Hi Steve (or anyone else who has played with this).

I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

I read you have several such boxes in use and wondered what process
you used to get them all running please?

I'm new to consoles in general so probably have a lot of catching up
to do! ;-)

I've skimmed through the general process he

http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title..._XBMC_for_Xbox

but there seem to be several variables so before I start I though I'd
ask how someone else had done it (and would you do it the same way
again etc).

Cheers, T i m

p.s. The email addy works if you would prefer to answer off list.

"It's better than a box!" ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKM07drEMRw

In article , T i m
writes

I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

Are you having a laugh?

Please don't turn this valuable group into another general discussion
dumping ground.
--
fred
FIVE TV's superbright logo - not the DOG's, it's ********

On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 20:17:33 +0100, fred wrote:

In article , T i m
writes

I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

Are you having a laugh?

No why?

Please don't turn this valuable group into another general discussion
dumping ground.

Did you actually understand the (clearly marked as OT but probably
isn't in the great scheme of things) question Fred?

Cheers, T i m

T i m wrote:
On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 20:17:33 +0100, fred wrote:

In article , T i m
writes
I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

Are you having a laugh?

No why?
Please don't turn this valuable group into another general discussion
dumping ground.

Did you actually understand the (clearly marked as OT but probably
isn't in the great scheme of things) question Fred?

Fred appears to have a bee in his bonnet today (having been similarly on
the receiving end myself)... Nothwithstanding the 'OT' flag, it seems
he'd rather you employed an IT professional or went down to Curry's and
bought an off-the-shelf solution, rather than trying to d-i-y this.

David

On Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:10:20 +0100, Lobster
wrote:

T i m wrote:
On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 20:17:33 +0100, fred wrote:

In article , T i m
writes
I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

Are you having a laugh?

No why?
Please don't turn this valuable group into another general discussion
dumping ground.

Did you actually understand the (clearly marked as OT but probably
isn't in the great scheme of things) question Fred?

Fred appears to have a bee in his bonnet today (having been similarly on
the receiving end myself)...

Hey, we can all have our off days. ;-)

Nothwithstanding the 'OT' flag, it seems
he'd rather you employed an IT professional or went down to Curry's and
bought an off-the-shelf solution, rather than trying to d-i-y this.

Well exactly and especially considering all the other OT questions
he's happily answered.

Oh well, I think he just didn't read the question properly and thought
it was about playing games or summat.

Cheers, T i m

T i m wrote:

Did you actually understand the (clearly marked as OT but probably
isn't in the great scheme of things) question Fred?

Do you actually understand going around with your head not up your arse,
DIM?

reviews posting history in URCM

Well no, obviously not. How about you get a clue, hmmm?

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 01:12:26 +0100, (Steve Firth)
wrote:

T i m wrote:

Did you actually understand the (clearly marked as OT but probably
isn't in the great scheme of things) question Fred?

Do you actually understand going around with your head not up your arse,
DIM?

reviews posting history in URCM

What are you talking about?

Well no, obviously not. How about you get a clue, hmmm?

How about you crawl back under your stone?

If you care you look back over any NG you will see thousands of truly
OT posts where you and all the other un-elected mods choose to take no
notice at all.

It still fascinates me that you have to follow me, hang on my every
word and have your little pet names for me (aww, bless). Still not
found yourself a woman (or a life) then.

Go pester someone else you pathetic little man.

T i m

In article , Lobster
writes
T i m wrote:
On Fri, 2 Apr 2010 20:17:33 +0100, fred wrote:

In article , T i m
writes
I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

Are you having a laugh?

No why?
Please don't turn this valuable group into another general discussion
dumping ground.

Did you actually understand the (clearly marked as OT but probably
isn't in the great scheme of things) question Fred?

Fred appears to have a bee in his bonnet today (having been similarly on
the receiving end myself)... Nothwithstanding the 'OT' flag, it seems
he'd rather you employed an IT professional or went down to Curry's and
bought an off-the-shelf solution, rather than trying to d-i-y this.

Yes, yesterday was a bad day and you got the wrong end of it.

I am worried however that this group is becoming a dumping ground for
wildly off topic questions that people seem too lazy to google the
answers for. I've seen too many good groups turn to **** because they
become clogged with rubbish and I hope it doesn't happen here.

