Calling all X-Box X-perts

K

Keeper

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Hey Dudes, I've got a few questions as I wanna maybe purchase an xbox 360


1) which xbox should i get and how much are they? (I dont want kinect or any games, just the console)
should i get the 4gb or the 120gb slim? (I also intend to run on a 42" FullHD thru HDMi if possible)

2) can I run XBMC on it, or how does it work? I would like to use an xbox 360 as a media centre.
(also, can it handle streaming @ 1080p?)

3) can I buy laptop hard drives and use them instead of buying the microsoft ones? how big can I go? is it VERY difficult to hack a HDD?

4) can I play backup games from the hard drive, or must it be on DVD only? can one chip the xbox themselves using software tools or is it a hardware only mod? (if so, cost?)

- I don't intend on using Live! ever.
- I just want a great media centre that plays movies/series and possibly iso xbox games once in a blue moon.
 
1) Either of the newer ones should be fine.
2) No, XBMC official isn't even maintained for xbox anymore and only was ever for the original xbox. It can stream but I think can only play avi's not mkv's. You would need to run media software on a pc or set up windows media center. I've never had much luck with media center and I use twonkyserver.
3) Not sure on this. You can play media on it if the drive is formatted as fat32 (file size limit of 4gb).
4) You can copy games to the hdd and they will run from there but you still need the dvd in for verification. I imagine chipping it would change the picture.
 
Keeper said:
Hey Dudes, I've got a few questions as I wanna maybe purchase an xbox 360


1) which xbox should i get and how much are they? (I dont want kinect or any games, just the console)
should i get the 4gb or the 120gb slim? (I also intend to run on a 42" FullHD thru HDMi if possible)

2) can I run XBMC on it, or how does it work? I would like to use an xbox 360 as a media centre.
(also, can it handle streaming @ 1080p?)

3) can I buy laptop hard drives and use them instead of buying the microsoft ones? how big can I go? is it VERY difficult to hack a HDD?

4) can I play backup games from the hard drive, or must it be on DVD only? can one chip the xbox themselves using software tools or is it a hardware only mod? (if so, cost?)

- I don't intend on using Live! ever.
- I just want a great media centre that plays movies/series and possibly iso xbox games once in a blue moon.
Click to expand...

1. depends on your view on answer for Q3
2. nope - you'll have to stream using tversity or homegroup or similar
3. yes, you'll have to buy specific drives, flash them on your PC using specific tools, and then install in the MS chassis. I did it on my non-slim, but I imagine the process is the same.
4. DVD+R DL. 2 types of mods i'm aware of, 1 is a firmware for the dvd-rom - new drives require cutting and resoldering tracks on the PCB (I'd recommend getting a professional to do it), 2nd is JTAG, but thats not really an option as the new xbox's are un-JTAGable to the best of my knowledge.

IMO, I'd rather get a media player or similar that'll do what you want it to do...
 
If you want a media centre, buy a media player. If you want a gaming console, buy an Xbox. :D

The Xbox can function as a standalone media player, but it won't play MKVs. It also only recognises drives formatted as FAT32, meaning that you have to deal with a 4GB file size limit. You can stream from your PC via TVersity as a workaround, but I've seen issues with streaming 1080p via the network when there are others using the network.

I'm sure that modding it will resolve a fair amount of these limitations, but I'm not too clued up on it. Personally I prefer dedicated devices that provide dedicated functions.

Oh and the PS3 will probably not make a very good media player any more due to the whole Cinavia thing, which renders your audio useless.
 
In short, consoles suck as media players.
 
So basically,
no xbmc
No mkv or 1080p streaming
No custom drives bigger than 4gb
No modding unless i get a guy to solder the PCB

This is not what i expected.... :(

I thought i could buy one, hack it myself, add my own 500gb drive and load it with extracted iso's and stream mkvs from my pc using xbox media centre
 
Keeper said:
No custom drives bigger than 4gb
Click to expand...
No it'll recognises drives bigger than 4GB, but it has to be formatted as FAT32. The 4GB limit is on individual files, due to the FAT32 format. And it'll stream MKV and 1080p via your PC, but your performance may vary depending on your network conditions.

Your other points I'm sure are possible on modded consoles, but as I've said I'm not too sure. There is some info here about modding the newer consoles, so maybe try bumping the thread for feedback.
 
