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Microsoft Bringing TV to Xbox
grazzy writes "Microsoft is set to release its Windows Media Center Extender for Xbox mid-November. The device will allow you to view recorded and downloaded media content stored on your PC via your Xbox.""
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have a TV tuner, and PVR software on my XBOX than just playback.
There are enough media players out there (such as the GoVideo 2730) able to play anything Universal Plug & Play provides, that making my XBOX another player is, frankly, dull.
Design for Use, not Construction!
MS is finally getting back at the hackers now by reverse engineering Xbox Media Center and provided it directly from MS. Who says MS never listens?
This is a test. This is a test of the emergency sig system. This has been only a test.
Finally catching up to the mod-chip scene...
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/557/5576 37/checking-out-the-pstwo-20041015062407316.jpg
Nuff said.
It seems to me as though everybody needs to back up for a second here, fix the concerns and problems with copyright, and then create the technology. This just seems like an answer looking for a problem. Today, I'm not sure if I can upload my DVD collection to my computer (I wouldn't even have the hard drive space on my computer), and why on earth would I want to do this when I already have a nice simple solution involving DVDs and a DVD player?
on my TV???
Sweet! What will they think of next!?
"Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
'Illegally' Modded XBox with XBox Media Center: $200
XBox with MS XBox Media Adapter: $229
Media Center PC: $1000+
And why would that be? The Microsoft version looks basically like an $80 knockoff of XBMC. It's just streaming from the PC. The PC still would have to be the device that does the recording a la a DVR.
Damn, I thought it was actually going to add some sort of TV tuner to the xbox. This addition is basically what XBMCalready does and has done for over a year now.
http://bit.blkbk.com/
This is a distro set to turn your xbox into a MythTV box. Pretty cool stuff.
Combine that with their online music offerings, and even a subscription service such as an enhanced XBOX live and DVD playback, and youve got the Windows Media Center in homes all across the world on an infrastructure that's already highly controlled.
While Nintendo and Sony have been banking hard on cell technology and other gamer focused add-ons, MS is covering the do it all, in every home aspect, and they will win if allowed to do so.
one of Sony's main driving forces for playstation adoption (1 and 2)... was the inclusion of a cd player or dvd player... an unecesary add-on as far as games go, but a strikingly powerfull one as far as extra features go.
If nintendo/sony dont come up with their own media center functions, they will find themselves eclipised by MS very quickly despite their better game focus.
--Idiots, Every single one of YOU, A flaming mass of conglomerated morons, hey wait a second, isnt that how RAID works?
With XBox 2 around the corner, it seems to me that Microsoft is firing the first salvo in the upcoming Media Center wars. Sony and Microsoft both want to be the entertainment hub of the living room - video games, TV, music, movies... all in one.
I guess M$ has an advantage in that they control the desktop, but I think they're making a mistake by releasing XBox 2 so early. The hype simply isn't there the way it would be if they waited for Sony, and once the PS3 does come out, everyone will be comparing spec's. By releasing now, they're locking in at a lower specification level.
Surprisingly, Sony's answer, the smaller PS2 doesn't even have a hard drive. I guess this means they're not seriously pushing the PS2 as an entertainment appliance.
Nintendo, in contrast, is holding out until the PS3 release date for their next generation system, but pushing their DS handheld now in it's place. Since Nintendo has a reputation for good handhelds, they can gain some foothold here and convert people who want handheld to console compatability (which I suspect isn't that many people).
majority of early posts include such titles as:
- MS is getting back at the hackers
- Microsoft finally caught on!
WTF, why would you think MS is catching on?
I'll never say something like that until they start selling xboxes that don't need modchips.
The MOD community isn't just about creating unincluded features, they are about freedom, and this is something Microsoft will never catch on to.
Great, now I will be able to see the "blue screen of death" during Leno!
If you were to RTFA you'd notice that it was both:
Consumers can purchase Media Center Extender devices in two forms:
As a set-top box from leading manufacturers Hewlett-Packard and Linksys.
As a peripheral kit for the Xbox console from Microsoft.
- ------- There are ten kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who... Huh?
Getting Media Center Edition no longer requires purchasing a new overpriced system. Some references:
c ription=32-102-311&depa=0
c ription=80-100-851&DEPA=0
... $589 &loc=101&sp=1
9
t =438918&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&
MCE 2005 OEM (Software) - $140
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?des
MCE 2005 Remote - $40
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?des
Xbox MCE Extender software (includes remote - is what this whole article is about)
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=1038520
LinkSys MCE Extender (standalone/wireless) -
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=1038266
HP has one too also can't find it for sale yet
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?produc
The IGN article at the end says you will need a Media Center PC as well. This just made this little device completely worthless! Looks like the $50 modchip is still the best option.
Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
You wanted to link to this: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/eva luation/devices/xboxextenderkit.mspx
That actually discusses the Media Extender for the XBox, rather then the settop box which is causing confusion.
"Microsoft is gearing up to compete directly with the TIVO DVR market with a product that will have a huge market penetration"
That is, for those who purchase/own an Xbox, a Windows Media Center edition machine, and this new gadget on top of it all.
