Get Ready For Divx On Xbox

donnacha points to this ZDNet story which says that hackers have built a Divx player for Xbox. "As previously discussed ( Divx - The Real Xbox Killer App), the ability to play reasonably high-quality films, speedily burned onto inexpensive CDR media, is going to make (modded) Xbox ownership a far more attractive proposition. This will take Divx beyond the desktops of those with broadband connections and into the living rooms of those who don't own computers. Expect to see a resurgence of Xbox sales and much confusion in MS as to whether or not this is a good thing."

Comments

Over hyped

[PyroMosh]

The person who submited the article is seriously overestimating the importance of this. People without computers don't hack their x-boxen. Trust me on this one. I doubt anyone is going to go out and buy an x-box just because of this. But I do wonder weather MS will think this a Good Thing(TM) or not.

Re:Over hyped

[Slashamatic]

There are plenty of other consoles that have been mod-chipped, and many of those are in the hands of non-techies. Quite often it is just so that they can get over regional encodings on games.

Maybe if DIVX is all that the mod will give the non-techie types, then it will fail.

Re:Over hyped

[scott1853]

I don't think MS will like this. Remember they lose money on every box sold, so if you're not buying games, you're an evil pirate.

Re:Over hyped

[donnacha]

The person who submited the article is seriously overestimating the importance of this.

Um... that would be me. I don't generally have a tendency for hype but, in this case, all the pieces that are needed to make Xbox a powerful proposition are falling into place. It's important to stress that I'm not pro or anti MS, I'm just trying to predict how things will be in about a year or so.

People without computers don't hack their x-boxen. Trust me on this one. I doubt anyone is going to go out and buy an x-box just because of this.

That's not how it will work. There's already a burgeoning community of people willing to either mod people's existing Xboxes or sell pre-modded machines. The wholesale prices of these chips appear to go as low as $30 and they are becoming increasing easy to fit, with 12 wires options now replacing the original 29 wire options.

I would suggest that it will become quite common for people to offer modding for about $90 dollars or pre-modded machines for about $270. In somes cases the prices will be even lower than this as budding entrepaneurs, just like MS themselves, will subsidize the initial costs in the interests of developing a substantial customer-base in their own community to whom they can sell films and games on an ongoing basis.

In terms of both skill and capital, the bars to entry are extremely low and I expect that everyone will soon have a "friend-of-a-friend" who will offer these services.

Re:Over hyped

[Geek In Training]

In somes cases the prices will be even lower than this as budding entrepaneurs, just like MS themselves, will subsidize the initial costs in the interests of developing a substantial customer-base in their own community to whom they can sell films and games on an ongoing basis.

This is my beef: you're talking about blatant, illegal (duh) piracy of games and movies. "Budding enterpaneurs" in this field are underground morons who think that they won't get caught, but always do; and giant asian piracy cartels, who also generaly get caught with a shipment of 37,000 units before they hit the streets.

That is a lot different that people who "preview" movies on KaZaa and then go see them. This is "pay $4 to me, d00d, and get SpiderMan instead of/before the DVD."

Re:Over hyped

[cdrudge]

how will people without broadband download those huge DivX files?

They don't necessarily have to have a broadband connection to get the DivX/VCD files. Friends could have the connection and burn them a copy, copy an already made CD-R, or rip your own. Although the latter option would imply you have the DVD, CD-RW, and DVD-ROM drive and a computer to do the encoding. But I agree with you that the mod would usually be used by people with the broadband connections.

Re:Over hyped

[Jucius Maximus]

"People without computers don't hack their x-boxen. Trust me on this one. I doubt anyone is going to go out and buy an x-box just because of this."

But what about people that have:
a) computers
b) broadband
c) technical smarts
d) no DVD player for the home theatre (yet)

Would you choose an X-Box at the new reduced price that could play DiVX you downloaded from the 'net or a regular DVD player with region controls and CSS?

Re:Over hyped

[Nindalf]

The ease of the mod is only one half of its potential appeal. The other half is value.

The ability to play Divx on CD-R is just not a big deal. Sure, you'll probably see a few hundred or thousand video-trading geeks setting this up, so they can watch their stuff on the TV. There might even be a few who would buy an Xbox specifically to watch movies on CD. But you're just not going to see this make the difference to hundreds or millions of people.

My reaction on hearing about this was, "So what?" And I even know what Divx is, which is more than you can say for the general population.

Ordinary people don't think, "Hey, I'll go out and spend $300 so I can watch piles of the second-rate bootleg videos you can buy from that creepy kid who never goes outside!"

You should learn the difference between, "Hey, this is exactly what I was looking for!" and "Wow! Everyone is going to want one of these!"

Re:Over hyped

[donnacha]

This is my beef: you're talking about blatant, illegal (duh) piracy of games and movies.

We're not condoning it, we're predicting how the consumer technology and content landscape is going to change over the next couple of years. We're also trying to guess what Microsoft's long-term strategy is because it sure as Hell isn't what they say it is.

People break laws, all sorts of laws, all over the world, throughout the ages. Sometimes that's a bad thing, sometimes it's a good thing. But predicting the future based on the assumption that people will stick to the rules is not a good idea.

Re:Over hyped

[thesolo]

Would you choose an X-Box at the new reduced price that could play DiVX you downloaded from the 'net or a regular DVD player with region controls and CSS?

Considering you still need to buy an add-on for the XBox to play DVDs, the price is back over $200. For that price, you can get a region-free DVD player that plays VCDs, SVCDs, MP3 Disks, and has better audio & video out options than the XBox. (Like the Daewoo 5700, which costs $150)

I seriously don't know anyone who would buy an XBox instead of a regular DVD player, when Xboxes don't offer as many features, or (IMHO) don't look nearly as nice as a standalone DVD player.

Re:Over hyped

[donnacha]

You should learn the difference between, "Hey, this is exactly what I was looking for!" and "Wow! Everyone is going to want one of these!"

Excellent distinction but, all the same, I really do think that from a price / utility / necessary skill point of view, this trend has all the elements necessary to cause a fundamental shift in content piracy, especially in the majority of the world where most people don't already own DVD players.

Ordinary people don't think, "Hey, I'll go out and spend $300 so I can watch piles of the second-rate bootleg videos you can buy from that creepy kid who never goes outside!"

Again, well put, but I think that if Creepy Kid offers them a modded Xbox for $250 and promises to supply them with films, games and 6-hour CDs of the lastest music, all at $3 a piece, most people are going to say, "Creepy Kid, you've got yourself a sale!".

My reaction on hearing about this was, "So what?" And I even know what Divx is, which is more than you can say for the general population.

The general population don't need to know what Divx is, all they'll know is that there local pirate, whether he be Creepy Kid or part of a large-scale operation, is pushing it as better quality than video. The pirates will do this because copying and distributing via CDR is a great deal cheaper, quicker and easier than video and far less expensive than blank DVDs.

Re:Over hyped

[Jucius Maximus]

"Considering you still need to buy an add-on for the XBox to play DVDs, the price is back over $200. For that price, you can get a region-free DVD player that plays VCDs, SVCDs, MP3 Disks, and has better audio & video out options than the XBox. (Like the Daewoo 5700, which costs $150)"

What about outside the united states? For example I live in Canada and all of these modded region free players, after importing, taxes, duty, currency conversion will cost CAD$700+ a piece. (Of course yout average cheap region-infested DVD player will cost less than CAD$250.) At that rate, the X-Box is more attractive.

Re:Over hyped

[PepsiProgrammer]

It would seem not too many without computers would have a large stockpile of DivX movies they want to play on their TV

Re:Over hyped

[DrXym]

Not to mention the fact that people without computers can't cut their own divx movies either. In fact not many people *with* computers would bother either, since it takes a bloody age to do from a dvd. The only alternative is to download them from somewhere via p2p which then requires a fast adsl link and takes a long time too, not to mention the question quality of whatever you're downloading.

Re:Over hyped

[rblancarte]

This is my beef: you're talking about blatant, illegal (duh) piracy of games and movies.

We're not condoning it, we're predicting how the consumer technology and content landscape is going to change over the next couple of years. We're also trying to guess what Microsoft's long-term strategy is because it sure as Hell isn't what they say it is.

This is where lose me in the whole aregument. For two reasons:

1- As this guy pointed out, M$ is not about to say that piracy is ok on their system. If they allow a system like DivX to go on their system, they are condoning it, and the MPAA and other probably won't be to happy about that
2- (if I am reading between the lines right) You are making the assumption that anyone with high speed access is going to go out and get an XBox so they can DL movies in DivX format and watch them, and for me - and I would venture to say MOST people - that isn't the case. IMHO, the only people who this would be the case are the current movie pirates now. I don't see something like this making mainstream and getting Joe P Consumer to go out and buy an XBox to get into movie piracy.

I guess that I am agreeing with Geeks In Training (and the AC who called this Overhyped) - I just don't see how something niche like this will really make a HUGE dent on 2 Million + units sold. Plus will this make a huge impact on sales of XBoxes compared to PS2s? Again, because this is a niche thing, I don't see that.

RonB

Re:Over hyped

[Wakko Warner]

Excellent distinction but, all the same, I really do think that from a price / utility / necessary skill point of view, this trend has all the elements necessary to cause a fundamental shift in content piracy, especially in the majority of the world where most people don't already own DVD players.

That's great, but you're very wrong. While there may be a huge online pirated-movie trade, there's absolutely no physical analog in the real world. I can't drive into the ghetto and pick up "Attack of the Clones" on DivX. (I can get it on VHS or, perhaps, even VCD.) I can't mail-order the latest movies, or even good old ones, on DivX (I can on DVD.)

There's no market for this. There is nobody clamoring for something to play all their DivX movies on (those people already have computers.) Nobody needs this. Therefore, this is not a big deal.

- A.P.
- A.P.

Re:Over hyped

[Geek In Training]

But predicting the future based on the assumption that people will stick to the rules is not a good idea.

