xbox media center

[cjob68]

Hi,
I installed the xbox media center last night and I gotta say this thing so far is alot better than what I've seen from Beyond Media. Don't get me wrong , I hope that after several beta versions of BM they get it right and don't charge too much. But for a free product ( xbox media center ) it kicks butt. It does all the standard stuff , music , video , photos , files , weather.

Just my 2 cents.

[btvbuddy]

FREE? Is this the XBOX CD for using it as an extender? That's not free right? Last I heard it's $80.00 alot more than Beyond TV Link $40.00.
:wink:

[cjob68]

No , the xbox media center is free. It's an open source project. I have it connected to my network and can browse all my network media.

[bradpvr]

Free as in as long as you are running a mod-chip.

[btvbuddy]

Thanks, I figured it was the open-source stuff but now with the new MCE2005 extenders I was not sure. Anyways, is a old PC plus Beyond TV Link $40.00 still less than chipping a xbox? which mod do you recommend that's soderless?
:toast:

[darkuni]

Let's not forget that modding your Xbox is illegal as are MOST programs that run on it. Therefore, its hardly fair to compare a legitimate product to an illegal one.

I can't wait for Xbox 2; it will stop people from buying a game console to use as a computer. Of course, it won't enjoy NEARLY the market that it has now (despite the fact that 80%+ of people I know don't even play games on it - they mod it for use as a PC - crazy). Frankly, it disturbs me to see MS getting the kind of marketshare it is getting for doing really nothing more than selling a PC at a loss :)

[genesis]

Just to be clear, XBMC is not a comparable product to BeyondTV or BTV Link, but to Beyond Media. XBMC won't give you live tv, or scheduling. It does have music, video playback, weather, and a whole bunch of other interesting stuff though.

[diamond187]

Genesis, you are correct. XBMC is closest to Beyond Media, but does have a few legs up. It uses the mplayer core, so that does not have to be written from the ground up. It's also had a large following and a lot of fanatical programmers - XBMC is the primary reason why I bought Beyond TV -- I record on the PC, transcode to DivX, then can watch them easily on my HDTV with XBMC (which will do 1080i and 720p, even software upsampled video looks better than standard TV signals!).

Darkuni - Technically, putting a mod chip in your xbox is not illegal at all, unless you are doing so to deprive MS or another game manufacturer of money by pirating Xbox games. I personally have two xbox'ss, one in the living room and one in the kitchen, and although I use a chipless TSOP [read: firmware flash] mod, I do not do anything illegal on it. It is used to play videos, music, and weather. I've ripped and encoded all my DVD collections, as well as having all my beyond Tv files on the computer, and I use it as a small, cheap, and *real* capable method of having all my digital media stream to areas of the house where I actually watch it. There is nothing illegal or wrong with that; however, the problem is that many people that 'chip' an xbox are doing it for illicit purposes -- which is wrong, period.

Don't mean for it to sound like a rant, but I see in a lot of forums where there is always someone wanting to put down XBMC or another good opensource project since it runs on a modified xbox. Sadly, the people at XBMP/XBMC did apply for signing from microsoft (so that they could have it run on an unmodified xbox).. guess what? MS told them to climb a tree, then a month later announced that a media center extension for the xbox was in the works. To me that doesn't sound like anything but MS wanting to keep all the money in their own pocket and having the media under their own control. [I'm not one of those anti-MS people, but I think that everyone has to admit that they do have some rather unscrupulous business practices over the years!]

Diamond

[nheinemans]

Just a quick note. Compiling binaries for the xbox using the Microsoft XDK is illegal. I agree with diamon187 that there's nothing illegal about using your xbox to watch video or listen to music. Neither is it illegal to modify your xbox, since your the owner of that xbox after you bought it.

On-topic again. There's a discussion going on at the XBMC forum about support for BTV. You can check it here (http://www.xboxmediaplayer.de/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.pl?;act=ST;f=4;t=88). With build in python support in XBMC, it should be possible to make a GUI for BTV inside XBMC. If it will happen soon depends on wether someone will pick up this task. I sure hope it does happen soon!

[darkuni]

Here is the problem.