Or I can just get a TiVO? Cripes! Who wants three MS boxes chained together (cross your fingers) just to get TiVO functionality?
Smells like another money-losing venture for MS.
Spend 200 on an Xbox and a mod chip and stream ur files over ethernet or, with a 802.11(a/b/g) access point, over wifi.
Spend another 50-60 right now on a 80GB hdd and you can store them right on your Xbox.
No sig for you!!
buy a Media Center Extender For Xbox and get:a luation/devices/xboxextenderkit.mspx
2 AA batteries
Networking poster
from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/mediacenter/ev
If you've modded your box already and hooked it up to your PC, then you can already do this. My sister-in-law was competing at the Hawaii Ironman this past weekend, and IMNorth America has a streaming video feed set-up at the finish line, that most folks would watch on their PC. We watched it on our tv, and saw her finish her race (and recorded it for her).
I just want the PVR functionality (and more streaming stations with higher quality video). Then I can cancel my cable. Mwahahaha!
"Content's a bitch."
we'll see how it fares on the *major* protected media content: live TV. After all, wouldn't want a hack to block advertisements on TV like we do in Firefox.
I have a feeling the tests we've seen so far will seem quaint in retrospect.
"Remember back in the day when you could chip a game console and only get a threatening letter?" said one inmate to the other.
A sub-conscious thought bubbled to the top of the stack while I was reading this article:
So what?
And Not even for the same reasons that are being brought up here.
Right now, I've got a DishPVR that sorts through the TWENTYFIVE THOUSAND hours of programming a week (150x24x7)...of which, I'll see maybe 15 hours that I want to see, the part of the year that the programming isn't a rerun.
Otherwise, I get my entertainment off the net, reading books, RSS feeds, The _occasional_ DVD purchase (LOTR), etc.
But the point is: There's SUCH a HUGE firehose of information vying for my time that a portable PVR, or Xbox remote video viewer, or streamed T.V. to my Cellphone just doesn't light my lucky like they want it to.
I predict this is going to be another 'Tablet PC' marketing push. It's a lot of bells and whistles and will amount to a bunch fo companies losing a lot of money.
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
Soon I'll be able to take a piss into my Xbox while warming up my Poptart with the integrated toaster. Everyone is talking about extending the market... what ever happened to making a game machine for, hmm, exclusively gaming?
As I suggested before, if MS came out with a media player for Xbox that will function as it does on a PC (allow me to play DiVX/XViDS/Mp3s/etc.) I would run out and buy a copy instantly.
Instead, Microsoft puts out a Media Player that requires you to have a PC! That's absurd. If you already have a Media Centric-PC why would you want your Xbox to play your movies when your PC can do it just fine without the extra electricity.
Microsoft has dropped the ball on this one, so people like me who want to view movies from Xbox or over a network share will end up modding the Xbox and then opening ourselves to the new arsenal of games on Torrents and such. Thanks MS!
If everyone would stop the microsoft bash train and look for a second they would see that if you would update to SP2 and Media Center 10 you can download a update called Media Center Connect, which lets Windows Media Player 10 connect wirelessly to any UPnP device. Why is this cool? Because thats what they are doing to the XBOX. Making it a UPnP Device. Which means I can access my 250 gig hard drive that is full of TV shows legally captured with my ATI card and play them back at random without more wires. Its actually a cool little product. Media Center 10 will play every format you can throw at it but OGG, which no one uses, and AAC, which is the apple standard, but thats like 2% of the total digital media market. Get with the program people. Microsoft isn't that bad. I run Windows XP for weeks at a time, only to turn it off to upgrade a piece of hardware or something like that.
I was listing a variety of options - not everything in the list is required to get useful functionality.
... and an internet connection for certain functionlity - but these are incremental. Some set of the population already has some of the parts required. For some it's too much to buy all at once.
... so two things. Of course if you have an MCE PC already you only need to buy one thing.
You obviously need a PC with MCE to start with - and yes, that is a significant barrier to entry, to so speak.
The MCE remote for the PC is not required - and not very interesting (IMO) if you don't plan to hook the PC up directly to a TV.
The XBox extender software is one option - primarily targeted at current XBOX owners but since it's actually cheaper to buy an XBOX and get the XBox Extender Kit than it is to buy a standalone Extender device - some people will go that way - with some downsides:
- The XBOX is not silent - the standalone extenders are.
- The XBOX can't be turned physically on/off with a remote - the standalone devices can be (though I think they technically stay in a sort of standby mode)
- The XBOX doesn't come with wireless support - the extenders I've seen so far include that in the box.
- The extenders from what I've seen also come with component out included in the box - whereas you need to buy the HD kit for the XBOX to get that there - but since I don't think that the extenders currently support actual HD resolutions I'm not clear on what the point is (other than to enable a software upgrade with HD support in the future)
You could add even more to the list of 'required components' - like having a router - and a wireless one if you want to use the extender that way
For the technically inclined who already have LANs at home - this amounts to MCE for the PC and an extender device (whether XBOX based or not)