ok so heres my latest project that i wanna do but i got a few questions... so i just got a 360 for christmas and found out that it can be used at a media extender for windows media center. i have windows vista home premium on my laptop with media center so i was wondering if i could get these two things to start working together (basically i want to record tv and stuff like a DVR). i have a few problems though, the laptop is in my room and i would like to have the 360 in the living room (about 30 feet away) will wireless g be strong enough for the full on media center experience? and also i need to buy a tv tuner card for my laptop (its an hp) has anyone ever heard of a express card tv tuner because the only one i could find is the one from hp and it comes in two types, digital and analog. with should i buy? also i have dish network in all the rooms in my house will that conflict with windows media center? i know theres a lot of questions but i would really like it if someone could help me with this. thanks Zach EDIT: whats the pros and cons of a usb tv tuner? because they seem to be cheaper
the 360 is a horrible media extender. it has recently added mpeg4 support, but it looks like ass! also, it doesnt like many audio codecs either. there is no serviceable library function. it synchs(has to) with windows media player, which also sucks. my advice, get an original xbox. softmod it, network it. put xbmc on it. its the best multimedia interface i have ever seen. endless functionality and customizable features. plays just about anything you throw at it. supports up to 1080i too.
i dont want to spend money on a xbox when i have a 360 im trying to do this as cheap as possible, plus i dont know how to do all that stuff, not big on the modding thing
ok then... wireless g is fine to stream just about any media. in my area, digital comes in way better, so digital tv card, dish network will not interfere at all with the g network. usb tv card is fine, just have to connect it with a wire. will the usb card tune analog and digital? refurb xbox is $50u.s. modding has become quite simple. dont even have to open the xbox
chunkhead has excellent tutorials on softmodding(in the console forums) i would gladley help anyone through it. once done, you setup shares between xbox and pc. the xbox will play virtually any media directly from yer pc. no more converting, burning onto disk, to play d.l.ed stuff, and your own collection. all of my music, movies are on storage drives, and networked to xboxs throughout my house. my cd and dvd player have been both resigned to the closet, collecting dust. the interface is excellent, and my wife, 8yr old son have no problems using it. theres a scripting engine built in, with it you can watch youtube, display song lyrics, many other cool things. Its really quite refined, as the xbmc team updates weekly