As to the OT marking, fine but does that make it ok to talk about
anything here, weather trends, politics, child upbringing, finance,
prostrate problems or maybe cars for sale or unrelated ebay listings?

Still, if it's only my dog that ****s in the park it doesn't matter,
does it?
--
fred
FIVE TV's superbright logo - not the DOG's, it's ********

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 10:33:39 +0100, fred wrote:

Yes, yesterday was a bad day and you got the wrong end of it.

Yup, we all have em. However, some of us don't take it out on other
people. ;-)

I am worried however that this group is becoming a dumping ground for
wildly off topic questions that people seem too lazy to google the
answers for.

And your concern is a good thing. However in this (my) case I was
trying to contact a specific person and / or anyone who had actual
experience of doing this diy job after much Googling. I even suggested
any replies could be taken off list.

I've seen too many good groups turn to **** because they
become clogged with rubbish and I hope it doesn't happen here.

It won't and I think you have to be careful about what *you* determine
rubbish. I see uk-diy as covering many aspects where people are trying
to do stuff themselves. If there is no better place to ask (because of
the bizarreness of the topic or lack of replies on other groups etc)
then you can't blame people for looking for answers here (especially
when they often get them).

My question was about diy modding a piece of electronic kit to make it
into a media streamer. I would suggest that such needs / discussions
are as much a part of domestic d-i-y these days as running an aerial,
network cable or installing speakers, lazy starting engines, LED
lights or fixing a laser printer. ;-)

As to the OT marking, fine but does that make it ok to talk about
anything here, weather trends, politics, child upbringing, finance,
prostrate problems or maybe cars for sale or unrelated ebay listings?

If linked to some d-i-y function then why not? Like, if I was
interested in building my own weather station, needed a weird size
stair gate to stop my kid falling down the stairs or wondered if I
should still by that mill / lathe after being told I'd got prostrate
cancer then yes?

Still, if it's only my dog that ****s in the park it doesn't matter,
does it?

Of course it does and by all means carry on the good work shouting at
those who don't clear it up but if you aren't sure if it really was
their dog ...? ;-)

Anyway, keep up the good work and I hope you have a good weekend. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

T i m wrote:

It still fascinates me that you have to follow me,

Well no, I was posting to both groups long before you, but please
continue with your fantasy.

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 11:12:51 +0100, (Steve Firth)
wrote:

T i m wrote:

It still fascinates me that you have to follow me,

Well no, I was posting to both groups long before you, but please
continue with your fantasy.

And that's a classic example of Steve Filth (ill)logic. "Both groups'?
Wtf are you on you pathetic little man. 'You were here first so can't
be following me personally' rolls eyes.

So, put your dick away and please get a life (and ideally in the UK if
you want to continue posting here). ;-)

T i m

fred wrote:
In article , T i m
writes

I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

Are you having a laugh?

Please don't turn this valuable group into another general discussion
dumping ground.

There's nothing more DIY than hacking a XBox into a powerful networked media
centre.

T i m wrote:

And that's a classic example of Steve Filth (ill)logic. "Both groups'?
Wtf are you on you pathetic little man. 'You were here first so can't
be following me personally' rolls eyes.

sigh You followed me in here, I didn't follow you, so I can't be
"following you".

So, put your dick away and please get a life (and ideally in the UK if
you want to continue posting here). ;-)

Yeah? Well I Googled all your posts and they were rubbish. Gasp.

T i m wrote:
Hi Steve (or anyone else who has played with this).

I have now found myself a basic Xbox with the idea of running XBMC.

I read you have several such boxes in use and wondered what process
you used to get them all running please?

Hi Tim -

I'll reply here so that others can benefit / comment / improve. Apologies
to Fred and Steve F if they feel this is out of place, I personally feel
that hacked-up home networks, telcoms, CCTV, AV & home cinema etc does have
a place in uk.d-i-y, it's an interesting & growing (or is it converging.. )
field. I enjoy the trad chainsaw jokes and the stuff about digging
trenches too, but surely there's room for all? So, with that in mind let's
go :

- My first encounter with XBMC was non-DIY (boo, shame on me) - about 3 yrs
ago I bought a used, converted xbox off ebay for about £50 inc leads &
delivery. You still see them listed sometimes, try search terms like
modded, special or custom. It was (is) brilliant - works perfectly with
the xbox dvd remote, plays any media file from any shared network folder it
can reach. Silent, looks tidy under the TV, still plays Xbox games when
you're in a retro mood, can be localised for weather & news feeds etc.

