DVD Server using XBOX Media Center (XBMC), DVD Profiler, and IMDB (Pictures galore) [Text View] - Page 11

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sean_w_smith

11-29-07, 12:10 PM

Ya, but the softmod doesn't allow for a bigger hard drive. So How do you store games and play them then. Or am I wrong?

not true, softmod works with bigger HD's. I have done at least 8 softmods with bigger disks including most recently a 750G soft mod.... I highly recommend the softmod. about the same pain and suffering for the 1st timer as getting a mod chip installed and the correct BIOS flashed but the 2nd, 3rd, etc become very easy and FREE!

Sean

sub0

11-29-07, 01:11 PM

not true, softmod works with bigger HD's. I have done at least 8 softmods with bigger disks including most recently a 750G soft mod.... I highly recommend the softmod. about the same pain and suffering for the 1st timer as getting a mod chip installed and the correct BIOS flashed but the 2nd, 3rd, etc become very easy and FREE!

Sean

I totally agreed with that. Even tho' I lost ac power while writing the softmod to the xbox hd, recovery was real easy; just restart the process. Reading up on the instructions and gathering the binaries took more time than the actual mod itself. The softmod had performed without any hiccups since, including 5 Xbmc upgrades.

Use xboxhdm to move to a bigger hd.

dpslusser

11-29-07, 01:24 PM

I highly recommend the softmod. about the same pain and suffering for the 1st timer as getting a mod chip installed and the correct BIOS flashed but the 2nd, 3rd, etc become very easy and FREE!

Sean

The softmod had performed without any hiccups since, including 5 Xbmc upgrades.

Then why doesn't everyone use softmods?. You think modchips whould dissapear then.

sean_w_smith

11-29-07, 01:53 PM

Then why doesn't everyone use softmods?. You think modchips whould dissapear then.

Some reasons:

becauase they are not willing to change and try new things...

there used to buying mod chips because thats the way it always was until xbox broke the mold with the softmod.

early softmods were less than fool proof....

MORE:

The claim that everyone uses mod chips is just not true. From the posts here and on xbox scene there is a lot of popularity of softmods is very high. I would not be surprised one bit the # of softmods in the world exceeded mod chips but thats just speculation.

There is only one slight benefit left for hard mods. If the HD dies the recovery process does not involve inserting the NEW drive in a PC to recover. you can install directly into the xbox and recover from there...

Now if you want LCD display than a mod chip is your best choice.

Also some mod chips have an FTP server built in so thats a nice to have in that you dont have to find your boot CD if you mess something up.

Sean

dpslusser

11-29-07, 02:00 PM

Some reasons:

becauase they are not willing to change and try new things...

there used to buying mod chips because thats the way it always was until xbox broke the mold with the softmod.

early softmods were less than fool proof....

MORE:

The claim that everyone uses mod chips is just not true. From the posts here and on xbox scene there is a lot of popularity of softmods is very high. I would not be surprised one bit the # of softmods in the world exceeded mod chips but thats just speculation.

There is only one slight benefit left for hard mods. If the HD dies the recovery process does not involve inserting the NEW drive in a PC to recover. you can install directly into the xbox and recover from there...

Now if you want LCD display than a mod chip is your best choice.

Also some mod chips have an FTP server built in so thats a nice to have in that you dont have to find your boot CD if you mess something up.

Sean

What is this LCD display ive been hearing about? Ive seen it, but whats it do?

Best site for noob instructions for installing softmod?

I think you just saved me 50 bucks by deciding a softmod instead. LOL

rfisher1968

11-29-07, 03:06 PM

not true, softmod works with bigger HD's. I have done at least 8 softmods with bigger disks including most recently a 750G soft mod.... I highly recommend the softmod. about the same pain and suffering for the 1st timer as getting a mod chip installed and the correct BIOS flashed but the 2nd, 3rd, etc become very easy and FREE!

Sean

So are you saying you can Softmod and use a 750BG hard drive without flashing the Bios? I had to flash the bios on a v1.0 before I could see all of the hard drive. But I only used the MechAssualt "run linux" to do the softmod. After flashing with EVO X I didn't need to softmod.

dpslusser

11-29-07, 03:06 PM

sean_w_smith

11-29-07, 04:29 PM

Ive been looking for a good way to softmod. I found some videos on Youtube, which were pretty informative, but somewhat sketchy on the details. I also found dozens of site, all with different ways to softmod an xbox. Does anyone have a preference, to which way to softmod an xbox?
This one seems to be the easiest (http://www.eurogamer.net/forum_thread_posts.php?thread_id=28592)
Can softmoding be done without opening the case?

Yes softmodding is done without opening the case. I recommend Krazies NDURE soft mod over SID 4.5. SID 4.5 does not seem to do 480I over component correctly where krazies does... All other aspects of softmod are the same. you need a original game, memory key and a way to load the softmod on the memory key (exiting modded box or the game save loader)...

Sean

dpslusser

11-29-07, 04:33 PM

Yes softmodding is done without opening the case. I recommend Krazies NDURE soft mod over SID 4.5. SID 4.5 does not seem to do 480I over component correctly where krazies does... All other aspects of softmod are the same. you need a original game, memory key and a way to load the softmod on the memory key (exiting modded box or the game save loader)...

Sean

What is this memeory key? I punched it up online and it looks like a USB thumb drive. My buddy has a modded box.COuld that help?

sean_w_smith

11-29-07, 04:41 PM

What is this memeory key? I punched it up online and it looks like a USB thumb drive. My buddy has a modded box.COuld that help?

modded xbox will save you from buying action replay. yes a USB thumb drive an adaptor cable to plug into the xbox. Those ports on the front of the xbox are USB just a different connector...

Sean

dpslusser

11-29-07, 04:51 PM

modded xbox will save you from buying action replay. yes a USB thumb drive an adaptor cable to plug into the xbox. Those ports on the front of the xbox are USB just a different connector...

Sean

Ya, I already have a USB adapter. I made one up the other day. Dude, im having a heck of a time finding pure info about Krayzies Ndure. THe only thing im finding is torrents.

sean_w_smith

11-29-07, 09:23 PM

Ya, I already have a USB adapter. I made one up the other day. Dude, im having a heck of a time finding pure info about Krayzies Ndure. THe only thing im finding is torrents.

Check your private messages...

LeonarD26

11-30-07, 09:30 AM

I need a little help guys.

I'm trying to make my own action replay device, without much luck. I've followed the instructions from these two sites:

http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Linux_USB_HOWTO
http://www.hackosis.com/index.php/2007/09/24/xbox-make-your-own-action-replay-device/

Seems simple enough. When I plug the device into the xbox (with a compatable memory stick) the light on the memory comes on.. great.. it gets power.

But, once I go to the 'Memory' screen, The memory stick light and the screen itself starts flashing, and never stops.

Any advice?? I'm pretty sure my cable was made correctly, but who knows at this point.

Thanks!

sub0

11-30-07, 11:37 AM

Then why doesn't everyone use softmods?. You think modchips whould dissapear then.
I'm not here to argue with you which is better. Just pointing out another option. Choose which ever you are most comfortable with doing.

Yes softmodding is done without opening the case. I recommend Krazies NDURE soft mod over SID 4.5. SID 4.5 does not seem to do 480I over component correctly where krazies does... All other aspects of softmod are the same. you need a original game, memory key and a way to load the softmod on the memory key (exiting modded box or the game save loader)...

