Converting 10-bit MKVs to 8-bit

Hello everyone!

I just got a WD TV Live from someone and it is a really nice player. So far I have not had issues with any files on my 2 TB USB drive (although I have not tried many), but one I got recently is giving me major problems. Here is the MediaInfo report for the file:

General
      Complete name : 10-Bit_Movie.mkv
      Format : Matroska
      Format version : Version 2
      File size : 764 MiB
      Duration : 14mn 51s
      Overall bit rate : 7 195 Kbps
      Encoded date : UTC 2012-01-19 13:19:38
      Writing application : mkvmerge v4.9.1 ('Ich will') built on Jul 11 2011 23:53:15
      Writing library : libebml v1.2.1 + libmatroska v1.1.1
      Attachment : Yes / Yes / Yes

   Video #1
      ID : 1
      Format : AVC
      Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
      Format profile : High 10@L4.1
      Format settings, CABAC : Yes
      Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
      Muxing mode : Header stripping
      Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
      Duration : 14mn 51s
      Bit rate : 6 859 Kbps
      Width : 1 920 pixels
      Height : 1 080 pixels
      Display aspect ratio : 16:9
      Frame rate : 23.976 fps
      Color space : YUV
      Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
      Bit depth : 10 bits
      Scan type : Progressive
      Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.138
      Stream size : 729 MiB (95%)
      Writing library : x264 core                  
      Language : English
      Default : Yes
      Forced : No

   Audio #2
      ID : 2
      Format : AC-3
      Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
      Format profile : Dolby Digital
      Mode extension : CM (complete main)
      Muxing mode : Header stripping
      Codec ID : A_AC3
      Duration : 14mn 51s
      Bit rate mode : Constant
      Bit rate : 192 Kbps
      Channel(s) : 2 channels
      Channel positions : Front: L R
      Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
      Bit depth : 16 bits
      Compression mode : Lossy
      Stream size : 20.4 MiB (3%)
      Language : English
      Default : Yes
      Forced : No

   Text #3
      ID : 3
      Format : **bleep**
      Codec ID : S_TEXT/ **bleep**
      Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
      Compression mode : Lossless
      Language : English
      Default : Yes
      Forced : No

   Text #4
      ID : 4
      Format : **bleep**
      Codec ID : S_TEXT/ **bleep**
      Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
      Compression mode : Lossless
      Language : German
      Default : No
      Forced : No

   Text #5
      ID : 5
      Format : **bleep**
      Codec ID : S_TEXT/ **bleep**
      Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
      Compression mode : Lossless
      Language : Spanish
      Default : No
      Forced : No

After a lot of Googling I was able to find out that the problem may be due to the file being 10-bit, but the WD TV Live only supports up to 8-bit? Then I Googled some more and found out I could convert the file, so I downloaded the latest 64bit 8bit-depth x264.exe from  http://x264.nl. But even after converting for many hours, I was sad to see that the new file is also not supported by the player for some reason, although it is now 8-bit? :cry:

This is a short animation clip and I also want to resize to 1280x720 if possible, with best quality for result (my CPU is not great but time is not a problem). So can someone please help me and tell me the best x264.exe command-line options to convert the file from 10-bit 1920x1080 to 8-bit 1280x720 with highest quality and which will guaranteed play on my WD TV LIve? (Please help me only with x264.exe and not any other program, because I will use same batch file in future also.)

Also, I am using 1.06.15 firmware version which I updated yesterday. Is this the best version? Is there no new version after August 2011?

Thank you for the help in advance! :smiley:

You are limiting your choices by asking for help only for this particular software, that most of the people might not be familiar with it.

Instead of converting the files, I recommend you to reencode them from its source.  For a list of compatible codecs and containers you may check the “Appendix” from the WD TV Live user manual.

Thanks, at long last I received at least one reply. :confounded:

The reason I asked for help with x264.exe is because it is the best H.264 encoder around and everything else uses it. Even if I want to re-encode from source, knowing the best x264.exe command-line options to create 100% WD Live-compatible files would have helped me immensely not only in this particular instance but also for all my future re-encoding needs. I don’t want to spend hours fumbling in the dark and sitting through multiple test encodes just to figure out the best combination of options to use, which is why I posted here asking for help obviously. The manual, BTW, mentions nothing about max. supported bitrate, reframes etc. as far as I can see.

Fine, if not x264.exe, maybe someone can help with optimal ffmpeg or Handbrake settings (they both use libx264 anyway) that will ensure that the Live plays the file properly?

I just thought that experienced Live users would be able to help me out. I tried a few but don’t like stupid 1-click encoding apps that don’t allow precise fine-tuning. They might get the job done for sure, but with average results and bad quality/size ratio. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to ask a technical question about encoder settings after all…

WD_Noob wrote:

Thanks, at long last I received at least one reply. :confounded:

 

The reason I asked for help with x264.exe is because it is the best H.264 encoder around and everything else uses it. Even if I want to re-encode from source, knowing the best x264.exe command-line options to create 100% WD Live-compatible files would have helped me immensely not only in this particular instance but also for all my future re-encoding needs. I don’t want to spend hours fumbling in the dark and sitting through multiple test encodes just to figure out the best combination of options to use, which is why I posted here asking for help obviously. The manual, BTW, mentions nothing about max. supported bitrate, reframes etc. as far as I can see.

 

Fine, if not x264.exe, maybe someone can help with optimal ffmpeg or Handbrake settings (they both use libx264 anyway) that will ensure that the Live plays the file properly?

 

I just thought that experienced Live users would be able to help me out. I tried a few but don’t like stupid 1-click encoding apps that don’t allow precise fine-tuning. They might get the job done for sure, but with average results and bad quality/size ratio. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to ask a technical question about encoder settings after all…

Have a look at the FAQ. 4F. It recommends settings for Handbrake. A number of users have used these settings with good results. I believe that they also may have used the Handbrake ‘nightlies’

http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-General-Discussions/WDTV-FAQ/td-p/32135#playback

why use command line apps unless you use linx what I would do is get your hands on 4Media Video Converter Ultimate

don’t worry it lets you refine the settings how you want and then I would turn it into a h264 MP4 because wd TV live seems to handle them better let me know if it helps :smiley: