 c=15->15, b=1151678->1236989 (85312), 199744 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 12 c=16->16, b=1236990->1291118 (54129), 125292 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 13 c=17->18, b=1291119->1354429 (63311), 127650 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 14 c=19->19, b=1354430->1453656 (99227), 225666 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 15 c=20->20, b=1453657->1569180 (115524), 250598 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 16 c=21->22, b=1569181->1706446 (137266), 304806 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 17 c=23->23, b=1706447->1770624 (64178), 141317 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 18 c=24->25, b=1770625->1858247 (87623), 194786 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 19 c=26->26, b=1858248->1947214 (88967), 191449 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 20 c=27->27, b=1947215->2016398 (69184), 159533 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 21 c=28->29, b=2016399->2257304 (240906), 540484 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 22 c=30->30, b=2257305->2341599 (84295), 196447 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 23 c=31->31, b=2341600->2413773 (72174), 154512 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 24 c=32->33, b=2413774->2498969 (85196), 233694 ms
[12:26:15] scan: chap 25 c=34->34, b=2498970->2498974 (5), 176 ms
[12:26:15] scan: aspect = 0
[12:26:15] scan: decoding previews for title 1
[12:26:15] scan: audio 0x89bd: DCA, rate=48000Hz, bitrate=768000 English (DTS) (5.1 ch)
[12:26:15] scan: audio 0x80bd: AC-3, rate=48000Hz, bitrate=448000 English (AC3) (5.1 ch)
[12:26:15] scan: audio 0x83bd: AC-3, rate=48000Hz, bitrate=192000 Francais (AC3) (Dolby Surround)
[12:26:15] scan: audio 0x82bd: AC-3, rate=48000Hz, bitrate=192000 Espanol (AC3) (Dolby Surround)
Scanning title 1...
[12:26:16] scan: 10 previews, 720x480, 23.976 fps, autocrop = 48/32/0/0, aspect 16:9, PAR 32:27
[12:26:16] Title is likely interlaced or telecined (10 out of 10 previews). You should do something about that.
[12:26:16] scan: title (0) job->width:720, job->height:336
[12:26:16] libhb: scan thread found 1 valid title(s)
+ title 1:
  + vts 1, ttn 1, cells 0->34 (2498975 blocks)
  + duration: 01:34:13
  + size: 720x480, aspect: 1.78, 23.976 fps
  + autocrop: 48/32/0/0
  + chapters:
    + 1: cells 0->1, 59560 blocks, duration 00:02:57
    + 2: cells 2->2, 56395 blocks, duration 00:02:07
    + 3: cells 3->3, 86559 blocks, duration 00:03:11
    + 4: cells 4->5, 150551 blocks, duration 00:05:19
    + 5: cells 6->6, 111414 blocks, duration 00:04:11
    + 6: cells 7->8, 175805 blocks, duration 00:06:31
    + 7: cells 9->9, 54535 blocks, duration 00:02:08
    + 8: cells 10->11, 107408 blocks, duration 00:03:55
    + 9: cells 12->13, 144357 blocks, duration 00:05:24
    + 10: cells 14->14, 205094 blocks, duration 00:07:45
    + 11: cells 15->15, 85312 blocks, duration 00:03:20
    + 12: cells 16->16, 54129 blocks, duration 00:02:05
    + 13: cells 17->18, 63311 blocks, duration 00:02:08
    + 14: cells 19->19, 99227 blocks, duration 00:03:46
    + 15: cells 20->20, 115524 blocks, duration 00:04:11
    + 16: cells 21->22, 137266 blocks, duration 00:05:05
    + 17: cells 23->23, 64178 blocks, duration 00:02:21
    + 18: cells 24->25, 87623 blocks, duration 00:03:15
    + 19: cells 26->26, 88967 blocks, duration 00:03:11
    + 20: cells 27->27, 69184 blocks, duration 00:02:40
    + 21: cells 28->29, 240906 blocks, duration 00:09:00
    + 22: cells 30->30, 84295 blocks, duration 00:03:16
    + 23: cells 31->31, 72174 blocks, duration 00:02:35
    + 24: cells 32->33, 85196 blocks, duration 00:03:54
    + 25: cells 34->34, 5 blocks, duration 00:00:00
  + audio tracks:
    + 1, English (AC3) (5.1 ch), 48000Hz, 448000bps
    + 2, English (DTS) (5.1 ch), 48000Hz, 768000bps
    + 3, Espanol (AC3) (Dolby Surround), 48000Hz, 192000bps
    + 4, Francais (AC3) (Dolby Surround), 48000Hz, 192000bps
  + subtitle tracks:
    + 1, English (Closed Caption) (iso639-2: eng)
    + 2, Espanol (iso639-2: spa)
    + 3, Espanol (iso639-2: spa)
    + 4, Francais (iso639-2: fra)
  + combing detected, may be interlaced or telecined
[12:26:16] 1 job(s) to process
[12:26:16] starting job
[12:26:16] job configuration:
[12:26:16]  * source
[12:26:16]    + D:\VIDEO_TS
[12:26:16]    + title 1, chapter(s) 1 to 8
[12:26:16]  * destination
[12:26:16]    + C:\Documents and Settings\pmartin\Desktop\Hitman (PS3 Preset).mp4
[12:26:16]    + container: MPEG-4 (.mp4 and .m4v)
[12:26:16]  * video track
[12:26:16]    + decoder: mpeg2
[12:26:16]      + bitrate 9800 kbps
[12:26:16]    + frame rate: same as source (around 23.976 fps)
[12:26:16]    + strict anamorphic
[12:26:16]      + storage dimensions: 720 * 480 -> 720 * 400, crop 48/32/0/0
[12:26:16]      + pixel aspect ratio: 32 / 27
[12:26:16]      + display dimensions: 853 * 400
[12:26:16]    + encoder: x264
[12:26:16]      + options: level=41:me=umh
[12:26:16]      + bitrate: 2500 kbps, pass: 0
[12:26:16]  * audio track 0
[12:26:16]    + decoder: English (AC3) (5.1 ch) (track 1, id 80bd)
[12:26:16]      + bitrate: 448 kbps, samplerate: 48000 Hz
[12:26:16]    + mixdown: Dolby Pro Logic II
[12:26:16]    + encoder: faac
[12:26:16]      + bitrate: 160 kbps, samplerate: 48000 Hz
[12:26:16] reader: first SCR 146
[12:26:16] encx264: keyint-min: 24, keyint-max: 240
[12:26:16] mpeg2: "" (1) at frame 0 time 3003
[12:26:16] encx264: encoding with stored aspect 32/27
x264 [info]: using SAR=32/27
x264 [info]: using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Slow
x264 [info]: profile Main, level 4.1
No accelerated IMDCT transform found