- The xbox hardware will handle full DVD resolution at high bit-rate, with
good stereo sound. If you want a hi-def wide-screen surround-sound output
then you'll need to look at something newer. XBMC has now been ported to a
generic PC version, so you could build a silent little media centre (I have
a project in mind to install a mini-ITX board - ebuyer 152176 for example -
into the shell of an old stereo or VCR case one day). But let's start
from where we are - you have got an Xbox, and you want to play...

- The way I did it was to follow the instructions at
http://www.productwiki.com/microsoft...0-minutes.html
- I looked at numerous other how-to's, but that one was the most complete
and user-friendly. I bought a new Action Replay usb gadget (£15), and a
used copy of Mechassault (£3). You only need these once, so if you can
borrow or share that's useful. As I've zombied another 4 units since then,
I'm pleased with the value I've had from them so far.

- Like any tech walkthrough, it's nerve-wracking the first time. You
double and triple check everything, and you hold your breath when you
initiate key steps, but it's actually really simple and would take 15 mins
for a confident user. Allow half a day, and go slow & steady. There are
back-up and restore options included, to support your peace of mind. As
long as you have generic confidence (create folders, save data, allocate IP
addresses, transfer FTP files etc) you'll be on solid ground all the way.
And what a buzz when you finally power the hacked xbox up! It's like a B&W
Frankenstein moment - shaking your fist at the sky and laughing manically...
)

- As a result of the xbox revolution, our house is now completely digitised.
DVD's and CD's are in the loft somewhere - they get ripped and then they're
forgotten. We have also accumulated vast amounts of broadcast TV from
torrent sites and from our own DVD-R recorder, from itunes and BBC iplayer
(we love radio comedy shows & podcasts) so everyone's favourite stuff is
playable at the click of a button, in any room with a TV.

- Everything is stored in a simple Windows XP Pro server in the garage,
currently 6TB of unprotected diskspace shared as read-only. That's my next
project, to somehow borrow enough capacity to copy it all off, RAID5 the
disks and copy it all back on again. But to be honest it's not a huge
problem - a couple of disks have gone flaky over the years but there's been
enough warning to recover the data, and even if it's all lost we can
download or convert it again.

Good luck!

Steve Walker wrote:


I'll reply here so that others can benefit / comment / improve.
Apologies to Fred and Steve F if they feel this is out of place, I
personally feel that hacked-up home networks, telcoms, CCTV, AV & home
cinema etc does have a place in uk.d-i-y,

I think you're wrong. M odding consoles is something for which there
either is a newsgroup or if not then you know what to do.

And D I M is a persistent newsgroup troll.

On 03/04/2010 14:28, Steve Walker wrote:


- The xbox hardware will handle full DVD resolution at high bit-rate, with
good stereo sound.

snipped good wholesome stuff on DIY modding

But.... BTDTGTTS. (BTW I used the hard drive hot swap method)

The CPU is sadly lacking for replaying more advanced formats than DVD
compression, which is the stuff now of downloads from the internet.

It's now poor value for the electricity burnt IMO. The unit's fan is
also noisy, and lastly the brilliant XBMC has now forked off to
concentrate on more capable platforms.

Fling £25 at ebuyer instead.

Sumvision Cyclone Micro Media Player Divx & ISO HDMI USB/SD Media player
HDMI 1080p Upscaling
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167205

--
Adrian C

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 13:21:05 +0100, (Steve Firth)
wrote:

T i m wrote:

And that's a classic example of Steve Filth (ill)logic. "Both groups'?
Wtf are you on you pathetic little man. 'You were here first so can't
be following me personally' rolls eyes.

sigh You followed me in here, I didn't follow you, so I can't be
"following you".

Are you really that thick Filth or just being deliberately obtuse
(another one of your short list of skills no doubt).

Working on the basis you are that thick, I'm talking about you
'following' me personally, as in pervert or stalker, not following me
as in direction or timing.

