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Streaming DVD's to 360 Guide - 4 Steps Full DVD Quality!
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algtz1
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27. June 2008 @ 12:44 |
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I bit the bullet and bought a Vista PC with Media Center on it. I was able to convert my dvd into a VOB file using DVD shrink and then changed the extesion to .MPG. It played great only I have a 16:9 DLP widescreen so the movie shows up as a smaller box inside me screen. How can I stretch this video as the display options don't seem to work. I tried the remote and the controller and couldn't find out how to view the movie full screen. Also i noticed than the vob to mpg trick doesn't work with 5.1 surround only 2.0 stereo. Because when i selected the 5.1 audio stream on Shrink there was no audio when I played it but when i selected both the 5.1 and the 2.0 steams the 360 played the movie with stereo sound only. Can anybody provide some insight or solutions to these two problems?
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mactavish
Junior Member
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27. June 2008 @ 18:42 |
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Originally posted by algtz1:
I bit the bullet and bought a Vista PC with Media Center on it. I was able to convert my dvd into a VOB file using DVD shrink and then changed the extesion to .MPG. It played great only I have a 16:9 DLP widescreen so the movie shows up as a smaller box inside me screen. How can I stretch this video as the display options don't seem to work. I tried the remote and the controller and couldn't find out how to view the movie full screen. Also i noticed than the vob to mpg trick doesn't work with 5.1 surround only 2.0 stereo. Because when i selected the 5.1 audio stream on Shrink there was no audio when I played it but when i selected both the 5.1 and the 2.0 steams the 360 played the movie with stereo sound only. Can anybody provide some insight or solutions to these two problems?
wish i had a vista machine. but if you are saying that you can't get the right aspect ratio and only stereo sound you may want to try converting your DVDs into avi format using autogk...you get the same aspect ratio, and you get 5.1 surround. it uses windows media player 11 to stream to the xbox 360.
heres an avi sample (download here 15mb) you can try. stream it to your xbox 360 using windows media player 11 (enable library sharing and set xbox 360 to allow)
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 27. June 2008 @ 19:01
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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27. June 2008 @ 19:04 |
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Once you start playing the movie, streaming it to the 360, you can use the 360 controller to change the aspect ration.
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk. |
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algtz1
Member
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27. June 2008 @ 19:29 |
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I was using wmp 11 to stream from my old xp box. worked like a charm on my avis. But i got a vista machine so that I can user media center and the 360 as an extender so that i could have a nice looking cover art and movie catalog to show up on the tv. the problem is that vista media center doesn't allow streaming of avi/divx files to the 360
When I stream the .mpg file it shows as a sd file on the big screen and the controller doesn't let me stretch the video. Actually none of the play/pause/display options even show up when I press the top button on the 360 controller.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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27. June 2008 @ 20:50 |
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hey alg...i read that the media center can only play mp2 and wmv. mp2 can only play stereo so your best bet for 5.1 audio is wmv with wmv pro 9 audio (for the 5.1).
i found guide for DVD to wmv (click here) post #43 by simba
copy-paste
Quote:
Use Windows Media 9 then. I've had the best luck out of that package and it shrinks it down to the size of a standard CD-R, and you get 5.1ch audio with it. This is what I usually use.
Software needed:
WinDVD 4 (or 5) (for audio codec)
SmartRipper 2.41
DVD2AVI 1.76
VFAPICodecV105EN (VFAPI Reader)
Windows Media Encoder 9
0. Audio codec setup
Open REGEDIT, and add key (or change if already exist)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\InterVideo\Common\AudioDec]
"Audio"=dword:00000005
1. Ripping
Open SmartRipper, select the VIDEO and the AUDIO areas. Make sure you seperate the files (you should get 2 files, an AC3 and an M2V). This will take 10-15 minutes. Close it.
2. Converting to AVI and AC3
Start DVD2AVI, go FILE/OPEN and select the M2V file. Select VIDEO/CROP, and find out how much you have to crop from top and bottom (usualy 72 or 80 pixels). Deselect CROP because we will use WME9 for croping, not DVD2AVI. This step is required becuase it`s hard to find out how much croping is needed in WME9(no real time preview in WME9). Go FILE/SAVE_PROJECT to save d2v file to disk. It will take some 20 minutes. You can also press F5 for preview to see if source is interlaced or not (it`s usually not). Close it.