Also promoting a culture of anarchy and lawlessness by saying "it happens, so we should just allow it to continue" is likewise not a good idea.

I have visited the webpages listed in your profile, and read your other posts. You seem to be intelligent and not a troll; and I appreciate you replying to these posts thoughtfully. I just don't agree that because you can hack, we should "ebrace" the idea of creating a black market and series of gray markets to fulfill a niche based on the wants of a few selfish people, based on the notion that it's "what the masses have been waiting for."

If I owned an XBox, I'd probably play games on it. If I wanted to hack it into a Linux/Divx/MP3 box, I'd wait until I can buy one for $30 at a garage sale. Think about it, if I had $300 to blow on a modified Xbox and then blow bucks on pirated, poor quality movies, why wouldn't I just go buy a $399 e-machines PC with lots more capabilities, and a licensed copy of WinXP? Then I can watch DVDs that I rent for $4 (or buy), surf the web, play games, etc?

I'm not just some fatcat poo-pooing the idea in favor of corporate interests... far from it. But XBox is NOT all that you think it is, and I'm seeing that more people seem to agree with my point of view than yours.

On the other hand, I don't think my point of view is necessarily 100% right just because it's popular or more enlightened than yours; I just think I'm coming from a point of view more consistent with reality than your ideological assertion of pirates on every corner. The IP revolution will come, but I've decded to largely spectate by sitting back and donating money to the EFF, instead of speculating on and promoting ways to screw the media cartels.

Re:Over hyped

[I_redwolf]

Your statement is over-hyped; It seems you haven't thought this through.

1. Divx is a lossy format to begin with, The PS2 plays dvd's. If these people don't have computers to begin with where exactly do they pick up the divx's? Not only that but to watch a movie in low quality format? Not me, I don't even own a console but if I were to buy one I would of probably bought it primarily for the games and not for some cool extra.

2. Who cares about the community? This isn't about them, when people go out to buy consoles most of these people are either Parents buying for their little kids or older adults buying to play. If I have a DVD player as I've said above and I don't have a computer how does the DiVX option help me in any substansial way? I could buy an Xbox plus seperate DVD Player and save money and get a better quality format. If I wanted to go the extra mile and turn pirate I'd just fucking copy dvd's. There are machines on the market that do that now as well as computers.

3. Skill wise, I don't want to be bothered in opening a machine; you think people even open their computers? Skill wise FOR YOU it might be extremely low, not for 9 yr old bobby who doesn't give a shit about wires but about games and Xbox just doesn't have enough cool games; Infact I went to visit a friend and he was having a garage sale.. his little cousin is talking to me rambling at the mouth.. He says do you have a gaming system? I said no, but if I did I'd probably get a gamecube or something. He says well Xbox sucks cause all the games are like wannabes and I want a gamecube cause super smash bros is cool.. you should get one too so we can have a tournament.

That says it all for me.

So, think about the rest of the world and not just your community when you talk about the sales of a product going up based on some tiny detail that is supposed to revolutionize a product. This was the problem with the internet everyone hyped every tiny little thing that seemed so amazing in their own world but was practically useless to everyone else.

DiVX on XboX you say? Who cares, I thought it was made for the cool games they were supposed to have?

Re:Over hyped

[Wakko Warner]

You completely missed the point.

I'm proud that you can download divx's on your computer.

My mom can't. She doesn't have a computer.

The whole point of this article is that this is supposed to open a whole new world of piracy to everyday people without a computer or knowledge of how to use one.

It won't.

- A.P.

Re:Over hyped

[0x0d0a]

Non-techies don't buy Xboxen. They buy PS2, and they buy them at Best Buy.

Techies don't buy Microsoft products. :-)

Re:Over hyped

[Slashamatic]

In some foreign places (CIS), you are more likely to see DivX than DVD available, mainly because the main producers haven't got their act together. It is easier to find an illegal version of a movie with local, unofficial dubbing than a legit copy (even on VHS).

Re:Over hyped

[Slashamatic]

I would love to be able to avoid MS totally. Unfortunately, until I can wean my (l)users away.

Ok that is at the office, but what about at home? I don't have a console, but if I did, I would probably go for the PS2 on principle (Sony have got very hacker-friendly with their Linux version). However, the hardware in the X-box looks nice and it would be kind of tempting to sue it, especially for thinsg that MS had not envisaged.

Re:Over hyped

[Eil]

Divx is a lossy format to begin with

So is DVD (which uses MPEG-2 as the compression codec, a far more inefficient algorithm than divx).

The PS2 plays dvd's

Shittily, but yes it does. And with the most brain-dead unintuitive interface ever concocted, I might add.

If these people don't have computers to begin with where exactly do they pick up the divx's?

You are assuming that people who own Xboxes don't have any friends? Or access to someone elses computer? Or access to a computer at a college or uni or work? In some parts of the world, divx movies are actually very easy to buy. Downloading is not even close to the only way to get divx movies.

Not only that but to watch a movie in low quality format?

From this statement, I could take one of two guesses... 1. You have never seen any divx-encoded movies or have only seen a few poorly encoded ones and are thus talking out of your ass throughout this entire comment. 2. Prior to to the advent of DVD you didn't watch any movies at all. A well-encoded divx movie is far superior to both VHS and theatre screens. "Theatre screens?" you ask. Yes, a theatre screen is only mediocre quality, in my opinion. Sure, it's mammoth and that's something you'll never reproduce outside an actual theatre, but for its size, it's also rather blurry. When I watch any movie in a theatre, I'm usually distracted for the first 5 or 10 minutes about how blurry the movie seems until I get into the story. I never, repeat never, have this problem with DVD or VHS.

Who cares about the community?

Obviously you don't. Likewise, they probably don't give two shits about you.

I could buy an Xbox plus seperate DVD Player and save money and get a better quality format. If I wanted to go the extra mile and turn pirate I'd just fucking copy dvd's.

Then for g-d's sake, do it. Do either one, but stop bitching about it on slashdot. The mere mention of an Xbox modchip sure brings out a nasty emotional response from you.

Skill wise, I don't want to be bothered in opening a machine

Then don't. Nobody asked you to. Those who do have a bit of hacker spirit inside them and are up to the technical challenge of modding their Xbox (a machine which was built to be tamper resistant) will and they'll do it to their own machines and not bother you one bit about it.

Skill wise FOR YOU it might be extremely low, not for 9 yr old bobby who doesn't give a shit about wires but about games

Then for christ sake, he's simply not going to do it. As I stated multiple times above, those who want to mod their xbox will.

Infact I went to visit a friend and he was having a garage sale.. his little cousin is talking to me rambling at the mouth

Sounds like it rubbed off.

So, think about the rest of the world and not just your community when you talk about the sales of a product going up based on some tiny detail that is supposed to revolutionize a product.

The rest of the world will continue as it always has, Xbox modchip or no. Quite frankly, if I had an Xbox that I wanted to mod, I wouldn't give a flying shit about "the rest of the world" or what Micro$oft is going to do about all the lost revenue or anything else. I'd be in it for the fun.

This was the problem with the internet everyone hyped every tiny little thing that seemed so amazing in their own world but was practically useless to everyone else.

Oh look at you, Mister "I'm going to post an airhead rant on the internet and then condemn the very act near the end of the post".

The internet is an open medium which gives everyone the right to say exactly what they want to say no matter how much you dislike it. Neither slashdot nor any other company, organization, or individual on the internet is obligated to write content that you happen to agree with. If you don't like it, go to another website, there are thousands of others just like this one. Maybe you'll agree with what they say more instead of inconstructively bitching about this one. Even better, go build yourself another internet that you control if you dislike this one so damned much.

DiVX on XboX you say? Who cares, I thought it was made for the cool games they were supposed to have?

What it was made for and what it actually gets used for can be completely different things. I think Larry Wall (inventor of Perl scripting language, for the ungeek, namely you) was the one who said that the best tool one can ever hope to create is one for which uses are discovered that its designer never would have imagined.

Much as I despise Micros~1, with the modchip and these new programs being released, the Xbox now has a bit of added value in my eyes. The only question I have... where are all the Gamecube hackers?

Re:Over hyped

[I_redwolf]

So is DVD (which uses MPEG-2 as the compression codec, a far more inefficient algorithm than divx).

What exactly is your point?? Taking what I say outta context isn't gonna help your argument. I'm stating the obvious as for DivX.. it uses MPEG-4; another lossy format. I didn't say the visuals weren't good I said it was a Lossy format. It is. Lets move on.

The PS2 plays dvd's
How exactly do you play a dvd ?shittily? Explain that to me. As for the interface, that wasn't what this discussion was about. So why are you talking about interfaces if everyone else is talking specs?

You are assuming that people who own Xboxes don't have any friends? Or access to someone elses computer? Or access to a computer at a college or uni or work?

No I'm assuming, that people have friends, and have access to computers. I just don't think they are going to go out of there way to call up a friend to ask if they can come over and download a movie; OR Oh.. umm I just got an xbox and I'm gonna hack it to play divx's I know I can go to blockbuster and rent a movie for 4 bucks or so but I was wondering if you can download Spider-Man for me and if so convert it to Divx for me so that I can watch it on my xbox. Thanks.

Then don't. Nobody asked you to. Those who do have a bit of hacker spirit inside them and are up to the technical challenge of modding their Xbox (a machine which was built to be tamper resistant) will and they'll do it to their own machines and not bother you one bit about it.

Haha technical challenge? You surely jest, I surely don't like technically challenging things at all. Hmm I run kernelcode for fun and do a bit of programming on gnome, some kernel toy things and other cool non technically challenging things. Especially cracking open this dtv/tivo box and doing all sorts of nifty stuff released back to the tivo community all these things were meant to be hacked mind you.

The rest of the world will continue as it always has, Xbox modchip or no. Quite frankly, if I had an Xbox that I wanted to mod, I wouldn't give a flying shit about "the rest of the world" or what Micro$oft is going to do about all the lost revenue or anything else. I'd be in it for the fun.