Fact: You often feel the need to pass negative comments on me with no
provocation.

Fact: You read my postings. Why when I obviously frustrate you so
much. Not enough brains to use a killfile or do you really get some
perverse enjoyment from doing so?

Fact: You make statements that are bull****.

Fact: You often jump on the back of other peoples comments (because
you are a sad little pathetic coward).

Fact: You snip facts and post more bull****.

So, put your dick away and please get a life (and ideally in the UK if
you want to continue posting here). ;-)

Yeah? Well I Googled all your posts and they were rubbish. Gasp.

See, that's all a bit creepy I'm afraid Filth. So my posts are all
rubbish, and? Right, now you have worked that will that stop you being
so obsessed by me?

Do I hound you and post bull**** about you? Answer (so you don't try
to think of one by yourself and have a haemorrhage), 'no'.

You are just one sad, pathetic little man.

T i m

T i m wrote:

Fact: You often feel the need to pass negative comments on me with no
provocation.

Fact: You're talking ********. I very rarely make any comment about you.

Now **** off DIM you're just a tedious troll.

In article , Steve Walker
writes

Apologies

I'll remove any and all objections and apologise unreservedly if you
agree to never mention my name in the same sentence as SF ever again.

Deal :-?
--
fred
FIVE TV's superbright logo - not the DOG's, it's ********

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 14:28:30 +0100, "Steve Walker"
wrote:

I read you have several such boxes in use and wondered what process
you used to get them all running please?

Hi Tim -

Hi Steve,

I'll reply here so that others can benefit / comment / improve. Apologies
to Fred and Steve F if they feel this is out of place, I personally feel
that hacked-up home networks, telcoms, CCTV, AV & home cinema etc does have
a place in uk.d-i-y, it's an interesting & growing (or is it converging.. )
field.

Indeed.

I enjoy the trad chainsaw jokes and the stuff about digging
trenches too, but surely there's room for all? So, with that in mind let's
go :

- My first encounter with XBMC was non-DIY (boo, shame on me) - about 3 yrs
ago I bought a used, converted xbox off ebay for about £50 inc leads &
delivery. You still see them listed sometimes, try search terms like
modded, special or custom.

Part of this 'experiment' was the doing of it. ;-)

It was (is) brilliant - works perfectly with
the xbox dvd remote, plays any media file from any shared network folder it
can reach.

That was the hope.

Silent, looks tidy under the TV, still plays Xbox games when
you're in a retro mood, can be localised for weather & news feeds etc.

Nice.

- The xbox hardware will handle full DVD resolution at high bit-rate, with
good stereo sound. If you want a hi-def wide-screen surround-sound output
then you'll need to look at something newer.

The basic stuff will do me fine atm.

XBMC has now been ported to a
generic PC version,

Yup, I've already played with the LiveCD, Windows and the Linux
versions.

so you could build a silent little media centre (I have
a project in mind to install a mini-ITX board - ebuyer 152176 for example -
into the shell of an old stereo or VCR case one day).

Nice.

But let's start
from where we are - you have got an Xbox, and you want to play...

That's me (well, I hope to have two old Xboxes I and already have one
360 that works pretty well as a media centre, other than being a bit
fussy about formats.

- The way I did it was to follow the instructions at
http://www.productwiki.com/microsoft...0-minutes.html

Ah cheers, not seen that one.

- I looked at numerous other how-to's, but that one was the most complete
and user-friendly.

What concerned me with the others was they often had lots of branches
to the plot and not knowing much about consoles in general etc.

I bought a new Action Replay usb gadget (£15), and a
used copy of Mechassault (£3). You only need these once, so if you can
borrow or share that's useful.

Ok.

As I've zombied another 4 units since then,
I'm pleased with the value I've had from them so far.

Yup, and like many tools their value can be more than their cost even
if you only use them once. ;-)

- Like any tech walkthrough, it's nerve-wracking the first time. You
double and triple check everything, and you hold your breath when you
initiate key steps, but it's actually really simple and would take 15 mins
for a confident user.

;-)

Allow half a day, and go slow & steady. There are
back-up and restore options included, to support your peace of mind.