Open VFAPIConv, ADDJOB, select D2V file, and press run. It take some 30 sec to create AVI file. Close it.
3. Converting
*** Part 1 ***
Open Windows Media Encoder 9. Close wizard (we wont use it). Go to Properties (from main toolbar).
*Click on the "Sources" tab
Set NAME (optional, doesn`t really have any function)
Source from -> set to BOTH DEVICE AND FILE
Select VIDEO, from drop down menu -> BROWSE_FOR_FILE, and select AVI file
Select AUDIO, from drop down menu -> BROWSE_FOR_FILE, and select AC3 file
*Click on the "Output" tab
Deselect PULL FROM ENCODER and set ARCHIVE TO FILE, press BROWSE and set the temporary file's name
*Click on the "Compression" tab
Press "Destination".. Select "File Archive"
Make sure "Audio" is set to "Lossless Quality Audio (VBR 100)"
Make sure "Video" is set to "Highest Quality Video (VBR 100)"
Press the "EDIT" button
Click on the "Quality-Based" tab
Select "VBR Quality 100, 48 kHz, 5.1 Channel 24 bit VBR"
Frame Rate should be "23.976" [For Film]
Set "Key Frame Interval" to around 1 (or the default)
Deselect "Same As Video Input"
Enter proper size.. ex. Widescreen = (720/2.35=306.. 720x306), Fullscreen = 640x480
Press the "OK" button
*Click on the "Video Size" tab
Set "Crop Method" to CUSTOM, and put TOP and BOTTOM values we found out in DVD2AVI (usually 72 or 80).
Set PIXEL ASPECT RATIO to CUSTOM, and put some values like 17:12 to get OUTPUT ASPECT RATIO of original movie like 2.25:1 or similar (see DVD box)
Encode the file.. Click on "Start Encoding"
*** Part 2 ***
*Click on the "Sources" tab
Source from -> FILE
Select the "WMV Lossless" file you just created.
*Click on the "Output" tab
Deselect "Pull From Encoder" and select "Archive To File"
Click on the "BROWSE" button and set the final file's name (ex. The Lion King [Special Edition].wmv)
*Click on the "Compression"
Press the "EDIT" button
Select AUDIO
Select "Windows Media Audio 9 Professional"
Select VIDEO
Select "Windows Media Video 9"
Make sure both are set to "Bit Rate VBR" (or "Bit Rate VBR Peak")
Click on the "xxx kbps" tab
Select your bitrate "128 kbps, 48 kHz, 5.1 Channel 24 bit VBR" (or whatever you feel safe with)
Set "Key Frame Interval" to around 10
Set "Decoder Complexity" to "Complex"
Video Bit Rate (Average) should be somewhere between "500k" or "1100k"
Click "Ok"
Make sure "Two Pass Encoding" is checked.
Set DECODER COMPLEXITY to COMPLEX (not sure about this)
Press "Ok"
*Click on the "Attributes" tab
Set NAME and other stuff here (optional)
Press APPLY and close Properties.
Press START ENCODING.
OPTIONAL:
Go to sleep.
After around 10-20 hours, close WME9 (depending on your processor).
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 27. June 2008 @ 20:54
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algtz1
Member
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30. June 2008 @ 15:20 |
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Hey Mac. Thanks for the info. I don't want to go the wmv route beacuse it took approx 20 hrs to convert a DVD to a 1.2 Gb files. I think I am going to go your route using autogk at size 1953 to get a 2 gig file that plays 5.1 surround. I found a program called transcode 360 that will allow you to transcode any avi to play on the 360 using media center. Problem solved. Of course the ideal situation would have been to rip to .VOB and rename to .MPG to keep the DVD quality but as we know now it only plays it in 2.0 Stereo and I would much prefer better sound over better video quality any day.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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30. June 2008 @ 16:18 |
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yeah autogk is faster, it takes 2-3 hours. And yes, 5.1 audio is a must. if you want to improve the video quality you can try this if you already haven't --- go to advanced settings(of auto gk) in step 4, change the output resolution settings to FIXED WIDTH and set to 720.
i am converting all my DVDs to avi now. Its great not having to swap discs on the 360. I can keep my cod 4 in the tray at all times hehe
MS should come up with a better and faster way to convert to wmv with 5.1, if i find it i'll post.
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algtz1
Member
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30. June 2008 @ 18:13 |
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FIXED WIDTH and set to 720. Will this make the avi a 720x480 resolution like DVDs? Is this the best quality? and is 1953 still the best custom setting to use for error free viewing?
