Articles - > PS3 H.264 Conversion Guide

Title:	PS3 H.264 Conversion Guide
Description:	This guide shows you how to convert DVD/AVI/DivX/XviD/MOV files to a PS3 compatible H.264 file that can uses AAC or AC3 5.1 audio, covering 3 methods for making MP4, VOB or a M2TS stream
Author/Publisher:	DVDGuy
Ease of use:	Intermediate
Software Used:	MeGUI, mkv2vob, Nero Digital Audio Decoder/Encoder, tsMuxeR, TVersity
Page Viewed:	480982 times

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monzaa: i seem to be having trouble...
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Page 5 of 10: MeGUI: Audio Encoding Options

Step 5: MeGUI: Audio Encoding Options

Now it's time to set up the audio encoding options. If you've followed this guide for DVD conversion, then the demuxed audio track we selected in the D2V Creator should already be loaded in (if not, load in the .ac3 file that was created). If you are not converting from a DVD source, then you can either load in a separate audio file or if you edited the AviSynth script (set "audio=true"), then load in the AVS file into the "Audio Input" section (meaning both video and audio inputs are the same AVS file). If you want more than one audio track, right click on this audio aread and select "New Track".

Now we select an audio codec to use. The PS3 supports AAC LC (low complexity), up to 5.1 channels. To be able to enjoy 5.1 channel audio, you will need need a sound system that is able to either decode AAC through optical or HDMI input, or if you don't have a decoder for AAC, one that accepts PCM 5.1 through HDMI. If you do not meet these requirements, the audio output will only be stereo. Further instructions will be provided later on in regards to setting up the PS3 to output 5.1 AAC if you do indeed have the equipment to be able to decode AAC or play PCM 5.1. As mentioned previously, there are two alternate methods for making a H.264/AC3 file and if you are following this alternative method, skip to the "Alternative AC3 Method" section below.

Another requirement for 5.1 audio is pretty obvious - your input must be 5.1, otherwise, there's no point in having a 5.1 track. Through AviSynth, MeGUI will be able to detect your audio to be 5.1, but only if your DirecShow based decoders can detect the 5.1 audio. For example, with QuickTime HD inputs I found that I needed to install the QuickTime Alternative software before 5.1 audio gets recognised within MeGUI. With DVD/AC3 inputs, 5.1 tracks will automatically be detected without having to install any other piece of software.

So should you choose to include a 5.1 channel AAC soundtrack even if you do not have the equipment to decode it? Well, I think it's probably worth the trouble since it beats having to re-encode all your video files when you get the equipment to do so in the future. The downside is that the file size will be a bit bigger, but it won't be by much.

Select "ND AAC" for "Codec", "NDAAC-LC-MultiChannel-192Kbps" as the "Audio profile". Just like the video profiles, you can click on "Config" to edit the profile or create your own - as long as you ensure the "AAC-Profile" is set to "AAC-LC", and "Output Channels" is set to "Keep Original Channels", it should all work with the PS3 and ensure 5.1 output. The only setting you might want to change is the bitrate (192 Kbps should be enough for most encodings, you might want to increase it to 256 to give it an extra high quality).

For more information on AAC audio options, please refer to this MeWiki page or this Wikipedia entry.

Alternative AC3 method:

Follow these steps only if you plan to use AC3 audio in your file. Select "FFMPEG AC-3" for "Codec" and press the "Config" button. The codec configuration window should show up.

Ensure "Output Channels" is set to use "Keep Original Channels". You can adjust the bitrate to use - 384 kbps is the minimum used by commercial DVD AC3 5.1 tracks, while many use 448 kbps for extra quality. You can press the "New" button and save the current profile (eg. name it "AC3 5.1, 384 kbps") for future use if you wish. Press "OK" to close the codec configuration window.

Now proceed to the next step/page.

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Article Navigation:

Page 1: Introduction + Installation
Page 2: DVD/MPEG-2 Conversion
Page 3: MeGUI: AviSynth Script Creator
Page 4: MeGUI: Video Encoding Options
Page 5: MeGUI: Audio Encoding Options <--
Page 6: MeGUI: Cutting, Bitrate Calculator and AutoEncode
Page 7: Method 1: MP4 container with AAC audio
Page 8: Method 2: VOB container with AC3/DTS audio
Page 9: Method 3: M2TS (M2T) container with AC3 audio
Page 10: TVersity: Playing the H.264 file on your PS3

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i seem to be having trouble with the v2.6 if MeGUI. anyone else having probs?

