A/V Observations and Various Hodgepodge

[Beeeph]

i just picked me up a new 60" sony rear-projection and i'm curious if anyone has an opinion on the subject of using an xbox360 to stream HD media from my computer. i figured you do since i learned it all from you. from you, all right?!? i learned it from watching you!!! it hasn't arrived yet, so here are some pictures i stole from another forum...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachme ... 1186873697
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachme ... 1186873545
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachme ... 1186873706
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachme ... 1186873540

that last shot is of the XMB interface, tis fantastic!

so my original plan for connecting to my PC was to have DVI-to-HDMI cable connecting my video card to my TV and an optical cable for connecting my sound card to my 7.1 receiver. this seems to be a problem for a few reasons...

- in terms of video, there is a certain amount of overscan involved because my computer runs at a 1920x1280 (16:10) resolution and the TV obviously runs at 1080p (1920x1080, 16:9), so parts of the screen were cut off. there are ways to fix this somewhat easily, but i don't like work-arounds.
- in terms of audio, an optical cable can only carry a 5.1 encoded signal, so my 7.1 sound system was limited.

a better way of streaming HD video to the TV, it seems, is to use an xbox360 that's hooked up to your home computer network. and if you have a new elite version of the 360, an HDMI-to-HDMI eliminates all your streaming woes. but here's what i'm thinking...even if you have a legacy xbox 360 w/o HDMI ports like me, you can still squeeze out the same quality using component cables and analog audio (red/white) cables. and buying a new xbox 360 elite just to have those HDMI ports is a waste of money, agree or disagree?

also, here's a quote from an article titled "facts and myths about xbox360 HD"

Q. Which cable should I get? Which one has better quality?

A. In general VGA and component are about the same in terms of picture quality. However, if you have an HDTV that only accepts a 1080i input signal, only the component connection will work for you. The 360 will not output a true 720p or 1080i HD signal over VGA, only computer resolutions of 640×480, 848×480, 1024×768, 1280×720, 1280×768, 1280×1024, 1360×768 and 1920×1080 (progressive). In most other cases the VGA connection provides more options, especially when viewing movies on DVD or HD-DVD.

do you think this only applies to movies being played from drive or do you think the same hold true with streaming video?

[McNevin]

Buying a 360 elite just for HDMI, I'd say waste, unless you can sell your old one with secret 75$ shipping...

Personally with the older XBOX, I'd go VGA. You mentioned it supported 1920 x 1080 via VGA, thats basically 1080P

Q. Does the Xbox 360 upscale standard DVD movies? A. Absolutely, but only if you’re using the VGA connection. Also, with Fall Dashboard Update, standard DVD movies will be upscaled to 1080p on displays that support it, again only over the VGA connection.

With 1080p resolution, you now have the ability to enjoy both game and video content in the best high-definition resolution currently available


Unfortunately looks like they don't support 5.1 aac audio codec though.

http://blogs.msdn.com/xboxteam/archive/ ... k-faq.aspx

[enderzero]

One thing you should know - all of the new 360s, not just the elite, have HDMI. They might not have made it all the way to stores yet, but even the new $280 Xbox 360 Arcade has HDMI.

Your old 360 is likely banned from Live right? So you can play all those old rips but none online. With the new fw tech you could outfit a new Arcade system with full stealth and stream HD and download demos/trailers/whatever non gaming goodness you can do on Live which you can't do with a banned box. You could still use your old box for some games if you wanted to but you wouldn't be able to sell it for much of anything (especially with your crazy solder jobby).

All that being said, you could probably still do everything you want with your old Xbox360 via component output with little noticeable quality loss. I don't think I would buy a new box unless Live was important to you.

The 360 is most likely the best way out there to stream HD to a 1080p display.