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mactavish
Junior Member
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1. July 2008 @ 02:43 |
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Originally posted by algtz1:
FIXED WIDTH and set to 720. Will this make the avi a 720x480 resolution like DVDs? Is this the best quality? and is 1953 still the best custom setting to use for error free viewing?
hey im glad you brought this up because i just took some screen shots of several DVDs playing on vlc player and all of them were 853x480...i will try changing my output resolution settings to fixed width set to 853...i will convert a DVD now and post screenshots of both the DVD and avi
and yes custom output size=1953 will fix the jittering and pausing problems with the video playback. after some trial and error i noticed that files above 2 gb had those playback problems
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. July 2008 @ 05:41
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duh
Junior Member
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1. July 2008 @ 03:09 |
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hey I'm curious if vlc will work for the converting vob. to mpg. files method, I noticed it said mpg1. and this would save a ton of time and hassle, anybody familiar with this program, for reference I'm talking about an xp computer with service pack2. thanks
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mactavish
Junior Member
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1. July 2008 @ 05:25 |
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i wish it were that easy duh. the thing is only media center or vista can stream mpg...media player 11 can only do xvid, mp4, wmv, h.264
i think alg tried streaming the mpg to the 360 using vista but couldnt change the screen size and only got stereo. the OP had success with some DVDs but others had problems.
hey alg maybe if you rip the DVD using DVD decrypter IFO mode or using RipIt4me, then rename the vob to mpg after the rip, maybe the file will stream properly. give it a try if you read this.
update: finished the conversion using fixed width set to 848.
heres the VLC screenshot of the avi file 848 x 352(without black bars)
heres the VLC screenshot of the DVD file 853 x 355(without black bars)
guys it looks very good. I tried playing 3 DVDs on VLC player and all the screenshots have a width of 853...i'll try other DVDs to see if they all are 853 wide.
For now,if you want your videos to be as close to DVD quality, before you start the conversion, check the width of the movie by playing it in vlc player then taking a screenshot...the screenshot will tell you the width. use this width when you choose fixed width in the output resolution settings of autogk.
update 2: i went through some more DVDs and the Simpson's DVD width is 1024 x 576. the best thing to do is take a screenshot of the movie playing in the VLC player and check the resolution width first...then use that value for the fixed width
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. July 2008 @ 12:17
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algtz1
Member
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1. July 2008 @ 12:51 |
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The reason the 360 doesn't play .mpg files in 5.1 is that, by default, it plays only the .x80 stream which on most discs, is the 2.0 stereo stream. So if you rip the 5.1 channel, which is the.x81 stream, the xbox produces no sounds. I found a work around using video redo tvsuite, 15 day trial version. You can change the setting to always make the AC3 5.1 channel to be the default .x80 stream which can be played on the 360. So what you do is rip the dvd with 5.1,to get the .vob file. Instead of renaming it to .mpg, you open it with video redo tvsuite and click on fix quick stream and 15 minutes later you have a .mpg file in DVD quality with 5.1 surround sound. Of course thse files are about 5-6 gigs big so I will only convert my special action/music concert DVD videos this way and convert the rest of my library in 2gig avi using Mac's method to conserve disc space.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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1. July 2008 @ 20:22 |
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thats good to know alg, i will check out video redo tvsuite. great to hear autogk conversion works for you.
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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1. July 2008 @ 22:14 |
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Hey Mac,
I dl'ed the Video Redo trial. Where is the option to make the AC3 5.1 channel to be the default .x80 stream?
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk.
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duh
Junior Member
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2. July 2008 @ 02:05 |
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hey I was curious if the video redo program will work with xp, and if it does do you have to set it up like you would tversity, or do you use windows media player 11. thanks
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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2. July 2008 @ 08:24 |
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Video Redo does work with XP, but it's for editing, not streaming like TVersity.
I tried xvid4psp last night: http://forum.videohelp.com/topic352374.html
It's free and you can see the results. Using the standard settings it took over 6 hour, though. With Handbreak, I can do 4 movies in about 11 hours. So I'm going to adjust the settings and see what I can get.
The problem I have is that I'm XP, but not running MCE. So I use TVersity to stream. Sure, it'll play .mpg and .avi... but it has to transcode on the fly. With .mp4, it doesn't. If I just let my pc sit idle while TVersity transcodes, no problem. But more often than not, I have it running other programs. And if it tries to do too much, then I run in to buffering issues while trying to watch the movie.