You do not own that Xbox. You entered into an agreement with Microsoft when you bought it. Check your documentation (I'd have to poke around to find the legalese used). Just like you don't own Windows or anything else you paid for from Microsoft. You are BOUND by the terms and agreements you entered it. You have a LICENSE to use it. Now we all know EULA is a joke and is in question time and time again about being a legally binding contract ... HOWEVER ...

Microsoft has managed to shut down numerous chip selling sites and companies as well as get injunctions against others. Xbox Live is disabled (if it weren't in their legal rights to do so, they wouldn't get away with it - so that is a supporting argument).

Everyone wants a $149 PC - they don't want an Xbox. Microsoft is TOTALLY aware of this (and its their own damn fault for "innovating" existing technology and making a game console out of it - I don't feel sorry for them in the least) and they are doing whatever they can to stop it. Xbox2 will not be a PC. It will be unique gaming hardware (the way its supposed to be) which WILL stop it from becoming a $149 computer.

Trust me - I don't like this argument. If I believed that Microsoft was getting screwed over by people buying Xboxes, I'd be the first one in line to buy and chip one. But its just not that way. Every Xbox sold gives Microsoft the marketshare they need to entice developers (this is where they make money folks) whether you buy a SINGLE game or not, you're helping Microsoft out. Just like pirated copies of Windows help Microsoft out. They don't like it - on either count - but its all part of the grand scheme. Personally, $149 PC or not, they will get no market share from me.

Is it legal? Perhaps its not black and white. However, ask yourself this. Would you call MS tech support on an Xbox that was modded? Would you call Xbox Live tech support and ask why your modded Xbox doesn't work online? If you answer "no", then you are fully aware of its legal status (as GRAY at best) and you can try to justify your "good moral" uses, but in the end - you're still the guy that robbed a bank to pay for your mom's life threatening required surgery. Your intentions are good - but you're still breaking the law or the SPIRIT of the law.

If you want a PC connected to your TV - Buy a PC. Why should you get a PC for $149?

Just my .02 on the subject.

[Detritus]

I personally have two xbox'ss, one in the living room and one in the kitchen, and although I use a chipless TSOP [read: firmware flash] mod, I do not do anything illegal on it. It is used to play videos, music, and weather. I've ripped and encoded all my DVD collections, as well as having all my beyond Tv files on the computer, and I use it as a small, cheap, and *real* capable method of having all my digital media stream to areas of the house where I actually watch it. There is nothing illegal or wrong with that; however, the problem is that many people that 'chip' an xbox are doing it for illicit purposes -- which is wrong, period.

Don't mean for it to sound like a rant, but I see in a lot of forums where there is always someone wanting to put down XBMC or another good opensource project since it runs on a modified xbox. Sadly, the people at XBMP/XBMC did apply for signing from microsoft (so that they could have it run on an unmodified xbox).. guess what? MS told them to climb a tree, then a month later announced that a media center extension for the xbox was in the works. To me that doesn't sound like anything but MS wanting to keep all the money in their own pocket and having the media under their own control. [I'm not one of those anti-MS people, but I think that everyone has to admit that they do have some rather unscrupulous business practices over the years!OK. You have obviously been misinformed. You ARE doing something illegal. If you notice, XBMC do not release binaries for their project. This is because, in order to compile XBMC you have to use the XBOX compiler software and libraries supplied by Microsoft. Microsoft charges a large wedge of $$$ for this software. Any compiled binary of XBMC has been compiled using an illegal copy of this compiler software. The compiled binary contains Microsoft copyrighted code which, unless you have bought a copy of their XBOX compiler, is illegal to distribute. Therefore, you have pirated MS software just by the action of installing XBMC on your XBOX.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. There's an open source project underway (XDK free or something similar) which is producing an opensource XBOX compiler which will be freely available under the GPL. It's looking more and more complete and hopefully will be ready for use one day soon.

***EDIT***
Darn, took so long typing that someone else beat me to the punch! ;)

[Cybermynd]

I've been using XBMC for quite a while and it is excellent software. I won't comment on the legality of it all. I wish someone WOULD produce a black box just LIKE the Xbox that is open for modification. After all it is just a 733 MHz Pentium mobo, a cheapo DVD player and a $50 hard drive. $149 sounds just about right in bulk!

