XBox original and MP3
May 9, 2008 10:37 AM Subscribe
Can I make my XBox (original not 360) play MP3 files?
Best answer: You can also "hard mod" it, which involves (I believe) soldering a mod chip directly onto the Xbox circuit board. Possibly not for the faint of heart, but there are plenty of people willing to do it for a nominal fee. You could also swap in a bigger hard drive at the same time, depending on whether you'd like to have the MP3 files (or movies, or tv shows, or emulators, or game backups) directly on the Xbox.
Google is definitely your friend here, and don't be intimidated by the flood of technical information available. I know there was a Lifehacker tutorial on soft-modding... here it is. It makes the process pretty dummy-proof.
XBMC is possibly the greatest thing ever invented. It has drastically improved my quality of life. And by "quality of life" I mean, of course, my ability to watch, listen and play whatever I like at any time.
posted by joelhunt at 10:52 AM on May 9, 2008
Google is definitely your friend here, and don't be intimidated by the flood of technical information available. I know there was a Lifehacker tutorial on soft-modding... here it is. It makes the process pretty dummy-proof.
XBMC is possibly the greatest thing ever invented. It has drastically improved my quality of life. And by "quality of life" I mean, of course, my ability to watch, listen and play whatever I like at any time.
posted by joelhunt at 10:52 AM on May 9, 2008
Best answer: Seconding Hellafiles's XMBC idea. This Lifehacker article is probably one of the best/simplest to follow.
posted by parma at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2008
posted by parma at 10:59 AM on May 9, 2008
Response by poster: Everybody gets a best answer because they are basically the same and I have been told countless times that it can't be done. I should have know to come to AskMe first.
posted by Carbolic at 11:11 AM on May 9, 2008
posted by Carbolic at 11:11 AM on May 9, 2008
XBMC is awesome. To properly flex it, make sure you get a wireless bridge/long cat5 cable for your XBOX, hook it up to your network, and then stream all your media from your (hopefully) always-on computer.
The one *must* with XBMC is the XBOX remote. You *might* be able to pick one up used, but the crucial part is the IR eye that plugs into the controller port -- this is the part that most often seems to get lost. I'd also recommend (if you have a high-def tv), buying a component cable kit. XBOX with XBMC can't quite push 720p high def from files, but with the component cable you get a bunch more resolution options, and everything looks much nicer. Buy your cables used at Gamestop where you should be able to get 'monster-style' quality for under $10. Buying them new the prices are ridiculous.
We've had ours for 2 years and I couldn't imagine *not* having it. The first time you see that on screen display pop up while you're watching a movie, well .. it's pretty rad. XBMC is the most incredible piece of software I've seen in the last 4 or 5 years. Mine happens to be hard-modded (I had a guy do it for $40, and he popped in a larger hard drive for me too), but if I did it again I'd consider soft-modding (same approximate cost, seemingly, after you gather all the necessary parts).
posted by fishfucker at 11:30 AM on May 9, 2008
The one *must* with XBMC is the XBOX remote. You *might* be able to pick one up used, but the crucial part is the IR eye that plugs into the controller port -- this is the part that most often seems to get lost. I'd also recommend (if you have a high-def tv), buying a component cable kit. XBOX with XBMC can't quite push 720p high def from files, but with the component cable you get a bunch more resolution options, and everything looks much nicer. Buy your cables used at Gamestop where you should be able to get 'monster-style' quality for under $10. Buying them new the prices are ridiculous.
We've had ours for 2 years and I couldn't imagine *not* having it. The first time you see that on screen display pop up while you're watching a movie, well .. it's pretty rad. XBMC is the most incredible piece of software I've seen in the last 4 or 5 years. Mine happens to be hard-modded (I had a guy do it for $40, and he popped in a larger hard drive for me too), but if I did it again I'd consider soft-modding (same approximate cost, seemingly, after you gather all the necessary parts).
posted by fishfucker at 11:30 AM on May 9, 2008
fishf**ker: I've got a wireless controller, and I haven't had any problems making maximum usage of my souped-up Xbox. Was it just the annoyance of controller cords that led you to label the Xbox remote a "must" or am I missing out on something? Pls advise.