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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2. July 2008 @ 13:18 |
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bhetrick...does tversity stream the 6 channels audio? if you get the conversion time shortened, please post how. thx
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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2. July 2008 @ 13:33 |
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It'll stream it, but the 360 gives the unsupported error. I went through some different forums and came back with the same answer... you still have to select 2 channel with xvid4psp.
I was actually calling around town looking for used PS3s when your post alert popped up in my email. Messing around with a bunch of different programs is getting to be a pain.
It's between a PS3 or that Popcorn Hour. I can get the PH for $100~$150 cheaper.
Money isn't an issue. I'm just leary about getting a PS3, new or used, because with the 360 price cut I'm sure Sony will be doing something soon.
So I just have to make up my mind.
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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2. July 2008 @ 15:37 |
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Originally posted by bhetrick:
It'll stream it, but the 360 gives the unsupported error. I went through some different forums and came back with the same answer... you still have to select 2 channel with xvid4psp.
I was actually calling around town looking for used PS3s when your post alert popped up in my email. Messing around with a bunch of different programs is getting to be a pain.
It's between a PS3 or that Popcorn Hour. I can get the PH for $100~$150 cheaper.
Money isn't an issue. I'm just leary about getting a PS3, new or used, because with the 360 price cut I'm sure Sony will be doing something soon.
So I just have to make up my mind.
too bad its 2 channel. whats popcorn hour?
for now i like the video quality autogk is giving and it gives me the 6 channels...i'm thinking about the ps3 too and your right about the price drop to wait.
update: i just read about popcorn hour...thats a great HD device and best of all no need for conversions.
update 2: bhetrick i think popcorn hour will be a better choice than PS3 if you want to avoid converting files. I stumbled upon this forum post about stremaing to the PS3 (click here) and the PS3 also requires some converting software as well.
popcorn hour sure sounds good. thanks for bringing it up.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. July 2008 @ 16:04
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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2. July 2008 @ 17:24 |
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Yea... since my last post, I did call around and I found a used PS3 at a local game store. I said "piss on it" and left to go get it. About a mile down the road I said the same thing again and turned around and came home.
The only thing I'd do with the PS3 would be stream movies. Yea, it supports more than the 360, but I might as well just get that PH. It's cheaper and I don't have to do any streaming. I have a 1tb drive in my pc now just for movies, so I can take it out and put it in the PH.
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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2. July 2008 @ 17:35 |
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yup that popcorn hour is an amazing device for the price...and it supposedly can do peer 2 peer downloads. I wish consoles would just follow what this popcorn device is doing and support the video formats fully without any limitations. Let's hope the xbox 360's big update has this feature included
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. July 2008 @ 17:40
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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2. July 2008 @ 18:02 |
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Yes, it does support p2p dls. I just ordered 2 of them. And they were still cheaper than 1 PS3.
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk.
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mactavish
Junior Member
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2. July 2008 @ 20:26 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. July 2008 @ 20:26
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algtz1
Member
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3. July 2008 @ 12:13 |
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Sorry I couldn't log on yesterday. For changing the default stream on video redo tvsuite all you have to do is press "ctrl + shift + the (options on the tool menu bar) Then a list of manual settings wil appear. Go down to about the 10th or so row and it will say "AC3 default" (or something like that) the value will say zero. All you have to do is change it to 128 (128 is the hexadecimal value for X.80) Now all your streams will b 5.1 as long as you rip the 5.1 sream on the .vob file.
I have been checking out the popcorn for the last 3 months. The only downfall I see is that the interface is really generic. I truly love how media center looks in conjunction with the "my movies program" My kids are able to navigate through it easily. I am going to buy a popcorn for my bedroom since a generic GUI is not a big deal for the bedroom since I'll be the only one using it. I am just waiting for USB wireless connectivity for the popcorn hour which is stated to be available in the next model/firmware.
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bhetrick
AfterDawn Addict
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3. July 2008 @ 12:32 |
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Great. Found it. "Manual Parameter Settings", line 18, "Default AC3 Output Stream". Changed "0" to "128". I'll post results later.
I ordered 2 of those PHs. I've read about the generic interface. But I'm not using MCE, so I've really nothing to compare it to. And honestly, I don't mind. As long as it'll do what I want it to.
I dont skinny dip...... I chunky dunk.
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