Why are you telling me this? This is what I assumed from the original post. Except Microsoft loses no revenue from this, they gain, less support contracts etc etc. Who cares though, your box and you do what you want with it. Of course this wasn't what I was addressing. As the original post clearly shows. Hey man, have all the fun you want.

The internet is an open medium which gives everyone the right to say exactly what they want to say no matter how much you dislike it. Neither slashdot nor any other company, organization, or individual on the internet is obligated to write content that you happen to agree with. If you don't like it, go to another website, there are thousands of others just like this one. Maybe you'll agree with what they say more instead of inconstructively bitching about this one. Even better, go build yourself another internet that you control if you dislike this one so damned much.

I like this internet.. Except for the minor security problems with tcp/ip and the general disdain for security. I can do whatever I like, say whatever I want, with no or very little reprecussions of any kind. Of course this wasn't what I was addressing so at this point I've invited others to read your post and somehow they think your are a bit too emotional for some reason. Do you love your xbox that much? Have I offended your xbox? If so I apologize. I apologize to your xbox that I don't care about it or what you do with it. Do you feel better?

What it was made for and what it actually gets used for can be completely different things. I think Larry Wall (inventor of Perl scripting language, for the ungeek, namely you) was the one who said that the best tool one can ever hope to create is one for which uses are discovered that its designer never would have imagined.

It was marketed to be a console, it does a halfway decent job at it cept it doesn't have any games. As for Larry Wall, I'm familiar with the name and thanks for calling me ungeeky.. I never really considered myself a geek perse.. I do geek things but you couldn't tell I was one by just looking at me. Thanks for that comment, I'm flattered.

Much as I despise Micros~1, with the modchip and these new programs being released, the Xbox now has a bit of added value in my eyes. The only question I have... where are all the Gamecube hackers?

If it's added value for you; great. As for the rest of the world this won't mean a goddamned thing is which my original post seems to convey I don't know how you got lost. The Gamecube hackers are busy playing games which was the point of a console I thought. I'm glad people can mod their ps2's (especially the ps2 which now ships in a ready to make a game package for developers which you can read about many places including OMG!! MY WEBSITE!! WOAH (like that whiteboy Joey on whats that old show Blossom)!!) and xboxes... thats great but the large populous doesn't really give a shit. My friends with ps2's who have done all sorts of crazy engineering shit aren't breaking them down. My gamecube friends aren't breaking them down and my xbox lackeys are kinda pissed they don't have any really cool games but they are also not breaking down their xboxes just because of this divx stuff; they seem relatively happy with the xbox though. To each his/her own.

Maybe because the gamecube uses gdroms?? I dunno where the gamecube hackers are really. Most of the time I just play the damn things for their entertainment value, I'm getting one eventually and it'll probably be the gamecube because I've played the coolest games on that one. PS2 is ok I do enjoy grand theft auto 3 I must admit and xbox "is like a wannabe", there are just no good games. Is the DiVX stuff gonna make me want one? Most likely no, and if I know about it and it hasn't swayed me.. your avg consumer who hears about it isn't gonna care either.

Only question I have is are you on some sort of drug?

Re:Over hyped

[Eil]

What exactly is your point?? Taking what I say outta context isn't gonna help your argument. I'm stating the obvious as for DivX.. it uses MPEG-4; another lossy format. I didn't say the visuals weren't good I said it was a Lossy format. It is.

How can I take it out of context when that's the only thing you said about it? Just "divx is lossy." As if it were an argument in and of itself on why you think divx sucks.

Oh.. umm I just got an xbox and I'm gonna hack it to play divx's I know I can go to blockbuster and rent a movie for 4 bucks or so but I was wondering if you can download Spider-Man for me and if so convert it to Divx for me so that I canwatch it on my xbox. Thanks.

And why not? If you happened to be a good friend of mine, I just might. One of my friends, who has no computer occasionally comes to me and borrows mine so he can download Dragonball Z VCDs to watch on his DVD player. There's no practical difference between VCDs and divx except one is more common and thei other is technically superior.

As an aside, what the hell does it matter that modding an Xbox to play divx movies is more inconvenient than just renting a DVD or watching a divx on a computer? That is obviously not the point of hacking an Xbox. The modding of the machine and the knowledge that you did it yourself is the fun part, not watching the damn movies. No, it's not a particularly hard hack to perform even if you're never weilded a soldering iron, but then neither is a computer case mod or a Tivo mod.

Especially cracking open this dtv/tivo box and doing all sorts of nifty stuff released back to the tivo community all these things were meant to be hacked mind you.

Okay, so you play with kernel code. And you hack your Tivo. You do both only because you believe they were meant to be hacked. IIRC, the Tivo was never designed to be hacked. The corporation only went along with all the community mods because they realized after the boxes were on the market that to do otherwise would be counterproductive to their profit margins. But more to the point, could you please tell me what is so horrible or sinful about hacking something that wasn't "meant to be hacked"? I think many (including myself) would argue that hacking something that wasn't designed to be hacked is much more fun in the long run. (Especially if the hack is useful, neat, clever, etc.) That's what makes hacking the Xbox such a nice challenge. Not only was it not designed to be hacked, it has multiple mechanisms in place to defend against modification. The people who designed the modchip and those writing the media player are getting tremendous recognition due to that fact alone.

I like this internet.. Except for the minor security problems with tcp/ip and the general disdain for security. I can do whatever I like, say whatever I want, with no or very little reprecussions of any kind.

That's exactly what you said you disliked about the internet in your previous post. That's fairly heavy contradiction in my book.

Of course this wasn't what I was addressing so at this point I've invited others to read your post and somehow they think your are a bit too emotional for some reason.

But you did address it. I remember quite clearly. You said that you disliked the internet because it allows people (even weird or unpopular people) to speak their minds on whatever topic they like. Emotional? In comparison to your devout hatred of both the divx and Xbox, I hardly think so.

Do you love your xbox that much? Have I offended your xbox? If so I apologize. I apologize to your xbox that I don't care about it or what you do with it. Do you feel better?

I don't think this kind of juvenile tripe even deserves a response, but I'm feeling generous. And I want to set the record straight for those who can't see the obvious if it punched them in the face: I don't have an Xbox, nor do I even plan to buy one in the forseeable future. I have no particular affinity for the Xbox either except that I admit that it is impressive from a technical standpoint. I own exactly one console video game system (a Playstation, they gray one) that I haven't played in probably over a year.

If it's added value for you; great. As for the rest of the world this won't mean a goddamned thing is which my original post seems to convey I don't know how you got lost.

I didn't get lost, I was pointing out the fact that your opinion != the world's opinion, something a lot of slashbots tend to forget after a few years of posting.

OMG!! MY WEBSITE!! WOAH (like that whiteboy Joey on whats that old show Blossom)!!)

What are you on, son?

and my xbox lackeys are kinda pissed they don't have any really cool games but they are also not breaking down their xboxes just because of this divx stuff; they seem relatively happy with the xbox though. To each his/her own.

More contradiction. Thoughout this whole exchange you've been condemning those who want to mod their Xbox for any reason at all and then have the audacity to state the sentence I've highlighted in bold? The only thing I can make out from your side of the debate is that hacking is cool and okay as long as it's not to watch divx movies on an xbox.

ok I do enjoy grand theft auto 3 I must admit and xbox "is like a wannabe", there are just no good games.

First, what constitues a good game is a matter of opinion. It would be appropriate to say you believe there are no good Xbox games, but again you assume that you speak for everyone. I don't know of any good Xbox games only because I have not yet played a single Xbox game. But the system is selling in the stores, the games get decent reviews in video game rags (to my knowledge) and I know of several people who are thrilled with theirs. You said yourself that you have friends who enjoy their Xbox, so I'm inferring that they think there are good games for it. (Unless maybe they bought the system anyway knowing there were no good games for it nor any on the horizon... hardly a wise purchasing decision. Stupid, I would even admit, if this happens to be the case.)

Is the DiVX stuff gonna make me want one? Most likely no

That's fine, you are certainly entitled to that.

and if I know about it and it hasn't swayed me.. your avg consumer who hears about it isn't gonna care either.

Yet again you assume that you speak for everyone. Does your average consumer hack the Linux kernel? No. Does your average consumer hack their Tivo? No. But you do. Funny how you try to form an argument that because you have no desire to hack the Xbox then no one wants to or that it's a stupid thing to do. Average consumers have nothing at all to do with any of this.

Re:Over hyped

[I_redwolf]

How can I take it out of context when that's the only thing you said about it? Just "divx is lossy." As if it were an argument in and of itself on why you think divx sucks.

To people reading this dialogue; friends and others that happen to stumble upon this. Throughout my post I never once said divx sucked; it's a lossy format. Thats what it is a lossy format.

I like this internet.. Except for the minor security problems with tcp/ip and the general disdain for security. I can do whatever I like, say whatever I want, with no or very little reprecussions of any kind.

That's exactly what you said you disliked about the internet in your previous post. That's fairly heavy contradiction in my book.

Ummm I never said I disliked the internet once. Again my post never said I dislike the internet. Again for my fellow friends who are undoubtedly gonna read this you can see the demensia this person actually seems to live in.

But you did address it. I remember quite clearly. You said that you disliked the internet because it allows people (even weird or unpopular people) to speak their minds on whatever topic they like. Emotional? In comparison to your devout hatred of both the divx and Xbox, I hardly think so.

You remember? Don't remember actually go back to the parent post. I never said I disliked the internet because it allows people (even weird or unpopular people) to speak their minds on whatever topic they like. This is extremely laughable it's as if you can't even research your own answers to make sure what you are saying holds any water. Anyone that has been reading this thread or the people that I will invite to read it will see what an absolute imbicile you are.

I didn't get lost, I was pointing out the fact that your opinion != the world's opinion, something a lot of slashbots tend to forget after a few years of posting.

