Mkv 720p playback

[thiagopires]

Anyone had any success playing 720p Mkv Files?

Mine plays the sound normally but the video plays like it's in slow motion.

The biggest playback functionality for me is not having to convert to mp4 every HD movie, which are always in Mkv, so It'd be much appreciated any input regarding this.

[clarkbark]

I have tried the same thing and I have the same results as you. Something tells me that the Atv may not be able to support it. I hope I'm wrong and that support can be added.

[thiagopires]

What intrigues me is the fact that the video stream from these mkv files is H.264 which is supposedly the same contained in HD mp4 files that play in ATV perfectly.

Being mp4 and mkv just containers, shouldn't ATV be able to play both the same way, with the proper codecs ? Or are mkvs more resource-consuming than mp4s?

BTW, why oh god why do people always choose these exotic containers instead of more common ones?

I understand mkv hold subtitle tracks and stuff like that, but for people who needs subs is just so easy to add them later, in comparison to the trouble of converting video files. I'm Brazilian and have to subtitle every single movie to see with my girlfriend, so I know that's no hassle there.
Mkv ( and ogg for music) are too unfriendly for non-computer playback.

[cdude]

MKV is one of the most advanced formats out there, and it's also one of the more common wrappers due to all the extra features it offers and it's free open source status.

Unfortunately, it's also really resource-intensive to work with them. Playing a 720p mkv (holding an H.264 video) takes MUCH more power than playing a 720p mov or m4v file.

I love the flexibility they offer with subtitles, multiple audio tracks, etc., but even converting an h.264-based MKV to a vanilla h.264 file is a huge PITA multi-step process.

What's my point? It's a common format, not exotic. But yeah, I also wish people wouldn't use it. For people running dual core HTPCs, though, it's a great format. It's just us Apple folks, stuck with vanilla h.264 only on our ATVs and FrontRow players, who have problems with them. Unfortunately, we're outnumbered.

[thiagopires]

I hear you, maybe I've chosen my words poorly... what I meant was formats that favor advanced features at the expense of wider compatibility for both mac users and people with not-so-great hardware.

Also, I think there's an anti-mac bias because, correct me if I'm wrong ( and I may well be, since I'm just a regular guy who likes to watch movies, no expert at all), why the huge support for AVI and codecs like xvid, in detriment of h.264 and m4v or mov? Is there a single advantage in the former? Does it make any difference at all for Windows users to use the latter?

Anyway, thanks for the information, it really helped me understand more about mkv :)

[jetb2]

Glad I read this before I got too far with that Smallville download.

[snown]

Crap, I was really hoping Boxee would do this for me too. I love the MKV format and want to be a fan boy, but if it's THIS processor intensive then it doesn't seem like a feasible format.

Is it bad codecs being written? or are MKVs seriously too hard to play on anything less then 2 cores?

[cdude]

Crap, I was really hoping Boxee would do this for me too. I love the MKV format and want to be a fan boy, but if it's THIS processor intensive then it doesn't seem like a feasible format.

Is it bad codecs being written? or are MKVs seriously too hard to play on anything less then 2 cores?

Honestly, I wish I knew. It doesn't make any logical sense that the wrapper would cause the exact same source file to be so much harder to play back. And yet, the same source h264 file is a LOT less processor intensive without the mkv wrapper.

Matroska is an incredibly flexible format that can do a lot of things. And yet... *shrug*

As long as your computer is fast enough, it's all good and handy. I'm not certain that the ATV has the juice to do it, though.

Disclaimer: I haven't been able to find my spare USB key, so I haven't managed to get Boxee on yet, so I haven't seen the performance first-hand yet.

[jteddy]

I have played some mkv 720p movies using XBMC without any problems on my Apple TV.

[thiagopires]

I have played some mkv 720p movies using XBMC without any problems on my Apple TV.

Really? can you post info like resolution, framerate and all that stuff?

Also, did you copy the file to atv or it was streamed from somewhere else?

Thanks!

[jteddy]

My Apologies.
I played my 720p files tonight and none of them played perfectly. I must of confused this when I was playing my PC XBMC.. (Don't know how.)

So what are aTV users who want to play 720p mkv files to do?
Purchase a Mac Mini? Does the Mac Mini have enough power to play 720p and 108p files?

[iBog]

Can someone share the details of just one of the 720p MKV files? What's the video and audio bitrates? Audio and video codecs? Is it actually 1280x720 resolution? Frame rate? What's actially contained in the MKV?

Have you played using XBMC on Apple TV? Have you installed Perian and tried playing it via the Apple TV UI?

The best test would be to convert the MKV file to AVI and MP4 with the same streams (do not transcode the content).

On the Apple TV, is there a way to monitor memory and CPU utilization during playback?

I don't seem to find anything in Google that declares MKV, as a container, requires more resources during playback compared to other container formats with the exact some audio and video streams. All I can think is it has to do with the libraries used for reading the contents from the MKV. In this case, it may require a recompile of Boxee with the latest libraries for reading MKV files.

No clues at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_container_formats

This post (http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=37&start=10#p320) suggests issues when streaming. Copy the file to the Apple TV and let us know what happens.

[jteddy]

Have you played using XBMC on Apple TV? Have you installed Perian and tried playing it via the Apple TV UI?

I have installed Boxee/XBMC as well as NitoTV on my aTV. I installed NitoTV for external USB drive support. My 720p/x264 mkv files are stored locally on my aTV , and did not play perfectly in all of the above mentioned software. inc Perian. Even when I tried playing the 80mb sample mkv files that came with the movie.

I will update you in the next few days about the info of the .mkv files I was playing



The best test would be to convert the MKV file to AVI and MP4 with the same streams (do not transcode the content).

How do you convert the content without transcoding it?
I was using visual hub to convert my 720p&1080p/x264 blu-ray rips .mkv files to mp4 for my aTV, but even on my quad core Mac, it started becoming a hassle and felt like work. I'm content with my PC media center playing this HD content through XBMC to avoid this pain. (Time to buy a remote!)



This post (http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=37&start=10#p320) suggests issues when streaming. Copy the file to the Apple TV and let us know what happens.


I read the following from that post you mentioned.




1) "720p plays fine so far with any movies I'm ripping from DVDs."

2) "I'm having endless problems with the 720p/x264 files."


When you are talking about playing mkv files I am assuming its always encoded in 720p or 1080p x264.
I think other formats mpeg2,divx contained in mkv files should play without a problem. It appears that the HD x264 content requires more horse power?

[docbrown]

from what i understand, a stock appletv can handle h.264 because it utilises the gpu when playing these type of files.
the plugins we use to play unsupported formats ie. mplayer, xmbc use the cpu only.

[jteddy]

I just found this post which is talking about what you just mentioned.

http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=166&p=859


Without mpeg-2 hardware decoding using the nvidia GPU, viewing HDTV is futile. The AppleTV does not have enough cpu ponies to decode and view live. A 1.6GHz MacMini with 1G of RAM does and MythTV (running under OSX) works fine with it for both SD and HD viewing. The Intel core duo is a great cpu.

