Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with MCE

can I use an Atom eeeBox as a Media Center "server" for an XBOX 360 "client"?

bartleby — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:21:48 -0800

XBOX 360 as Media Center hackery: what's the minimum hardware I can get away with to serve as the Media Center PC "server" to the 360's "client"? NOTE: I am aware of things like MythTV, XBMC and TVersity that can act as replacements for a Media Center PC, and display content from there. But I'm not asking about those on a full PC as a solution - I'm asking about something minimalist to act as a Media Center "server" and using the XBOX 360 as a "client" that does the streaming and display.

I'm going to do a case mod on my 360 because the thing is so damn LOUD it makes a lousy home theatre. I got a replacement case (Lian Li XB01)that promises to be much quieter.

Opening it up, it definitely looks like there's room for something small and quiet like an eeeBox or a mini(micro?)-ITX motherboard to also live inside the case, running headless and acting as the Media Center PC, adding MCE features to the XBOX 360. But it's gotta be small, very quiet, and have minimal cooling needs.

I already have an eeeBox (Atom N270 @ 1.6 ghz, 1gb RAM) at home. I'm not using it for anything, since I first got it to use as a mini HTPC and found out that it's NOT up to doing something like watching Hulu on an HDTV; between the streaming, processing, and HD output, it's underpowered.

But as I understand it, the XBOX would be doing all the video output processing; so I'd just need something to be the Media Center "backend", on the same router/switch as the 360, and stream from that backend to the 360's frontend.
Do I have that right?

If I could get everything I want, it would:
-enable Hulu watching through the 360, like PlayOn does on a windows box

-allow me to hook up a Hauppauge USB TV Tuner stick or ATI TVWonder unit and record/watch HDTV (since the eee's Atom would have a hard time doing video transcoding on the fly, if it could just capture and then play back after chewing on it for a day, that would be fine - I'm almost never watching anything the day it's on anyway.)

- for super extra bonus points, it would run on Linux. Since it's going to be always-on, internet connected, and headless, I'd like to not have to worry about malware, windows crashes and patches, etc. But that may be asking for too much.

Any Media Center or XBOX 360 experts out there able to advise?

Ready for CableCards?

medarby — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:14:47 -0800

What is the current state of CableCards? Is it worth adding to my HTPC? I came across this article on Gizmodo regarding CableCards. I've only done cursory reading on the tech as it always seemed to be not well supported (or promoted) or mature enough yet. Is this still the case, or is it time to start looking into it? Anyone have any experience with CableCards or a primer for us newbs that they'd like to share?

How do I get Vista and XBOX360 to work over ethernet?

geoff. — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 15:50:38 -0800

Can I connect a Windows Vista Media Server directly to an XBOX360 to serve media content? I only have a PC, an Ethernet cable and an XBOX 360. Microsoft's site says you should be able to if you wanted to use the PC to bridge two connections together. But that assumes a router exists on the other end of the second connection. I want to try to do this without any additional equipment (router, switch, hub).

I assume the problem comes from there being no DHCP server (as the XBOX 360 defaults to an internal IP address). It does show up as wired, so the XBOX 360 and the PC see a wired connection.

Is there a way around this? I am trying to stream content to the 360, not get online. I do not have a USB cable long enough, but I assumed there must be some way to do this without getting too complicated.

Show Off

chairish — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 01:53:53 -0800

I need to create a low-cost presentation setup for a school office foyer so that they can display some of the kids' best work. I have a Windows XP laptop (Celeron 2.5 / 512MB ram) and an LCD screen. I want to be able to set up a system to replay folders of photos, Powerpoints and movies from an old laptop. The setup is in a school foyer and we have a method to secure the LCD and to hide the laptop.

Should I look at one of the MCE alternatives?

Bonus points if I can remote access into the laptop and set up the playlist from another machine on the network.

UK DIY IPTV PDQ?

Nice Guy Mike — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 05:27:09 -0800

How can my parents get English TV in Italy? Now that my parents have retired, they're going to be spending more time dual-basing between Italy and the UK, probably a couple of months at a time in each place. They'd like the ability to watch english TV in Italy, and being the family's tech-head I've been tapped for potential solutions.

-------- Longish explanation, skip to bottom for actual questions ---------

The most obvious answer is British satellite TV, ideally via the Astra constellation - the problem is, they're too far south to get a signal without a huge dish (2.4m, according to this page), which is not feasible.

Next up is TV streaming using e.g. a Slingbox, streaming from my parent's home in the UK to Italy. Luckily, I own one that I use on my home LAN, and we were able to conduct a proper test at a friends' place there. The quality was OK, but only for a small window on the computer in question - ideally they'd like to watch on a full size TV.

