Notes on converting h.264 video to PS3-compatible .mp4 without transcoding

The most useful resource is from oddmanout

• If bigger than 4Gb, split the .mkv into parts smaller than 4Gb and process each one separately
• mkvmerge -o file-parts.mkv --split 3G file.mkv
• There is a gui for showing the .mkv file info
• mkvinfo-gui -g file-parts.mkv &
• Extract the audio and video tracks, converting the audio to a playstation-compatible codec on the way
• mkvextract tracks file-parts.mkv TrackNumber:video.h264
• ffmpeg -i file-parts.mkv -sameq -vn -acodec libfaac -ac 2 -ar 48000 -ab 320k audio.aac
• At the beginning of the .h264 file, hexedit the second column from 67 4D 40 33 to 67 4D 40 29
• Re-combine the audio and the video into an .mp4 file. MP4Box can do this on a single command-line
• MP4Box -new fileoutput.mp4 -add video.h264 -add audio.aac -fps 23.976 -inter 41

Personal notes

• Hinting makes the file un-playable if it becomes enlarged to over 4Gb
• Reading from DVD+RW disks is problematic. DVD-R is better. USB stick is better still. Copying to PS3 hard disk is the best.
• ffmpeg audio conversion
• ffmpeg -i file.mkv -sameq -vn -acodec libfaac -ac 2 -ar 48000 -ab 320k audio.aac
• Depending on your system, libfaac may need changing to faac or to aac

The alternative - make the PS3 compatible with your files

• Install linux
• Try a ps3-optimized mplayer
• It's not fast enough for high-definition