The XBOXHDM-NDURE softmod method does NOT require any original game, memory key, etc. But one do need to open the xbox case, open the pc case and burn a xboxhdm(linux) cd.

Dude, im having a heck of a time finding pure info about Krayzies Ndure. THe only thing im finding is torrents.
Inside the softmod instructions at instructables.com are links to all the binaries you need to get started.

Enjoy.

sub0

11-30-07, 11:55 AM

I need a little help guys.
I'm trying to make my own action replay device, without much luck. !

Perhaps you should check your xbox version. Read the link.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=262740

QUOTE FROM THE LINK ABOVE
UPADTE 4: v1.6 XBOX'S DO NOT WORK WITH NON-XBOX STORAGE DEVICES!
I have bought today a brand-new v1.6 Xbox with money I saved up during the summer. I tried to use my CF card and USB adapter on my new xbox (to see if i could softmod it, just as an experiment), but it did not work. Non xbox memory cards/storage devices DO NOT WORK WITH V1.6 XBOX'S!! I'm sorry, but the only way to transfer saves with a v1.6 is to make a USB male to xbox controller female adapter, plug an xbox controller into your computer, with an xbox memory card, and modify the AR drivers from there. I'll get more info later.
UNQUOTE

Don't know if that is the cause of your problem, since I never bother to make a usb adapter. This was part of the reason I went with the xboxham method, as my xbox is 1.6.

LeonarD26

11-30-07, 12:35 PM

Thanks for the input sub0

Looking through that thread, it looks like some people had success on 1.6 XBox's, some didnt'. I don't even know what version mine is, since I picked it up free from a buddy a few weeks ago :)

On page 31 of that thread another person describe the flashing problem that I had. Maybe my memory stick just isn't compatible.

On another note, how difficult was the mod using xboxhdm? That'll be my next option if I can't get another memory stick to work...

Also, I noticed the dash isn't up to the latest version. I've read Halo 2 will update it, but are there any other cheap used games that will do the same thing? I don't think this is part of my problem, but I'd like it to be up to date when I eventually do the soft mod..

Thanks!

sub0

11-30-07, 01:45 PM

[QUOTE=LeonarD26;12360442]Thanks for the input sub0
On another note, how difficult was the mod using xboxhdm? That'll be my next option if I can't get another memory stick to work...
QUOTE]

Pretty easy; just don't kick the powerbar like I did. :) Loosing ac power in the midst of a hdd write is always worrisome.
If you have swapped hdd in a pc b4, you should be capable of doing the xboxhdm method.
You do need your xbox dash and kernel version to build the xboxhdm cd. You should update your dash first. Can't recall now, but I think the xboxhdm mod do need the lastest dash.

Only issue I wasn't sure of was when to pull the ide cable from the xbox hdd. I found it easier to have a composite monitor (or tv) attached to the xbox. Pulled the ide cable when I saw "microsoft" appeared under the Xbox logo. That worked on first try.

I can report this xboxhdm softmod is working fine with the xir remote, and the eject to regular (nonhacked) dash works too. 720p component out and optical audio out is fine too. But xbmc upconverstion sucks, my pj is better at that. I am merely using xbmc as a stopgap until the Tvix/popcorn hour devices is out of the beta mode. Actually, I may have to keep xbmc just to play music videos since those devices don't have any support for music videos.

sean_w_smith

11-30-07, 02:50 PM

Perhaps you should check your xbox version. Read the link.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=262740

QUOTE FROM THE LINK ABOVE
UPADTE 4: v1.6 XBOX'S DO NOT WORK WITH NON-XBOX STORAGE DEVICES!
I have bought today a brand-new v1.6 Xbox with money I saved up during the summer. I tried to use my CF card and USB adapter on my new xbox (to see if i could softmod it, just as an experiment), but it did not work. Non xbox memory cards/storage devices DO NOT WORK WITH V1.6 XBOX'S!! I'm sorry, but the only way to transfer saves with a v1.6 is to make a USB male to xbox controller female adapter, plug an xbox controller into your computer, with an xbox memory card, and modify the AR drivers from there. I'll get more info later.
UNQUOTE

Don't know if that is the cause of your problem, since I never bother to make a usb adapter. This was part of the reason I went with the xboxham method, as my xbox is 1.6.

I have softmodded 3 xbox 1.6's using a PNY 256MB USB Memory drive..

Sean

sean_w_smith

11-30-07, 03:14 PM

I'm not here to argue with you which is better. Just pointing out another option. Choose which ever you are most comfortable with doing.

The XBOXHDM-NDURE softmod method does NOT require any original game, memory key, etc. But one do need to open the xbox case, open the pc case and burn a xboxhdm(linux) cd.

Inside the softmod instructions at instructables.com are links to all the binaries you need to get started.

Enjoy.

THanks for bringing this up. I did not realize you can use NDURE with XboxHDM without an original game. I am going to try this approach this weekend. If it works right its quicker than the approach I am using now which is softmod, xhoxhdm with eeprom.bin and then softmod again once the larger disk is installed...

Sean

sean_w_smith

11-30-07, 03:21 PM

THanks for bringing this up. I did not realize you can use NDURE with XboxHDM without an original game. I am going to try this approach this weekend. If it works right its quicker than the approach I am using now which is softmod, xhoxhdm with eeprom.bin and then softmod again once the larger disk is installed...

Sean

OK I did some more reading on this and this method involves a hot swap which does not interest me... I'll stick to the old approach

Sean

LeonarD26

11-30-07, 03:31 PM

Thanks for the heads up Sean. Maybe I just got unlucky with my memory stick.

I'll pick a different brand over the weekend and see what happens...

sub0

11-30-07, 04:04 PM

OK I did some more reading on this and this method involves a hot swap which does not interest me... I'll stick to the old approach

Sean

pity..would have been good to know which is the faster/easier way :).

The hotswap is only for the initial mod. Once you have your eeprom.bin, changing to a bigger hdd does not require a hotswap. I don't understand why you need to do the same softmod twice.

If the softmoded contents in the c: and e: of your xbox hdd are copied to the respective folders of xboxhdm to build the cd, then just build the bigger hdd and cold swap as in here:

http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox2.shtml

sean_w_smith

11-30-07, 06:07 PM

pity..would have been good to know which is the faster/easier way :).

The hotswap is only for the initial mod. Once you have your eeprom.bin, changing to a bigger hdd does not require a hotswap. I don't understand why you need to do the same softmod twice.

If the softmoded contents in the c: and e: of your xbox hdd are copied to the respective folders of xboxhdm to build the cd, then just build the bigger hdd and cold swap as in here:

http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox2.shtml

sorry I have 0 interest in hot swap.

The link you presented is the process I use. They is key virtual C.

The reason you have to do the softmod twice if when you backup the softmod you backup the stock virtual C and when you restore this to the new larger HD with XboxHDM you end up with a stock config that needs the softmod reapplied.... There is a way around this somehow I just never figured it out. if you backed up the REAL C and restored with XboxHDM then you dont have to reapply the softmod... I dont know how to do it. I am sure someone out there does...

I can guarantee in my setup despite the extra steps not hot swapping is faster. My layout of PC's etc dont lend themselves to hot swap plus I build ASIC's for a living and just cringe at the thought....

Sean

jwheeler

12-01-07, 10:32 AM

Having hard modding I will say that if given the choice I wouldnt try it again. Definitly soft mod for me next time. It took a whole weekend messing with that damn soldering. especially after burning a trace.