That's good to know. Because I haven't had any dealings with consoles
for ages since 'playing' cough with my PS.

As
long as you have generic confidence (create folders, save data, allocate IP
addresses, transfer FTP files etc) you'll be on solid ground all the way.

Should be ok there then.

And what a buzz when you finally power the hacked xbox up!

Let's hope. ;-) To be honest, I'm not sure my first eBay Xbox is
doing what it should. It doesn't seem to have anything like the range
of settings / option the 360 has. Like, can see / play with the
network settings for example?

It's like a B&W
Frankenstein moment - shaking your fist at the sky and laughing manically...
)

Hehe, I know that feeling very well. Driving the kitcar the first
time after building it. Or sitting on the river in the boat I'd just
finished.

- As a result of the xbox revolution, our house is now completely digitised.
DVD's and CD's are in the loft somewhere - they get ripped and then they're
forgotten. We have also accumulated vast amounts of broadcast TV from
torrent sites and from our own DVD-R recorder, from itunes and BBC iplayer
(we love radio comedy shows & podcasts) so everyone's favourite stuff is
playable at the click of a button, in any room with a TV.

Yup, we have a bit of that too and I'm looking forward to being able
to do similar.

- Everything is stored in a simple Windows XP Pro server in the garage,
currently 6TB of unprotected diskspace shared as read-only.

I recently built a WHS. Only 1.5TB atm (3 x 500G 2.5" SATA) but the
Microsoft Drive Extender technology allows one to add and remove
drives very easily so that could change.

That's my next
project, to somehow borrow enough capacity to copy it all off, RAID5 the
disks and copy it all back on again.

Blu-Ray burner?

But to be honest it's not a huge
problem - a couple of disks have gone flaky over the years but there's been
enough warning to recover the data, and even if it's all lost we can
download or convert it again.

Yup.

Good luck!

Thanks!

Cheers, T i m

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 18:40:35 +0100, (Steve Firth)
wrote:

T i m wrote:

Fact: You often feel the need to pass negative comments on me with no
provocation.

Fact: You're talking ********. I very rarely make any comment about you.

Man, you are one sick puppy!

Now **** off DIM you're just a tedious troll.

Right, solution for you (as I'm not going away), killfile me or simply
resist reading anything I post.

The trouble with that is you don't know how to (or presumably you
would have done so by now) and you can't resist (as you have proved so
often).

No, I'll just have to carry on bitch-slapping you whenever you decide
to crawl out from under your stone and harass me again (as you
undoubtedly will).

That's the problem when you are obsessed with someone ... you just
can't keep away (and you could so easily prove me wrong).

T i m

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 19:07:57 +0100, fred wrote:

In article , Steve Walker
writes

Apologies

I'll remove any and all objections and apologise unreservedly if you
agree to never mention my name in the same sentence as SF ever again.

Deal :-?

Another fan I see. You are 'ok' Fred. ;-)

T i m

T i m wrote:

Fact: You're talking ********. I very rarely make any comment about
you.

Man, you are one sick puppy!

Right, so off you go and determine how many posts of yours I have
replied to this year, or the last five years or any of the years that
you have posted for.

But of course you'll simply bull**** and bluster as usual.

The fact is that you're an irrelevance to me. I rarely comment about you
because there's no point. Others do so, and they seem if anything to be
harsher about you than I ever have been.

Or perhaps you're so thich that you think all people named "Steve" are
the same person?

Right, solution for you (as I'm not going away), killfile me or simply
resist reading anything I post.

You already are kill-filed in UCSM where you can't resist your tedious
trolling with your "Windoze ROXKZ, Mac SUKZ posts. You seemed to be
behaving yourself here, until the latest incident where you seem
determined to drag another newsgroup into the crap.

You really can't help yourself can you?

On Sat, 3 Apr 2010 20:12:55 +0100, (Steve Firth)
wrote:

T i m wrote:

Fact: You're talking ********. I very rarely make any comment about
you.

Man, you are one sick puppy!

Right, so off you go and determine how many posts of yours I have
replied to this year, or the last five years or any of the years that
you have posted for.

No. 1) Because I don't have to and 2) because if you really can't
remember doing it, nothing is going to stop you doing it again.

But of course you'll simply bull**** and bluster as usual.