Torrents are not an option, as the type of TV they'd want to watch will not be torrented (british TV, some soaps).

Due to the small upload bandwidth available, the best solution I can think of is to record in the UK with a DVR of some description, then download (after recordings, i.e. non-real time) from said DVR to my parent's computer in Italy. This would allow better quality than streaming, albeit with slower download times.

So, how to do it?

I figure the following components:
- Server machine with TV card, based in the UK and hooked to a UK TV source and the UK broadbanc connection
- Client machine, laptop with media centre software, taken to Italy and hooked to italian broadband connection, connected to TV
- Server software capable of being controlled via web interface

Ideal, but not required, would be the option of automated (e.g. overnight) downloads from the server to the client. My parents are somewhat technophobic but can do basic operations in Windows (e.g. go to website, click TV shows you want to download, leave the laptop on overnight, watch shows the next day via Media Centre).

--------- Questions: -----------

- Server software:
I'm looking for a recommendation for software running on a media PC (actually, a media server) that can:
- record from TV
- be controlled via a web-type interface (as opposed to VNC)
- can appropriately compress TV show files e.g. using XviD, H264, etc
- can be remotely administered (administration being a separate function to merely "using", ie setting recordings and aquiring TV shows)

- Client software
Windows MCE should provide the majority of user-side interaction, but an automated method of logging in to the above server and downloading e.g. all files in a selected folder structure would be useful.

- For those who have read the lengthy speil above, any comments on feasibility? Any better ideas would be welcome.

Sorry about the length, if any more details are required, please ask.

A Good, sub $1500 MCE with Cablecard?

Apo11o — Tue, 22 May 2007 04:34:05 -0800

Are there any good sub $1500 notebooks with Vista MCE's new cablecard for recording high def video? Are there any good sub $1500 notebooks with Vista MCE's new cablecard for recording high def video? Preferably one with a good amount of RAM, 15.4" and good connections.

Best media streamer for HDTV (under $300) ?

lattiboy — Tue, 01 May 2007 10:32:06 -0800

Now that I found out the XBox 360 won't have Xvid support in the Media Extender (thanks M$), what alternative media streamer would the mighty filter suggest to view the LOADS of Xvid (and perhaps x.264 HD) content on my PC via my HDTV over a wired network connection? This is wordy, sorry:

I've tried 3 different streamers (pinnacle, Dlink, Buffalo) and all have had some serious problems with speed or compatibility or image quality. I built a myth tv box, but MySQL is the devil and I don't have 3 weeks to work it out.

I'm not against building a front-end type system for viewing the content, but would like something more manageable (and cheaper) for the girlfriend. I've seen a lot about the Netgear EVA8000, but its so expensive you could build a decent HTPC.

My current PC is a in a HTPC case, so I could connect it to my TV, but its so powerful it would be a waste. Also, I'm running Windows MCE and my motherboard doesn't play nice with Linux.

I've read hundreds of opinions, but I always value the thoughtfulness of MetaFilter members. Thanks!

Will Hauppage WinTV PVR USB 2.0 MCE work with Win 2K?

flyby22 — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 18:25:40 -0800

Can WinTV PVR USB 2.0 MCE Edition be used with Win 2K? When I purchased it I did not realize I was getting the MCE Edition which apparently does not include the MPEG codecs and has an external IR sensor for use with Windows XP Media Center Edition. The non-MCE version is supposed to work with Win 2K. Should I return this or can I get it to work fully with Win2K ?

Help my Windows PC Search

benjh — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 07:48:07 -0800

What is the best Windows PC setup? How well does Media Center work? I am currently shopping around for a Windows PC. I want it primarily for basic computing tasks, plus definitely some games.

I keep going back and forth on whether to get a desktop or a laptop. Laptop gives me freedom to move around the house (this machine would probably never leave the house), but a desktop certainly gives me more power.

The more I looked into it, the more I've looked at desktops running Windows Media Center Edition. The particular one I am looking at has 2GB RAM, 250GB HD, 2.8 Intel Dual Core, 256MB Video (shared memory though, but a dedicated video card).

So my question is multi-part.

Is there a decently priced laptop that I can buy that will play things like Counter Strike Source, Half Life 2, Doom 3, etc.?

If I go the route of the desktop, how much system resources does the TV Tuner functions of MCE actually use? If I am playing a game, and recording a TV show at the same time, will the machine come to a grinding hault?

How well does the rollup 2 of MCE actually work? Is this going to be close to my Tivo experience, or will I be severely disappointed?

On shared video memory, it has 256MB shared as part of an NVidia GeForce 6200SE card. Never had shared memory on a video card in this amount. How will this impact performance?