Some reasons:

becauase they are not willing to change and try new things...

there used to buying mod chips because thats the way it always was until xbox broke the mold with the softmod.

early softmods were less than fool proof....

MORE:

The claim that everyone uses mod chips is just not true. From the posts here and on xbox scene there is a lot of popularity of softmods is very high. I would not be surprised one bit the # of softmods in the world exceeded mod chips but thats just speculation.

There is only one slight benefit left for hard mods. If the HD dies the recovery process does not involve inserting the NEW drive in a PC to recover. you can install directly into the xbox and recover from there...

Now if you want LCD display than a mod chip is your best choice.

Also some mod chips have an FTP server built in so thats a nice to have in that you dont have to find your boot CD if you mess something up.

Sean

Rico66

12-01-07, 12:35 PM

I softmodded my xbox some time ago via hotswapping, and later on replaced the original HD with a 120GB model using the instructions provided on xboxscene. You only need to hotswap once for the initial mod. Replacing the disk does not require hotswapping.
The one thing that might be tricky nowadays is the PC that you're using. It's better, if you have an older PC aroung that doesn't support SATA.

dpslusser

12-01-07, 03:24 PM

Does anyone no how to configure Zone Alarm for FTP for xbox? My friend has his xbox connected to my network. I can access the internal hard drive of the xbox from my laptop(XP) and my other computer (vista) (neither running Zonealarm), but I can't access it from my desktop computer(XP) . I cant even access my other two computers from my computer and vis-a-versa. I have (on my computer) file sharing enabled and all that crap. But, if I turn ZoneAlarm OFF. EVERYTHING works like a charm!!!! I can even see my own computer.

str1der

12-01-07, 11:43 PM

Hope someone here can help me with this. I use file mode not library mode. Almost all of my videos are DVD rips to vob,ifo files. Each movie is in it's own directory named for the movie. I also have a limited number of other movies that are in their own directory named for the movie but the files are different. Some of them are AVI files. Anyway when XBMC sorts my movies it looks like it sorts by file names not the directory name unles the file name is the same. So what I end up with is all of VOB,IFO movies are in alphabetical order by movie name but any non vob, ifo rips are all stuck to the fron of the list. Is there a way to have XBMC ignore the file names in the directories when sorting and just use the directory name? I hope I explained this right.

dpslusser

12-01-07, 11:46 PM

Ja Phule

12-02-07, 02:30 AM

str1der

12-02-07, 07:06 PM

XBMC gives you a few options when sorting in file mode. I think you can get what you want by sorting by "File" as opposed to "Name".

Ok I went in and changed it to sort by file then went back into videos. There was no change. Do I need to do something else to get it to resort?

Ja Phule

12-02-07, 07:18 PM

Ok I went in and changed it to sort by file then went back into videos. There was no change. Do I need to do something else to get it to resort?

Did you change the sorting within your video path or in the video settings? You should change it within your video path and it should re-sort instantly.

str1der

12-02-07, 07:45 PM

Did you change the sorting within your video path or in the video settings? You should change it within your video path and it should re-sort instantly.

Where is that? The only place I could find was under video/settings/general

Ja Phule

12-02-07, 08:20 PM

Where is that? The only place I could find was under video/settings/general

When you view your files in the video section, you get a bunch of other menu items like "view" and "sort by". Are you using a recent version of XBMC? What skin? I use Xephyr but I also checked PM3 and it should be right there, kind of hard to miss.

str1der

12-02-07, 08:24 PM

When you view your files in the video section, you get a bunch of other menu items like "view" and "sort by". Are you using a recent version of XBMC? What skin? I use Xephyr but I also checked PM3 and it should be right there, kind of hard to miss.

Doh. Ok found that but that actually makes it worse. What I need it to do is sort by the directory name not the filenames that are in each directory.

Ja Phule

12-02-07, 09:10 PM

Wouldn't the Name sort take care of that? Could you draw out an example of your directory?

str1der

12-02-07, 09:30 PM

Wouldn't the Name sort take care of that? Could you draw out an example of your directory?

movies\%movie title%\%files%

examples:

movies\The Bourne Ulimatum\The bourne ultimatum.avi

movies\Apollo 13\video_ts.ifo

movies\The Bourne Identity\video_ts.ifo

Here are three directory structures. In my list on XBMC "The Bourne Ultimatum" shows up before "Apollo 13" but "The Bourne Identity" shows up in the B's like it should ignoring "The"

Ja Phule

12-02-07, 09:51 PM

movies\%movie title%\%files%

examples:

movies\The Bourne Ulimatum\The bourne ultimatum.avi

movies\Apollo 13\video_ts.ifo

movies\The Bourne Identity\video_ts.ifo

Here are three directory structures. In my list on XBMC "The Bourne Ultimatum" shows up before "Apollo 13" but "The Bourne Identity" shows up in the B's like it should ignoring "The"

I tried replicating your issue by creating folders and files like yours but mine is sorted correctly. I can't say I know why yours is sorting the way it is. Are you using a recent build of XBMC?

str1der

12-02-07, 10:06 PM

I tried replicating your issue by creating folders and files like yours but mine is sorted correctly. I can't say I know why yours is sorting the way it is. Are you using a recent build of XBMC?

Well I figured out why it does it on mine. If I turn stacking off then it sorts properly but I want stacking on so that I can just select the dvd cover to start the movie. Don't know if I'm sol or what?

Ja Phule

12-02-07, 10:52 PM

Well I figured out why it does it on mine. If I turn stacking off then it sorts properly but I want stacking on so that I can just select the dvd cover to start the movie. Don't know if I'm sol or what?

Sounds like a bug in XBMC. I'd try submitting the issue to the developers to get it fixed.

str1der

12-02-07, 11:48 PM

Sounds like a bug in XBMC. I'd try submitting the issue to the developers to get it fixed.

If you turn stacking on does yours do the same?

Rickd

12-03-07, 09:42 PM

I note I don't have the mayhem skin on the webserver how do I correct this?

str1der

12-03-07, 10:06 PM

Is there some secret to scanning movies to get good results in library mode? I have the directory structure that I listed above. I go into set content, select content type movies, select IMDB, run automated scan, use fodler names for lookups, and scan recursively. My source is the movies share that you see in my directory structure. When the scan is done on my 300+ movies only about 60% get the right title and less than 10% gets any coverart. All of my directories are pretty much dead on the DVD titles. Any help would be appreciated. This is pretty much why I don't use library mode.

str1der

12-03-07, 11:26 PM

The other thing I don't understand is why if I have a folder.jpg in each directory that is the coverart why doesn't XBMC use it. The manual says it should.

mwg47x

12-03-07, 11:33 PM

You need to use the .tbn extension on that cover art.

str1der

12-03-07, 11:37 PM

You need to use the .tbn extension on that cover art.

The manual says first it looks for <foldername>.tbn for files and looks for folder.jpg for folders

1) Cached Thumbnail
Thumbnails are cached to UserData\Thumbnails\Video using the CRC of the path of the file or folder.
2) User-Defined Thumbnail
For files: XBMC checks <filename>.tbn and uses that if it exists. The thumbnail is cached the first time it is read.

For folders: XBMC first checks for <foldername>.tbn in the same directory as the folder is in. If no <foldername>.tbn exists XBMC then checks for folder.jpg inside the movie-folder. In either case the first found thumb of those is cached.