Ok. Killfille me.

The fact is that you're an irrelevance to me.

Oh really! Prove it by *never* replying to me or one of my posts
again.

I rarely comment about you
because there's no point.

You really are ill aren't you. Previously I thought you just blew hot
and cold, now I realise you really have a problem.

Others do so, and they seem if anything to be
harsher about you than I ever have been.

I don't mind / care about 'harsh' (I'm a big boy) what I think weird
is your need to poke your nose into a conversation that you are
supposedly not interested in and it's more often the not, spout
personal abuse and comments.

Example:

Filth "Do you actually understand going around with your head not up
your arse, DIM?"

You had to comment on a reply TO SOMEONE ELSE! Why did you bother?
(plus what you wrote doesn't even make sense).

Filth "reviews posting history in URCM"

And found what and when exactly? I always get great help and advice in
all the newsgroups I want to post in, in spite of your constant
intervention, stirring **** and trying to make it otherwise.

Or perhaps you're so thich that you think all people named "Steve" are
the same person?

I know of two similar Steve's and that's two too many thanks!

Right, solution for you (as I'm not going away), killfile me or simply
resist reading anything I post.

You already are kill-filed in UCSM where you can't resist your tedious
trolling with your "Windoze ROXKZ, Mac SUKZ posts.

I know what it is. You have imagined that's what happening and are now
locked in a timewarp of some sort and can't break free. I have totally
rebuked your completely incorrect perceptions time after time yet you
seem stuck in some self destructive loop?

And how come many people are happy to talk to me in UCSM? It's not a
Mac advocacy group did you know?

I am typing this on a Mac Mini. The one I've had for probably a couple
of years now. Just because I don't have my tongue firmly up the arse
of Steve Jobs (I wonder if there is a theme here ... ?) and *prefer*
Windows (and building my own machines) you extract from that what you
do? But what's the point of saying anything to you, you have your
little beliefs and there's nothing shaking you.

You seemed to be
behaving yourself here, until the latest incident where you seem
determined to drag another newsgroup into the crap.

Do yourself a favour. Take a step back and take a look at what you are
doing and saying yourself. If you feel modifying some electronics for
home media is less 'home' or 'diy' than the numerous and often wildly
OT posts you do reply to then that's fine. Don't use it as an excuse
to release your obvious fascination for and jealousy of me.

You really can't help yourself can you?

Help myself just pottering along no. Help myself from passing nasty
comments about people totally unprovoked, yes.

But non of that will mean anything to you because of course you are
loved in every newsgroup your frequent aren't you (not).

Just look at this one for example. Fred felt it was OT and that's
fine. I explained why I felt it wasn't. I have had the reply I was
hoping for from Steve Walker and a couple of others have added extra
constructive thoughts about my project. One has specifically requested
his name is never used in the same sentence as yours.

What do *you* make of that then?

T i m

On Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:53:03 +0100, Adrian C
wrote:

On 03/04/2010 14:28, Steve Walker wrote:


- The xbox hardware will handle full DVD resolution at high bit-rate, with
good stereo sound.

snipped good wholesome stuff on DIY modding

But.... BTDTGTTS. (BTW I used the hard drive hot swap method)

Noted, ta.

The CPU is sadly lacking for replaying more advanced formats than DVD
compression, which is the stuff now of downloads from the internet.

Is the Xbox 360 supposed to be better in this matter do you know?
Whilst I've found it ok at 1080p (is it, old non HD 42" plasma?) it
seems a bit fussy about the file types?

It's now poor value for the electricity burnt IMO. The unit's fan is
also noisy, and lastly the brilliant XBMC has now forked off to
concentrate on more capable platforms.

Ah. ;-)

Fling £25 at ebuyer instead.

Sumvision Cyclone Micro Media Player Divx & ISO HDMI USB/SD Media player
HDMI 1080p Upscaling
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167205

Whilst that looks interesting I don't think it's a network device and
that's what I wanted and it doesn't play DVD's (another requirement).
;-(

I have looked at the other units mentioned in previous coverage of
such here and elsewhere but they were nearer the £80 mark (more than I
paid for the 360).

I did consider the energy requirements but even if the 360 draws the
175W the PSU is capable of I bet it would be dwarfed by the plasma [1]
.... goes off with power meter ...

