Xbox Media Center?

[smearbrick1]

Xbox Media Center - Great piece of software, or greatest piece of software ever?

After many months in the dark (about the whole XBMC thing), and still fiddling with attaching my laptop by s-video (wires? who uses wires?) to my TV to watch a MPEG4 HD capture of a missed TV episode, I finally took the plunge and installed XBMC on my Xbox. IT IS FREAKIN' GREAT!

If you have not installed this app on your XBox, put down your pen, turn off your workstation (if you are at work), and run (don't walk) home (actually, you may want to drive) and install this thing!

I was completely blown away by the simplicity of XBMC. At first, I thought I would have to either store all my multimedia content on the XBox HD (I have upgraded to 160GB) or suffer severe lag from poor in-house wireless network speeds. This is not the case. This thing screams! (The "this thing screams" comment is based on a hard wiring to my router. I actually haven't been able to test wireless yet, but I can't imagine a problem.)

I realize this is only new to me, and the discovery of this by me is equivalent of someone finding another cure for Polio, but it is still very cool.

Had to share (sharing isn't usually my thing).

[Faustus]

My DVD player plays Divx and Xvid so I'm pretty much set. XBMC is kinda neat though I guess.

[rallynavvie]

Is that the Media Center Extender usage for Media Center PCs or something else? I know the G wireless Xbox Media Center extenders stream wirelessly pretty well from your HTPC. I was going to wait a while for used Xbox prices to come down since they'd easily be cheaper than the dedicated Media Center Extenders. Not much of an Xbox fan otherwise.

[Doramius]

This is why I've been sticking to PCs and veering away from console games.

DAMMIT! I can do all of that with my PC.

[lordsmurf]

I've been using XBMC for a year now, mostly for old clips I have from years past. It's quite nifty. Use it once a month or so.

[shelbyGT]

someone fill me in on what this is exactly? Is this with a modded box or not?

[lordsmurf]

Modded unit required ... as far as I know. Mine is.

[Faustus]

Yes you have to have a modded unit and then install the software onto the Hard Drive. It is really cool software, I just don't have much personal need for it.

[handyguy]

You don't have to install it on the hd at all.....you can keep it on a dvd with your videos. It plays all sorts of divx subtitles too.

[Treebeard]

Why not just have a HTPC?

[smearbrick1]

XBMC is a bit cheaper than a HTPC. Also, my ideal HTPC does not look like a pc, but a set top audio component. I've found cases for HTPCs but they are way too expensive at this point for me to take the plunge. For now, I'll stick with my XBMC and modded XBox. Or, as I like to call it: My 200.00 media center.

[Treebeard]

points well taken. I just built a cheap HTPC for about 350 with a microatx case that matches my receiver, it blends nicely with my setup.

[ps2daddy]

you can get used xboxes for $99 now too

[lordsmurf]

you can get used xboxes for $99 now too

Yeah, I have a friend that wants to sell his for this much. If he ever finds a buyer, it would be a great deal for somebody. Modding a unit probably only runs $50 or so. Not bad for a media center PC. If I didn't already have a modded XBOX, I'd have bought it from him for sure.

[ps2daddy]

if you download the memory card save ,have a $5 usb xbox adaptor, usb flash drive, and the mech assult game you can mod it for virtually free

[smearbrick1]

Just to tack this question/query/statement on since this was added to the excellent new HTPC thread:

I just added a wireless gaming adapter to my Xbox to allow wireless data streaming from my PC to my Xbox in the living room. I have no problem connecting to my network through the Xbox, but as soon as I enable WEP (my gaming adapter doesn't support WPA) on my network, Xbox Media Center will not recognize my network. I tried changing the settings on my gaming adapter to use WEP and included my network key, but I still cannot connect to my network when WEP is enabled. To fix the security issue, I disabled WEP and enabled MAC filtering on my router. I'm still at a loss as to why I can't connect to my network when WEP is enabled.
Any ideas?

Also, on my wireless gaming adapter (I'm not using it for gaming) which is the better setting: Ad Hoc or Internet?

[Doramius]

You could always disable your security. :P

If they are both the same company (IE: linksys, etc.) the tech support will help you greatly.