Ja Phule

12-04-07, 01:05 AM

strIder,

Sorry, I haven't gotten a chance to turn on xbmc today, haven't tried to test the stacking. Are you using the latest version of XBMC? Maybe your XBMC is outdated, you haven't mentioned what version you are using. I haven't had any issues with movie scanning, but I also use mostly iso/img files along with tbn thumbnails.

epicstruggle

12-04-07, 03:11 PM

str1der

12-04-07, 04:22 PM

zimdba

12-05-07, 12:02 AM

Hi, Im trying to figure out if XBMC will be the right media player for me. Hope you all can help. Im looking to stream movies from a network pc to the xbmc, playing one movie after another unless i tell it to stop. Is that possible? How many xbmc's can be hooked up to one server? Is there a limit to the number of different movies a server can stream at the same time?

Thanks,

1) probably, although playing movies in perpetuity sounds like an odd requirement (to me). Do you have any other requirements in a media player?

2) Movie streaming for the xbox is fairly low CPU, low bandwidth intensive. I have two XBMC's hooked up to media servers running 1) an AMD 3200 (single core) and 2) an Intel Celeron 2.66 (again, single core) on a gig-e network (Netgear GS116). Neither server nor network registers over 10% WRT CPU or network utilization with both running.

sean_w_smith

12-05-07, 01:05 AM

Hi, Im trying to figure out if XBMC will be the right media player for me. Hope you all can help. Im looking to stream movies from a network pc to the xbmc, playing one movie after another unless i tell it to stop. Is that possible? How many xbmc's can be hooked up to one server? Is there a limit to the number of different movies a server can stream at the same time?

Thanks,

Sure I do video playlists all the time. you can even have it shuffle video playlists...

That is a function of the server and the network. My infrant can run 6 DVD streams simultaneously running 6 different moveis to 6 xboxes no sweat....

you dont even need Gige...

but I just upgraded the main house with 14 drops of Cat5 and 16 port GigE switch and 3 4 port Gige Switches...

GigE everywhere...

Sean

Rickd

12-05-07, 09:51 PM

When browsing into my xbox via network I donot have the mayhem skin as per earlier in this post how do I correct this?

Thanks Rick

sean_w_smith

12-06-07, 11:53 AM

I note I don't have the mayhem skin on the webserver how do I correct this?

update your software. since its the stock skin I somehow doubt you dont have it.....

Sean

LeonarD26

12-07-07, 02:38 PM

epicstruggle

12-07-07, 03:10 PM

LeonarD26, what memory stick did you use? Also where did you get the action replay software? Im also looking at doing the soft mod bud couldnt get a hold of the action replay kit. thanks in advance.

LeonarD26

12-07-07, 03:39 PM

LeonarD26, what memory stick did you use? Also where did you get the action replay software? Im also looking at doing the soft mod bud couldnt get a hold of the action replay kit. thanks in advance.

You can download the action replay software here:

http://us.codejunkies.com/home_downloads.asp?c=US&cr=&cs=&r=0&l=1

As far as which memory stick I used, it was just trial and error for me. 3rd time was a charm :) Check this link out for a compatibility list:

http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_USB_Compatibility_List

There are a lot of tutorials out there to make your own action replay device. Here are the links I followed: Not sure if you had these or not....

http://www.hackosis.com/index.php/2007/09/24/xbox-make-your-own-action-replay-device/
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Linux_USB_HOWTO
http://www.xbox-hq.com/html/xbox-tutorials-194.html

sean_w_smith

12-07-07, 03:49 PM

You can download the action replay software here:

http://us.codejunkies.com/home_downloads.asp?c=US&cr=&cs=&r=0&l=1

As far as which memory stick I used, it was just trial and error for me. 3rd time was a charm :) Check this link out for a compatibility list:

http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_USB_Compatibility_List

There are a lot of tutorials out there to make your own action replay device. Here are the links I followed: Not sure if you had these or not....

http://www.hackosis.com/index.php/2007/09/24/xbox-make-your-own-action-replay-device/
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Linux_USB_HOWTO
http://www.xbox-hq.com/html/xbox-tutorials-194.html

you can find a few on the Pimped XBMC torrrent tracker. XBMC does not include emulators (those are different projects)....

you can find all that stuff in the "usual location" FTP site + many torrent trackers...

Sean

sub0

12-07-07, 04:21 PM

Just a quick update... I was able to softmod my xbox using a different memory stick. So, it looks like the xbox is just picky with the type of usb stick you use...

Now, it's time to get xbmc setup and customized. One question, do any emulators come with the latest xbmc builds, or is this something I need to find myself??

Glad to know the v1.6 can use memory stick.

As for xbmc, you can get the weekly t3ch svn update release (and older svn's) at
http://t3ch.yi.se/

This is not the pimped stuff. Bug reports to
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=62

epicstruggle

12-07-07, 04:30 PM

what is the difference between the pimped and non-pimbed and this t3ch xbmc? Also what is the emulators used for in this project? All i want to do is hook multiple XBMCs to a pc and stream videos out. Which one should i use.

Scotty6595

12-07-07, 05:19 PM

Epicstruggle,

The T3CH version of XBMC and the Pimped are essentially the same XBMC taken from the XBMC SVN project. Pimped versions usually include more skins, more python scripts, addons ect. ect... The T3CH version does not include all the extras that the Pimped does but it does include skins and python scripts... The advantage the the T3CH version has over the Pimped is that you have a whole community that will help you with the T3CH version over at xbox-scene.com and xboxmediacenter.com. They will tell you to go get a T3CH version of XBMC, install it and come back if your problems persist.

My advise would be to download both and install both on your xbox. Make the T3CH version your boot version and your Pimped can be started from Programs... Use both versions and make the determination your self...

As far as emulators... If you want to be able to run Nintindo games and other games from other platforms on you xbox then emulators are for you. If not, then you will not need to bother with them...

Good luck!

Scotty

epicstruggle

12-08-07, 09:24 AM

:) Just softmod'ed my first xbox. :) Wasnt half bad, had a bit of problem getting the action replay software to recognize my jumpdrive. Took almost an hour or so of back and forth before I got it to work. Had to install xp on a separate drive since vista and AR software are not compatible (at least the driver part anyway). The modding of the cable to get a jumpdrive to connect to the xbox wasnt half bad.

Downloading the t3ch version of xmbc, hopefully this part goes off smoothly. :D

will update soon.

Scotty6595

12-08-07, 10:27 AM

I remember my first softmod... Talk about nervous...lol I would double check and triple check ever move I made before actually doing anything...It probably took me 2 hours to do it....lol

Now I can mod a box in 15 minutes flat while cooking dinner and talking on the phone...lol

Glad to hear things are going fairly smoothly for you epicstruggle!

Welcome to the world of XBMC!!!

Scotty

epicstruggle

12-09-07, 08:45 AM

So far so good.
Ran into a few difficulties:
--vista and xmbc dont seem to like each other in regards to xmb, had to go with ccxtream server to stream media files to the xmbc.
--took a while to get shoutcast working. Apperentely the stable version of t3ch didnt like shoutcast, when i upgraded to the bleeding edge t3ch shoutcast worked, although it wasnt very easy to get it going.
--it was a b*tch to get UPnP to work.
--Playlist also hard to get working.

I must admit that I am quite happy with what the xmbc team (et al) put together. A very well built program, and the wiki/manual wasnt all that bad too. :D I must have read that wiki/manual a hundred times, lol.