However, if you boot linux on the AppleTV, you can run MythTV with nvidia hardware decoding and view both SD and HD content. I'm doing that now -- SD consumes about 16 percent, HD consumes about 60-70 percent of the cpu. Actually works quite nicely and my HD content comes from a HDHomeRun pulling HDTV off-the-air.

[thiagopires]

I just found this post which is talking about what you just mentioned.

http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=166&p=859

Please forgive me if this sounds naive, but what exactly is the issue with accessing the gpu? I know it's something hard because people can't seem to do so, but how hard are we talking here? It's like 'probably never gonna be done' or is ' we'll do it, it's just a matter of time' like trying to guess a combination where, given the proper amount of time, eventually you get it right...?

I'm asking because I buy a lot of apple products because of how they integrate, and the whole 'experience' thing... but it's becoming a nuisance for me too, having to always find a workaround to stupid limitations.

Well, keep up the good work anyway!

[jteddy]

I would be happy to donate some $$$ so the GPU coding could be worked on.

[davilla]

Use of the GPU for decoding h.264 video content is very difficult because there is no application programming interface (API) to do such decoding. And since we don't have source code for the nvidia drivers we would have to do an enormous amount of reverse-engineering to figure out how those drivers work and then become nvidia GPU experts to add decode assist without messing up the normal functions. All this without an "official" documentation. It's not an impossible task but highly unlikely give the amount of work required.

[thiagopires]

Use of the GPU for decoding h.264 video content is very difficult because there is no application programming interface (API) to do such decoding. And since we don't have source code for the nvidia drivers we would have to do an enormous amount of reverse-engineering to figure out how those drivers work and then become nvidia GPU experts to add decode assist without messing up the normal functions. All this without an "official" documentation. It's not an impossible task but highly unlikely give the amount of work required.

Oh... I see. Anyway, I've noticed a better performance with the last update, did anyone else tried some 720p mkvs as well?

[kylemurphey]

the update on the 20th did seem to make 720p mkv play back much better, but still not up to my standards of watchability.

[Sankyou]

Well no one has mentioned the #1 reason mkv has become such a popular format: it's small and efficient

Most blurays can be ripped to fit on a single-layer dvd with very little quality loss. This is phenomenal and also the reason that divx continues to be the most popular container to this day. This also explains the higher CPU requirements because everything is more compressed.

It most definitely is not a conspiracy against Mac users - but I do think Mac users are less into piracy - which can't help the grassroots efforts to play the container formats.

Anyway just my two cents. Hope this clears things up a little.

[rshetler]

I just wanted to post my experience with MKV 720p playback. Using boxee on my MBP I can play these fine if I select analog audio. If I select digital I get a sounds best described as a helicopter blade chop chop chop.

On my aTV I get the same expereince with video, and the same helicopter when trying to use Digital sound, analog sounds however is just silent.

I am running the build released on the 20th, and have no yet upgraded to the refresh.

Anyone else getting what I am getting?

[tommy71]

I don't have an ATV, but I would love to get one for the bedroom if 720p would work. I have been able to get .mkv problem files to play back on lower end systems if it is remuxed into a transport stream. Can someone with an ATV try this and see if it works? There is a windows program called mkv2vob which will remux in about 30 seconds to a vob or mpg. It doesn't transcode the video, it just remuxes it. It is a gui for tsmuxer. It should run on OS X using crossover if you don't have access to windows.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=131782

[cdude]

Well no one has mentioned the #1 reason mkv has become such a popular format: it's small and efficient

Most blurays can be ripped to fit on a single-layer dvd with very little quality loss. This is phenomenal and also the reason that divx continues to be the most popular container to this day. This also explains the higher CPU requirements because everything is more compressed.

It most definitely is not a conspiracy against Mac users - but I do think Mac users are less into piracy - which can't help the grassroots efforts to play the container formats.

Anyway just my two cents. Hope this clears things up a little.

What does divx have to do with mkv? It CAN be used within the mkv format, of course, but many mkv files are encoded with h.264 at their core, not divx.

[thiagopires]

Well no one has mentioned the #1 reason mkv has become such a popular format: it's small and efficient

Most blurays can be ripped to fit on a single-layer dvd with very little quality loss. This is phenomenal and also the reason that divx continues to be the most popular container to this day. This also explains the higher CPU requirements because everything is more compressed.

It most definitely is not a conspiracy against Mac users - but I do think Mac users are less into piracy - which can't help the grassroots efforts to play the container formats.

Anyway just my two cents. Hope this clears things up a little.

Regarding mkv being small, I can tell you that every mkv I have which was up to 8gb in size, was converted to a much more 'storage efficient' 4gb apple tv-friendly container using the same x264 codec, with no apparent loss in quality so from my point of view, having multiple audio streams and subtitles ( which I need, by the way for my girlfriend) are the only advantages of mkv, which come at the expense of being a lot more resource consuming and not as accessible for mac users and people with older hardware. I really regret this is the standard for 720p files today.

[macsyrinx]

Maybe I am missing something, but I just streamed a .mkv file (558MB) via Boxee on my ATV. Video was great. I fast-forwarded, rewound, paused, all that. I searched the forum to see if this was possible, and this thread made me think it would not. I was happily wrong. :D

[paul996]

I am also have great results with 720P MKV files. I used to avoid these but have purposely downloaded a few recently to play within Boxee and have been wonderfully pleased. They play nearly perfect but still a little jerky. I am playing them over a network share from a windows box so I am using SMB (which I understand to be one of the less efficient ways).

I would expect that local 720P files or ones shared over a more efficient protocol would play perfect.

[rshetler]

Can you post some other information about you setup. Connection medium from your aTV to your TV? What type of sound options do you have turned on in boxee? As I said I get great results with the video streaming to my aTV the sound is what is lacking and quite broken.

[macsyrinx]

Mac Pro (source) connected to house 100/100 internal network using Linksys / Cisco switches. ATV connected to LCD 1080p TV via HDMI.

I have massive amounts of storage, so everything I watch via Boxee is streamed.

The only option I changed in Boxee is my weather location. I did try the digital audio, but got some odd hissing, so I changed it back to analog, or whatever the default is.

[nobleach]

Mac Pro (source) connected to house 100/100 internal network using Linksys / Cisco switches. ATV connected to LCD 1080p TV via HDMI.

I have massive amounts of storage, so everything I watch via Boxee is streamed.

The only option I changed in Boxee is my weather location. I did try the digital audio, but got some odd hissing, so I changed it back to analog, or whatever the default is.

I believe the key is in which profile you're using in h.264. High profile content is not likely to play even with the GPU acceleration. Apple's own content (from the itunes store) isn't encoded using high profile. There is a theoretical sustained data rate that the processor just can't handle. Unfortunately, most blueray rips are done using h.264 in high profile because it supports data rates somewhere in the neighborhood of 14,000k/sec (please correct me if I'm wrong on that one... it's straight from foggy memory) The people doing this rarely make USE of this limit preferring to keep the data rate in the 4-6,000k/sec range which the AppleTV COULD do. What can you do though? You're relying on other people on the other end of that torrent to have a deeper understanding of video encoding.