I know this; my opinion doesn't equal the world's opinion or bandwidth would be the cheapest commodity on the planet and Operating systems and the like would be free. However I never said my opinion equals anything except that if I don't care your avg person who's not into this stuff isn't gonna care and those are the people buying these consoles. It's not your type of person buying consoles it's the 10-30 yr old group who play video games devoutly and don't read websites like this at all, they rarely even use computers. As you said you don't even own a console except for playstation you haven't played in a year; get it?

More contradiction. Thoughout this whole exchange you've been condemning those who want to mod their Xbox for any reason at all and then have the audacity to state the sentence I've highlighted in bold? The only thing I can make out from your side of the debate is that hacking is cool and okay as long as it's not to watch divx movies on an xbox.

HAHA condeming? Listen; read my post and select things that I have said that condemn people from modding their xbox for any reason at all. Go ahead.. Find any?? Has anyone else found any?? heh. Personally, I don't like the xbox and it's not for technical reasons as I said before it's because it doesn't have any cool games. What exactly is your problem with me not liking the Xbox? Not everyone is gonna like what you like and because of that it doesn't make them wrong. I DO NOT LIKE THE XBOX and it's because IT HAS SHITTY GAMES. GET IT?! If you wanna mod your xbox then so be it, have fun. Enjoy yourself as I've said two times before.

First, what constitues a good game is a matter of opinion. It would be appropriate to say you believe there are no good Xbox games, but again you assume that you speak for everyone. I don't know of any good Xbox games only because I have not yet played a single Xbox game. But the system is selling in the stores, the games get decent reviews in video game rags (to my knowledge) and I know of several people who are thrilled with theirs. You said yourself that you have friends who enjoy their Xbox, so I'm inferring that they think there are good games for it. (Unless maybe they bought the system anyway knowing there were no good games for it nor any on the horizon... hardly a wise purchasing decision. Stupid, I would even admit, if this happens to be the case.)

Ummm I'll ask them if they wish to respond, I mean from what I know they have an Xbox they like it but they don't rave and rant about it so I'm not sure. You'd have to ask them, they are reading. They are Xbox fans and think that you are a lunatic, heh. As I've said before slashdot has the cream of the crop when it comes to zealotry and as people who read this thread and people I invite to read this thread can see. You have either totally lost it or just trolling. No one is sure yet but bets are being taken, "50 bucks on him going ballistic next post".

Yet again you assume that you speak for everyone. Does your average consumer hack the Linux kernel? No. Does your average consumer hack their Tivo? No. But you do. Funny how you try to form an argument that because you have no desire to hack the Xbox then no one wants to or that it's a stupid thing to do. Average consumers have nothing at all to do with any of this.

The avg consumer does not hack the linux kernel and you inferring I hack the linux kernel is funny because I've never said that. I fool around with the linux kernel but I don't spend time with that. Assumptions tend to make an ass out of U and ME as they say; I primarily hack on the freebsd kernel now and primarily always have messed with bsd in one form or fashion kernel wise. I like linux though and it drives my desktop but this is another discussion. The avg consumer also does not hack the tivo they own. I do all that type of stuff; correct. I never formed any argument that NO ONE wants to do it and I never called it stupid, Like I said before if it something you wanna do then do so, feel free, have fun. I'm saying it again, have fun, feel free, do whatever.

Average consumers are the ones purchasing the consoles, not people like me because I'm on the fence, not people like you because you have a playstation "they grey one" that you haven't played in a year. It's the people who don't read slashdot but read gaming magazines and game constantly. How do I know this? Well my friends have been reading this thread because they know that I used to be the biggest nintendo gamer. I've won several compos including the last one that was held at Jacob Javits (mario kart). That was like one of nintendo's last conferences but I stopped gaming after it and that was that. That was wow.. probably when I was like 11 or 12. Probably even 9 or 10 or something.. For the record I'm 22 now, so it was at least a decade and at most 12 yrs ago. In any event when I decided to purchase a new console this year I didn't just assume nintendo I'm looking for the best gaming experience, the most fun and all that.. I was gonna go with PS2 because they do have some fun games but not the genre that I like to play. I might still buy one because the games are more adult but I like a game I can have a good compo in and that is really all about skill. Not about divx or any of that; I don't care, thats not what I want a console for and when I was gaming I didn't care back then when they were doing all that stuff with super nes and famicom hd's and all that shit in Japan. I cared about it as much as I care about what you have to say on this topic. IE: heh I don't give a shit, so take it from me. If I don't care, 9 times outta 10 at least on this topic the avg consumer doesn't.

With this, I'm gonna have to apologize, I'm done responding. Friends, other people who come across this thread, feel free to respond; Thank you.

SVCD and Divx are different formats

[ringbarer]

SVCD is essentially a DVD MPEG2 file, cut down so that it'll fit on a normal CD. You can normally fit around 45 Minutes worth of SVCD video onto a CD. Ideal for TV shows, admittedly.

Divx on the other hand has much more efficient compression, to the point of being able to fit a full movie onto a single CD.

The convenience of only having to find one file and burn the one CD is what's going to assure Divx has a future.

Re:SVCD and Divx are different formats

[uradu]

> You can normally fit around 45 Minutes worth of SVCD video onto a CD

Only if you have unreasonably high standards. I've put all of Shrek onto one single CD, and the quality is almost indistinguishable from the DVD on my 35" TV except for a few high-motion scenes that show brief pixellation. In fact, I would say for average consumption you can fit many if not most 90 minute movies onto a single CD. Of course, that's without the bonus material and alternative soundtracks. This is not to say that I wouldn't prefer my DVD player to be able to play DivX, because I would. You should be able to fit a two hour movie onto a single CD with considerably less artifacting.

Re:SVCD and Divx are different formats

[Jucius Maximus]

"Only if you have unreasonably high standards. I've put all of Shrek onto one single CD, and the quality is almost indistinguishable from the DVD on my 35" TV except for a few high-motion scenes that show brief pixellation."

It sounds like some sort of variable bitrate video compression is needed here. (Does anyone know if this will be included in Ogg Tarkin?)

Re:SVCD and Divx are different formats

[bigdavex]

Only if you have unreasonably high standards. I've put all of Shrek onto one single CD, and the quality is almost indistinguishable from the DVD on my 35" TV except for a few high-motion scenes that show brief pixellation.

I agree that there are many people who find such quality acceptable. But there are enough people who care some the extra information on a DVD, or the industry wouldn't have gone to the trouble of replacing the physical medium of CD.

To get down to 1.5 Mbps or so, you reduced the resolution, right? Had to throw out the multichannel audio? I don't think it's "unreasonable" to care about these things.

Re:SVCD and Divx are different formats

[uradu]

> I don't think it's "unreasonable" to care about these things.

We're not talking in absolute terms here. Of course a DVD is better, no argument there. We're talking about the acceptable quality level of a medium that can be cheaply written in the home TODAY. As soon as DVD-R comes down close to the price level of CD-R, I'll be chucking all SVCD creation software. But for now, to create a disc that can play in the vast majority of DVD players for 20 cents in a $60 burner, SVCD can't be beat.

Re:SVCD and Divx are different formats

[Jucius Maximus]

"SVCD does use, by standard, Variable Bitrate MPEG-2 encoding, if I'm not mistaken."

I stand corrected.

no mass market effect

[colmore]

somehow i doubt it, Tim.

i don't think there are that many people who will be willing to crack open their X-Box just to play pirated movies, especially when VCD enabled DVD players cost about as much as an X-Box.

Saying that an X-Box modchip is going to bring DivX to the masses is like saying the PS1 mod chip brought Japanese-only retail games to the masses. It was cool for a handful of enthusiasts, but it was never a very big thing.

Aside from the hyperbole, this is pretty cool. I'm still happy with my Gamecube, though.

Re:no mass market effect

[colmore]

no, i recognize the difference, i'm just saying that joe public isn't about to take a screwdriver to his X-Box for DivX movies. And I still don't see how Timothy sees this taking DivX beyond the cable modem crowd. Where are Dick and Jane Average supposed to get these DivX movies?

It's funny, this story, and the way the editors present it basically confirm that Slashdot is very much pro-piracy. DivX as a file format should be legal, and there are free DivX movies.

However installing an (illegal) mod chip into a device that already plays DVDs to get DivX compatibility is almost certainly an act that will be accompanies by piracy. There might be three people out there who are going to hack their X-Box to make a family movie or one of the other few legal uses, but by and large, this is for people who download the matrix and want to see it on their TV.

Now I'm not trying to preach here, I download movies all the time. But Slashdot is more or less announcing its support for illegal activity, and that should be noted.

Apparently...

[NTSwerver]

...XBox developers are going to be the first to move into Microsoft's new headquarters.

Re:Why would I do that?

[UPSBrian]

I could see it from a convienance stand-point. My computer is set-up in the basement; my X-box is hooked up to a 32" TV with surround sound upstairs. That is far superior set-up than the 17" monitor in my spider infested basement.

Value of an XBox

[Marx_Mrvelous]

Maybe at $200, having a set-top Divx player would be worth it to some technophiles out there. And of course, every XBox sold is another $100 or so loss for Microsoft :)

Personally, I'd rather spend $200 on a nice DVD player, or a cheap DVD/surround home theatre system.

Re:Value of an XBox

[nuxx]

(I hope I don't get flamed down for making Anti-MS statements. That's not what this is. This is just a clarification.)

Remember that while MS may lose $100 on the sale of an XBox, that same XBox sitting on the shelf unsold would be a $300 (or greater) loss for MS as they would be shelling out the entire cost of the product and recouping nothing.

In short, if you truely desire to hit MS where it hurts, don't buy an XBox. Just let it sit there on the shelf.

Re:Value of an XBox

[Marx_Mrvelous]

No, you're wrong. That's seriously, seriously flawed logic.

If I don't buy an X-box and it stays "on the shelf" MS loses $300.