I still have a few questions:
--Is there a way to have the playlist continuously play the list? When I initially had it set up, it would auto repeat, but once i played the list from the playlist menu, it would only go through it once.
--is there a way to set up an xbmc to auto start a specific action? Id like to have my xbmc auto play my video playlist once turned on.

:) Hope someone can give me a hand with the above. Thanks in advance.

Rickd

12-09-07, 06:24 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickd View Post
I note I don't have the mayhem skin on the webserver how do I correct this?
update your software. since its the stock skin I somehow doubt you dont have it.....

Sean

is there away to select the correct skin for webserver?

TheOtherOne

12-10-07, 03:17 AM

sean_w_smith

12-10-07, 05:34 AM

epicstruggle

12-10-07, 06:40 AM

Look in the skin settings for the autostart playlist Fantastic, thanks a million. Exactly what I was looking for. and use the OSB to control the playlist looping property....

Sean
Im having a bit of trouble with this. I did set the playlist properly. I made sure that i had the repeat all on. It worked initially, when i powered down the xbmc, and retried it later, it would only play the playlist once. Not sure where im going wrong.

other questions, has anyone had problems with keeping the xbmc running for days/weeks at a time? Whats the longest that you have had it running without a reboot?

sean_w_smith

12-10-07, 05:21 PM

Fantastic, thanks a million. Exactly what I was looking for.
Im having a bit of trouble with this. I did set the playlist properly. I made sure that i had the repeat all on. It worked initially, when i powered down the xbmc, and retried it later, it would only play the playlist once. Not sure where im going wrong.

other questions, has anyone had problems with keeping the xbmc running for days/weeks at a time? Whats the longest that you have had it running without a reboot?

your assuming the setting is sticky. I have no idea if it is or not. sounds like it is not...

I have had mine running playing music for weeks on end in the old days. I am little more power conscious now and tend to power it down when not in use...

Sean

sean_w_smith

12-12-07, 01:40 PM

New SVN builds are out... here's the release notes from the latest pimped release... lots of GUi and Skin fixes... scrapers etc....

Date Rev Message
============================================================ ==============================
2007-12-09 10941 added: cook.dll support in codecs.conf
2007-12-09 10940 fixed: c_str called without () and GUIWindowBuddies event handling (VS 2008 compile errors) by prashantv
2007-12-09 10939 fixed: Loop variables declared out of scope (vs 2005/8 compile errors)
2007-12-09 10936 updated: FLAC codec to version 1.2.1
2007-12-08 10935 changed: No need for partymode smartplaylists in SVN - XBMC functions fine without them and will create them when it needs them.
2007-12-08 10933 Fixed: httpapi would not properly process parameters with % (e.g. sql commands)
2007-12-08 10932 Added: check to UrlDecode for valid escape values
2007-12-08 10931 fixed: default artist image failed to show on dialogvideoinfo when viewing music video information. (thx cptspiff)
2007-12-08 10930 changed: Made Partymode function even if userdata/PartyMode.xsp is absent.
2007-12-07 10929 added: plugins to music library, thanks cptspiff
2007-12-07 10925 fixed: pls playlist parser should also reject larger than 1 mb files (fixes a few google video streams) changed: pls playlist parser now abort if there is any non empty lines before the [playlist] marker
2007-12-07 10924 changed: Default tvshow regexps changed slightly to tie them to the filepath end (avoids issues with smb shares specified by ip).
2007-12-07 10923 added: Container.ViewType infolabel, and the following builtin functions: Container.Refresh, Container.NextViewType, Container.PreviousViewType, and Container.SetViewType(id)
2007-12-07 10922 fixed: multipath programs sources that included a plugin path would not work after a restart, thanks jmarshall
2007-12-06 10919 fixed: Login screen didn't work with the mouse.
2007-12-05 10914 fixed: wrong format specifier for sscanf fixed: missing braces in struct array initialization.
2007-12-05 10911 added: Conditional itemlayout for lists and panels. It's only updated when the item list is repopulated. Triggered via the condition attribute.
2007-12-05 10910 fixed: multipath sources that included a plugin path would not work after a restart, thanks jmarshall
2007-12-04 10906 changed: combined plugins string code
2007-12-04 10905 fixed: Textbox contents could disappear (in videoinfo for instance)
2007-12-04 10904 fixed: Container.OnNext/Container.OnPrevious were triggered after a list container's content was refreshed. Now only triggers after a legitimate movement event. (try 2)
2007-12-03 10902 Changed : PM3 Increased the size of the add source dialog so non english people have a little more space for their text in the buttons
2007-12-03 10901 applied anonymous patch for separating video library scan to new category and allowing it to run on startup. patch description (c&p from sf): This patch does the following... -Creates a new settings group called 'Library' in the video settings dialog. -Moves the library related settings from the 'General' group to the new 'Library' group in the video settings dialog. -Adds 2 new video library boolean settings...'Update library on startup' (videolibrary.updateonstartup) and 'Always update library in background' (videolibrary.backgroundupdate). -On startup (via CApplication::Initialize), automatically updates the video library if the 'videolibrary.updateonstartup' setting is true. -Prevents the CGUIDialogVideoScan window from showing if the 'videolibrary.backgroundupdate' setting is set to true.
2007-12-03 10900 fixed: Video library issues while not a master user, and year node in tv shows, thanks to tut-ankh-amon. added: Backend support for outputting single nfo files from export library (not enabled as yet)
2007-12-03 10894 fixed: Multiple use of tags that weren't hierarchical could set the wrong color after tags.
2007-12-03 10891 fixed: invalid #include
2007-12-03 10890 fixed: build error on debug builds
2007-12-03 10889 fixed: Carriage returns (\n) would be stripped from labels.
2007-12-02 10888 fixed: invalid lockings caused background loader to only allow a single thread to execute (backport from linuxport rev 10884)
2007-12-02 10887 updated: French language file
2007-12-02 10886 changed: Reserved string id's. plugins 30000-30999, skins 31000-31999 added: localized strings to plugins, share with plugin settings (30000-30999)
2007-12-02 10885 changed: added visible attribute to plugin settings. works the same as the enable attribute, just hides the setting. eg visible="eq(-1,true)"
2007-12-02 10882 changed: No need for type="borderedimage" any more - a normal image control works with <bordertexture> and <bordersize> added: You can specify separate border sizes for each edge using <bordersize>left,top,right,bottom</bordersize> if you want different sized edges. added: Lists/Panels can use borderedimages now - just specify the <bordertexture> and <bordersize>
2007-12-02 10881 added: Bordered image control merged from linuxport branch (rev 10876, 10877)
2007-12-02 10880 fixed: compile errors due to last commit.
2007-12-02 10879 added: New text layout class with rendering of multi-style, multi-colour text in all controls.
2007-12-01 10875 fixed: plugins could use the wrong settings in certain circumstances
2007-11-29 10871 fixed: patch for videoscanner, previously sample/, sample.avi were ignored, this now ignores ._-' ' + sample + ._-' ' in filenames.
2007-11-28 10870 fixed: Certain sql queries were incorrect, thanks tut-ankh-amon fixed: Some pydocs
2007-11-28 10869 fixed: Skin strings wouldn't reload when loading a new profile (x2).
2007-11-28 10868 fixed: Skin strings wouldn't reload when loading a new profile.
2007-11-28 10864 cleanup: removed unnecessary logging.
2007-11-27 10863 fixed: Container.OnNext/Container.OnPrevious were triggered after a list container's content was refreshed. Now only triggers after a legitimate movement event.
2007-11-27 10862 fixed: CBackgroundInfoLoader would lockup xbmc if either onstartup/finish threw an exception changed: CBackgroundInfoLoader now continues on on other items if a single item throws an exception changed: On xbox we only allow max 2 background loader threads due to the high memory overhead of them.
2007-11-27 10861 fixed: derived classes of CBackgroundInfoLoader must call StopThread in it's destructor. Otherwise member variables are destroyed before the thread running in the class is stopped (try 2)
2007-11-27 10860 merged r10782, r10820: multithreaded background loader. CBackgroundIndoLoader now uses multiple threads (depends on the list's size) to download info (e.g. thumbnails).
2007-11-27 10859 fixed: derived classes of CBackgroundInfoLoader must call StopThread in it's destructor. Otherwise member variables are destroyed before the thread running in the class is stopped
2007-11-27 10858 merged r10718: fixed: properly display > 1 lines of subtitles in bidi charsets
2007-11-27 10857 fixed: strncpy doesn't zero terminate strings
2007-11-27 10856 merged r10182: fixed: HTTP class got hang on invalid return code from tcp. merged r10643: fixed: Don't follow redirects on HEAD requests (prevents recursively following redirects when checking for Internet connection). (thx micolous) merged r10643: fixed: updated Google's IP in CHTTP::IsInternet (thx micolous)
2007-11-27 10852 fixed: Crash bug in stacking multiple CD folders.
2007-11-26 10851 fixed: dvdplayer now plays wma files properly, this could potentially fix some video files with wma audio but i've not seen it occur there.
2007-11-26 10850 fixed: music video studios were removed when cleaning database
2007-11-26 10849 fixed: small tweak to imdb.xml to exclude imdbtv related results contained within quotes e.g "tvshow" (more accurate results for movies)
2007-11-25 10846 changed: merge r10724 to trunk, m_bStop in CThread to be declared 'volatile' changed: make dvdplayer also use volatile variables for m_bStop
2007-11-25 10845 changed: merge r10166 to trunk, "fix some uninitialized code usage"
2007-11-25 10844 backport to trunk: sometimes ffmpeg's av_read_frame results in a 0 size packet. this was treated as error - caused movies to end in such cases. now only negitive values are considered as error.
2007-11-25 10840 fixed: matroska demuxer didn't set pts correctly in new packets all the time.
2007-11-25 10839 fixed: overlays got flushed on video stream reopen in dvdplayer. caused menu's to not show on some dvd's
2007-11-23 10829 changed: IMDb scraper now only grabs a single url for actor thumbs, low quality had poor resolution pointless imho, and the difference between medium and full quality in terms of performance barely noticeable.
2007-11-23 10828 fixed: mtv scraper has been vastly improved and should return a great deal more results and information.
2007-11-23 10827 updated: Finnish based on 10751 by mikko70 updated: Chinese (Traditional) based on 10814 by omenpica updated: Polish based on 10780 by NaPeK
2007-11-23 10826 modified: removed workaround for image detection in videoinfoscanner for thumbnail downloading. added: CXImage patched accordingly (Thanks Jmarshall)
2007-11-22 10824 updated: Swedish language file by blittan (based on english 10814)
2007-11-22 10821 fixed: thetvdb.com contained some banners that were .png renamed to .jpg so xbmc failed to decode them resulting in blank banners.