Also, Disconnect from the internet. Disable your windows firewall. Then try working on your connectivity. Once it's setup, you should be able to put your firewall back up. Not sure why, but this is a common problem for a lot of people I talked with and that's all they needed to do to get it working. You may have a bigger problem, but it's worth giving a quick try.

[whitejremiah]

you can do it for less than five bux actually....all you need is a set of torx screwdrivers and a blank cdr...........and the nerves of steel to open up your case and pull a hotswap........ but really, its a very nice alternitive to an HTPC......or a divx compatable dvd player, if you dont already have one...ive got a divx compatable dvd player in the bedroom and the xbox in the living room, so it works out quite nicely....

[Soltaris]

XBMC supports a lot of video formats natively but there are still many, such as DVR-MS, that it doesn't. It would be nice if it supported UP&P and worked with Windows Media Connect 2.0. That way it would be standards based and work with all the other Connected Media Players on the market.

[whitejremiah]

soltaris, you also gotta remember, it's still a work in progress, so that type of stuff may actually be added in eventually....as for now though, it plays pretty much every MAJOR video format........(heck, last i checked, i think it even played back x.264) i know it does rm, quicktime, divx, xvid, it can open ogm and mkv, too....mpeg (im pretty sure it even does vcd and svcd, though i havent tested those yet, but i dont see why not) dvd...........well you get the point....it plays back a lot of stuff and is still being worked on....

[ps2daddy]

Just to tack this question/query/statement on since this was added to the excellent new HTPC thread:

I just added a wireless gaming adapter to my Xbox to allow wireless data streaming from my PC to my Xbox in the living room. I have no problem connecting to my network through the Xbox, but as soon as I enable WEP (my gaming adapter doesn't support WPA) on my network, Xbox Media Center will not recognize my network. I tried changing the settings on my gaming adapter to use WEP and included my network key, but I still cannot connect to my network when WEP is enabled. To fix the security issue, I disabled WEP and enabled MAC filtering on my router. I'm still at a loss as to why I can't connect to my network when WEP is enabled.
Any ideas?

Also, on my wireless gaming adapter (I'm not using it for gaming) which is the better setting: Ad Hoc or Internet?

Set up the wireless adaptor to infastructure You might have to use a "$" as the first string when you enter your wep password

Which router and which wireless adaptor do you have

[ps2daddy]

you can do it for less than five bux actually....all you need is a set of torx screwdrivers and a blank cdr...........and the nerves of steel to open up your case and pull a hotswap........ but really, its a very nice alternitive to an HTPC......or a divx compatable dvd player, if you dont already have one...ive got a divx compatable dvd player in the bedroom and the xbox in the living room, so it works out quite nicely....

Very true
Just never been a fan of hotswapping though but it gets the job done

[smearbrick1]

Just to tack this question/query/statement on since this was added to the excellent new HTPC thread:

I just added a wireless gaming adapter to my Xbox to allow wireless data streaming from my PC to my Xbox in the living room. I have no problem connecting to my network through the Xbox, but as soon as I enable WEP (my gaming adapter doesn't support WPA) on my network, Xbox Media Center will not recognize my network. I tried changing the settings on my gaming adapter to use WEP and included my network key, but I still cannot connect to my network when WEP is enabled. To fix the security issue, I disabled WEP and enabled MAC filtering on my router. I'm still at a loss as to why I can't connect to my network when WEP is enabled.
Any ideas?



Also, on my wireless gaming adapter (I'm not using it for gaming) which is the better setting: Ad Hoc or Internet?

Set up the wireless adaptor to infastructure You might have to use a "$" as the first string when you enter your wep password

Which router and which wireless adaptor do you have

It is the Linksys WGA54 (I think that's the name) It's a G adapter.

I thought the setup software was awfully basic. It asked if I would like to generate a network key based on a passcode or I could simply enter the a network key.

This is one of those cases where simple setup is not the best setup. Their setup software needs to be a little more in depth.

[Doramius]

key rule of thumb. Create your own passwords. Make them alpha & numeric. Just because of some software programs, and ecryption setups. I like to make both User Names & Passwords at least 13 characters in length. Though its not necessary, it eases some burden. Finally, keep User names different from passwords. The same network should have all the same User names & same passwords. If you have 2 networks, they should have different passwords and different user names from each other.