Std Xbox ~ 63W
Xbox 360 ~ 98W
42" Plasma ~ 190-550W (550W when displaying the mainly all white EA
Games logo!). ;-)

My WHS draws 39W but anything with a even half decent graphics card
and 3.5" drive(s) (that I have knocking about) draws more like
75-100W.

Probably loads more than the Cyclone but then they all do a lot more
too?

Cheers, T i m

[1] And I was given the plasma. Given the amount of time it's likely
to be on it would take many years to recoup the cost of a new lower
power equivalent (if I could afford one).

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
.. .
T i m wrote:

Fact: You're talking ********. I very rarely make any comment about
you.

Man, you are one sick puppy!

Right, so off you go and determine how many posts of yours I have
replied to this year, or the last five years or any of the years that
you have posted for.

But of course you'll simply bull**** and bluster as usual.

The fact is that you're an irrelevance to me. I rarely comment about you
because there's no point. Others do so, and they seem if anything to be
harsher about you than I ever have been.

Or perhaps you're so thich that you think all people named "Steve" are
the same person?

But there is only one Steve Firth:-)

Adam

fred wrote:
In article , Steve Walker
writes

Apologies

I'll remove any and all objections and apologise unreservedly if you
agree to never mention my name in the same sentence as SF ever again.

Deal :-?

I couldn't possibly comment... )

Adrian C wrote:
On 03/04/2010 14:28, Steve Walker wrote:


- The xbox hardware will handle full DVD resolution at high bit-rate,
with good stereo sound.

snipped good wholesome stuff on DIY modding

But.... BTDTGTTS. (BTW I used the hard drive hot swap method)

The CPU is sadly lacking for replaying more advanced formats than DVD
compression, which is the stuff now of downloads from the internet.

Yeah, it doesn't like MP4 and H264, but Divx is still pretty widespread.
I'd agree though, they're on the edge of obsolence - that's why they're so
gloriously cheap.

Fling £25 at ebuyer instead.

Sumvision Cyclone Micro Media Player Divx & ISO HDMI USB/SD Media player
HDMI 1080p Upscaling
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167205


Nah, no ethernet capability....
My upgrade path is going to be homebuilt mini-itx, or....
Western Digital TV Version2 HD Media Player Full 1080p
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/182438...roduct_reviews

On Sun, 4 Apr 2010 01:54:27 +0100, "Steve Walker"
wrote:


Yeah, it doesn't like MP4 and H264, but Divx is still pretty widespread.

And part of the reason why I felt like looking at it further. I have a
mixed bunch of media and noted the Xbox 360 wouldn't play some of the
Lost series I'd collected. It looked like the only difference between
what it would play and what it wouldn't is the ones it wouldn't were
encoded with Divx. Hence I thought the XBMC might stand a better
chance (and I can't be arsed to convert it all).

I could use VLC on Ubuntu but I can't get Ubuntu to see the WHS
properly and could (and have) played it all on a Windows / Mac - PC
and Windows laptop (even the eeePC) but I preferred a dedicated
player.

Like you I may well build a low-power media player, with a DTV tuner
card, DVD etc but that is way down the 'to do' list. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Steve Walker wrote:

My upgrade path is going to be homebuilt mini-itx, or....
Western Digital TV Version2 HD Media Player Full 1080p
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/182438...roduct_reviews

Having personally failed to negtiate the XBMC route, Iust installed my
new WDTV player on Friday (at least the slightly more expensive WD
'Live' version which hooks up direct to various internet sites - not
quite sure of the value of that!).

It's a really excellent gizmo - thoroughly reccommended. It can now
play all my stored music and downloaded video via the living room
home-cinema kit; and it's particularly pleasing to be able to access my
now-pretty-vast repository of digital photos which hitherto have been
stired pretty much undisturbed on the PC for years - putting on an
ad-hoc slide show on the living room wide-screen is a piece of cake.

Don't know if you're aware of the xtreamer
(http://www.xtreamer.net/xtreamer/overview.aspx), which seems very
similar: I spent ages humminging and ha'ing over which one to go for.
Xtreamer has the facility to include a built-in HDD, which I couldn't
decide was desirable or not!

David