Sean

Ja Phule

12-16-07, 09:29 PM

I was showing some friends some screencaps I made of XBMC recently. I figure I'll post them in the forum area also. The skin in these caps is Xephyr.

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot000.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot001.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot002.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot003.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot004.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot005.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot006.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot007.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot008.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot009.jpg

Ja Phule

12-16-07, 09:33 PM

More.........

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot010.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot011.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot013.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot014.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot016.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot017.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot018.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot019.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot020.jpg

http://japhule.collinsreport.com/avs/xbmc/xephyr/screenshot022.jpg

mebby

12-16-07, 10:51 PM

OK basic questions. hard or soft mod?

it hangs running what software XBMC or some other software...

What version of XBMC...

do you have any of the power management features enabled on xbmc..

sounds to me like its going to sleep an not waking up which can be rectified fairly easily...

Sean
Sean,
Thanks for the response. I was just browsing here and realized that I forgot to post an update.

I finally figured out that for whatever reason my UPnP server was causing a memory leak. Since all I really use XBMC for is streaming my DVDs I just turned off the UPnP server and everything has been fine since.

socorob

12-16-07, 11:51 PM

think theey will do the 3d view for movie posters? that would be pretty sweet

dpslusser

12-17-07, 12:42 PM

Quick question....what type of hard drives can you put in the xbox?

gilbreen

12-17-07, 01:07 PM

IDE Drives - I use this website as a check to see if others have had luck with drives in Xbox units:

http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list

dpslusser

12-17-07, 01:30 PM

IDE Drives - I use this website as a check to see if others have had luck with drives in Xbox units:

http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list

Alright thanks...

I no nothing about hard drive types. My buddy has a IDE he's gunna give me to put in my xbox im getting next week. Im going to use that one for games. Im also going to get a 500gb for movies and media, but im going to connect that to my computer. I would like to make it external and use the Mvix enclosure, but im not sure what type of hard drive to get for it. The web site says IDE (Pata), but newegg is giving an 80gb IDE ultra Ata100 free with the purchase. Im so confused. And the answer is probably rite infront of my face.

LeonarD26

12-17-07, 02:00 PM

ripit

12-17-07, 02:54 PM

Sorry in advance if some of my questions have already been asked and answered, however a lot of this stuff is over my head. I currently have an AudioTron that plays music that is stored on a NAS drive. If you are not familiar, the audiotron uses SMB and does not require server-side software - which is a must for me. Lately my audiotron has gotten flaky and I am afraid it needs replacing. I trying to decide whether to get another AudioTron off of Ebay or to go with XBMC to add video and photos as well. I considered XBMC a while back and did some research (mostly this thread) but I never went ahead with it. I am considering it again, but I was hoping that you all could answer some questions.

1. Does a modded XBox running XBMC require any server side software?
2. Does it work with a NAS device (i.e. can it stream audio and/or video files stored on a NAS without the need for a PC)?
3. Can it be operated with a remote control without the need for a TV? One of my favorite features about the AudioTron is that it has 20 buttons that can be programmed to play a playlist, artist, album or whatever. I have my Harmony remote labeled with the names of playlists so all I have to do is press a button on my remote to cue up to 20 playlists.
4. Can it play HD streams? When I last checked it could not, but this may have changed, but this is more of a "nice-to-have" rather than a deal breaker for me.
5. Is it possible to buy an XBox already modded and with XBMC pre-loaded and if so, what is a good source? I don't have the knowledge, time or desire to do any kind of mod on my own. I would rather get something that is basically plug, configure and play.

I've tried reading this thread and googling for answers, but everything is way beyond me. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Ja Phule

12-17-07, 03:41 PM

Ja Phule, those screen caps are terrific. I've only played with the Mayhem and MC360 skins so far. They're OK, but the eye candy you're shown blows away everything I've seen.

Where did you get this skin? How hard is it to mod yourself? Any tips??

