Why Use WTV over MKV

[EverydayDiesel]

I am curious why someone would use one over the other. I currently have MKV and they work great on the xbox 360 (with the media pack). My receiver shows 5.1 sound and I have no problems fast rewinding/fast forwarding or playing (as long as I do not include the subtitles). I am using makemkv program to create the mkv's

My CPU is very low with 4 xboxes going (around 5-12%) So why use one over the other?

[foxwood]

Do you have skip-forward/backward, or just fast-forward?

If you're used to using skip-forward for recorded TV, being restricted to one fast-forward is a pain.

Adding meta-data that WMC displays natively is also easy with WTV.

[EverydayDiesel]

Do you have skip-forward/backward, or just fast-forward?

If you're used to using skip-forward for recorded TV, being restricted to one fast-forward is a pain.

Adding meta-data that WMC displays natively is also easy with WTV.

Interesting. I will check on the skip forward/fast forward.

I did watch two back to back, one that was makemkv and one that was wtv with dvdredo

MKV
Pros

• 1. best quality "1 for 1"
• 2. The only one that showed up with 5.1 sound on my receiver (made with makemkv)

Cons

• 1. Larger (almost 1.5 gigs per)
• 2. FF/RW doesnt start working 'immediately' (usually a second or so delay)
• 3. Requires Transcoding to display since it is not native

WTV (H.264 with ac3)
Pros

• 1. Smaller filesize
• 2. RW FF does work better
• 3. Audio seemed louder (a common complaint)
• 4. Native to the xbox extender

Cons

• 1. Pixelizes on big screen during high motion videos (like matrix)
• 2. I couldnt personally get my receiver to show a 5.1 signal as it did with mkv (the wtv was encoded with AC3)
• 3. Doesnt scale if you decide to move to a non MS hardware

This is all I can think of at the moment.

[foxwood]

You're a bit confused - WTV and MKV are both containers, they're not codecs. You can put the same h.264 video in a WTV or an MKV container. There is no need for "transcoding" when playing a MKV on an Extender, as long as the appropriate splitter is in place, and the actual video in the MKV container is compatible with the Extender.

[EverydayDiesel]

You're a bit confused - WTV and MKV are both containers, they're not codecs. You can put the same h.264 video in a WTV or an MKV container. There is no need for "transcoding" when playing a MKV on an Extender, as long as the appropriate splitter is in place, and the actual video in the MKV container is compatible with the Extender.

so what is makemkv encoding the video in? I looked on their site but it did not specify

[VikingCrown]

Makemkv does not encode, it simply re-containers whatever source video you give it and places the video and audio into an MKV container.

So depending on where you got the source video and what the original codecs are will do more to determine the quality of playback as well as the range of compatibility. If your source is a DVD rip then the quality will be 1:1 because there is no re-encoding. If you got your video from somewhere else and it has already been compressed/re-encoded then changing containers to MKV will have no effect on the quality. And depending on the compressed/re-encoded video codecs used it may/may not even play on an extender. You can use a 3rd party tool (mediainfo) to determine what the codec of the video and audio are.

[EverydayDiesel]

Thanks for the reply, The source is a dvd.
How can I get 1-1 quality in a wtv container?

[foxwood]

so what is makemkv encoding the video in? I looked on their site but it did not specify

MakeMKV does not encode video, it merely repackages content into MKV container. If your source is a mpeg-2, such as a DVD, you'll get an mpeg-2 video, if it's a h.264, you'll get h.264.

WTV files in North America usually contain mpeg-2 (ATSC and most cable broadcasts are sent as mpeg-2 streams), in other parts of the world h.264 is more common. You can extract the mpeg-2 from a WTV file and run MakeMKV against it if you want to do a straight comaprison.

[foxwood]

Thanks for the reply, The source is a dvd.
How can I get 1-1 quality in a wtv container?

You can use ToDVRMS (http://babgvant.com/files/folders/misc/entry16288.aspx) to put the mpeg-2 data from a DVD rip into a WTV file.

(It's been a few years since I tried this, and encountered some odd problems. I never really followed up, so I don't know if the issues I encountered were ever addressed. I do know that ToDVRMS has been updated a number of times since then).

[EverydayDiesel]

Thanks for all the replys.

It sounds like I need to use MediaInfo to find out what the source encoding/codec is. (if it will do this from the dvd)

And then use videoredo to pull that file and choose h.262 or mpeg2 accordingly

[foxwood]

If it's a DVD, it's mpeg2.

[EverydayDiesel]

So is it safe to say that all video from blue ray or dvd is mpeg2? When does h.262 come in? What is blue ray encoded in(typically)?

[kp4akb]

I would like to ask for a way to edit WTV. I use a product called MPEG Video Wizard and found it to be the easiest way to edit mpeg2. I have tried to edit WTV but it does not play the file cleanly. I was told by support that I needed to use a codec package called FFMpeg for this to work with the Video Wizard.

Any input on this.

PS If this is on the wrong place on the board please feel free to move it

[barnabas1969]

So is it safe to say that all video from blue ray or dvd is mpeg2? When does h.262 come in? What is blue ray encoded in(typically)?

Bluray movies are usually H.264 (aka MPEG-4), but some are MPEG-2. However, a Bluray movie is encoded at a bitrate that is far too high for a Media Center extender to handle, so a Bluray must be re-encoded at a lower bitrate (less than approx. 20Mbps) in order to be played on an extender.

[barnabas1969]

I would like to ask for a way to edit WTV. I use a product called MPEG Video Wizard and found it to be the easiest way to edit mpeg2. I have tried to edit WTV but it does not play the file cleanly. I was told by support that I needed to use a codec package called FFMpeg for this to work with the Video Wizard.

Any input on this.

PS If this is on the wrong place on the board please feel free to move it

Video Redo is the answer to your question.

[foxwood]

So is it safe to say that all video from blue ray or dvd is mpeg2? When does h.262 come in? What is blue ray encoded in(typically)?

BluRay content is usually h.264/mpeg-4, DVD content is (pretty much always) h.262/mpeg2.

(BluRay disks can contain mpeg-2 and VC-1 content, but for any recently produced Bluray, it's probablt a fairly safe bet that it's h.264/mpeg-4).

[foxwood]

I would like to ask for a way to edit WTV. I use a product called MPEG Video Wizard and found it to be the easiest way to edit mpeg2. I have tried to edit WTV but it does not play the file cleanly. I was told by support that I needed to use a codec package called FFMpeg for this to work with the Video Wizard.

FFmpeg is a collection of libraries and programs that form the basis of most open source media applications. FFmpeg has supported WTV files for a couple of years, though the compatability has continuously improved, because WTV isn't particularly well documented, and a lot of stuff has to be reversed engineered.

I don't know whether or how MPEG Video Wizard uses FFmpeg libraries, but if it does, it may simply be a case of replacing the version of FFmpeg that is included in your current setup with the most recent builds.

According to ffmpeg.org, the Windows builds of FFmpeg are available here: http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/

[kp4akb]

Thanks Foxwood, I will try it and report