Best Media Center

[Mr Blonde]

Hello All,
Just thought I would share some stuff that popped into my head. I know alot of people that are happy with their TiVo or their Win XP Media Center or even the ATI MMC, but how many people on the boards here have heard of the XBMC. Sure it requires you to support m$ and buy an Xbox (and mod it) but the formats and option this thing has are amazing.

Check out the latest version of this beast here

http://www.critikill.net/content/screenshots.asp




I think the things this thing will do will amaze you. No Xbox? Well check out this project to duplicate the XBMC on your PC

http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/screenshots.html

Cool stuff indeed....thoughts?

[Velcroman]

VERY impressive. Although there are other factors beyond the interface. One thing I like about BeyondTV is the ease of use. Installation could have been better but once it's up and running, it's never once blue screened on me, the pausing works flawlessly, and the transitions and effects make it feel highly polished and professional. 3.5 looks even better.

[genesis]

Yeah, XBMC is very nice, and MediaPortal holds a lot of promise. But it will take a lot of work to get as polished a recording and timeshifting engine as BTV has. Hopefully with the release of 3.5 upcoming, the guys behind MP and XBMC will provide some tight integration with BTV so we can get the best of both worlds.

[mcowger]

I think its a great combo WITH BTV...

[jip]

Originally Posted by genesis

Yeah, XBMC is very nice, and MediaPortal holds a lot of promise. But it will take a lot of work to get as polished a recording and timeshifting engine as BTV has. Hopefully with the release of 3.5 upcoming, the guys behind MP and XBMC will provide some tight integration with BTV so we can get the best of both worlds.

So, do you think this will compete w/ Beyond Media then?

- J

[Brett]

That XBOX mod is kind of interesting...were they saving games on the XBox harddrive?

-Brett

[Mr Blonde]

Oh yeah saving games, movies, tv shows. Plus there is a streaming media server (samba) that allows you to stream stuff from your PC over to the Xbox

[bradrellinger]

Originally Posted by Mr Blonde

Oh yeah saving games, movies, tv shows. Plus there is a streaming media server (samba) that allows you to stream stuff from your PC over to the Xbox

I think it works great. i save games and downloaded movies on the hard. and just stream the Beyond TV files from the box that they are on, that way i have the whole list of recorded shows, and dont have to transfer a thing.....i recommend it.

[Mistergq]

I just modded my xbox this past weekend. I can now use it as a client to play my tv shows in my bedroom. However, I am now intrigued by Myth TV . The way myth tv works (besides using Linux) is that it has a server and a client. The client not only plays saved programs, but also live tv. From what I have seen, the client works pretty well and has all the features of BTV.

Hopefully, something similar can be developed for BTV. A client on the XBox would be nice to have live tv that way.

[flavius]

BTV will also have a client. It's currently in beta. I have it up and running on a machine in the basement - the kids love it. The client provides pretty much the same functionality as the server does.

[Mistergq]

If the client is for the Xbox, that is good news. How do I get to beta test that?

[flavius]

Just sign up. Don't forget to bring a couple McKinleys, though.

[Mistergq]

Isn't the client for a windows based OS? To make it run on Xbox, it would need to be with an XBE end and written for the Xbox OS or linux.

[fester]

by a very large margin - xbmc is the best media center on the planet period... NOT TO MENTION the priceerformance is simply unapproachable with a "pc". LINUX is the only way to go. winblows fails in every aspect. The only thing lacking in XBMC is capture, but live streaming is now available. been using it for about a year now. changed hdd's last month to 250gb. it's really nice to take to tailgates at pacbell park and candlestick. people mostly freak out when they see it