It sounds a bit confusing and maybe a bit extreme, but its really very streamlined, easy, & protective. I rarely have problems with networking. And because of the type of User names & passwords, people have found it a bit difficult to access them. If I decide to change a user name or password on a network, I change all PCs directly associated in that network only.

[BobT]

Thanks Smearbrick Your post got me started on the Xbox. Not much interested in games but Xbox with XMBC is a very nice setup. Those of you looking for a nice Media center this is a very nice solution. The Xbox can be converted to XMBC by a Softmod without opening the box. If you want to open the box and replace the harddrive with the largest available it will do that also. For more info go to www.Xbox-scene.com and look around. You need to find out what "the usual places" are, in order to get the proper free software.

[stackner]

you can get used xboxes for $99 now too

Yeah, I have a friend that wants to sell his for this much. If he ever finds a buyer, it would be a great deal for somebody. Modding a unit probably only runs $50 or so. Not bad for a media center PC. If I didn't already have a modded XBOX, I'd have bought it from him for sure.

ive been running xbox media centre for about a year now myself and never looked back. my dvd pl,ay and dvd recorder play divx, xvid but its the extras features of the xbox. play the files directly from the pc (no need to burn them to disc first) make a collection of dvd ISO's on your pc and the xbox can play them all like original dvds so you basicly make a dvd jukebox. it plays more formats than dvd players and is updated weekly sometimes 2 times a week.
you can also put it on your xbox without paying for a modchip as i did and just softmod your xbox.

[LloydAZ]

If you have an unmodded original XBox, Microsoft sells the XBox Mediacenter Extender. But you have to have a PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00066FHM4/sr=8-1/qid=1142534996/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-792...Fencoding=UTF8

[jliles]

I actually have the extender kit, plus I also have been running XBMC for the last few months.

The integration with Media Center has some nice features. I can stream recorded TV shows from my media center PC to the XBOX in my bedroom, and I can access some online features such as news clips and stream them to the XBOX. The remote that comes with the kit is very nice - MUCH better than the one in the DVD kit.

However, in terms of pure media playback, XBMC whups the pants off the MS offering by far. The Extender software has the same limitations as it does with the XBOX 360 in terms of playable formats - for video, just WMV and MPEG. I haven't tried it, but I guess it's possible to use the Transcode360 software to make your avis playable, but it irks me that you should have to bother at all.

As mentioned previously, XBMC plays almost every file format imaginable. It does have some trouble with some container/codec combos (h.264 in MKV comes to mind), and it does have trouble playing most High Def files. However, for standard def content, it's only beatable by a PC itself. It is also incredibly customizable and there are countless ways to tweak the look and feel to get it to work the way you want it to.

The python scripts that users have contributed have been incredible and greatly extend the functionality of XBMC to include all kinds of online offerings and useful apps.

Streaming video also has been much smoother for me using XBMC than MS extender. I stream wirelessly and I rarely have hiccups with XBMC, where I often do with the extender software.

Julie

[dfgh11]

Xbox Media Center - Great piece of software, or greatest piece of software ever?

After many months in the dark (about the whole XBMC thing), and still fiddling with attaching my laptop by s-video (wires? who uses wires?) to my TV to watch a MPEG4 HD capture of a missed TV episode, I finally took the plunge and installed XBMC on my Xbox. IT IS FREAKIN' GREAT!

If you have not installed this app on your XBox, put down your pen, turn off your workstation (if you are at work), and run (don't walk) home (actually, you may want to drive) and install this thing!

I was completely blown away by the simplicity of XBMC. At first, I thought I would have to either store all my multimedia content on the XBox HD (I have upgraded to 160GB) or suffer severe lag from poor in-house wireless network speeds. This is not the case. This thing screams! (The "this thing screams" comment is based on a hard wiring to my router. I actually haven't been able to test wireless yet, but I can't imagine a problem.)

I realize this is only new to me, and the discovery of this by me is equivalent of someone finding another cure for Polio, but it is still very cool.

Had to share (sharing isn't usually my thing).

How does it play MPEG-TS files?

[ewingr]

I'm guessing, based on Jliles post, that useing this to extend to another PC is in fact strictly SD. No HD. Is that correct?