For now, even though it seems like too much work, the now defunct VisualHub is about the only way to get the content playable while maintaining the pure gorgeous HD.

[iBeech]

I don't have an ATV, but I would love to get one for the bedroom if 720p would work. I have been able to get .mkv problem files to play back on lower end systems if it is remuxed into a transport stream. Can someone with an ATV try this and see if it works? There is a windows program called mkv2vob which will remux in about 30 seconds to a vob or mpg. It doesn't transcode the video, it just remuxes it. It is a gui for tsmuxer. It should run on OS X using crossover if you don't have access to windows.

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=131782

I tried this. It improved performance, but not to the point where t was watchable. The audio is still out of sync as well :(

[reeen]

Hi,

just re-assuring: I am noticing the same problems with MKV-720p-Files as mentioned above:

- Video is laggy (low frame rate, looks like slow motion)
- Video stops every 60s for 1s
- Audio is out of synch (video lags behind)
- Audio is chopped (looses audio for appr. 0.5s or so)
- In summary: not watchable at all

The file I tried watching: Dexter.S03E06.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv, downloaded via eztv-torrent feed and stored locally on aTV HDD (only for test purposes of course).

Best,
reeen

[leek]

Hi All,

I have just joined the Alpha test and this forum and haven't as yet got around to installing boxee.

However, I have used a patch stick (ATVFLASH) which I **think** installs a version of mplayer.

I have had no problems using this to play MicroHD movies (mkv wrapper 720p) on the ATV. There are a couple of settings for mplayer you need to change to use the remote (a lot of the mkv files I have include subtitles which you can switch off).

The other thing to say is that I did have issued trying to stream these movies from my iMac and also had issues trying to playthem from a USB memory stick. However they seem to play fine from the ATV hard drive.

The microHD files I have downloaded tend to be in the 1GB - 2GB category rather than a full blown 7GB - 9GB.

Not sure any of this helps but please feel free to ask questions!

Lee

[ctech]

I'm using the last version of Boxee on the AppleTV 2.2


And I'm still awaiting to see it support 720p mkv files. My files run fine in XBMC but Boxee can't handle it

[gen0]

There are a couple of settings for mplayer you need to change

If you've got any suggestions for tweaks/settings to squeeze some more performance out, please share them! Some of my 720p mkv's are only skipping a little bit, and are on the brink of being perfectly watchable!

[gen0]

Done a bit of googling, and I've found that adding the below block to /Users/frontrow/Library/Application Support/BOXEE/UserData/advancedsettings.xml improves performance further, but again at the expense of image quality:


<advancedsettings>
<postprocessing>
<enable>false</enable> <!-- enable/disable postprocessing -->
<auto>true</auto> <!-- auto filter settings (overrides the below) -->
<verticaldeblocking>false</verticaldeblocking> <!-- use vertical deblocking -->
<verticaldeblocklevel>0</verticaldeblocklevel> <!-- level of vertical deblocking (0-100) -->
<horizontaldeblocking>false</horizontaldeblocking> <!-- use horizontal deblocking -->
<horizontaldeblocklevel>0</horizontaldeblocklevel> <!-- level of horizontal deblocking (0-100) -->
<autobrightnesscontrastlevels>false</autobrightnesscontrastlevels> <!-- whether to use mplayers colour balancing -->
<dering>false</dering> <!-- whether to apply the dering filter -->
</postprocessing>
<skiploopfilter>48</skiploopfilter>
</advancedsettings>


This hasn't made 720p mkv perfectly smooth, but bought it a lot closer - if you can put up with the extra artifacts.

[dannster]

Does anyone know if a future update will enable smooth playback of .MKV files? I'm desperate to play them!!! :D

[leek]

Hi All,

I have just joined the Alpha test and this forum and haven't as yet got around to installing boxee.....

.....

The microHD files I have downloaded tend to be in the 1GB - 2GB category rather than a full blown 7GB - 9GB.

Lee

Okay, I have Boxee installed now and it plays the MicroHD MKV files fine - no stutters or audio timing issue just perfect.

Now I know that an HD movies shrunk down to 1GB or so isn't going to be quite the same as a 7GB or 8GB copy but for me this all works fine.

Lee

[mphuie]

Regarding mkv being small, I can tell you that every mkv I have which was up to 8gb in size, was converted to a much more 'storage efficient' 4gb apple tv-friendly container using the same x264 codec, with no apparent loss in quality so from my point of view, having multiple audio streams and subtitles ( which I need, by the way for my girlfriend) are the only advantages of mkv, which come at the expense of being a lot more resource consuming and not as accessible for mac users and people with older hardware. I really regret this is the standard for 720p files today.

Lots of TV shows are being encoded in HD MKV which are ~600 MB.

I'm glad that MKV is the most popular HD format. Its so versatile. I can 'rewrap' it for my PS3 or Xbox360 quickly and easily, plus no more hard subbed videos.

[frskme]

I installed Boxee and XBMC on my AppleTV with atvusb-creator. When I tried to play a 720p mkv movie in Boxee, the playback was jumpy. This is from a usb stick (Kingston 8GB). I converted the file to mpg format using mkv2vob and again ran it from the usb stick. Same result. I copied the mkv file over to the ATV and it ran smoothly. So, it appears USB is the problem, rather than mkv or 720p.

This is a bit disappointing as I was going to invest in an external USB drive to hold additional movies as the ATV is already full.

The USB stick is formatted with Fat32, is this a possible cause?

[kramanxio]

hmm. it seems my hopes for mkv 720p playback in atv using either xbmc and boxee now have been crashed. i thought playback will be fine but after hearing all your ordeals that xbmc or boxee can not play it perfectly and experiencing jumpy playback. it seems ill wait for more update before i jump in purchasing atv.

if my assumption is correct, its the hardware again why many of you guys are experiencing problems playing 720p hd (mkv). atv specs isnt powerful enough to demux and render mkv. it is the same thing what had happened to xbmc version for xbox. hd playback of 720p mkv is impossible because xbox got low spec, mainly the cpu. (unless you upgrade the cpu of xbox, youll achieve hd playback. no way youll achieve it with its current spec)

thats the reason why xbmc hasnt had much updates eversince. xbmc dev were stopped by that cpu limitation of xbox, and just did few fixed and added minor features into the xbmc. apparently, they didnt quit coding xbmc and started porting to other platforms: window, linux, and mac. which is a gud thing for other non xbox users to experience xbmc into their system.

anyway, my hopes are still high for 720p playback since gpu it is not been accessed by xbmc in atv, and theres possible with further coding in xbmc. they can overcome this problem. who knows whats the result if xbmc will be able to use gpu together with cpu to render and demux hd movie.

for the meantime. ill be using my old xbox (xbmc)to play sd videos and popcorn hour to play my hd videos. im still looking forward owning atv (w/ xbmc and boxee) and adding to my living room because xbmc has a nice features and interface that popcorn hour doesnt offer or have.

[abox]

thats the reason why xbmc hasnt had much updates eversince. xbmc dev were stopped by that cpu limitation of xbox, and just did few fixed and added minor features into the xbmc. apparently, they didnt quit coding xbmc and started porting to other platforms: window, linux, and mac. which is a gud thing for other non xbox users to experience xbmc into their system.


What are you talking about? xbmc was updated quite regularly on xbox, in my mind its one of the best free software ever written!

I too hope devs can make 720p mkv work properly on aTV somehow, that would be so awesome. Maybe they can pull some magic, its early days on aTV afterall.

[agentlame]

i'm with abox on this one... xbmc atlantis was just released for xbox alongside every other platform:
http://xbmc.org/blog/2008/11/14/xbmc-atlantis-released/

[kramanxio]

thats the reason why xbmc hasnt had much updates eversince. xbmc dev were stopped by that cpu limitation of xbox, and just did few fixed and added minor features into the xbmc.

who said it wasnt update. did you finish reading the whole thing or stop reading at the first sentence. ;D

anyway regards its updates, frankly, i have not seen new interesting updates for the xbox version with the regular updates. what im waiting for them to do is to break that limitation of getting hd playback to work on xbox, but i think that wont happen. unless they manage to incorporating a coreavc code into xbmc (to lessen and compensate the use of CPU power to minimal while playing hd videos), theres that possibility. i have doubt that wouldnot happen since coreavc may need licensing fee if xbmc devs use coreavc source code, and we know everything that xbmc devs use in xbmc are all open source projects and paying for something isnt what xbmc devs want. for other platforms, xbmc arent suffering from any problems (probably bugs). its all gud. im just emphazing too much with the xbox version cos of its major problem, hd playback.

im finish with bs posts and be away for awhile and be back if there any further updates of xbmc for atv. peace yo all.

[Carniphage]

hmm. it seems my hopes for mkv 720p playback in atv using either xbmc and boxee now have been crashed.

This happened to me quite a while ago. The Perian team invested a long time bringing MKV to Quicktime and AppleTV and there were other efforts.

None succeeded in producing a reliable 720p *MKV* playback experience.

That said, the AppleTV hardware is capable of playing back 720p at 24/25fps. As exampled by Apple's HD downloads. If you use something like Visual Hub, it will transcode your MKVs to an AppleTV friendly 720p 5.1 format.

But there is a snag. Neither Boxee or XBMC can play these 720p files without dropping frames. It looks like the XBMC player does not have the same performance as the Apple Quicktime software.

C.

[jamesfoster]

I'll read this entire thread later today. But could someone please reiterate:

Is 1080p possible on the appleTV?
Is it just MKVs that won't play properly?
If I re-encode my mkvs into divx (or something else?) will it play?

Thanks.

[monty HD]

Has anyone tried MKV2VOB (to convert to mp4) as used for the PS3? I haven't tried any of these on ATV yet but had great luck using this for the PS3. I would imagine they would also work for the ATV. I would hope that you would not need to split into 4gb parts as with the PS3.

Co versions usually take 30 minutes for each MKV. Although 10 to 20 % will automatically transcode to mpeg which takes 2 to 3 hours.

I will try them this afternoon and see if it improves the playback.


((EDIT: Should have read the thread...this has already been brought up))

[davilla]

I'll read this entire thread later today. But could someone please reiterate:

1) Is 1080p possible on the appleTV?
2) Is it just MKVs that won't play properly?
3) If I re-encode my mkvs into divx (or something else?) will it play?

Thanks.

1) No.

2) I wish people would start to understand that mvk is a video container. It's what is inside that matters. Unfortunately many mvk found on torrents are encoded using INSANE encoding levels/profiles and push OSX boxes with more powerful CPUs into close to max. The AppleTV does not have a inferior cpu, it's quite adequate for handling h.264 720p provided you don't go crazy on the encoding levels/profiles. To see this info google for "MediaInfo".

3) Maybe, provided you transcode into a more sensible level/profile.

[jamesfoster]

thanks davilla.

I thought the appleTV could handle 1080p because its one of the output resolutions in the settings. I suppose that doesn't imply it can handle 1080p content due to cpu limitations.

I tried a 1080p video and it skipped like mad.

I'll have a bit of a play around with transcoding and see if i can get smooth playback.

[jermanowsky]

Jamesfoster: the ATV can handle 720p and 1080i. I repeat, 1080 'i'. That's why you see such disastrous results with 1080p.

I've been playing with my ATV since last week, trying to get MV 720p to play. I'm not in the States, so the only way for me to access HD content is to download from the net. Since I have a 720p TV, why not go with my favorite shows in HD?

So far, I've tried playing an MKV 720p file (Terminator TSCC S03E11) at 3577kbps and a VisualHubbed .mov version with settings at "go nuts" (4563kbps). I also made a "normal" .mov version (1551kbps), which I'm about to SSH to the ATV to check how it goes.

The first two, MKV and go nuts MOV, play choppy... Although the go nuts MOV would seem to start that way and then stabilize at 5 minutes (curious, given the bit rate is higher than the MKV :confused:). I'll post about the normal MOV tomorrow.

I'd love to see my MKV shows in my ATV without having to go for converting the files... But if that's what it takes, I'll try the Turbo.264 to speed things up (currently, transforming to normal MOV takes 78 minutes!).

If anyone has advice, I'm all ears! :)

[knoxor]

Is there anyway to get VLC media player incorporated into boxee. There is a Mac OS version of this, but are we able to have it integrated so that boxee uses this as a media player when playing .mkv files ?

[Carniphage]

I think VLC won't perform any better than XBMC.

[doctorwho]

Alrighty. Been contemplating an AppleTV purchase, and I'm kinda leaning toward getting one. I enjoy the standard featureset, and boxee tempts me even more. I've been using XBMC since it's inception, so I'm very familiar with it all.

Currently, I hook up my MacBook Pro to my HDTV via DVI>HDMI to watch high definition content (720p MKV files). I was initially planning to use ATV/Boxee to replace this process, but it seems that it's no longer an option.

What I'm curious about, is the "rules" when it comes to MKV playback. They tout it as a feature, and I want to know what will work, and what won't.

Here are some specs from a video file on my computer. It is almost 600MB.

http://idzr.org/xahd

Would this stream on boxee? Or would it not work?

I'm assuming there are a lot of variables that would effect this, but I just wanted to get an idea so I didn't get my hopes up.

Is there currently ANY way to get 720p content streaming on boxee? If so, what is it?

Thanks in advance,

[Carniphage]

Is there currently ANY way to get 720p content streaming on boxee? If so, what is it?
Thanks in advance,

doctorwho,

720p content streaming already works on Boxee.

For instance, I keep all my video (most is 720p) on a SMB network share. It is actually a hard drive plugged into my Airport Extreme base station.

802.11n wireless networking is easily fast enough for HD. Especially if the server is wired to the base station. Boxee has a built-in SMB client which works great and will automatically reconnect to the server on logon.

But there is another problem. The AppleTV itself has a fairly feeble CPU. Some content will play flawlessly but other content causes stuttering.

MKVs throw in an extra variable. Because an MKV may contain different h264 profiles. I ended up transcoding *everything* into 720p + 5.1 MOV format guaranteed to be AppleTV compatible. (Using VisualHub)

I am still not 100% happy, because Boxee on AppleTV can't flawlessly play everything that native AppleTV can. The native AppleTV player can cope with higher bit-rates. Which most people attribute to Apple being able to exploit the GPU during playback in some way.