If I buy an X-box, MS replaces that X-box with another one (they keep stock levels constant). Hence, MS loses $100 from the one sold to me, plus $300 for the new one produced. Total = $400.

If MS had a fixed number of Xboxes, then yes, not buying one would hurt. But they don't, so by *not* buying an Xbox, you're actually helping microsoft.

Re:Value of an XBox

[Lonath]

But they don't, so by *not* buying an Xbox, you're actually helping microsoft.

You're making my head hurt. Stop confusing me. :P

Re:Value of an XBox

[nuxx]

I agree with what you are saying, but that replacement XBox is likely to be bought by someone else (an average consumer), along with some games, etc. Thus lessening the financial burden on MS.

I think that this argument is sort of circular and we both are right.

I feel, anyone who buys an XBox (including you and I) is very likely to buy at least one or two games, and maybe a second controller, thereby dampening the financial hit to MS through the license fees that they will recoup. (Then again, buying "used" titles wouldn't give any more money to MS, it'd just keep it floating around in more private circles...) I fel that even if someone doesn't want to buy games initially (simply in order to buy a XBox to 'hurt' MS or to play Divx titles) would want to use the system to it's full capacity eventually.

In light of this, and the fact that (as far as I'm aware, please correct me if I'm wrong) there isn't an established third party / underground development community (like there is for DC and GBA), I feel that if you are trying not to support MS it would still be 'best' to not buy a XBox.

Re:Value of an XBox

[Marx_Mrvelous]

Yea, it's a very cumulative effect, though- if MS maintains, say, 1,000,000 shelf units, they're out $200,000,000. If over the course of 1 year they sell $5,000,000, verses selling none, you can see where they lose money.

Of course, the less boxes sold, the less incentive for game developers to make games, and the worse it makes MS look. I'm not going to buy one, just pointing out a potentially weak argument ;)

Have you tried watching Divx on a Dreamcast?

[ringbarer]

The files need to be resampled at a very low resolution in order for the processor to keep up. With the X Box Divx viewer, we're talking full 640x480 resolution, IIRC.

Check out www.xboxemulation.co.uk to see how far X Box hacking has come.

Re:Have you tried watching Divx on a Dreamcast?

[Dr. Spork]

I assume that if you're displaying the Xbox DivX on your TV, you won't really get any use out of higher resolutions anyways.

Just what every modded xbox needs: pr0n

[Sagarian]

DivX : Putting the X in X-Box.

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[kyoko21]

Yep same reason why I got an XBox. Sure I have a PC. I have in fact several PCs. Too many PCs. But I don't want to move all that stuff into the living room and hook it up to the TV (not to mention buying tv-out cards).

With the XBox hacked to play alternative media formats, such as DivX, VCD, DVD, mp3, WMA, it makes it more useful, and all nicely integrated in the same box.

If MS was smart, instead of letting possible revenue slip away from them, they should just release some form of XBox Media Player that will allow more for more functionality on the XBox. If I could pay $30 bucks to get my XBox to play DivX 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, standard mpeg, standard mpeg2, mp3s, wma, without opening up my XBox, I would pay for it. And since I bought an XBox, and if there are some decent games out there, I just might consider buying a game. (Of course, going back to the issue of quality games because honestly, there just hasn't been that many great ones, except for DOA3 or Halo).

Unless MS want to see potential $$$ slip away, they would jump on the bandwagon. Hey, if you can't release decent games, at least make the box better and get people to buy the console. Heck, it's the same price as the PS2, and I don't see anyone trying to hack that. Though, it is conceivable to get DivX to run on PS2 if you had the Linux Dev kit and compile the code yourself on there... but that's 150 bucks you gota shell out. Do the math.

or simply...

[hexdcml]

watch DIVX on LARGE TV, by plugging in a £25 A/V cable into my iBook, and playing the divx movie - which is mirrored onto the TV.

Now, I know the iBook itself is more expensive, but then again, it is a laptop, and I bought it NOT solely for games and videos. The latter are just a bonus, and for £25, it is well worth it. That said, with a PowerBook, you don't even need to purchase a properitary (s?) AV cable, just use a standard Yellow/Red/White thing :) which you can probably pick up for £5.

Anyway, going a bit off topic... i think divx on xbox is pretty kewl.. but a bit useless for me - apart from the gaming part - but the GC looks better (and smaller!!).

BTW.. does anyone know how to watch divx .mov (quictkime) on PC's.. after converting the AVI to MOV - since QT can't handle avi with mp3 audio? I'd like to watch all my movies on both mac/pc.

To MS it can only be a bad thing

[truthsearch]

...much confusion in MS as to whether or not this is a good thing.

AFAIK the cost of building the XBox is still more than the $200 they're selling it for. The original idea was to lose money on the hardware and make huge profit on the games. So if people are to buy the XBox but no games, it's a loss for MS (at least $$$). When it's hacked in a way to simply use it as a linux PC without much hastle, you can buy the hardware, theoretically taking money away from MS, and have a relatively powerful cheap PC.

or you could...

[numatrix]

So let's see, I can spend $200 on a machine that I probably wouldn't otherwise buy to watch divx movies, or I can buy a $50 dreamcast and use the divx player that's been around for a while on that. Hmm... difficult decision. Not to mention there are already emulators for ALL of your favorite old-school platforms for the dreamcast. -jordan

Re:or you could...

[Latent IT]

From your own freakin' link:

Videos can be up to 496x496 but 320x240 or lower recommended.

320x240 or lower recommended? Ye-haw. Pardon me while I go re-rip all 120 of my 720x480 rips so that I lose 75% of the clarity, and squint the whole time instead of spending the extra $150. I know that the weeks of re-ripping will pay off, so long as I consider my time worth less than $.25 an hour.

And no, I didn't pull 75% out of my ass, either. 320x240 is 1/4th (more or less) of 720x480.

Re:or you could...

[karnal]

While that is definitely some fun information (re- dreamcast), it's not for everyone.

Per the divx page on dcemulation.com,:

"Status: - Videos can be up to 496x496 but 320x240 or lower recommended."

So, no real full-screen 720x480 video for me.....

Re:or you could...

[RaboKrabekian]

Interesting point - unless you've actually tried to use the Dreamcast DivX player. It's a disater - films need to be encoded at very low resolutions, and don't work half the time anyway. A Dreamcast is a great machine to have - great games and very cheap prices, and the afformentioned emulators (especially the NES ones) make it a good investment. But DivX is definitely *not* its forte.

Re:or you could...

[tweakt]

Videos can be up to 496x496 but 320x240 or lower recommended.

Sorry chief... I don't like my pr0n pixellated.

Re:or you could...

[Angry Black Man]

But then again, TV is 240x480 or something, so you wouldn't really gain anyway.

If 640x480 is in the range of "or something" then you'd be correct. And at a 16:9 aspect ratio that most of these DiVX movies use, thte resolution would be more around 704x480, and that's viewed on a SDTV.

http://www.audiovideo101.com/dictionary/sdtv.asp

Re:or you could...

[0x0d0a]

If you're watching on a TV screen, you *aren't* going to be able to see 720 lines. I don't understand why people hate watching movies on computer monitors so much -- they're the best thing out there. Get rid of the stupid office chair, get yourself an overstuffed chair in front of the computer and sit back.

Conflicting Information...

[cornjchob]

I followed the link to the story, then to an xbox hack site, XBOXHACKER, and upon entering that sites FAQ, it said that DivX play wasn't possible, at least not yet. Who's right? the faq's here

Re:Conflicting Information...

[HohlerMann]

What? An out of date FAQ? On the INTERNET?

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[randomErr]

Dreamcast can play DIVX and standard MPEG4.

Check out PocketDIVX at Project Mayo

Killer App?

[DarkZero]

I don't see how this is ever going to be a killer app for the X-Box. Unless Electronics Boutique and Toys R Us start selling pre-modded X-Boxes, far less than one percent of X-Box customers will have DivX functionality. The same really applies to all modded systems. With a modded PS2, I can download hundreds of free games. However, PS2s with mod chips are so rare that the international community of people online that are trading PS/PS2 games is, at most, ten thousand people out of the twenty-six million plus PS2 owners in the world.

Sure, this is a killer app for a couple of geeks, but it isn't going to change the X-Box's sales or revolutionize the movie industry.

carry around your portable divx player...

[kipple]

...instead of some expensive video-cd player. Plus you can play on it. I can imagine the scene:

CEO: "What is that toy?"

me: "Sir, it is a new prototype to show customers our marketing ads in standard format. See? You can carry them around like regular CDs, plus they can be made at a very low cost, thus increasing our productivity, lowering our expenses, and making our company look like we are constantly hitting the technology cutting edge while taking care of our customers. And it has been made by Microsoft, it is a Very Reliable thing."

CEO: "Good good. Keep researching."

me: "Yes sir. I'm gonna borrow the TV in the main hall to test it in the server room for the presentation of tomorrow, if You wouldn't mind."

"A resurgence of xbox sales"? WTF?

[mcc]

Why do you think this will be a huge thing for x-box sales? Just because the xbox is a PC doesn't mean it's the only thing that could do that. It would be absolutely no harder to create a divx player for playstation, or dreamcast, or just about anything else. OK, so no one bothered. Someone could, and probably will if it turns out there's a demand for this kind of thing. Keep in mind, of course, that the nonexistence of a playstation etc version of this might mean that no one thought it was worth the bother, not that no one could or that Sony stopped them.

I mean-- OK. Let me start over. First off, this is a nifty hack, and second off i'm glad people are making steps toward unlocking the stupid "copy protection" controls that keep any really independent development from happening on the xbox.

But i just don't see this being something revolutionary. I know people for whom this would be useful, and i know people who would use it. But think: it can be assumed anyone with the ability to burn cds also has the ability to play divxes on their computer. So, lets look at their options:

1. Buy an inexpensive computer->tv tuner/converter cable thingy from Radio Shack that would allow you to use a tv as the monitor for your computer. Watch divxes on your tv using whatever program it is that runs divxes fullscreen now.
2. Buy a several-hundred-dollar Xbox, go through a complicated, possibly expensive transaction in which your xbox is modded and your warranty is broken. Hook that up to your tv. Then, every time you want to watch a divx, you have to burn it to a CD-- which costs money-- and transfer it to your xbox.

