PS3 Media Server Tutorial/FAQ

[Raptor399]

Problem: How can I manually execute the transcoding command line that PMS uses?

PMS manages the communication between any device and your PC, but when it comes to transcoding media, it uses other programs to do the actual transcoding. Sometimes the other program crashes, and you will see a message like this in the log:

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INFO 2013-03-06 20:48:23.575 [mencoder.exe-36] Process C:\Program Files (x86)\PS3 Media Server\win32\mencoder.exe has a return code of -1073741819! Maybe an error occurred... check the log file

In some cases the debug.log file does not provide much more information on the error that occurred. In those cases it can be handy to manually execute the command that PMS uses, because you might see the cause of the error.

Solution:
(The description below is based on Windows, but it works similarly for other platforms)

First:

• Start up PMS
• Reproduce the error
• Quit PMS

Then open the debug.log file and look for the command line that PMS uses.
It will look something like this:

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DEBUG 2013-03-06 20:48:19.022 [mencoder.exe-36] Starting "C:\Program Files (x86)\PS3 Media Server\win32\mencoder.exe" -ss 0 C:\Movies\big_buck_bunny_1080p.mov -msglevel statusline=2 -nosound -of rawvideo -mpegopts format=mpeg2:muxrate=500000:vbuf_size=1194:abuf_size=64 -ovc lavc -channels 2 -lavdopts debug=0:threads=2 -lavcopts autoaspect=1:vcodec=mpeg2video:acodec=ac3:abitrate=640:threads=2:keyint=5:vqscale=1:vqmin=2 -font C:\Windows\Fonts\Arial.ttf -subfont-text-scale 2.8 -subfont-outline 1 -subfont-blur 1 -subpos 98 -fontconfig -sid 0 -ofps 24000/1001 -lavdopts fast -mc 0 -noskip -o \\.\pipe\1360180345714ffmpegvideo

When you have found this line, you will want to turn it into a runnable command line:

• Copy the line from the debug.log to a texteditor, e.g. Notepad.
• Remove the debug info from the start of the line, up to and including the word "Starting".
• Remove "-quiet" options if you see them.
• Remove "-really-quiet" options if you see them
• Change the "\\.\pipe\..." bit at the end of the line to "output.mpg".

Now you have a command line that will try to transcode to a file named "output.mpg".
Just to be sure: all the words should really be on one line (i.e.: no line breaks).
Then:

• Open a command shell by opening the Windows start menu, and enter "cmd" in the Search programs box.
• Copy the command line to the command shell by using the right mouse button and selecting "Paste"
• Press 'Enter' to execute the command line.

When you run the command, you should get to see whatever errors it produces. This may help you find the root cause of your problems.
You are of course free to change some of the values on the command line and see if it changes things. When it works correct, you will find a file "output.mpg" in your current directory that you should be able to play with your regular media player.

[ssjwizard]

Question: How can I get the media info for a file?

Answer:

This information can be read by the MediaInfo application which can be downloaded from this site.

Usage is straightforward:

1. Click File -> Open -> File.
2. Navigate to the file in question.
3. Select the file and click "OK".
4. On the bottom left side of the main panel there is a button with an arrow. Click this and select "Text".
5. Use the mouse to highlight all of the text. Hovering over the bottom of the window will cause it to scroll if necessary.
6. Press Ctrl-C to copy the text.
7. Upload the output and provide other relevant details as described in the Problem Reporting Guidelines.

The end result will look something like this.

[chocolateboy]

Question: Why do files increase in size when copied to my renderer?

Answer:

Because they're being transcoded i.e. converted to a format supported by your renderer.

If a renderer natively supports a particular file, the original file will be copied verbatim (it will also be available via the "No Encoding" version in the #--TRANSCODE--# folder). Otherwise, the file is transcoded to a baseline format compatible with that renderer, and may increase in size, sometimes significantly, depending on the original encoding.

To copy videos with a specific audio/subtitle track selection, use the #--TRANSCODE--# folder. For more details on the audio and video transcode formats, see the TranscodeVideo and TranscodeAudio options of your renderer conf (the options are documented in PS3.conf).