Another solution is a MacMini with a 802.11n network card.

C.

[doctorwho]

doctorwho,

MKVs throw in an extra variable. Because an MKV may contain different h264 profiles. I ended up transcoding *everything* into 720p + 5.1 MOV format guaranteed to be AppleTV compatible. (Using VisualHub)

C.

I'm sure a a MacMini would be a more suitable choice, but I'm also looking at a "bang for your buck" situation. The cost of the ATV is what's selling it for me.

Would you mind PMing me your VisualHub settings, so I can try this transcoding for myself?

Thanks!

[unisonband]

720P is something I really want on my ATV...I download my favorite shows in HD and none of them are playing back smoothly. Are there any leeads in hacking that gpu to work yet?

I even encoded the MKV's myself into another 720P with Apple TV compatible settings, and playback is the same. I read above it may be due to playing it off a hard drive, so I am going to FTP the file to the ATV and see if playback is the same.

Please team keep this page updated...use of the gpu+cpu with boxee would be the best thing to ever happen for this project...

Is there a way to install advanced mac software on the ATV for smoother playback?

[doctorwho]

Since writing this thread, I installed Boxee on my Boss' AppleTV and have decided I'm not going to get an ATV / Boxee setup myself.

Boxee on the Mac is still fantastic though.

If there are only prospective ATV buyers for Boxee alone, I recommend you look into the Popcorn Hour A-110. That is what I'm purchasing.

[giyad]

Since writing this thread, I installed Boxee on my Boss' AppleTV and have decided I'm not going to get an ATV / Boxee setup myself.

Boxee on the Mac is still fantastic though.

If there are only prospective ATV buyers for Boxee alone, I recommend you look into the Popcorn Hour A-110. That is what I'm purchasing.
I HIGHLY advise against that... I have a Popcorn Hour A-110... ever since I got the Apple TV and Boxee, I haven't plugged that thing back in. The UI is simply crap. Its only good for video, but even that, it wasn't able to play the MKV's that I tried to play on it, so its no better than boxee... If your still going to buy the PCH A-110, I'll sell mine to you!

Except that I'm leaving in half an hour for vacation and get back on the 10th of January, but if you're still interested ;)

[Apek]

If there are only prospective ATV buyers for Boxee alone, I recommend you look into the Popcorn Hour A-110. That is what I'm purchasing.

The PH's user interface is HORRIBLE. You can make it a little bit better if you install a Media Jukebox in another machine in your network and stream from there, but you still can't compare it to the XBMC/Boxee UI.

[doctorwho]

A nice UI is something I'd gladly trade for complete codec and format compatibility. I've done a lot of research, on the AVS forum, and just about ever single place I could find via extensive google searching. Nearly every single thing I've read has been positive.

I've seen the UI in action, and while it isn't amazing, it reminds me of early XBMC...possibly a bit better. The fact that it tears apart 720P/1080P video (including MKVs) is what sells me. Even CNET gave the box a 9.1. Their video review is especially telling.

I understand it isn't for everyone, but for me, I think the PH is exactly what my home theatre needs. The feature set is incredible, and it has plenty of potential for future codecs and expandability. I think its funny that saying "it's only good for video" could be a negative thing for HD streaming.

[Apek]

OK, have fun then.

You will remember my comments when you realize how slow you browse items in your collections and it takes you forever to find something if you have a decent collection, when you have overheating problems if you install a HD on in (I would advise to stick to streaming from another PC), and some other "details".

It plays almost everything, that's the positive thing.

About possible expansions in the future, I do not see a better UI coming, because the processor is too weak.

And the "only for video", well, maybe you only want to play video with it and that's ok. But it is a media streamer, and video is not the only media. I play as well music and once in a while my wife likes to watch pictures.

You can be all the ironic you want, I find ironic you know better than someone that already owned one.

[doctorwho]

Hey man, I'm not being ironic, just stating my opinion. I'm sure someone who's owned my car at one point hated it, but that doesn't change that I love it just fine.

I have a bunch of hardware in my media centre, and on the rare occasion I want to view photos or queue up music out there, I'm sure the PS3 will do the job fine for me. My media is very well organized, and I know where everything is, so navigating the menus shouldn't be too horrible.

I'm not bashing your opinion, I'm happy you gave it, but I just think it'll be fine for what i want to do, that's all.

[drstein]

Hey man, I'm not being ironic, just stating my opinion. I'm sure someone who's owned my car at one point hated it, but that doesn't change that I love it just fine.

I have a bunch of hardware in my media centre, and on the rare occasion I want to view photos or queue up music out there, I'm sure the PS3 will do the job fine for me. My media is very well organized, and I know where everything is, so navigating the menus shouldn't be too horrible.

I'm not bashing your opinion, I'm happy you gave it, but I just think it'll be fine for what i want to do, that's all.

There's also quite a few people reporting in the support forums that the PH device pukes on a LOT of MKV files despite the fact that the stuff in the container is supported by the PH.

I'm starting to think that MKV has a fairly small userbase but they're putting out a LOT of videos to try to get their container out there, but the majority of the end users hate MKV and simply tear down the container or transcode. That's usually what I see as an answer when I see threads on how to deal with MKV - "Transcode it."

[anice]

Here is what I have found in my experience of the ATV (since release) and Boxee, Sapphire etc...

User interface is important since it is not only us geeks who use it - the family uses it too and so far, I have to say that the Frontrow interface with Sapphire used to be the best combo - until 2.3 broke Sapphire.

I then tried Boxee and there is much to like, and much to cry about (from a usability perspective) but it is alpha and you can taste the potential.

I have started doing HD playback on my AppleTV on an N network into a Drobo store.

The following I have found is critical...

DO the network kernel tweaks for the Apple TV (no linkage at the moment but you can find plenty of info on awkwardtv.org) - this has a dramatic effect on the smoothness of 720p video.

If you are going to use MKV's then transcode them to mp4 using something like VisualHub and the ATV profile. Very little quality loss, dramatic difference in playability on the ATV. This transcode is pretty unavoidable - but hey, storage is cheap and you can keep the original mkv too so that you still have a better quality option when your hardware improves... Using Visual Hub you can batch the jobs so do it overnight or while you are busy doing light stuff like email or surfing... you won't notice the time and you do it once... so let's just accept that if we want to use the ATV, this is a necessary step right now.

I am battling with Boxee's roughness at certain things but it is getting better by the day - the new launcher has made a huge difference in responsiveness to the directory listings. Use Boxee in list view and you will be happier - the cover view is nice but horribly painful and slow on ATV - so just work around that for now

You CAN play good HD content on ATV -- slow CPU and all. It also happens to be the best, quietest most unobtrusive set top box out there...

But every choice you make for playback will come with some compromise... the ATV is no worse, but from a usability and environment perspective much better

[Carniphage]

anice,
I have followed the ATV scene too.

Boxee bypasses the tweaks you describe. It uses its own playback code and its own network services.

