"renojim" wrote:
"Robert121571" wrote:
One thing what is the best file format and settings for video that every one has found to work best?
I'm not the best person to answer this since video quality isn't all that important to me (I'll probably never own an HDTV), but I use HandBrake with mostly default settings. I usually set the output file size to be the same as the input file size figuring that will give me about the same quality as the original, but I haven't tried to rip any DVDs yet and I'd definitely use different settings for that. The one thing I can tell you for sure is to set the frame rate to 29.97 FPS to avoid some kind of flaw in the Roku DVP that causes serious buffering issues after about an hour. The other option for HandBrake that is important is the -O option (Optimize mp4 files for HTTP streaming).
-JT
For those such as myself that are new to this or even looking for different ways to encode media i.e. video either manually or automatically to the roku standards I might have some useful information.
The folks over at
Lifehacker.com have a plethora of information about DVD ripping software so if you are looking for something like that you can try searching for it there. I myself have been looking for a way to auto convert my media (mainly DVD rips & other video files) to be playable on the Roku. As of this moment I have been using the following FREE software to do this. Since I'm only using this software for Roku I can't say how well other aspect's of said software works.
MCEBUDDY 1.1 found here at
mcebuddy.comWhat MCEBUDDY does is run as a process on your PC & it watches the folder that you set for video files and automatically converts the file to a preset that you select. It's been working great so far for me in the aspect that it automatically converts my .mpg files from my WINTV 7 recordings to .mp4 files. However since I believe it uses mencoder to do the conversion it's a little "wonky".
There is an option to convert to H.264 but for whatever reason this will not play on my roku DVP, The setting that I have to use for my recorded shows is iPhone/iTouch. Another issue I've run into with this is that my recorded shows are converted and play fine on the Roku DVP, However if it is a DVD rip it will not play. The video file almost loads completely & hangs at the last bit of loading on the Roku.
So if your recording shows from a TV Tuner this is a fairly good option with a few con's MCEBUDDY will automatically convert your recorded TV shows (or other video files) for you, although I have yet to find a dependable way to automatically remove commercials from the converted TV video files.
Handbrake This would be my ideal conversion utility if I could get it to do what MCEBUDDY does, automatically watch a folder for video files and convert them. I've tried using Dirmon2
http://www.dragonglobal.biz/dirmon.html to set this up but with my lack of know how I couldn't/can't get it to work. If your manually converting your video files the optimal (or at least working for me) settings is a Roku preset like this:
### CLI Query: -i "EXAMPLE.mpg" -t 1 -c 1 -o "EXAMPLE.m4v" -f mp4 -O -w 640 --loose-anamorphic --detelecine --decomb -e x264 -b 1500 -2 -T -r 29.97 -a 1,1 -E faac,ac3 -6 dpl2,auto -R 48,Auto -B 160,auto -D 0.0,0.0 -x b-adapt=2:rc-lookahead=50 -v 1
However since I have started using MCEBUDDY because it will do the auto conversion for me I have not been using Handbrake at all. My scheduled recorded/downloaded shows are automatically converted upon finish and available to watch on my Roku at a later time at my convenience. If I could solve the removing commercials accurately from my recorded shows & figure out why my DVD rips won't play on the Roku DVP (even though I believe that I rip them in the right format) I would be a happy camper.