There's a thread for the skin here:
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26995

There's been some additional mods to the skin further in the thread but there should be a new release of the skin closer to xmas time.

I had an experienced guy do my xbox mod. As for getting the skin to look the way it does, the only thing that took awhile was getting the tv show scraper to get the right info for shows and also me going in through the movies to change the thumbs for the ones I don't like. This is all done through the user interface.

Ja Phule

12-17-07, 03:51 PM

1. No server side software needed, it will work with SMB just like your audiotron.
2. It will work with a NAS.
3. You can control XBMC with a remote. I've never tried to do what you're asking but I imagine you could do it if you mess around with the keymap.xml configuration and map some buttons to play a certain playlist that you've set up.
4. HD streaming is still not good and probably will never be. The only thing to look forward to with HD streaming would be the XBMC Linux project.
5. Try craigslist.

Sorry in advance if some of my questions have already been asked and answered, however a lot of this stuff is over my head. I currently have an AudioTron that plays music that is stored on a NAS drive. If you are not familiar, the audiotron uses SMB and does not require server-side software - which is a must for me. Lately my audiotron has gotten flaky and I am afraid it needs replacing. I trying to decide whether to get another AudioTron off of Ebay or to go with XBMC to add video and photos as well. I considered XBMC a while back and did some research (mostly this thread) but I never went ahead with it. I am considering it again, but I was hoping that you all could answer some questions.

1. Does a modded XBox running XBMC require any server side software?
2. Does it work with a NAS device (i.e. can it stream audio and/or video files stored on a NAS without the need for a PC)?
3. Can it be operated with a remote control without the need for a TV? One of my favorite features about the AudioTron is that it has 20 buttons that can be programmed to play a playlist, artist, album or whatever. I have my Harmony remote labeled with the names of playlists so all I have to do is press a button on my remote to cue up to 20 playlists.
4. Can it play HD streams? When I last checked it could not, but this may have changed, but this is more of a "nice-to-have" rather than a deal breaker for me.
5. Is it possible to buy an XBox already modded and with XBMC pre-loaded and if so, what is a good source? I don't have the knowledge, time or desire to do any kind of mod on my own. I would rather get something that is basically plug, configure and play.

I've tried reading this thread and googling for answers, but everything is way beyond me. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Ja Phule

12-17-07, 04:06 PM

think theey will do the 3d view for movie posters? that would be pretty sweet

I think they have...
http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/4047/testcb2.th.jpg (http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=testcb2.jpg)

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29929

ssusca

12-17-07, 08:33 PM

gilbreen

12-17-07, 09:25 PM

Alright thanks...

I no nothing about hard drive types. My buddy has a IDE he's gunna give me to put in my xbox im getting next week. Im going to use that one for games. Im also going to get a 500gb for movies and media, but im going to connect that to my computer. I would like to make it external and use the Mvix enclosure, but im not sure what type of hard drive to get for it. The web site says IDE (Pata), but newegg is giving an 80gb IDE ultra Ata100 free with the purchase. Im so confused. And the answer is probably rite infront of my face.

IDE, PATA, ATA are used interchangeably sometimes but usually mean the same thing. As long as it isn't a SATA (or Serial ATA) drive.

Ja Phule

12-18-07, 01:11 AM

This may sound like a stupid question, but here it goes anyway. I just downloaded the 11/22 pimped version (thanks to those awesome screen shots, Ja) but it comes in like 7 .rar files, along with an .nfo and an .sfv file. I'm used to the T3CH versions where all you get is one large .rar.

What am I supposed to do with all of these files. I imagine that I extract all of the .rar files to the same folder, but what do I do with the others?

Please forgive me for a stupid question. I am not a noob to xbmc, just to the pimped versions.

The multiple rar files are just dividing the files into separate chunks. You can just open one of the rar files and winrar (or whatever rar tool you are using) should see that the other rar files are related. Just extract from the first rar file that you open and the rar tool will automatically extract all the files from each rar file.

sean_w_smith

12-18-07, 11:07 AM

This may sound like a stupid question, but here it goes anyway. I just downloaded the 11/22 pimped version (thanks to those awesome screen shots, Ja) but it comes in like 7 .rar files, along with an .nfo and an .sfv file. I'm used to the T3CH versions where all you get is one large .rar.

What am I supposed to do with all of these files. I imagine that I extract all of the .rar files to the same folder, but what do I do with the others?

Please forgive me for a stupid question. I am not a noob to xbmc, just to the pimped versions.

just click and extract any one of the rars. It will auto glue them together for you. The NFO file is text file with release notes... kinda a defacto standard in the warez scene for the last 25 years... The SFV file has checksum info in it and you dont care about it...

Sean

ripit

12-19-07, 03:35 PM

Ja Phule

12-19-07, 03:38 PM

I am trying to get caught up on this thread, but obviously it takes time to get through all 89 pages :eek:

One thing I am not clear on. Can you play DVD movies on the XBox drive, that is, not stream them or play off the hard drive, but just like you would with a regular DVD player. I don't think I would need this too much but if it is possible then I could get rid of my DVD player altogether and still have an option if there is a DVD that my wife or son wants to watch that I haven't yet ripped.

Yes, it will play a regular DVD movie disc just fine.

ripit

12-19-07, 04:46 PM

Great, thanks.

Does anyone know if the optical out and analog audio outs are both active if you are using the HD pack? I will use the optical out for local usage, however my receiver cannot pass digital audio to my whole house audio system, so I have to have both active in order to listen to music off the xbox in the rest of my house.

That reminds me of something else. Is there a way that you can get the xbox to play a playlist by sending a single IR command (i.e. press a button on the remote)? I currently use an AudioTron and on of my favorite features is that the remote has 20 or so buttons that can be customized to play a playlist, artist, song or whatever. This allows me to load up a playlist from anywhere in the house (where I have an IR sensor) just by pressing a button on the remote. I love to be able to do this with the xbox.

Thanks again, I apreciate all your replies.

Ja Phule

12-19-07, 05:55 PM

sean_w_smith

12-22-07, 07:24 PM

Well....

Did 3 more 750G softmods for my buddy last night for xmas gifts. I think he will have some happy relatives...

That makes for a grand total of 8 soft mods this week for friends (mostly for xmas gifts)....

Did run into one softmod where the it was a 1.0 and running anient SW. Had to use an original Halo2 to update the DASH and then the Softmod installed fine...

New T3CH release a few days back.... more GUI and scraper stuff....

Also just finished construction of a new theater room have hookups for 2 xboxes. 1 permanent and 1 for installs....

used to look like this...

after we removed a wall and a closet and were building a new closet.

and NO I DID NOT PICK OUT THAT AWFUL BLUE!!

http://lh4.google.com/rufrothy/R0MV-ZmjefI/AAAAAAAABhA/wbdn80HLke4/s800/DSCN1235.JPG

http://lh4.google.com/rufrothy/R0MWBZmjeiI/AAAAAAAABhY/0xzpxx7rOlw/s800/DSCN1238.JPG

Now it looks like this....

http://lh3.google.com/rufrothy/R0MWGJmjeoI/AAAAAAAABiI/2UOVrgMkVKA/s800/snap3.JPG

http://lh3.google.com/rufrothy/R2YWxaPnLpI/AAAAAAAABm8/qjljCz1vwos/s800/DSCN1271.JPG

http://lh4.google.com/rufrothy/R2gusKPnL7I/AAAAAAAABog/AZi6nwdkpiU/s800/DSCN1299.JPG

Still haven't adjusted the speaker placement or got started hanging the several dozen acoustic panels that are going in. Need to finish the curtains too and then in the spring we will upgrade the theater to a full AV123 7.1 setup featuring LS9's up front, RS330 Sides, RS450 Rears and at least 2 MFW-15's. The Mirage M3si's will move out to the big bonus room over my garage...