The 720p playback of the native AppleTV is much more reliable than 720p playback under Boxee. Unless Boxee is re-engineered the tweaks you talk about will have no effect.

C.

[davilla]

anice,
I have followed the ATV scene too.

Boxee bypasses the tweaks you describe. It uses its own playback code and its own network services.

The 720p playback of the native AppleTV is much more reliable than 720p playback under Boxee. Unless Boxee is re-engineered the tweaks you talk about will have no effect.

C.

http://devroot.org/2007/05/01/optimize-network-throughput-on-your-appletv/

These are kernel networks stack parameter changes that will effect all network services. I seriously doubt that Boxee is touching these parameters.


.

[anice]

Davilla is correct...

the networking tweaks I mentioned and he linked to have nothing to do with Boxee but if you are using NAS for your media, then you are going to notice a big difference with videos. I say this from experience... depending on wifi conditions things would either play smoothly or stutter horribly.

Since doing the tweaks, every movie the ATV is capable of playing well ie. the m4v or mp4 or mov containered hidef files play smoothly.

Since I am still using Boxee to playback both before and after the change, it is clear the difference has come from the network tweak. I repeat, if you are having problems with stuttered video from a network share, then try this. You can determine if that's the problem by copying a test file to the local drive.

I simply stated the points above because i have no wish to see the ATV maligned as a poor Boxee choice... in most things - internet video, basic DIVX TV rips etc it is more than adequate.

Only when you get to 720 mkv's or higher do you run into two things... at 720p it is the simple issue that the mkv containered h264 plays worse than a mov, mp4 or m4v containered 264... there are others who can explain the technicalities behind it, but the point is that that's just the way it is right now.

Even the PS3 and XBox360 REQUIRE their video to be encoded within certain parameters - so this is not in and of itself a failing of the ATV.

And judging by the relative volume of visitors browsing the respective sections, the Mac and the AppleTV forums in particular have a very strong participation. I wouldn't want it to seem that Boxee is less than capable on the ATV in particular.

[naikrovek]

Honestly, I wish I knew. It doesn't make any logical sense that the wrapper would cause the exact same source file to be so much harder to play back. And yet, the same source h264 file is a LOT less processor intensive without the mkv wrapper.

Matroska is an incredibly flexible format that can do a lot of things. And yet... *shrug*

As long as your computer is fast enough, it's all good and handy. I'm not certain that the ATV has the juice to do it, though.

Disclaimer: I haven't been able to find my spare USB key, so I haven't managed to get Boxee on yet, so I haven't seen the performance first-hand yet.

Well file format wrappers aren't like different covered envelopes on snail-mail. How they package their streams inside differs greatly. I don't know the specifics of MKV but it could certainly be that the way the streams are enclosed in the wrapper is causing the difficulty. with ffmpeg you can copy the streams out and put them back into an MP4 container without any reencoding, I believe. What happens when you try that? Do you see the same slowness if you copy the file to the Apple TV then play it, or only when streaming?

[Carniphage]

http://devroot.org/2007/05/01/optimize-network-throughput-on-your-appletv/

These are kernel networks stack parameter changes that will effect all network services. I seriously doubt that Boxee is touching these parameters.


.

If these parameters actually *did* improve network performance, perhaps an engineer at Boxee should take note of this.

But seriously, I have been streaming 720p content from a NAS since the AppleTV was first opened. Networking speed is not an issue.

802.11n at 5GHz is capable of shifting 5MB/s. Which is fast enough to stream a 45 minute 1GB HD TV show. In fact, you can move that much data in under 5 minutes! Boxee maintains a healthy network cache which can smooth over any brief interruptions.

Unless you are using 802.11g. The choppiness problem is not due to networking.

720p files that are authored to play on the native AppleTV may play choppily under Boxee because of Boxee's poorer performance.

C.

[Carniphage]

Our of a sense of fairness, I just tried these "network kernal tweaks".
Created a sysctl.conf and rebooted. Played House Season 5 episode 6. And watched the same scene which caused choppiness last night. (a day-lit scene with a female drug dealer.)

Choppiness ensues, and dialog rapidly drifts about 2 seconds out of sync.

C.

[naikrovek]

If these parameters actually *did* improve network performance, perhaps an engineer at Boxee should take note of this.

But seriously, I have been streaming 720p content from a NAS since the AppleTV was first opened. Networking speed is not an issue.

802.11n at 5GHz is capable of shifting 5MB/s. Which is fast enough to stream a 45 minute 1GB HD TV show. In fact, you can move that much data in under 5 minutes! Boxee maintains a healthy network cache which can smooth over any brief interruptions.

Unless you are using 802.11g. The choppiness problem is not due to networking.

720p files that are authored to play on the native AppleTV may play choppily under Boxee because of Boxee's poorer performance.

C.

Video bitrate also plays a part here. You can't just shove any movie with the proper three letter extension through boxee then get mad when it won't play. Bumping up against the 5mbit/s limit for 720p 24fps videos is likely to cause skips and sync issues just as it would on any 1ghz machine. For example, a 5mbit/s 720p video at 30fps won't play without trouble.

However, if your MKV is well under the max bitrate threshold, and well under the max resolution and doesn't exceed the max framerate threshold for your chosen resolution, then I'm out of ideas.

I use ffmpeg to re-encode everything I download anyway, just to save disk space. Pain in the butt? Yes. Do I have problems playing anything over my 802.11g network? Nope. I would much rather spend 2 hours re-encoding a movie to the Apple TV specs than get halfway through a downloaded version and suddenly come across a 3-second sync problem, unable to watch the second half of the film.

Sometimes re-encoding isn't the enemy.

[Carniphage]

My problem is that I have *already* re-encoded half a terrabyte of content to fit the requirements of the Apple TV. It plays fine on the AppleTV - It just won't work on Boxee.

C.

[ksmolka]

Hi everybody!
I'm following this thread pretty close and would like to share my experience with ATV.

I got my APT 2 days ago and first I patched it with Boxee/XBMC, installed nitoTV, Saphire. I run on the 2.3 firmware.

At first I was all excited, connected to my Mac, watched shared divx movies etc. All perfect. But the problem starts when I want to play HD movies in .mkv container. At this point I did not try to recompress the files to a different format (will try later today and let you know). I downloaded couple HD movies (for example 300.2006.720p.BluRay.DTS.x264.mkv). Below is my scenario what I've tried:

1) Over wifi. I got a wireless G router. All divx movies and media run perfect. When it comes to .mkv files I get lags and choppiness. Played .mkv movies in boxee and nitoTV. So i thought maybe it is due to my slow wifi. So I copied the movie to an external hard drive.

2) External USB drive. I enabled the usb by installing the 10.4.9 combo. APT sees the attached drive through the Files or nitoTV (even boxee). First I copied the .mkv movie onto the USB drive, hooked it up to my macbook pro and tested if the movie plays ok - and it did with no glitches. Then I hooked up the drive to ATV, started the movie in nitoTV (with Perian) and it was lagging - not watchable at all. Then I ran the movie in boxee, little different playback but still not watchable.

Then I ran it in XBMC, and the movie played OK, but, there were hicks and zips in the audio, but still, for me not watchable.

