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[Altima NEO]

XBMC is great, but it really has issues trying to play back high def content, or even regular content with high bit rates or bandwidth requirements (h264 stuff). As far as SD content goes, its the king.
Of course, once and if the 360 gets modded enough to run its own flavor of XBMC, that will change everything.

[luther349]

QUOTE(TeamDevil @ Mar 26 2007, 09:46 PM)

This is so obvious it hurts. Can you guys believe that there are some people that think the appletv is the best thing since sliced bread? There is nothing currently that can beat XBMC (maybe the ps3 running linux and mplayer or mythtv comes close but that is yet to be streamlined I think). XBMC is the shit and microsoft missed out on a chance to really give us, the consumer, what we really wanted with the xbox360 as far as being a real multi-media system.

you do knoe the 360 can play wmvs/wma nativly now if you burn then to disk or put them on a mp3 player that supports mass storage. so you can use the 360 as a meda center if you dont mind converting videos/audio to work on it. befor patch 360s could not do this thow. and of course you have the streaming abilty if you have a mce pc or a 3rd party program.  lets not forget the marketplace video rentls.

yes i still have my orignal xbox and yes it is better couse i dont need to transcode just stream it over my network any format.

[Tickethead]

Apple TV's current suck factor is determined by the requirement to use iTunes on the host PC...

On the other hand that limitation probably won't last long...  Check out how much hacking has been accomplished in a matter of 1 week...

http://wiki.awkwardt...title=Main_Page

I love hackers....

[freesafety13]

i will be the first one to admit i was not impressed by the xbox originally.  to the point that i didnt even purchase one until 2005, and that was to play Jade Empire and Fable, nothing else.  after completing those games i just let the xbox sit around and collect dust until i heard you could mod it, that was Sept. of '06.  the thing i loved the most was the feeling of accomplishment i felt as i pieced the xbox together one app at a time until i got just the right configuration.  i would rather spend a few weekends researching and then doing a project than going to local Best Buy or Circuit City and overpaying for a inferior product.  thank you XBMC and all the xbox-scene community on helping one wanna-be techy nerd on wanting to be good at everything but great at nothing.

[c-2]

XBMC is getting alot better at playing h264 ..

http://www.xboxmedia...ead.php?t=23969

the new .dll fix's all the ones i've ever had .. its still a work in progress , the best gets better everyday :]

[Sociodemographic]

I love XBMC, it has so many features and it just keeps on getting better with each release.  There is no doubt that the xbox is a more robust platform for a media center.  It can handle larger hard drives, play DVDs, games, emulate all kinds of other systems and play nearly any kind of digital format.  Also it has more connectivity options, so it supports more TVs.


However, the potential of Apple TV intrigues me for I do like the size, and built in wireless.  Modifying the Apple TV is a lot simpler than the Xbox, or recent hacks have shown.  While softmods have been available for Xbox, and modchips are purely optional, the fact remains that getting XBMC up and running is no easy feat.  If the day arrives where you can have a 500+gb HD on an Apple TV, well, my media will spend more time there than on my Xbox.  Most of the time I use my Xbox as a media center, so games aren't that important.  Hauling my Xbox to a friend's house is not a problem, but compared to a 1" 8"x8" square, well, I'd rather carry the square.


Time will tell how the community will react to this, but I am excited either way.  More competition brings more development.

[0794]

XBMC is absolutely the most amazing thing ever in home entertainment!

With an ebay xbox for $40-50 (look for ones with broken dvd drives) and a chip for $10-20 - nothing is cheaper for incredible media pleasure - and HD XBMC is ridiculously clean!  Only if appleTV gets hacked for larger storage and more codecs will it begin to compare...

[Jagosix]

QUOTE(Sociodemographic @ Mar 27 2007, 01:28 AM)

I love XBMC, it has so many features and it just keeps on getting better with each release.  There is no doubt that the xbox is a more robust platform for a media center.  It can handle larger hard drives, play DVDs, games, emulate all kinds of other systems and play nearly any kind of digital format.  Also it has more connectivity options, so it supports more TVs.
However, the potential of Apple TV intrigues me for I do like the size, and built in wireless.  Modifying the Apple TV is a lot simpler than the Xbox, or recent hacks have shown.  While softmods have been available for Xbox, and modchips are purely optional, the fact remains that getting XBMC up and running is no easy feat.  If the day arrives where you can have a 500+gb HD on an Apple TV, well, my media will spend more time there than on my Xbox.  Most of the time I use my Xbox as a media center, so games aren't that important.  Hauling my Xbox to a friend's house is not a problem, but compared to a 1" 8"x8" square, well, I'd rather carry the square.
Time will tell how the community will react to this, but I am excited either way.  More competition brings more development.

