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[crystalgeek]

i dont own a 360 yet or an MCE but as far as i can rmeber cant you load some applications from the 360 using the MCE in a certain directory, like games or w/e Ill try and find out a  link to what im tlaking about, how about getting XboxMcx.xex
 and moving it to that file location and trying to rtun it from the 360 and monitor what happens

[wsly]

maybe it's transfering the codecs to the xbox360 for video playback. if that turns out to be the case.. then it may be possible to add a divx/xvid codec to it.

this would also make it possible for M$ to update the codecs for playback of future versions of wmv and tv recordings using MCE or Vista

EDIT:
M$ has mentioned that directx 10 will not be based off the same code as prev versions of directx, but will be totally new code with emulation for prev versions of directx. and seeing as diectshow is part of directx.. maybe this was forward thinking on M$'s part.

[wsly]

I looked at the file thru a hex editor and by just opening it in notepad. After opening in notepad I did a search and found entries for mpg, wmv, wma, avi, and vob. These are entries that you would find in the Media Player 9 codec. The avi entry would not be divx avi's but normal windows avi's.

So It seems very probable that this would contain the Windows Media Player codec as this xex file is the right size to host such a thing. Once we can break the encryption of the file it might be possible to add other codecs resulting in the playback of divx and xvid files. Also this is probably the reason "media connect" cannot playback video, as it's current form has no way to load the xex onto the xbox from a host pc. Maybe this is where M$ ran into a stalemate, and why videos can currently only be streamed from MCE2005. A normal MCExtender already contains the codecs hard coded.... but they wanted the 360 to be able to adapt for future use.

Remember this is just theoretical reteric...

[lordvader129]

QUOTE

Once we can break the encryption of the file it might be possible to add other codecs resulting in the playback of divx and xvid files.

i doubt that, like any xex/xbe its signed, meaning any alteration to code will invalidate the signature

[wsly]

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the xdk is leaked. Then signing won't be an issue.

[lordvader129]

QUOTE(wsly @ Dec 3 2005, 03:12 PM)

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the xdk is leaked. Then signing won't be an issue.

yes it will, the digital signature is the whole reason we have to mod in the first place, to run unsigned code

[Dameon]

Almost 3 megs is fairly high. I would think that the Xbox would only download the xex if it was different than the existing version. Did the xbox that you tested with have a hard drive? Was it the first time you attempted to start the extender? Perhaps this file is cached on the hard drive if it is available.

[rulvnthatwigs]

Just thought I might add that I'm pretty sure the region lock code is part of the encryption code on every game.  Therefore once one country breaks it that means that the other countries are still not there yet.  If so that is pretty smart thinkin on M$'s part.

Don't ask how I know this it's a long dumb and complicated thing.

[azninvasion]

QUOTE(lordvader129 @ Dec 3 2005, 08:50 PM)

i doubt that, like any xex/xbe its signed, meaning any alteration to code will invalidate the signature

You know i think there are ways to create new files with the same signature, if you know how to modify the code to create the same checksum. I read an article about it once. But its probably pretty much useless in our case because even if we change the code a bit (switching some binary digits here and there) the change won't be significant enough to execute our own custom code. So to crack it we need to find the key.

[lordvader129]

QUOTE(azninvasion @ Dec 4 2005, 01:28 AM)

You know i think there are ways to create new files with the same signature, if you know how to modify the code to create the same checksum. I read an article about it once. But its probably pretty much useless in our case because even if we change the code a bit (switching some binary digits here and there) the change won't be significant enough to execute our own custom code. So to crack it we need to find the key.

patching a media check in an xbe involves changing 4 bytes (5 on games made after feb 2003), even this tiny change cannot be made without invalidating the signature, i think the signing process is more than a checksum, im not 100% certain how it works, but i know its very secure

[Nico3k]

QUOTE(Moltdar @ Dec 4 2005, 06:39 AM)

you guys are ignorants and don't know what you are talking about. There are no codecs whatsoever transfered to the X360 when MCE boots up. Analyze your traffic during playback and you would clearly see, as many have reported on this site, that the PC is decoding EVERYTHING you use on MCE, (music, images, videos) and the final output is what's being transfered through the network hence why you really need a fast network to transfer HDTV feeds from tivo's.

Everything being decoded on the PC adds more security to it, and it also means MS just needs to update the PC codecs or whatever in order to update the playback on the 360 too.

And Dameon every single functionality in MCE on the 360 is NOT stored on the HD because the dashboards/MCE are running directly from the hardware and everything you're running is in the RAM and the hypervisor. The reason why it ALWAYS downloads the file is because it syncs itself everytime assuring it's the same 360 for the same files. Switch the 360 your using even with the same settings/gamertag and it won't work connecting the MCE, it's all hardware coded (just like the live arcade games! all hardware for registration!)

You took the words right out of my mouth...
finally someone that knows what they're talking about

[.:Dino:.]

nice thoughts about updating codecs but its not gonna happen, not at least until we can run unsigned code, due to the checksum of each file and being invalidated.

[jameswalter]

QUOTE(wsly @ Dec 3 2005, 01:12 PM)

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the xdk is leaked. Then signing won't be an issue.

People still don't get it do they.

[jonesy827]

QUOTE(cregan @ Dec 29 2005, 09:34 PM)

If the media center pc does all the computing and then the xbox just plays the end result, why wont the xbox MCE play xvid files but my media center pc will?

That's what I was thinking...

I'm sure there is an explanation...I'm not quite understanding everything I read...

[krawhitham]

QUOTE(wsly @ Dec 3 2005, 10:12 PM)

I'm sure it's only a matter of time until the xdk is leaked. Then signing won't be an issue.

Just turn your computer off, you are too dumb to use it

BTW XDKs were released for the xbox1, guess what no one ever signed a XBE with it