My thoughts on this are, that someday .mkv movies should play OK on ATVs, jsut the codecs need to be optimized. I got the best results playing the movie in XBMC which is an advanced version and they got the codecs/playback optimized.

For now, I'm little disappointed, that we need to convert .mkv or hd movies to play them on apple tv.... besides this issue, everything plays smoothly over the wifi or external drives.

If you have any solutions or tips what else could we all try, post!

Cheers!

[dafranca]

I have tested so many configurations on this matter. I can confirm that playing mkv container is only possible with movies up average bitrate of 3000kb/s on XBMC. I think ATV can play up to 6000kb/s the problem is that the bitrate variates on the movies, same part of the movie will be up to the double of the average bitrate, that is why a 5000kb/s video will peak 10000kb/s and will be unplayable.
Looks like XBMC lower the quality of the movie in order to play it. If I try to play 720p movies on ATV files(quicktime) or nitoTV(mplayer) it will not do as good as XBMC.
But unfortunately, xvid movies plays much better on quicktime and mplayer then on XBMC. That is why I think XBMC somehow lower the quality of the movie.

[Carniphage]

This problem could be solved if the AppleTV version of Boxee, played using the native software and not the XBMC software.

C.

[ksmolka]

Correct. Also what might solve the problem is, if it would be a hardware playback not software, like for example the popcorn hour. But anyways, I'm dedicated to ATV/Boxee right now. Who knows guys, it's in alpha stage right now and is incredible. Imagine beta ;) or final :D

Regarding .mkv playback issues, for now we have to get used to it or compress the files using handbrake and keep our fingers crossed for the boxee team to solve the problem!!

KS

[Irrenarzt]

Hey all, I'm new to the Boxee on AppleTV but I'm a first gen ATV owner, bought mine the day they came out as I wanted it mainly for a wifi enabled iPod I could use to play music via HMDI in my HT setup. It's great for that but seems like it could be so much more so thanks Boxee for unleashing its potential a bit more.

I still have some problems but I was really hoping to play 720P .mkv movies but they play like crap as everyone has already pointed out. Some .mkv movies don't even show up in Boxee after sftp'ing them in, even though transit shows them being there on the ATV. I tried adding Max Payne last night and it's just not showing up. Not that it matters much if they play like dogschit. Anyone else have this problem?

I also have a PS3 and will continue to convert .mkv movies to VOB and play them on that. Problem is mkv2vob doesn't work on some files and so I'm stuck watching them on my MBP. I still need to figure out how to stream as I cannot get the Boxee to see my movie folder via streaming for the life of me. Any tips?

[ksmolka]

Did you try to quit boxee and launch again? Or restart the ATV and it should appear.

[colinhuckstep]

Hey all, I'm new to the Boxee on AppleTV but I'm a first gen ATV owner, bought mine the day they came out as I wanted it mainly for a wifi enabled iPod I could use to play music via HMDI in my HT setup. It's great for that but seems like it could be so much more so thanks Boxee for unleashing its potential a bit more.

I still have some problems but I was really hoping to play 720P .mkv movies but they play like crap as everyone has already pointed out. Some .mkv movies don't even show up in Boxee after sftp'ing them in, even though transit shows them being there on the ATV. I tried adding Max Payne last night and it's just not showing up. Not that it matters much if they play like dogschit. Anyone else have this problem?

I also have a PS3 and will continue to convert .mkv movies to VOB and play them on that. Problem is mkv2vob doesn't work on some files and so I'm stuck watching them on my MBP. I still need to figure out how to stream as I cannot get the Boxee to see my movie folder via streaming for the life of me. Any tips?

How long did you wait after moving? It sometimes takes a while for Boxee to index new content.

[davidw89]

I have given up on watching 720p+ Mkv on appletv, either with Boxee or XBMC. The shit isn't powerful enough (2 years old).

My solution.
1. Encode (handbreak) to an AppleTV comaptible format
OR
2. Use Mac Mini or MacBook Pro to connect to your TV instead. Boxee can be loaded or you can always use VLC which runs straight from finders.
OR
3. Wait for the next AppleTV hardware refresh. It's bound to at least support 720p. Otherwise Apple would seriously be shooting themselves.

[giyad]

I have given up on watching 720p+ Mkv on appletv, either with Boxee or XBMC. The shit isn't powerful enough (2 years old).

My solution.
1. Encode (handbreak) to an AppleTV comaptible format
OR
2. Use Mac Mini or MacBook Pro to connect to your TV instead. Boxee can be loaded or you can always use VLC which runs straight from finders.
OR
3. Wait for the next AppleTV hardware refresh. It's bound to at least support 720p. Otherwise Apple would seriously be shooting themselves.
the ATV can play 720p, its just that Boxee and XBMC can't take advantage of the GPU, so Boxee and XBMC can't play 720p on the appletv. Hopefully they found a way to fix this with the beta, but I doubt it. You're best bet is to just change the appletv for a nettop like the Acer, lenovo, MSI, or Asus models, there are others too.

[gdezeeuw]

the ATV can play 720p, its just that Boxee and XBMC can't take advantage of the GPU, so Boxee and XBMC can't play 720p on the appletv. Hopefully they found a way to fix this with the beta, but I doubt it. You're best bet is to just change the appletv for a nettop like the Acer, lenovo, MSI, or Asus models, there are others too.


Guys,

There is a possible solution from davilla and XMBC team on this. Playing 1080p on the apple tv :). No drivers available yet but already ordered mine broadcom HD chip.



http://www.xbmcfreak.nl/appletv-en-1080p-playback/

[vcosta]

What intrigues me is the fact that the video stream from these mkv files is H.264 which is supposedly the same contained in HD mp4 files that play in ATV perfectly.

Being mp4 and mkv just containers, shouldn't ATV be able to play both the same way, with the proper codecs ? Or are mkvs more resource-consuming than mp4s?

BTW, why oh god why do people always choose these exotic containers instead of more common ones?

I understand mkv hold subtitle tracks and stuff like that, but for people who needs subs is just so easy to add them later, in comparison to the trouble of converting video files. I'm Brazilian and have to subtitle every single movie to see with my girlfriend, so I know that's no hassle there.
Mkv ( and ogg for music) are too unfriendly for non-computer playback.
You can use the subtitles function on Boxee which leads me to a BIG thank you for such an ingenious function!

[drae]

Guys,

There is a possible solution from davilla and XMBC team on this. Playing 1080p on the apple tv :). No drivers available yet but already ordered mine broadcom HD chip.



http://www.xbmcfreak.nl/appletv-en-1080p-playback/

I've been following that thread on the XBMC forums for a while... definitely exciting!

[E_Dagger]

Like it was already said. Boxee cannot access the GPU so it depends on a 1Ghz processor for everything, but what was not mentioned is that even natively, the ATV only supports 720p content with a codec profile of main@L3.0. Most mkv converted over from bluray are main@L4.1. The higher profile will not steadily play on the ATV, with or without help from the GPU. The higher profile causes frame drops so it can keep up and will result in a shaky picture. The ATV has limitations and trying to play your standard 720p mkv files is something I feel will never work properly on the ATV's lower end hardware.

