Xbox 360 gets H.264, MPEG-4, PlaysForSure in Spring update Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Xbox 360 gets H.264, MPEG-4, PlaysForSure in Spring update Posted by XanTium | April 10 17:22 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From redkawa.com: [QUOTE] Microsoft just dropped a huge video bomb today with the announcement of the Spring Dashboard update to the Xbox 360. Tucked away behind all the hubbub about Instant Messaging and a Keyboard Accessory were these golden eggs: - H.264 video support: Up to 15 Mbps, Baseline, Main, and High (up to level 4.1) Profiles with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles. - Added MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 8 Mbps, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles. Unanswered Questions: * Is Windows Media Center (2005 or Vista) is required to stream these types of videos? * Can we stream videos using Windows Media Connect (which basically means any recent Windows PC)? * Can we playback these videos off of removable storage? Our Analysis: This puts Microsoft at the head of the pack in the Apple TV vs PS3 vs Xbox 360 video battle royale. Wth the Xbox 360 you get full 1080p video support (aka H.264 Level 4.1) as well as H.264 High Profile support. The Apple TV maxes out at 720p (Level 3.1) and H.264 Main Profile support. Meanwhile the PS3 supports 1080p (Level 4.1) but only at H.264 Main Profile as well. Mini FAQ: * Are you going to update Videora Xbox 360 Converter to support these new formats? Of course! We will also add a few cool features that PS3 Video 9 users are currently enjoying. * Will the Xbox 360 play divx/xvid/avi/mkv files? No, the Xbox 360 will only support the WMV and MP4 containers. It also supports the MPG container but only via Windows Media Center * Can the Xbox 360 play xvid video streams without re-encoding? No the Xbox 360 only supports MPEG-4 Part 2 Simple Profile. Xvid videos are encoded as MPEG-4 Part 2 Advanced Simple Profile. [/QUOTE] Full Story: redkawa.com and joystiq.com

[pirichios]

well kinda cool i guess, now whatever xbmc cant handle my 360 will

[lostboyz]

well kinda cool i guess, now whatever xbmc cant handle my 360 will

was just thinking the same thing

[majzor]

NO DIVX????

I love Xbox 360, but i hate Microsoft!!!

[Landlocked]

Stoopid move not to include Divx/Xvid support. At least do it natively from the Media Center side.

Here's a bit of news MS: Xbox gamers are hardcore gamers and technophiles. Give'em what they want and sell a few more Xbox units!

[vuhuyle]

Seems like this really won't solve everyone in these threads' issues.

1) No divx / xvid support
2) No HD mkv support
3) H.264 decoding is only 2 channels not 5.1 or higher.

I definitely agree that this is a great step.. but until XBMC goes to the 360... i'm still forced to reencode my 720p / 1080i mkv files into wmv's beforehand.

Transcode360 doesn't work well with mkv's either.

[appleguru]

MMM.. .mp4 support is big Means I can play all my mpeg-4 video with a simple container swap (And here's to hoping that .mov with mpeg-4 audio and video is supported with a simple rename (.mov --> .mp4)... since .mp4 is based on .mov.. if not, transcoding is easy enough )

[bucko]

You do realise MS would have to pay a royalty fee for Divx/Xvid support. This is why youl never see it on the 360. If you want Divx/Xvid support go out and buy an Xbox 1, mod it and slap XBMC on it.

[billybobz0r]

Actually I can fully understand them supporting mpeg4 part2 only up until SP. ASP I think is primarily used by the scene so they're very effectively blocking scene releases that way. Ofcourse people who don't mind transcoding will always find a way.

H264 main profile is slowly becoming the mainstream for the web right now. For compatability the smart thing to do now is to use this for every encoded video since this can definitely deliver great quality. Ofcourse the scene already picked High profile in combination with MKV, a solution which in all probability will never be playable on anything but homebrew/PC software. So by the time the dashboard update hits we'll probably find numerous people complaining their downloaded videos from the web can't play MKV files and even remuxing will be a problem cause it's encoded using High Profile. Which in the end will result in those people still needing to transcode all their videos like they do now.

So? Stop complaining about MS, cause their support is quite fair. But rather wonder why the scene keeps making things so hard...

[Hitcher]

You do realise MS would have to pay a royalty fee for Divx/Xvid support. This is why youl never see it on the 360. If you want Divx/Xvid support go out and buy an Xbox 1, mod it and slap XBMC on it.

So why not have it as an optional download on the Marketplace where we pay the royality fee?

[bobbyblaze]

So why not have it as an optional download on the Marketplace where we pay the royality fee?

Well said!

[hamwbone]

because then you would have no reason to buy that vista cd with media center built in
the 360 and the vista full cd are about the same price, but that vista cd brings in alot more profit!

again, just my conspiracy theroy

[XLNC]

I swear xvid is open source, so why would they have to pay royalty fees?

[kics]

So why not have it as an optional download on the Marketplace where we pay the royality fee?

i'll totally pay for that

[incognegro]

royalty fee for divx/xvid? I doubt that, got any proof. The main reason why it won't be supported is because its widely used for piracy (im sure those movie companies that they partnered with would love that).Which is the reason most of u guys want it on the 360 anyways. I mean if u own the original movie then why dont u encode it in those formats instead?

Some off u guys sound like kids, you wont be happy unless MS spoon feeds u.

This post has been edited by incognegro: Apr 11 2007, 12:25 AM