Good reason to get PS3, and to skip media PC as playback device of HD movies.

wco81 said:
But, but, but, what about managed copy? :p

Cuz don't everyone want a loud, big, hot PC next to their TV instead of CE player?
Click to expand...
I guess I would just use an extender. But that's just me.

Of course, since the PS3 isn't out yet, it does all things for all people far more better then any other product. :rolleyes:

(Though, I'll be honest: my HTPC is actually fairly quiet, except for the DVD drive which is annoyingly loud, especially in movie playback. I ended up sticking it on the other side of the wall where the TV was. This actually worked really well.)
 
Sis said:
I guess I would just use an extender. But that's just me.

Of course, since the PS3 isn't out yet, it does all things for all people far more better then any other product. :rolleyes:

(Though, I'll be honest: my HTPC is actually fairly quiet, except for the DVD drive which is annoyingly loud, especially in movie playback. I ended up sticking it on the other side of the wall where the TV was. This actually worked really well.)
Click to expand...

My htpc is pretty much silent (much quiter than my ps2) but I'd have to agree with LB - the thing was a friggin PITA to setup and still has some issues (dvd streaming to 360) that need to be ironed out. An all in one solution would be great but it still doesn't look like ps3 will offer that (storage limitation, hdtv tuner, dvr etc.)
 
TheChefO said:
My htpc is pretty much silent (much quiter than my ps2) but I'd have to agree with LB - the thing was a friggin PITA to setup and still has some issues (dvd streaming to 360) that need to be ironed out. An all in one solution would be great but it still doesn't look like ps3 will offer that (storage limitation, hdtv tuner, dvr etc.)
Click to expand...

Well, once you have a Media Centre PC, and hook up a 360, it is essentially plug and play. The networking issues are probably te biggest hurdle, everything after that is just following a wizard.

Takes about 10 minutes and your 360 is accessing all music/video shares you want, scheduling TV recordings, and whatever else you want to do.

I think MS is bang on with the extender idea, if you already have a compatible PC setup it really is almost plug and play. Playing back HiDef content is another story though...
 
If you have an Xbox 360 and the HDDVD player, you don't need Media Center PC (to play HDDVD movies) right ?
 
TheChefO said:
My htpc is pretty much silent (much quiter than my ps2) but I'd have to agree with LB - the thing was a friggin PITA to setup and still has some issues (dvd streaming to 360) that need to be ironed out. An all in one solution would be great but it still doesn't look like ps3 will offer that (storage limitation, hdtv tuner, dvr etc.)
Click to expand...
Did you build the HTPC yourself or buy one from an authorized dealer? If you bought it, did you buy it fully configured, or did you add on stuff afterwards?

I agree with the PITA comment, but I built my box from scratch.
 
Actually, isn't there some DRM which is so Draconian that the only MCE PCs which will support playback are those pre-designed configs, where big manufacturers pay for certification?

So that would eliminate all white boxes and smaller configurators?

It may not be for Blu-Ray/HD-DVD but maybe for Cable Card or something like that.
 
Sis said:
Did you build the HTPC yourself or buy one from an authorized dealer? If you bought it, did you buy it fully configured, or did you add on stuff afterwards?

I agree with the PITA comment, but I built my box from scratch.
Click to expand...

From Scratch - and the sad part is I ended up spending just as much as I would have if I bought it preconfigured! I was originally intending to convert my existing htpc over to wmc but found (along the way) there aren't many options when it comes to compatibility and most everything had to be scratched in favor of "wmc approved" devices.:mad:

regarding dvd streaming to 360 - I mean vob streaming - still an issue. hdtv tuner - still an issue.

If I converted them to wmv it would be no problem of course but I'm not keen on dropping the originals quality for display through large screen projection. Not to mention the converstion process/time for all of them.:oops:

Sometimes I think (you should have just bought the Sony 400disc dvd changer and been done):p


Sony - if you're listening I'm still game for a one stop shop solution! Give me an 8 drive raid capable ps3 with built-in (or upgradeable) hdtv tuner and I'm sold (as long as it's under $1500).
 
TheChefO said:
regarding dvd streaming to 360 - I mean vob streaming - still an issue. hdtv tuner - still an issue.

If I converted them to wmv it would be no problem of course but I'm not keen on dropping the originals quality for display through large screen projection. Not to mention the converstion process/time for all of them.:oops:
Click to expand...

Just curious, are any of those functions actually supported in the current 360/XP MCE edition? I think they will be natively supported in Vista but i dont recall them being supported now.
 
expletive said:
Just curious, are any of those functions actually supported in the current 360/XP MCE edition? I think they will be natively supported in Vista but i dont recall them being supported now.
Click to expand...

Vob from what I understand is not supported - hdtv tuning is a bug still with my htpc so I couldn't tell you.
 
wco81 said:
Actually, isn't there some DRM which is so Draconian that the only MCE PCs which will support playback are those pre-designed configs, where big manufacturers pay for certification?

So that would eliminate all white boxes and smaller configurators?

It may not be for Blu-Ray/HD-DVD but maybe for Cable Card or something like that.
Click to expand...
Technically, the only real MCE PCs are those from OEM. Build-it-yourself is explicitly not a supported scenario for MCE. So even though we may build one from scratch, we really shouldn't complain when we have problems or issues, since Microsoft knew we'd have problems and issues.
 
I dunno, my setup was basically a snap, I just installed MCE, and had to go buy a supported capture card for $90 since my AIW would not really work.

Truth be told though, I still use my XBOX alot of the time to stream video as the interface is far superior. The main benefit of the Media Centre PC for me is the PVR functionality through the 360.
 
TheChefO said:
Vob from what I understand is not supported - hdtv tuning is a bug still with my htpc so I couldn't tell you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, OTA HD plays fine on my 360 through my MCE box. But there are a few things missing from MCE 2005 related to HD, like QAM support and CableCard support. I haven't looked at Vista close enough to see if they are supported, but cablecard support would be really nice. Then I could get all the cable HD channels as well on my HTPC.
 
JBark said:
Yeah, OTA HD plays fine on my 360 through my MCE box. But there are a few things missing from MCE 2005 related to HD, like QAM support and CableCard support. I haven't looked at Vista close enough to see if they are supported, but cablecard support would be really nice. Then I could get all the cable HD channels as well on my HTPC.
Click to expand...

MS did secure cablecard support in Vista, it was a big announcement a few months ago. I htink BillyG was actually quoted on how difficult it was to get.

EDIT:

http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/hot-donkey-premium-cablecard-hdtv-in.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top