I don't think so. This will probably raise publicity and possibly interest by people in the xbox (though i can't imagine it would be much), and this will probably be something really neat for people who own xboxes already. But i can't realistically imagine this becoming something people would buy an xbox for.

That being said, i think this is the funniest line i've ever seen on zdnet:

The developer, who identified himself only by his hacker name, "d7o3g4q," said in an email..

Whatever. Wake me up when they get linux running on it.

P.S. : I hate divx. I wish MPEG4 didn't have these stupid licensing terms. Grr.

But..

[SuiteSisterMary]

But, the Xbox can already play a high quality movie format. Plus, that format supports mutli-channel surround sound. Comes on really special discs that look like CDs, but hold anywhere from 10 to 30 times the data. AND, a two hour movie, with tons of extras, languages, and so on, often costs less than a 30 minute music CD.

Re:But..

[SuiteSisterMary]

So they're nice enough to not charge the DVD licenseing fees to people who don't want to watch DVDs, unlike, say, Sony. Isn't Slashdot the place where people complain long and loud that Microsoft needs to take unneeded crap out of their apps? Besides, somehow I doubt a DivX is worth watching on a home DLP projector and a good AC-3/dts sound setup.

The Irony will be Sooo Rich

[dbretton]

With XBox sales slouching below predicted levels, it would be so terribly ironic if DivX, OSS, and hacking were to come to the rescue and SAVE MICROSOFT's product.

Re:The Irony will be Sooo Rich

[Jucius Maximus]

"With XBox sales slouching below predicted levels, it would be so terribly ironic if DivX, OSS, and hacking were to come to the rescue and SAVE MICROSOFT's product."

Keep in mind that DivX was originally a hacked version of a Microsoft-home-grown codec.

Say what?

[Rogerborg]

• much confusion in MS as to whether or not this is a good thing

You are joking, right? First, this requires a hardware mod, which Microsoft despises - hey, it's a Microsoft Xbox, packed full of juicy Microsoft intellectual property and trade secrets, right? They'll likely have mods prosecuteds as DMCA violation, because they bypasses DRM mechanisms.

But worse than that, it allows godless heathens to run FREE SOFTWARE on their hardware. Given the foaming-at-the-mouth FUD they vomit forth whenever the GPL is mentioned, expect them to suggest that Evil Pirates will run the notorious hacker OS Linux on it, allowing the viral GPL to spread throughout the whole Interweb, corrupting and assimilating all that it touches. ZDnet will faithfully reproduce pretty much any FUD they produce about this.

Further, given that PVR opponents seem to have escaped a mainstream press drubbing for describing ad-skipping as theft, expect them to assert that Xbox purchasers have an implied obligation to purchase Microsoft - and only Microsoft - games and add-ons for it, to support the subsidised initial purchase. I'll even predict the phrase, which will be spoken by a flat voiced, dead eyed corporate zombie: "Of course, the Xbox is about having fun, and we want legitimate Xbox purchasers to have fun. But they have to be responsible about it, and support legitimate software development. We think its very important that we educate legitimate Xbox gamers about this, and that we explain why hacking our Xbox and running pirate and viral GPL software kills legitimate developers. And their children, their beautiful golden haired children. Won't someone think of the legitimate software developers' golden haired children!" Er, OK, that last bit might just be implied (or feature as a ZDnet "editorial"), but you get the point. ;-)

And lastly, what do they care about DivX? They are busy touting the DRM benefits of WMF and trying to persuade hardware manufacturers to support WMF alongside MPEG2. They do not want other players in this game. Note that their apologists at ZDnet invite you to infer that DivX is only useful for piracy. Yes, I know that de facto it is heavily used for distributing unlicensed copies, but that's because it's a damn efficient codec with cross platform implementations. If unlicensed copies switch to using WMF (with the DRM turned off) to distribute, will that become a "controversial" format? I think not.

No, I don't see that Microsoft will be in confusion about how to handle this. It's their box, containing their trade secrets, and we should keep our filthy commie hacker hands off of it. The hobbyist market is simply too small to make a difference to their income: in fact, every Xbox purchased by a hacker loses them money. They won't like this. They won't like it at all.

hey wait a minute...

[paradesign]

i thought ZDNet was afiliated with Micro$oft. is this just another stunt to keep the Xbox in the news?

Microsoft Larger Scale Ambitions

[donnacha]

This comment in a discussion last month pointed to Microsoft's apparently unnoticed but reasonably obvious larger scale ambitions and suggest that they will be willing to spend a great deal more on winning this fight than Sony and Nintendo not because they have more money but because they are playing for far higher stakes.

The most important thing to realize is that their primary objective is to establish the Xbox as a sort of hardware (and therefore competition-free) incarnation of MSN Messenger, positioning it as a communications device with a far, far more mainstream audience than just gamers. This is the motivation behind their massive global investment in Cable companies and their apparently insane over-investment in hosting capability.

Modding will hurt game sales, no doubt about it, but it will, especially with this new Divx capability, greatly accelerate the machines market penetration. MS are secretly delighted to exchange their short-term earnings on content to further their progress towards becoming the world's chat-room / paid dating service / whatever else comes with total control of the largest network on the planet (and don't forget that a $199 price will get them into a lot more homes that even the cheapest Dell machine - think India, think China).

and why do they have space for 3 bios images

[johnjones]

ok micrsoft are not complete fools

first of all the bios will be updated and so I am guessing will be the OS to support Windows Media

MS has signed a bunch of DVD people to the wmp format and will at some point start to release films now for a studio whats better
DVD
o expensive media due to the newness
o lots of region independant players (so they cant really relase when they want)
o cracked so that people can copy them

WM format
o can use a CDROM and boy are those cheap
o Control over regions
o Control over Copying
o Control
o Total Control

yes if it starts up then soon their will be a crack for wmp formats (search theregister.co.uk for version7)

now the mods will have to be invented for the Xbox as sson as then change the bios

thank god MS didnt use a decent arch and put the whole thing on a chip so we can Bus snoop (-;

regards

john jones

Re:and why do they have space for 3 bios images

[Dr. Spork]

You might be right about the bios swap. That's why it is probably a good idea to buy a $199 Xbox now, while the units in the stores still have the vanilla bios. If you were going to do it anyway it might as well be now, because the next price drop from $199 will not happen for a while.

Also, if you want to mod and resell Xboxes yourself, you'd probably do yourself a favor if you bought yourself a pile of these "Hungarians." I expect that as soon as Xbox production finishes its migration from Hungary to China, that will coincide with some bios and system board alterations, many of which will be designed the defeat the current generation of mod chips.

The Xbox will never stop being mod-chipable, but Microsoft is free to escalate the war, forcing mod chip producers to make very intricate (expensive) chips which are a PITA to install.

Of course, one way to avoid all that is to go buy up the remaining Hungarians now, because you know for sure these babies will mod. Just don't buy games for them. MS doesn't need the money.

Expect a resurgence of sales

[unformed]

Problem.....that statement assumes there was initially a surgence of sales, which if I remember correctly....

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[Jucius Maximus]

"If MS was smart, instead of letting possible revenue slip away from them, they should just release some form of XBox Media Player that will allow more for more functionality on the XBox. If I could pay $30 bucks to get my XBox to play DivX 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, standard mpeg, standard mpeg2, mp3s, wma, without opening up my XBox, I would pay for it."

If MS was smart, they would have approached the MPAA and RIAA right at the start with plans to make this box into some sort of home media centre. Once again these groups have missed the boat. The could have done the same thing with Napster when it started.

It will be interesting to see whether or not MSFT tries to stamp out DiVX on the XBox because they would be curbing illegal activity (burned movies) at the cost of revenue. Judging from the (lack of) action relating to DiVX on the PC and the obvious holes in transcoding WMA, I expect that MS will ride the wave provided by DiVX and take a cut of the proceed$.

Re:Xbox PVR?

[WildBeast]

For those who don't know it yet, Seagate will be selling external hard drives for the XBox.

Re:A Slashdot comment is not news!

[PhoenxHwk]

And, it's written 'DivX'. Ha! I just linked to myself! I'm so cool!

Not to be picky, but it's "DivX ;-)" to make fun of the original DivX - might want to check your facts (or at least read the sources you link to) before being a jerk.

DivX on ps2??

[tezzery]

Shouldn't the linux kit for ps2 allow the possibility of DivX playback?

come on ps2 hackers!

I don't want to buy an Xbox.. but DivX on it sounds mighty tempting..

Re:A Slashdot comment is not news!

[Xenex]

Look at my Slashdot username.

Read the link to Everything2 in my post.

Look at the username who wrote that piece on E2.

So, lets get straight; you're accusing me of not reading the source I linked to? Err, but, I wrote it!

I would probably get one...

[Juju]

I would not use it to play since I am more than happy with my PS2, but if I could use it to watch my DivX CDs and play music, that would be nice.

I have a laptop (a PII 400) which is a tad too slow to play DivX but is more than enough for my computer needs (Java programming, word processing and so on...)

Now, if I could also play MAME on it and play my MP3 CDs, that would be swell!!!
And doing all that on the expense of M$ is just the cherry on the cake ;o)

Re:I would probably get one...

[Juju]

Yes but I am not sure the PS2 is powerfull enough.
I mean a PII 400 can't cut the job, and the games you can play on the MAME port are only early 80's.

The X-Box is faster than the PS2 and I am quite convinced (appart from 3d) my laptop is as well.

Oh, like the PS Modchip?

[Mulletproof]

Yeah, those people who don't own computers won't hack their Play Stations, right? OH! You mean that's already happened on a massive scale? Damn! (and don't tell me "it's not the same" because it is.)