This guide worked like a charm when encoding to AAC, however, when selecting the mkv container and AC3, i keep getting a fatal error in MeGUI. "Input and Output files may not be same Source of exception...". Has anyone else seen this. I've tried from the scratch twice now, and always get this error when I push "autoencode". Thanks!

skro: In AutoEncode, try to set the output file name to be different to any of the input files - try a different directory to save the file if you can

I believe that this guide may need updating, or you need to make seperate guides for AAC and AC3 audio streams. The reason? http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3media&thread.id=96630 I found a way to get seeking to work, but only with AC3 files. And no, this IS NOT the one-step MKV -> VOB way.

Thanks Breakthrough, for the heads up. I'm in the process of updating the guide already, and the new version should be available in a few day's time

Thanks DVDGuy. Again, the only problem with my method is the lack of any other audio stream (DTS/AAC don't work, but I'm still testing PCM). Also, I haven't tested streaming it with TVersity. Now, for my question to you. In my process, I noted that you HAVE to process the video through H264info (regardless if you set the encoder settings properly). I followed this guide exactly, and got a playable stream - however, it doesn't work in a .M2TS container. The reason? I noticed that, when I put the .264 file right from MeGUI (along with the .AC3 stream) into tsMuxeR, and began to mux them, I got a "frame delimiter absent" error. It still processes, but the resultant stream fails to play; only after processing it with H264info does it work. Do you have any clue why this happens, and how to solve it? I don't know much about MeGUI, so maybe it's an option that only relates to the resultant stream? I couldn't find anything in Google, and it'd be nice to eliminate this step (because, more often than not, it's quite time consuming). Thanks! :)

There is an option within x264 for "Access Unit Delimiter" (--aud), which is necessary for storage within MPEG-2 transport streams. Might have to test if enabling this will get rid of the "frame delimiter absent" error

Hi There. I have a problem with the audio decoding. I have several movies with the length of almost 2 hours. After decoding the AC3 soundmix, It will sort of stop by 199.1MB. the projected size will decrease to also 199.1 MB. this will happen by al these movies. When i play the audio file it stopped after the same time as the 199.1MB, When i try to decode a movie with only 43 minutes it does work. does anyone knows with is wrong? tnx for the answer. and thanx for the Tut.

is it normal that after 6 hours im still on job 2. I have 4 jobs: Audio,AVC 1st pass,AVC 2nd pass,mux . Im still on 90% of job2 after at least 6-7 hours.my pc: P4530J 3GHZ 1GB ram GF6600GT, 160 GB SATA HDD

AVC encoding takes a while. For reference, on a P4 3.2 GHz, it takes 30 minutes to encode a 2 minute 720p video (from an 1080p source).

so it's not very pleasant method.If you have to make 30 hour(at least) operation for a 2 hour movie ... ? how would you comment on that ?

The encoding time I quoted was for a P4 3.2 GHz, which is quite outdated now. Modern CPUs should do it a lot faster, but you're still looking at several hours to encode your typical movie. Unfortunately that's the major problem with AVC at the moment, since it's a great quality codec, but it takes a lot of CPU to encode and decode - quality comes at a price. Future CPU/GPUs will support accelerated encoding (I think Nvidia recently demonstrated a transcoding of a 2 hour HD video using their GPU, and it only took only 20 minutes to do the whole thing), and x264 (the encoding engine used by MeGUI) will be updated to include more of these types of acceleration/optimizations in the future.

I made one encoding.I reencoded from 720p mkv file with DTS sound to a 720p(used the resize function and chose 1280x*** suggested resolution) VOB Container with 384Kbps for audio.The file turned out to be 4,62GB although I specified 1DVD on two drop-down menus and I'm not sure but if I remember correct estimated size was not bigger than a DVD can hold.Is this normal and what do I have to change to reduce my filesize to fit a single DVD?Do I have to do all over again because the reencoding took my PC 2 and a half days or is there a fast working splitter to split them in a sec.Thanks in advance.

Awesome guide! on a somewhat related note, does anyone know how to resize/reencode a HDDVD to something playable on ps3 through Tversity? With the format being dead, I'm worried I won't be able to play back my collection once my hddvd addon dies..... I understand it is possible to rip the discs as is, but that will take too much space. I'd like to resize to 720p, and get it in a format the ps3 can read. Any ideas????? Thanks!

tosvus: There's a HD DVD to Blu-ray guide floating around somewhere on the net, which might interest you. I might get around to write a version of this guide too here.

There is no need to fix the h264 stream with H264info anymore. In fact, "fixing" the stream will actually break it (it will still be playable but with glitches). I have a question about b-pyramids: Is it still true, that the PS3 doesn't support it? I just tried a sample with b-pyramids allowed and it works fine. Though I'm not sure if b-pyramids are actually used.