[*]This is where there is too much information to paste on the forum[*]

[12:46:14] reader: end of chapter 8 (media 8) reached at media chapter 9
[12:46:14] reader: done. 1 scr changes
[12:46:15] sync: got 30463 frames, 43611 expected
[12:46:15] work: average encoding speed for job is 25.399281 fps
[12:46:17] mpeg2 done: 30656 frames
[12:46:17] render: lost time: 0 (0 frames)
[12:46:17] render: gained time: 0 (0 frames) (0 not accounted for)
x264 [info]: slice I:328   Avg QP:36.69  size: 32480  PSNR Mean Y:29.35 U:34.91 V:34.87 Avg:30.50 Global:27.40
x264 [info]: slice P:30135 Avg QP:41.59  size: 12680  PSNR Mean Y:23.32 U:29.06 V:29.08 Avg:24.52 Global:23.62
x264 [info]: mb I  I16..4: 53.9%  0.0% 46.1%
x264 [info]: mb P  I16..4: 12.1%  0.0%  8.1%  P16..4: 38.3% 10.6%  5.1%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:25.8%
x264 [info]: final ratefactor: 30.37
x264 [info]: SSIM Mean Y:0.7962055
x264 [info]: PSNR Mean Y:23.382 U:29.126 V:29.142 Avg:24.586 Global:23.651 kb/s:2473.03
[12:46:17] libhb: work result = 0
Rip done!

 ############ End of Log ############## 

One last note: I had to omit quite a bit of the activity log because it was in excess of 1million characters(wouldn't fit in forum). It basically said the same thing over and over again...see example below. I can post the entirety in sections if need be.

Code: Select all

[12:26:16] sync: expecting 43611 video frames
[12:26:16] sync: first pts is 3003
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 26080, next 17280
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] sync: video time didn't advance - dropped 7 frames (delta 297 ms, current 109605, next 111368, dur 1763)
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 57760, next 48960
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] sync: adding 129 ms of silence to audio 0  start 100960, next 89280
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 118240, next 109440
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 129760, next 120960
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 141280, next 132480
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 164320, next 155520
[12:26:19] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:19] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 181600, next 172800
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 236320, next 227520
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 265120, next 256320
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 291040, next 282240
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo failed
[12:26:20] a52_syncinfo ok
[12:26:20] sync: adding 97 ms of silence to audio 0  start 322720, next 313920

I appreciate any help or ideas to help me get this working again. Thanks!

[jimmyp]

I have the exact same problem. Since the update most of my videos run "jittery" from time to time - if I pause and play it will help for a little while; but I never had this problem before the update. Any files created before the update continue to run smoothly.

I have the same thing in my log, the "synch failure" I'll post it if you want but its the same thing.

[secretsubscr]

Hello

I think its the framerate.

I just got an Xbox 360 last week and have the same issue. I've been looking all over the web for an answer to no avail.
I just re converted two movies and set then to a constant rate. I set up the conversion last night and forget if I set it to 29.97 or 23.976. But, nonetheless, using constant instead of variable framerate seems to have fixed the issue.
The Archos 605 has issues with VFR and when i saw what looked like dropped frames after my initial conversion tests it brought up memories of old mp3 players skipping when i dropped a VBR file into it.

Seems as simple as that: Xbox 360 doesn't like VFR video when playing off a Usb drive.

[avngr9]

Thanks for the reply! I've been messing with framerate like you suggested and it looks like that has done the trick. I've only tried one movie so far but in that case I got the results I was looking for by setting the framerate from "same as source" to 23.976 (It did not like 29.97). Next step is to try a few more movies and see how it works but so far so good. Streams and plays off of a USB flash drive just fine. At last I can use H.264 again...Thanks!