[gdezeeuw]

Like it was already said. Boxee cannot access the GPU so it depends on a 1Ghz processor for everything, but what was not mentioned is that even natively, the ATV only supports 720p content with a codec profile of main@L3.0. Most mkv converted over from bluray are main@L4.1. The higher profile will not steadily play on the ATV, with or without help from the GPU. The higher profile causes frame drops so it can keep up and will result in a shaky picture. The ATV has limitations and trying to play your standard 720p mkv files is something I feel will never work properly on the ATV's lower end hardware.

So then we should change the hardware ;) Therefore I am soo excited what is happening with the broadcom Crystal chip

[logan59102]

Hi guys,
I am looking for that chip as well. But couldnt find it on ebay. Can you please give me its full name or whatever they call it on ebay?
Thanks
ps: did you try it ?

[gdezeeuw]

Hi guys,
I am looking for that chip as well. But couldnt find it on ebay. Can you please give me its full name or whatever they call it on ebay?
Thanks
ps: did you try it ?

Ebay Search link: http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=BCM70012&_sacat=0&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&LH_PrefLoc=2&_odkw=BCM70012&_osacat=0

Haven't tried mine :( , still on its way from China. No Apple TV drivers available yet, but will be kick ass :)

[logan59102]

I just have a closer look at those. So basically we have to:
a) replace the wireless card by this HD card
b) there is no driver yet working on ATV
I dont mind waiting but without the wireless card, how are we gonna transfer movie to ATV?

[gdezeeuw]

I just have a closer look at those. So basically we have to:
a) replace the wireless card by this HD card
b) there is no driver yet working on ATV
I dont mind waiting but without the wireless card, how are we gonna transfer movie to ATV?

Option 1) Use a wired connection
Option 2) Use a airport express or similar device, connect it to
to the usb port ( bridge mode). This will safe wireless connectivity.

Personally i love the wired connection. Much faster with downloading torrent files.

[superwoman]

Another option, as far as connectivity goes, is an ethernet to wireless bridge. These are sometimes called wireless gaming adapters.

[RobertoHN]

I just have a closer look at those. So basically we have to:
a) replace the wireless card by this HD card
b) there is no driver yet working on ATV
I dont mind waiting but without the wireless card, how are we gonna transfer movie to ATV?

You can also get a Netgear WGPS606 (Print Server)... is a wireless device that connects to your router and then you can connect any PC's, printers and of course your ATV.

That's how I've mine connected and it works just fine, I can watch my movies over the network and transfer files between my PC and ATV.

Just an idea.

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/879/netgearandatv.jpg

[gdezeeuw]

Nice setup :)

Still waiting for mine card from china....

[davilla]

A USA source for this card is http://www.logicsupply.com/products/bcm970012

[gdezeeuw]

Thanks!

I just received mine from China today. Anyone already build it into the Apple TV?

The card is really small, i would expect it to be bigger for a FULL HD card.

Not sure how to open the ATV, do you need special screwdrivers?

[h2sammo]

so gentoo with latest nvidia drivers work without a hitch. 720p content however is not as good as i hoped. Frames tend to increase and decrease sequentially and it seems the video can never keep up with the sound. the result is a period of slower motion playback followed by a period of quick fps playback, making watching sporting events a nuisance. thats how xbmc is playing it. if i use mplayer, it is in slow motion the whole time.

i have put gentoo on the appletv so i can benfit from using the gpu. putting boxee or xbmc on top of the apple OS using the davilla atv-bootloader does NOT give the user access to the gpu (only cpu), making rendering of 720p x264 or 1080p impossible.

why is not working now? i get about 2300 fps with glxgears, the forums i read say that it should be able to play the x264 720 encoding with its hardware. what am i missing? how can i troubleshoot?

i read somewhere about enabling XVMC for ubuntu users on the appletv. XVMC is supposed to add hardware acceleration to video decoding. i found a portage ebuild for it and i emerged it... but i dont know what else to do.

is it possible i am still not using the gpu for decoding?

my other thread on this:

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-807974-highlight-.html

[ranshe]

H264 MPEG4 AVC part 10 1280x720.
File played locally - video is choppy to unwatchable.

So is the only solution to add this decoder card (and lose Wi-Fi)?
Does not work for me :(

[seand5018]

Or reencode the file smaller resolution or as xvid. I play xvid 720p files all the time, no problem. Its the mkv files and the very high pixel count vids that choke.

Or get a newer box, like a home built computer or a boxee box (maybe in a few months when all the kinks are settled out). Re-encoding is slow but there are cough, cough lots of files out there not encoded mkv. Just avoid the ones that say "blue-ray" and end in mkv.

[jermanowsky]

Or reencode the file smaller resolution or as xvid. I play xvid 720p files all the time, no problem. Its the mkv files and the very high pixel count vids that choke.

Or get a newer box, like a home built computer or a boxee box (maybe in a few months when all the kinks are settled out). Re-encoding is slow but there are cough, cough lots of files out there not encoded mkv. Just avoid the ones that say "blue-ray" and end in mkv.

Try the WD TV Live. I have own one for 6 months -give or take- and it has never failed to reproduce a single MKV file to date. No need to watch over resolution or data rate, just connect your pendrive/HDD and go.

You can also connect it to your LAN via Ethernet, and access your media remotely... For less than $100 (via Amazon):

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Media-Player-WDBABX0000NBK-NESN/dp/B003MVZ60I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292348130&sr=8-1

[seand5018]

Yeah that WD thing supports mkvs up to 1080p but then it has problems with mp4's on the flip side if this comment is to be believed. I also have heard terrible things about the WD interface.
http://www.amazon.com/review/RZ20PD8E483IM/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B003MVZ60I&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=#wasThisHelpful

[BuntuFreak]

H264 MPEG4 AVC part 10 1280x720.
File played locally - video is choppy to unwatchable.

So is the only solution to add this decoder card (and lose Wi-Fi)?
Does not work for me :(

I have done a lot of tests. At 720p H264 inside MKV is problematic. But then MKV is very "heavy" and that is to be expected. Need some serious hardware like a dual core processor to really play these well.

MP4/H264 also results in choppy playback at 720p. At lower resolutions it really helps compared to AVI/XviD.

I use Xvid4PSP to convert MKV/H264 and MP4/H264 to AVI/XviD. I keep the same bitrate. Results in a slightly larger file but I stream everything from my NAS and I don't really care. It preserves the quality and that's that.

What I would really like to do is try AVI/DivX. But I haven't found a tool that does that painlessly. Xvid4PSP and DVDFAB are the two EASIEST tools I know. I'm using Xvid4PSP 5.x because I find 6.x difficult to comprehend. DVDFab I had purchased to backup my DVDs and it is also very simple. Unfortunately, both of these tools can "mark" the resulting AVI as "DivX" using the FOURCC attribute for media players, but they will still use the XviD codec.

If anyone knows a painless way to do AVI/DivX conversion, please let me know. MeGUI and Staxrip are not for mortals such as me. And I'm not sure Handbrake will do the trick either.

Thanks in advance.