Re:A Slashdot comment is not news!

[PhoenxHwk]

I apologize for my comment. Regardless, it seems sort of silly to complain about Slashdot doing what it does best ;)

Simplier solution

[3ryon]

The suggested solution: Convert all of your movies to DIVX, burn burn them to CD and then hacking your Xbox with a mod chip so that you can play them.

My solution: Get a TV-Out card and a Video Sender (transmitter) and hook that to your computer. That way you can play any CODEC, and easily delete the movie afterward if it sucks.

Funny, I got mine to play games.

[Wakko Warner]

You freaks scare me.

- A.P.

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[PepsiProgrammer]

Having the Xbox sell more while not selling games causes microsoft to lose money. The consoles are sold at a loss.

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[morgus morphus]

If you had bothered to actually read that site, then you'd know that you have to reencode the videos at lower resolution (320x240 seems to be recommended), very low bitrate (they recommend 500kbit/s) and 22KHz mono audio to ensure that the DC can decode it quickly enough.

That, to me, defeats the whole point... I'd want something where I don't have to reencode the vids and can get as close to DVD quality as possible.

The reality is that while the DC is great (and I do have one, which I bought precisely or playing around with this kind of thing), it's just a little too slow for these kind of things.

This is a Big Deal because...

[nherc]

A bunch of the highly modded comments make this out to be old news or not very important ("my dreamcast can play divx").

To clear things up, two major exciting point:

1. The cracked XBox Bios is floating around the net along with wiring diagrams for the XBox motherboard. Therefore, anyone with a EEPROM programmer or even some PC motherboards can flash a old bios chip and wire it up themselves for essentially free. With this hack you can then run homebrew and unsigned software from ANY media the XBox reads AND the ethernet connection. Oh, and the XBox even has a hard drive for some more advanced apps.

2. The guys who hacked the XBMedia Player together finally figured out how to read media from the ethernet connection. So essentially you pay $200 for a MP3, Divx, DVD, etc.,. player (plus it plays some pretty cool games too) that will play files over your network from your PC media server. You'll soon also see web browsers, instant messengers, etc.,. as well. I think this would be pretty sweet hooked up to every TV/stereo I own.

Thanks MS!

"a resurgence in XBox sales"???

[Wakko Warner]

Don't you mean a "surgence"?

Thanks to DivX, they'll sell 5 more X-Boxes this month.

- A.P.

Assuming you're right... (which is a huge stretch)

[Wakko Warner]

Where will these computerless, non-techie people obtain their DivX discs for their modded XBoxes from? The Pirated Movie Fairy?

- A.P.

Resurgence is too strong a word.. But...

[Mulletproof]

I can see it swaying sales... Slightly. To that person who is looking for a console with an "open source" future, it might just convince them.

"But think: it can be assumed anyone with the ability to burn cds also has the ability to play divxes on their computer."

As to that point, this is a huge market in Asia. You don't need a computer w/a burner to be buying the pirated VDCs and DiVX crap. Again, not sales dynamite, but enough to sway somebody. Of course, it's assuming MS can gain a foothold in Asia as well, since buying VCDs and DiVX on the corner isn't quite as popular in the US.

other solutions Re:Why would I do that?

[leuk_he]

Solutions to your problem:

1. make a cable from you TV-out on your PC to your upstairs TV and use a RF-remote to control your movie. Much cheaper. Might even have better quality since the xbox player has some quality problems.
2. Move your TV to the basement. (NOT good for your back
3. Move your PC to the living room.
4. Build a mini PC and play ALL you dvd's wma & mp3's AND play all your PC games. This might be a little more expensive, but if you already have a 32 inch TV you do not want to save 100$ and get a not yet finished player.

Yes, totally over-hyped!

[Tom7]

He's right. There's no way that people are going to get excited about this -- for most people, renting a DVD is much simpler than getting ahold of a DivX CD. (Especially if they don't have a computer!!)

Also, don't be surprised if this community of modders gets a big fat DMCA lawsuit. This is EXACTLY the kind of activity that the DMCA was created to make illegal. (It's a crappy law, for sure, but there it is...)

Re:Yes, totally over-hyped!

[donnacha]

Indeed. I have a computer with DSL, but downloading 650MB off of Kazaa takes like 3 days or so.

Christ, that's terrible! You should change your DSL provider immediately. Or have you thought about dial-up?

I'm on a 512MB cable connection and I tend to net about 6 films over an eight hour period via Kazaa. Sometimes, if it's a popular film with a lot of people uploaded it to me, I can get a 700MB film in about 2 hours, pretty much real-time.

I thought that DSL was meant to be faster, or at least more "dedicated" than cable. I guess what it really comes down to isn't the technology but the willingness of the specific companies to screw us around.

Living Rooms?

[hendridm]

> This will take Divx beyond the desktops of those with broadband connections and into the living rooms of those who don't own computers.

Give me a break. For the most part, anyone savvy enough to be able to install a mod chip into an X-Box probably already has a PC. Do you think the average Best Buy shopper is going to install one of these? Most people I know with X-Boxes don't even know how to solder, and even if they did, they would be too afraid to do it on their new $200 console. Only those who are savvy, already have a spare computer and just want a cheap DivX player, and those with the intestinal fortitude will do the Mod chip (which is still a lot of people, of course, but not my parents).

Not the big deal, but a forerunner...

[fzammett]

I don't think the ability to play DivX on my XBox is too big a deal, but the door a MOD chip opens up is...

DVD burners are coming down in price even faster than CD writers did it seems. Couple this with some new software that will almost certainly be available in the near future, in addition to a modded XBox, now you have the ability to copy games, which is something I'm sure MS *IS* concerned with.

More importantly though, as soon as I can run the popular emulators on my machine (read: MAME, mostly), then the geek population will have a reason to buy an XBox.

Then there of course is putting Linux on it, which I know is being worked on, and although I'm not aware of it, I'm sure it's doable already. That further adds to the geek factor, which is certainly important.

For me, buying an XBox was not a great move... I own about 10 games, only maybe 3 of which I play with any regularity. Yes, I have a list of about 30 that are coming this year that I look forward to, but it was with other things in mind that I bought it... emulators, a full OS (Linux or Windows or something else, I'm not particular), access to my network so I can surf the web properly in my living room, things like that.

But then again, I'm a geek, I can mod the thing myself and I can take the time and effort that might be involved to install Linux and MAME and whatever else I want. Will the average consumer? Certainly not.

My point? Ah, never really had one I guess. Simply that the DivX thing doesn't especially thrill me, but I *AM* excited about a MOD chip because I know there will be cool stuff coming as a result of it. That's all!

Why the 10 step AA program?

[Mulletproof]

Umm, how about, install modchip, install DivX decoder/hack to memory (temporary) or Hard drive (permanent) or memory pack and go? it can't be too hard to manipulate the XBox for somebody with skillz. Hell, you could do game emulators the same way ala DC.

Re:Dreamcast decoder.??..

[LiENUS]

it uses 4:2:2 => rgb but so far thats about it. and i've played 44khz stereo mp3 on it with 600kbit and vcd res (little over 320x240) and it played just fine.

So what this means then is:

[jabber01]

So the key to Microsoft's succeess in the Console market is Movie Piracy?? That's great news!! Now, if someone can just come up with a hack that allows the XboX to play mp3 CD's, we'll be all set.

Yessiree Bob! Microsoft, in direct legal confrontation with the RIAA, MPAA, Disney and Sony, all at the same time? JOY!

In the REDmond corner, the Divine Right to Innovate; and in the BLUE corner, Content Protection; in a steel-cage fight to the finish!

Man, this will be better than the early Tyson fights.. Yeah..

"When the whales fight, the shirmp are in big trouble" - Korean proverb.

Your giving Creepy Kid WAY TOO MUCH credit

[rblancarte]

Again, well put, but I think that if Creepy Kid offers them a modded Xbox for $250 and promises to supply them with films, games and 6-hour CDs of the lastest music, all at $3 a piece, most people are going to say, "Creepy Kid, you've got yourself a sale!".

Priacy is never going to reach the mainstream they way you are predicting. The general populace will deal with Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, but won't even touch the situation you just described.

Hell, I would go so far as to say that if any "Creepy Kids" tried to establish a system like this, he would end up in jail LONG before he could even sell 50 such kits. Most Joe P Consumers are law abiding citizens, and I would venture to say that at least 1 will alert the cops to a setup like this if he heard it. If he approached 300 people, maybe would sell 50 units, but end up in jail from 1 calling the cops, not good odds.

RonB

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[RedX]

There are millllions of sites out there shucking either a PS2 mod chip or a mod disc (insert disc, startup ps2, disc ejects, insert any burned game, thank you have a nice day.)

Can you provide a link to info on these bootdiscs? I've not heard of such a thing for PS2, although they were quite popular for the Dreamcast, may it rest in peace.

Analogous to Playstation Mods

[Oishii]

In Australia, the modding of playstation (one)s was a HUGE thing about a year ago. Why? Because then you could play copied games. And yes, neighbourhood kids with a little savvy made quite a decent income out of being an "all stop shop". Mod-chipping was usually a $25AUD fee. ($US15)

Come in, get your PS modded, buy a pirated game or three from my extensive copy library. Build your own collection, yes siree, at just $7 (AU) per disc, you too can have a game collection the envy of your friends.

So, these same gameplaying Xbox owners, what do you think they'll say when the neighbourhood kid starts offering (1) a mod, (2) pirated Xbox games and (3) the latest release movies - especially in countries where hollywood delays the release date FAR behind the US one.

I think there's a large market, provided the cost is right.

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[GutBomb]

MS can afford to lose money. if they sell alot of xboxes for this then their money may be lower than what they want, but thier sales figures (number of boxes sold) is higher, letting it become a bigger player by default and taken more seriously by the suit's in the console biz.

SVCD vs DivX.

