Seriously thoughtful Video streaming to XBox 360 - what formats are supported?

[HarryT]

I am using my Buffalo NAS box as a media server to stream music to my XBox 360, and this works beautifully. When, however, I try to do the same for video, and select the NAS as the server, the XBox simply says "No videos found".

Does anyone know what video formats the XBox 360 supports for streaming?

Thanks!

[Slite]

Don't have an Xbox 360 myself. But isn't streaming media to a 360 dependant on you having Windows OS in Media Center Edition?

[Slite]

Found this post:

top-5-tips-for-setting-up-your-xbox-360-to-stream-media/

[HarryT]

Thank you, Slite; that article suggests that the supported video formats depend on the server, rather than the client. I guess I need to ask Buffalo what video formats their media server supports.

Streaming music works beautifully - I had no idea that it would do this when I bought the NAS box, so it's all an unexpected "bonus" .

[Slite]

Ah. I've never used Buffalos streaming service.

I have a PCH A-110, which is happy just using a smb share to get it's movies from.

And with the YAMJ moviejukebox/AEON skin combo, I have like my own Videoshop in the living room. Everyone who sees it goes "Wow! Have to get me one of those!"

Looks something like this:

[HarryT]

That sounds excellent.

[Catire]

360 video codec container support list


What format (container and codec) videos are you streaming? What Buffalo Nas do you have?

Is your 360 connected to the internet? I know there is a media update that expands the supported formats for the 360 but I think you have to actually try to play a video for it to download.


This site might help you if you are interested in researching dedicated streamers Link

I personally use a WDTV with an attached Hard drive, and while it doesn't work with streaming on the default firmware there are some custom ones that do.

[HarryT]

Thank you - that's an extremely helpful link. I have a Buffalo "Linkstation Quad". All my videos have been created with the Apple iPod in mind, and are MPEG4 files with H.264 encoding. Yes, the XBox is "online" and when I first connected to the NAS it automatically downloaded an update which it said was for AAC and MPEG4 files, but the videos still aren't showing up.

No big deal; it was really more out of interest than anything. Given that I've ripped the videos for the iPod, they'll probably look pretty horrible on a large-screen TV!

[Catire]

You might just have to get the right combination of Video container, video codec and audio codec. The 360 is very finicky when it comes to audio and video codec combination.

Originally Posted by HarryT

No big deal; it was really more out of interest than anything. Given that I've ripped the videos for the iPod, they'll probably look pretty horrible on a large-screen TV!

Depends on how you ripped them and your definition of horrible
About a year ago I helped a cousin rip dvds to her Ipod so she could use it with her family when they went on a cruise and with the highest setting the Ipod supports (h264, 1.5mbps, 640x480, aac audio) the quality wasn't that much different from a dvd on a 32inch screen.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catire

Depends on how you ripped them and your definition of horrible
About a year ago I helped a cousin rip dvds to her Ipod so she could use it with her family when they went on a cruise and with the highest setting the Ipod supports (h264, 1.5mbps, 640x480, aac audio) the quality wasn't that much different from a dvd on a 32inch screen.

Those are exactly the settings that I do use. It looks quite nice when played on my notebook screen.

[HarryT]

Do you think, Catire, that if I were to get a more capable media "client" box, such as the one that Slite mentions, and those described on the site that you link to, that it would be able to play my iPod videos from my Buffalo NAS?

[Catire]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Do you think, Catire, that if I were to get a more capable media "client" box, such as the one that Slite mentions, and those described on the site that you link to, that it would be able to play my iPod videos from my Buffalo NAS?

While not 100% sure, i´m 99% sure you would be able to.

Look at the Xtreamer review on that site I posted. It´s supposedly a good model and inexpensive compared to other fully featured media player.

The Popcorn Hour slite mentioned is one of the favorites of the media streamer "scene" from what I know and is a very good media player. The one downside these players have is their GUI is horrible but the PCH supports various skins like the YAMJ. You might want to look at the c-200 (or something like that) wich is the NEW model from popcorn hour maker Syabas.

[Catire]

Most media streamers are dnla certified as is your NAS, so I dont think you´ll have any trouble

Thank you, Slite; that article suggests that the supported video formats depend on the server, rather than the client. I guess I need to ask Buffalo what video formats their media server supports.

I think the video support on the server is just for those that do on-the-fly converting, so they actually serve another format instead of the one stored.

Those are exactly the settings that I do use. It looks quite nice when played on my notebook screen.

Cant you hook up the notebook or the ipod to the TV? or maybe transfer a video to a flash drive and see if the Xbox plays it that way? The reason I as is that you should really look at the quality of the videos on your TV before investing on a client or troubleshooting the 360 streaming

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Catire

Cant you hook up the notebook or the ipod to the TV? or maybe transfer a video to a flash drive and see if the Xbox plays it that way? The reason I as is that you should really look at the quality of the videos on your TV before investing on a client or troubleshooting the 360 streaming

That's a very good idea. Yes, my notebook has an HDMI connector - I'll try it!