Hello Fellow Gamers. I've been repairing xboxes for years. Now modding them have come down to just plugging in a memory card & running a dvd. The onscreen installation does everything for you. It's that simple now. Now upgrading the Hard Drive, That might be a little harder to do.

I can buy several (yes several) xboxes for the price of 1 Apple tv.  Also check this out.
1. New or Refurbished Xbox $100
2. Used working Xbox from people off the streets $30-50$.
3. Pawn shops $50-$80
4. 500GB HDD $170

Now i can take say $30 used xbox with a new $170 500GB hd & still have saved $100. Even if you find a way to get the Apple tv to run a 500GB HD. The system with the Price of the HDD will cost you $470 without taxes. That's a lot of money just for a multimedia experience that the xbox can provide for a fraction of the cost.

[bobbler]

XBMC is the sole reason I own a Xbox 1. Simply put its stunningly simple to use (even the missus can do it with no help...which is saying something!) and is easy to configure.
Its killer function for me is the NOT having to have it connected to a PC to play media. Hooked up to my NSLU2 NAS box (which is always on due its low power consumption) with a couple of USB disks on it I have a decent media playback solution which is no more difficult to operate than a standalone DVD player.
This is what the 360 could do with for me, just playback media from a SMB share rather than having to turn on two boxes to watch a video or browse your pictures.
Isn't half of the functionality of the AppleTV reliant on the use of a PC too?

[HansiHusten]

QUOTE(FrostyTheSnowman @ Mar 26 2007, 08:11 PM)

XBMC FTW!  

IMO, it's even better than most upscaling DVD players too!

Original (modded) XBOXes just kick ass. Simply put.

I second that! Best media Center ever! Hope my box will last some years

[Geeba]

QUOTE(biga55 @ Mar 26 2007, 11:26 PM)

Yeah, I agree.  I can't playback 720p/1080i material with xbmc which is a must for HDTV output.  I thought it was much more useful when I only had a SD television.  Also, I think XBMC output sucks.

For the general population, who want a HD solution with no hassle when it comes to setting it up and buying/managing content, Apple TV beats xbmc hands down.  The 360 would obviously make a better comparison but video output sucks on it too.

Are you avin a laugh???  "I think XBMC output sucks." what more do you want it to output?

Scart, s-video, RGB, Component 480i HD 480p,720p,1080i PAL/NTSC, Dolby Digital, DTS, 5.1 on Phono, Coax and Optical??? huh? in about every format you can think of!

The only thing I can think of that its NOT got is a BEER TAP! and I'm sure if you gave the dev's enough time they'd fit one!

Makes me cringe when people sound so ungratefull... these people make the BEST media centre experince FOR FREE! remember!

[fozzieb]

QUOTE(Geeba @ Mar 27 2007, 12:30 PM)

Are you avin a laugh???  "I think XBMC output sucks." what more do you want it to output?

Scart, s-video, RGB, Component 480i HD 480p,720p,1080i PAL/NTSC, Dolby Digital, DTS, 5.1 on Phono, Coax and Optical??? huh? in about every format you can think of!

The only thing I can think of that its NOT got is a BEER TAP! and I'm sure if you gave the dev's enough time they'd fit one!

Makes me cringe when people sound so ungratefull... these people make the BEST media centre experince FOR FREE! remember!

so getting all that output from an xbox is free??? what about the cost of the mod chip, what about having to install it, then having to install XBMC?

I love my xbox, but it did not come that way out the box and was not just a quick 5 minutes to get it up and running. remember we have been messing with the xbox for years, the aTV is JUST out.

Give it time

[freesafety13]

you dont need a mod chip to install or run XBMC.  Just a $3 dollar copy of SC and a memory card, thats it.

[fozzieb]

i didn't say it sucks, i use it every day. i bought my box last year and only use it for this.

i was just stating that there is years of development on the xbox scene to get to where we are now, and the aTV is just out.

for the average user aTV is the better option as it is set to go.

[downlowfunk]

QUOTE(jcaspar1 @ Mar 27 2007, 12:06 AM)

"and has much more support from the hacking community right now than Apple TV."

Really?   Apple TV has been out for what, one week?

Why not melt the two together and port XBMC to run on Apple TV. Other than the games, that would be the best of both worlds....

Yeah thats the move that should happen.  

   Also I remember like 4 years ago they sold, Digital Medial to TV network appliances.  Why does Apple get all the applause for a new old product?