Anyway, I really just weighed in to let you know that XBMC has been ported to the PC in the form of Media Portal. This is still free, works pretty well and has all the same functionality as Beyond Media and Meedio. I'm not sure the TV part is ready for prime time yet but the functionality is there too.

Just Google 'media portal sourceforge' and give it a try.

PS: I still use Beyond TV 3.5 and will continue to do so. I will also likely purchase Beyond Media when it arrives. Snapstream is a class act and their products are second to none.

[cjob68]

Does anyone know if the Media Portal will work with the Firefly ?

[Cybermynd]

I use a StreamZap remote and it works with that. Not sure about the Firefly...

[cjob68]

The Media Portal doesn't want to start up after I double click on it. If I alt-ctrl-del I can see that it is running but I don't see anything. Ideas ?

[Cybermynd]

Hmmm. Strange. You may want to check the forums at the Media Portal site. I know you need the latest DirectX drivers.

You might check your task manager to see if there are any conflicting programs trying to occupy the capture card.

You can also run the config program before you run Media Portal proper. Check your Start menus for that.

You might also want to just sit there and wait for a few minutes. Sometimes patience solves the problem...

[phenixdragon]

I hope everyone understands that the Xbox Media Center and Xbox Media Center Extender are diffrent. XBMC is free while the Extender is $80 from MSFT. Someone ealer was confused.

[phenixdragon]

Also should add, that if Snapstream would create Beyond Link for the Xbox they would really push aways from the pack. I myself am about to head over to Microsoft MCE 2005 because of the Xbox extender and I know others will to. However, i like the flexability others (mostly Sage but a bit of Snap) have to offer to customize everything.

Media MVP is crap to me now since I can just use my Xbox and free up more jacks on my TV.

[Cybermynd]

MCE 2005 is compelling. Everything I've read is pretty positive. The idea of planting $299 extenders on every TV in the house (up to 5 I guess) is certainly tempting. As every free thinking geek out there will say though: I like the flexibility of the more generic solutions.

Maybe it's time to lose the geek mentality and just buy a system that works though...

It's hard to love Microsoft but sometimes they have a decent idea....

[dadams]

You do not own that Xbox. You entered into an agreement with Microsoft when you bought it. Check your documentation (I'd have to poke around to find the legalese used). Just like you don't own Windows or anything else you paid for from Microsoft. You are BOUND by the terms and agreements you entered it. You have a LICENSE to use it. Now we all know EULA is a joke and is in question time and time again about being a legally binding contract ... HOWEVER ...
I was just poking around the forum to find out if btv could be used with xp mce when i came across this thread.

I have a habbit of opening thing up to see how they work. I haven't bought a pre-built computer since i was in high school. no matter what you buy as soon as you have a receipt for it and no longer have any payments to make on it, it is yours. You own it. You can do with it what you like. To do any modification to an xbox that you want to. the xbox has to be opened. There is no contract and no agreement short of a warranty. When you open the xbox you void the warranty, which is why you can't contact microsoft with problems or questions.

Now don't get me wrong i agree with one of the posts that the use of any software compiled with a less than legal compilier, is illegal. But the statement that you don't accually own what you purchace is insane. If that were the case then my violent and incompetent friend who keeps breaking things (he is on his 3rd xbox and 2nd playstation) would owe microsoft either a boat load of money or the broken hardware.

Companies sell the consoles at a loss in hopes to make money on accessories ie games, that freakin $20 remote etc. Its just like buying a $1200 camera for $800 so you can buy a $1500 lens for it. Thats the way everything works. People buy a $150 xbox. if they want to mess with it, microsoft in there infinate wisdom can't do anything about it.

..... and the rant goes on. (sorry its been a long day and this just set me off)
The reason it can be modded is because of the nvidia gfx card in the system. (in case anybody didn't know) the first version of the next version of the xbox has already been anounced and shipped to game developers according to game informer mag. and get this its a modified g5... thats right a mac. sometimes i don't get microsoft.

ok ok now i'm done.