[Grendel Drago]

Nuh-uh. DVD standard is 720x480. SVCD is 480x480 (at least for NTSC). The allowed bitrate ranges are different, too. (And, of course, SVCD is free of all that CSS nonsense.)

You can't just copy off 700MB of MPEG-2 from a DVD; it has to be re-encoded. The formats are quite different.

If you burn DVD-format video to a CD, it's called a "cDVD". SVCDs are entirely different.

--grendel drago

Commentary doesn't make sense.

[dohnut]

"As previously discussed ( Divx - The Real Xbox Killer App), the ability to play reasonably high-quality films, speedily burned onto inexpensive CDR media, is going to make (modded) Xbox ownership a far more attractive proposition. This will take Divx beyond the desktops of those with broadband connections and into the living rooms of those who don't own computers. Expect to see a resurgence of Xbox sales and much confusion in MS as to whether or not this is a good thing."

Am I missing something? How do these people get Divx movies burned onto a CD without a computer? Can you get them at Best Buy?

If you meant your supposed to score burned Divx movies from friends. Well, have fun with that..

It's great that the XBox will be able to do this, but it's hardly a break-through for those without computers.

The Big Deal �

[Mulletproof]

In itself, this is not going to send MS sales through the roof. It's not going to create a massive hype that gamers will flock to the stores in droves. DivX simply won't do that. It's mainly an internet traded format, and people who have internet have computers and monitors. Sure, it'd be nice to watch a DivX in your living room, but most people are going to say big deal before going through the hassle of modding their Xbox for that capability. Targeting VCD playback capability would have done more for sales, especially in Asia. It is has a huge market in both legal and pirate sales. It's a widly accepted format and it's a physical medium anyone can obtain without having to burn it themselves (ie; that person without a PC and/or burner)

Be that as it may, here's The Big Deal(TM): This and other exploits prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the Xbox can and will be cracked. I don't care what you think about MS, you're looking at a small, $300 PC that you'll eventially be able to do anything with. Scream and hollar all you want, but that's a good deal.

Stay with me now, because you might find this a tad intersting. Eventially word will get out that this machine can be cracked at will. HD mods? Linux? MP3 (or WMA in this case) jukeboxes? Pirated movies? No probs. No matter how much MS says they don't like this, it's a totally win/win situation for them and their Ultimate Xbox Goal; Control of the livingroom. Question: Would you be more willing to buy the new (more powerful) Xbox 2, knowing that it can probably be eventially easily hacked like the original? Just maybe. Oh, did we mention that MS has learned a few lessons by incorporating some of the hacks as native support, making it more useful to you? "Hey, now I don't have to go through any trouble to get ______ capabilities." Would you be more willing to buy it? They do it all the time in their other products. Whether by accident or design, MS really has the capability to subvert alot of unwitting consumers with the Box.

Re:The Big Deal �

[0x0d0a]

...a small, $300 PC...that's a good deal

Why? The X-box's only real strength is its (still good by current standards) 3d hardware, which you aren't going to be using under Linux or for playing VCDs any time soon. It has little RAM than a PC, isn't expandable, has a less-than-mindblowing processor, a single hard drive...

For $200 or $300 or whatever you can get a more capable and expandable used PC. I will grant that the idea of MS subsidizing cheap Linux boxes is rather attractive, but it really isn't all that great a deal for you.

Re:Divx without a computer?

[GutBomb]

most people who aren't glued to thier computers all the time at least know one geek who has mentioned downloading movies before...

Re:DivX isn't illegal

[GutBomb]

It was a rumor that it was a cracked microsoft codec. An untrue rumor at that. Look here for more info.

mod chip must have another use

[DABANSHEE]

The people selling the modchip should bring out a transister radio kit or some other innane PCB kit (a inverter kit, a 'build your own' vibrator kit, etc) that utilises a couple of the transisters built into the modchip. & then design the website arround these inane PCB kits. As well as selling the inane PCB kits they could also sell 'spareparts', including the chips by themselves.

Then on the site they could mention 'BTW this chip does have the ability to make the XBox compatible to X86 code that the XBox wasn't designed to run, We don't recommend using these chips in this way as they weren't designed for this use & therefore can't guarantee the results', & then link to some Geocities fansite that provides the instructions & everything one needs for Xbox installation. :)

Remember how Kazaa won their court case because their software had other uses other than just downloading copyrighten software/music.

Yes, you're very wrong.

[Wakko Warner]

There's no mass market for pirated content nowadays.

Nobody purchases stuff they can steal for free.

There will be no pirate Divx market. Most (or even a significant number of) people will not base their purchasing decisions on whether or not their DVD player can handle pirated content. They do not do this now, either.

Please, stop smoking crack.

Thank you.

- A.P.

5.1 Dolby Digital?

[e_n_d_o]

Does DivX as implemented on the X-Box support 5.1 channel surround?

Who cares?

[epukinsk]

To be perfectly honest, any DIVX movie you are going to fit on a CD is trash. I've come across a couple of ~800MB DIVX movies where the quality was tolerable for casual viewing of movies without much in the way of visuals, but if I want to watch a movie with interesting visuals or invite friends over there's no sense in using a DIVX CD.

The quality of a 700 meg DIVX is just utter crap when compared to DVD or even VHS. This is especially compounded when it's of the filmed-with-a-camcorder-in-the-theater variety.

A) If the movie isn't in the theaters yet, I don't want to waste my first viewing on a crappy DIVX.

B) If the movie isn't on DVD yet, but I saw it in theaters, I probably won't be itching to watch it again since I saw it recently.

C) If the movie isn't worth seeing in theaters, I can wait for the DVD.

D) If the movie is out on DVD the only reason to use DIVX is if you are socially corrupt and don't feel like paying. Note that if you can afford an XBox and a CD burner, you can affor a DVD player.

I have a feeling that the market for this "technology" is for people who A) want to show their friends how l33t they are because they saw Spiderman before it came out in the theaters and D) people who don't think they need to compensate members of their community before they take advantage of their work. That's a few percent of adolescent males, a tiny sliver of the XBox's total market.

-Erik

Re:Who cares?

[attackiko]

Wrong! Some movies can be waay better than VHS. The Matrix is one of them - it can be compressed to only 600MB and still look better than VHS. Now Saving private Ryan is another story, you have to use 2 CDs to get decent quality.

I'm talking about DVD rips of course. No selfrespecting citizen downloads those cinema crap.

Re:This is why I got an X Box

[issachar]

downloaded TV shows. Yes, this is also copyright infringement, but unlike DVD's or CD's, sometimes I just can't get the show any other way. The number of times the stupid CRTC rules have resulted in me recording the wrong channel and missing a show are too many to count.

.

A Better Way

[Jagasian]

Forget about buying Microsoft's X-Box. Instead, buy the new Via Eden Motherboard.

• Its smaller in size than the Shuttle SS40.
• It uses an x86 CPU that runs cooler and using less electricity than Transmeta's Crusoe!
• The 533mhz x86 CPU runs your favorite PC operating systems and software: Linux, BSD, Windows, and it is powerful enough to play DivX movies, DVD movies, Quake 3, etc...
• The CPU doesn't need active cooling (no fans), and the powersupply is tiny and also doesn't require active cooling (absolutely no fans). This means that the entire computer is absolutely silent! Perfect for an inexpensive homemade DivX/MP3 player!
• The motherboard comes with a built in 3D video card good enough to play Quake 3 at playable framerates. It also has integrated CPU, sound, ethernet, and TV-Outs!
• Just add one 256MB PC100 SDRAM stick and one 40GB Barracuda ATA IV harddrive (its power efficient and noiseless). Install your favorite OS, and you are ready to go for less than the price of a modded X-Box!

The Eden makes a good router, thin client, or MAME console gaming system too (add playstation to USB controller adapter). Bring that over to a fellow console gamer's house!

uh-HUH.

[Chris Johnson]

OOOOOHkay....

(puts on 'It's Funny, Laugh' hat)

So, how much did MS pay you guys to put those words, 'expect to see a resurgence of X-Box sales' in there? :D

I must say I kinda like contemplating the cruddy thing as it breathes its last FUD-laden breaths and strangles on its own pathetic lack of video bus bandwidth, and you had to spoil my fun with all this talk of resurgence.

For the guy who's read the article and is getting swayed- DON'T DO IT MAN! It's more proprietary than a Compaq! Steady now, back away from the credit card- there you go!

Another soul saved :D now go and get some sort of real PC if that's what floats your boat. Consider supporting the people who AREN'T trying to have you shut down :)

why no DVD players with DivX ability?

[Bad_CRC]

sure, they'll hit the same lawsuits and such that the first mp3 players hit, but I'd pay a premium for an APEX player that could play DivX, and the legitimate market for people who want to author their own home movies without a DVD burner would be pretty good as well.

I'm thinking that projectmayo.org would be happy to allow use of the codec for a minimum rate.

Re:you have to use the "swap trick"....

[SmittyTheBold]

The process did not work very well with the playstation and I'd imagine it wouldn't work very well with the Dreamcast, either. Besides, swapping the CD to me seems kind of "cheezy" and "ghetto": I'd much rather just pop in the DivX CD and press "play" on the remote.

First off, it's not the hot swap trick you think it is. With the PlayStation, you were tricking the PS into authenticating a disc, then getting it to boot a seconds disc after the auth. With a Dreamcast, the boot disc loads up all the software necessary, then stops the drive. You put in another disc - taking as much time as you want - and the drive spins up again with the new disc in the drive. It's just liek games on teh Dramcast or Playstation that use multiple discs. The software expects it, and nothing is all that difficult about it (from the end-user's perspective.)

Second, I am almost positive there is a way to make DVDivX CDs with a movie burned on the same disc - in other words, a movie that starts as soon as the player finishes loading, no disc swapping. It's much more difficult to burn such a disc than it is a normal ISO9660/Joliet disc with only the DivX file on it, btu it is doable. For a person who wanted to trade DC images instead of the DivH files, the same ease-of-distribution could be attained.