[Beeeph]

ender,
your mother's a crazy solder jobby. do you really think there will be a slight noticeable loss in quality by going to component? or VGA?

mcnev,
aac audio codecs are of no concern to me, admiral, i want that ship, not excuses. excellent find, i learned much from that FAQ. so it appears 7.1 is clearly out of the question, not a problem, nor is limiting myself to WMV videos to get 5.1 audio since that's primarily the format all my hd vids are stored in. so it sounds like the may 07 update is causing issues with WMV files and i'll probably be required to update since i haven't updated in about a year. can i prevent my xbox from knowing about required updates when it's connected to my network, which is connected to my gigspiggot? can i somehow disable internet connectivity in the xbox settings somewhere? or does that even matter? inquiring minds want to know.

J3RK,
you're online right now.

[enderzero]

I have no idea about the question you directed to me. I don't tend to think anyone can tell that shit unless they are side by side. But I'm sure some people can tell. Hell, I don't even have an HDTV.

The question you directed to Kevin you should have directed to me though about the updates. Here is what will happen when you go online: A) Your old ass sw will detect it needs to be updated and the new sw will download and install. B) The traces on your motherboard that allow you to downgrade the kernel (which you may want to do someday for an as so far not yet existing xbox1 style mod) will be BLOWN. C) Your xbox may or may not report some unknown code to the MS servers (popularly thought to have been a media check error that is recorded if you have ever played a non-stealth encoded game - which you have) and your xbox's machine code (not your account) will be permananently BANNED from Xbox Live.

But you will get your update. And if those codes were recorded a year ago you are screwed regardless. So it doesn't really matter if you are banned. There is currently a work around for the blown traces - but if they haven't been blown you should extract your CPU key from the box before you go online. This will make any kernel downgrading down the road MUCH easier.

The way you do this without getting banned is getting the Dash update from certain games (not sure which but I'm sure there is a list). But there really isn't a point if youa re banned you are banned and not going on Live is teh same as being banned so just go for it.

As I said before, if you are banned and want to go on Live than you gotta buy a Xbox 360 Arcade for $280, getcher HDMI, and (if you want to flash it) make it stealth, all very easy.

[enderzero]

So all this Xbox talk had the effect of getting me to finally get around to updatin the 360. I was quite happy to learn it was NOT banned from Live. So I updated to the iX1.2 fw which is completely dependent on stealth burns. About 1/2 my backups were already stealth. But the coolest thing ever is Xdvd Mulleter. It will read an image and automatically download the SS/pfi/dmi from its database and patch the image. So, in essence, it is possible to rip the old discs (now that I have a Kreon Toshiba DVD in my PC), patch, and reburn. w00t!

I should also mention I could not figure out an easy way to rip the CPU Key. From what I could tell you have to boot to Linux - which requires using the KingKong exploit and then connecting via serial, then bootign to a Linux CD, and then navigating linux cmd lines to output the ke. None of this sounded worth it - nor was I able to find a walk-thru and since my linux knowledge is up there with my BeOS knowledge, I just said screw it.

[mistasparkle*]

so has the xbox360 hacking begun? Last I read, you could only mod the dvd-drive firmware to play backups. How much can one do with a hacked box these days?

I've been looking for an media extender replacement of my xbox1, since it's really showing it's age not being able to handle HD video...

[enderzero]

You can run linux but that is about it - and that is pretty damn complicated.

No I think you are pretty much stuck with MS apps on the 360 for a good while. But that is what el b333ph0 is tryin to do - so I think it can still work pretty well for streamin teh echiDee.

[Beeeph]

i haven't got it setup yet, but i plan to configure it all tomorrow night. at first glance, it looks like the only hd format XBMC supports is WMV which is a big difference from the homebrew media center on the xbox1 which could play almost any vid format you threw at it. the only other lame thing is i have to install and boot into windows media center 2005 every time i want to stream something since that's the only platform the 360 will play with.

[Beeeph]

scratch that. all of that.

[enderzero]

This seems to be the thing to rawk: TVersity

[Beeeph]

though i do wonder how well it works with HD video. i can see it transcoding standard def video in real time, but it seems you'd need teh speed for transcoding HD vids in real time and i'm not sure the ol' opteron can cut the mustard. if not, maybe it can lick the jar. i don't know. we shall see...

[enderzero]

The rumors are true! DivX/XviD officially supported in Fall Dashboard Update.

Also Xbox1 virtualconsole-like downloading is being rolled out. No Azurik...yet.