Hmm..

i'll have to do some more research then


I basically just thought instead of spending +-R1500 on a media player I could spend it on an XBox and get extra gaming functionality as a bonus



ok, so would this work:
I buy a chipped 240GB xbox 360 slim from the fleamarket, write my own ISOs to DVD+R DL or whatever, and stream avi's only (through wifi)

whats the cost of a setup like that?
- cost of chipped Xbox?
- cost of DVDs?
- cost of wireless wifi card for my pc?


edit: also does FAT32 not mean my drives can only be 32GB?
 
Keeper said:
ok, so would this work:
I buy a chipped 240GB xbox 360 slim from the fleamarket, write my own ISOs to DVD+R DL or whatever, and stream avi's only (through wifi)

whats the cost of a setup like that?
- cost of chipped Xbox?
Click to expand...

Around R1200 - R1500 for older version.

- cost of DVDs?
Click to expand...

I pay R20 per dvd.

- cost of wireless wifi card for my pc?
Click to expand...

Just over R100, although I wouldn't recommend wifi for streaming movies, even if it's just SD stuff.

edit: also does FAT32 not mean my drives can only be 32GB?
Click to expand...

Nope.
 
I'll let somebody else respond to your questions about a chipped console :D About FAT32 - it'll only be 32GB if you use Windows to format it. There are free tools that you can use to format capacities greater than that as FAT32. If you're planning on modding your Xbox then it probably won't apply as it should support NTFS.

A quick Google search brought up this (poor page, I know), which tells you pretty much what can and can't be done.
 
ok so how do I know whether it is an old version or a new version? do I look at the date on the barcode?
 
Old console is the "fat" one, while the new one is the "stealth / slim" design... The newer one looks more edgy, while the old one was more round and curvy.
 
if you want a xbox and you want to burn your own isos ...i know of a guy in jhb who does flashing as well as can sell u iso's

dl discs cost you r80 a pack of 10
 
Keeper said:
- I just want a great media centre that plays movies/series and possibly iso xbox games once in a blue moon.
Click to expand...

My advice. I own a 360 btw.

360 great for gaming but sucks ass as media centre.

PS3 does better job with better codec support and you can always mod/jailbreak to allow extra codecs since you not gonna get online.

lastly with recent PS3 price drop it would be a better media centre.

OH BTW for your 360 to play newer game release copies you need to constantly update the firmware which can be costly if the guy doing it for you keeps charging you for each incremental firmware patch.

NB I am not a PS3 fanboy as I own a 360 but IMO the PS3 offers better media functionality.
 
Last edited:
MightyMuffinMan said:
My advice. I own a 360 btw.

360 great for gaming but sucks ass as media centre.

PS3 does better job with better codec support and you can always mod/jailbreak to allow extra codecs since you not gonna get online.

lastly with recent PS3 price drop it would be a better media centre.

OH BTW for your 360 to play newer game release copies you need to constantly update the firmware which can be costly if the guy doing it for you keeps charging you for each incremental firmware patch.

NB I am not a PS3 fanboy as I own a 360 but IMO the PS3 offers better media functionality.
Click to expand...
The PS3 has the Cinavia restriction, so you're screwed if you download your stuff which has the Cinavia watermark embedded (which is becoming increasingly widespread).

At one point yes, the PS3 was a better media player, but now it's becoming even worse than the 360. Bad plan.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
The PS3 has the Cinavia restriction, so you're screwed if you download your stuff which has the Cinavia watermark embedded (which is becoming increasingly widespread).

At one point yes, the PS3 was a better media player, but now it's becoming even worse than the 360. Bad plan.
Click to expand...

QFT. i rarely watch stuff on my ps3 anymore because of this. i dont know whether i'm doing something wrong but cinavia messes around with ps3mediaserver and transcoding as well? (i still use ps3mediaserver but now instead stream stuff to the 360).
 
If you want to buy a console as a media center, don't waste your time. Rather get a media box.

As for pirating games I'm surprised a mod hasn't locked this thread yet. As an adult (I'm assuming you are an adult and earn a salary) you should earn enough money to purchase your games. People WORK to make them you know. If you don't want to spend a lot on games you can get a lot of fun games off Live/PSN, or if you play on PC buying games when Steam has specials. I've paid as little as R26 for some games off steam and gotten many, many hours of enjoyment out of them.
 
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