I probably wouldn't bother with the bigger hard drive now either, except for the convenience of having my games backed up right to the Xbox, negating the need to ever pop discs in and out.
posted by joelhunt at 12:03 PM on May 9, 2008
I probably wouldn't bother with the bigger hard drive now either, except for the convenience of having my games backed up right to the Xbox, negating the need to ever pop discs in and out.
posted by joelhunt at 12:03 PM on May 9, 2008
Response by poster: Thanks, once again, to all who have explained how to do the "impossible". I haven't move to HD yet (my damned 10 year old 32 inch just won't die), I have the remote and I just ordered the wireless bridge (Why are the ethernet variety so much more expensive than the USB? Lack of demand? I was able to easily locate one for around $75. Probably could have found a lower price but I'm lazy.) Looking forward to trying to make it all work.
posted by Carbolic at 1:03 PM on May 9, 2008
posted by Carbolic at 1:03 PM on May 9, 2008
fishf**ker: I've got a wireless controller, and I haven't had any problems making maximum usage of my souped-up Xbox.
you certainly can control it with a controller with no problem, I've used mine before, but every button on the xbox remote is mapped very sensibly, and it makes it dead simple for the people in your life who aren't technically inclined -- that's why I recommend it. Beyond that, I prefer it myself as well -- it makes usage feel more like using an awesome HTPC than hacking your xbox. For the $10-20 it costs to buy one, I think it's well worth it to have. If you're OK with using a xbox controller for volume, stop/pause, etc, then I wouldn't worry about it, but it feels like a much more integrated system using the remote, and that's why I suggest it. The only sour note is that the master volume is on the 3/6 keys instead of a true volume key, but you get used to that soon enough.
The only thing i use my bigger HD for is games, all my media is streamed, so yeah, unless you're planning on catching up with classic 2nd gen console games don't worry about it (if you are, you should play through both the Halo series and what GTA is available on the xbox).
Until about 6 months ago we used our XBMC on a little 25 inch tv and it was still great, so XBMC is a perfect fit if you haven't upgraded yet. The internet can sometimes be a bear to get set up, but it's rock solid once your bridge performs correctly. I regularly watch the reuters news crawl on my XBMC main page to stay up to date with what's going on -- another nice bonus. I've haven't used bleeding edge XBMC svn releases, and I hear they're variable in quality (sometimes having trouble with subs, etc), but the last official release is pretty excellent (i've been using it for at least a year), so I'd try that first.
posted by fishfucker at 12:16 AM on May 10, 2008
you certainly can control it with a controller with no problem, I've used mine before, but every button on the xbox remote is mapped very sensibly, and it makes it dead simple for the people in your life who aren't technically inclined -- that's why I recommend it. Beyond that, I prefer it myself as well -- it makes usage feel more like using an awesome HTPC than hacking your xbox. For the $10-20 it costs to buy one, I think it's well worth it to have. If you're OK with using a xbox controller for volume, stop/pause, etc, then I wouldn't worry about it, but it feels like a much more integrated system using the remote, and that's why I suggest it. The only sour note is that the master volume is on the 3/6 keys instead of a true volume key, but you get used to that soon enough.
The only thing i use my bigger HD for is games, all my media is streamed, so yeah, unless you're planning on catching up with classic 2nd gen console games don't worry about it (if you are, you should play through both the Halo series and what GTA is available on the xbox).
Until about 6 months ago we used our XBMC on a little 25 inch tv and it was still great, so XBMC is a perfect fit if you haven't upgraded yet. The internet can sometimes be a bear to get set up, but it's rock solid once your bridge performs correctly. I regularly watch the reuters news crawl on my XBMC main page to stay up to date with what's going on -- another nice bonus. I've haven't used bleeding edge XBMC svn releases, and I hear they're variable in quality (sometimes having trouble with subs, etc), but the last official release is pretty excellent (i've been using it for at least a year), so I'd try that first.
posted by fishfucker at 12:16 AM on May 10, 2008
I use the XBox remote with my install of XBMC, but I used the wired controller for a few months before that. It was fine, and has a neat feature where the analog triggers actually work as jog wheel to move the video back and forwards.
posted by smackfu at 10:26 PM on May 10, 2008
posted by smackfu at 10:26 PM on May 10, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
XBMC is free and awesome, and soft modding is super easy. You dont have to take your Xbox apart or anything.
Google for instructions on how to "soft mod xbox". I hope this is helpful!
posted by Hellafiles at 10:41 AM on May 9, 2008