BUMP

Happy Holidays

Sean

str1der

12-22-07, 08:01 PM

Just curious but what instructions are you using to do your softmod with a larger HD? Going to do my first and want it to be as easy as possible.

Room looks great by the way. Hows the sound reflections with the angled roof?

BLKMGK

12-22-07, 08:05 PM

sean_w_smith

12-22-07, 08:13 PM

I've won an auction for a Clancy game and an Action Replay so I'm hoping to be doing some softmods soon. I've got a 1.6 that just kicked my ass so this will be my first softmod. I prefer hard mods and did 2 last year for gifts but this 1.6 just won't boot with the chip powered up <shrug> softmods are easier and cheaper anyway so as long as this disk pans out I'll be in business. Really though XBMC on Linux is coming on strong and with everyone wanting HD the days of the older hardware are numbered I'm afraid. Just have to get some good emulators or games for Linux now I guess ;-)

Good looking theater room, wish I could dedicate a space myself :-(

P.S. Amen on the larger HD instructions! Everything I've seen so far makes it look a little difficult. I've got the AID disks though...

I'll look around see what I can find that are new and up to date... I learned to use SID first with a old tutorial. Switched to Krazies which is the same basic procedure. I learned XboxHD maker from reading the docs and some practice...

Unless you want to hot swap... you need to learn to do the traditional softmod first then use the eeprom.bin from that hack to build a bigger disc. Its kind of good to split it up so you can learn.

I'll see what I can dig up and put together over the holidays. will have some time...

the big trick in doing the 750G softmod is usng XbPartitioner the correct way. There are many ways to mess that up that will all apear right until your data starts getting corrupted as you populate the disk :)

and YES mod chips on 1.6's are a PIA. Honestly I used to beleive only in chips. They make sense to me as I design ASICs for a living but the softmod does virtually everything as good as the hardmod for free.... I have had 0 reliability issues related to softmods on the dozens I have done for myself and friends...

BTW: and yes I am totally stoked about XBMC for linux. Not sure where all this HD content to stream comes from. I have a BD and 3 HD DVR's so I am not hurting for content.... downloading TV shows off bit torrent that I already get with 0 effort with D* HD DVR's and Tivo does not make too much sense. and the space consumption would be huge to keep a bunch of BD rips lying around even if you could play them....

Sean
Cheers,
Sean

Ja Phule

12-22-07, 08:52 PM

Speaking of softmods.... I did my very first softmod this past week. I went to the local gamestop and looked for the games. The guys there thought I was being odd for being picky on which exact game to get. "No, not the platinum hits version, I need the original..." Getting the softmod was very easy and I did it in less than 15 minutes. I'm not to the point of upgrading the hard drive yet. I built this softmod for my little cousins. I'm actually asking my friends if any of them have an old xbox and offering to mod it for them. I also found the xbox on craigslist.

I think for new people doing softmods, the biggest stumbling blocks would be getting the games, finding a way to get the game hack/exploit onto a memory card (either using action replay or in my case, my already modded xbox), and getting access to xbins ftp to get the exploits (if you don't already have the exploit files). Once that's all figured out, doing the actual mod is a piece of cake.

Rico66

12-22-07, 09:17 PM

Speaking of softmods....

I think for new people doing softmods, the biggest stumbling blocks would be getting the games, finding a way to get the game hack/exploit onto a memory card (either using action replay or in my case, my already modded xbox), and getting access to xbins ftp to get the exploits (if you don't already have the exploit files). Once that's all figured out, doing the actual mod is a piece of cake.

You can also go the hotswapping route. It's not really that difficult, worked for me straight forward as described in the guide on xboxscene.
Priceless;)

BLKMGK

12-23-07, 09:28 PM

I've got a game and ActionReplay device coming that I hope will allow this, I don't THINK it's the Platinum version. <sigh> I have an adapter for the XBOX that allows USB devices to plug in too. The games are all over eBay for around $19 each and of course EBGames\GameStop which I've not had time to troll yet.

What exactly does the hotswap allow you to do? I've read about it briefly but no clue how it is of help yet. I'd appreciate some pointers.

Content? I've got two seasons of shows downloaded in MKV format in the past that my XBOX1 puked on when I attempted to play them. I've just spent an entire day watching them using Linux XBMC, solid as a rock :D I do not yet have access to HD content here other than QAM viewed through MythTV and an HDHomerun. I'll have FIOS ASAP, recording that will be a trick.

A couple of annoying bugs have been recently fixed in Linux XBMC, if you have the hardware by all means jump on it! I have some annoying quirks to work out like getting my 47inch LCD panel's resolution "right" and sorting out accessing UDF2.5 disks aka HD-DVD :D I have a collection of 600DVD I'm ripping to my unRAID NAS for ready access via XBMC - on the XBOX for now but Linux ASAP. Maybe I can even get some upscaling filters going:cool:

sean_w_smith

12-24-07, 08:24 AM

New Pimped build...

2007-12-22 11071 fixed: Compile error.
2007-12-21 11064 removed: unnecessary variable
2007-12-20 11060 fixed: windowxml should be able to use Container.SetViewMode.
2007-12-20 11059 added: Container.SubItem(number) condition - returns true if the user is focused on the given (one based) subitem in a container with a multiselect. Use Container.SubItem(0) to check for no subitems.
2007-12-20 11058 added: RunPlugin built-in. Does not work for folder items. Also used when adding a plugin:// non folder item to favorites
2007-12-20 11057 added: Use of ListItem.Property()'s AlbumTones, AlbumStyles, and AlbumReview in the Album information dialog.
2007-12-20 11056 fixed: You couldn't re-edit a partymode rules file.
2007-12-20 11055 added: Multiselect control - effectively a single label that can have various selectable portions which act as normal buttons. Can be used in lists as well as standalone.
2007-12-19 11047 added: Autocentering animation capability for zoom and rotation anims. Use center="auto" and the zoom/rotation will always be centered at the center of the control or window.
2007-12-18 11046 fixed: Flickering cast/plot in video info view.
2007-12-17 11038 added: expanded media info for Music Videos & TV Shows on home screen when playing media, to match fullscreen information.
2007-12-17 11037 fixed: thread priority whilst scanning content was causing issues with video playback
2007-12-17 11036 fixed: starting a video smartplaylist in partymode would load it in the music playlist instead of the video playlist.
2007-12-17 11035 fixed: framerate conversion should not include 'play ntsc movies in pal60' if your eeprom is in ntsc
2007-12-17 11030 updated: Swedish language file by blittan (based on english 11025)
2007-12-17 11028 fixed: Reading of .chapters.xml BeyondTV files wouldn't work over smb. Plus added some debug logging to said file reading.
2007-12-16 11025 added: contextmenu item for smartplaylists to play the playlist in partymode
2007-12-16 11024 added: XBMC.PlayerControl builtin can now start partymode with a specific smartplaylist, XBMC.PlayerControl(PartyMode(q:\userdata\playlists\music\80s .xsp))
2007-12-16 11023 added: XBMC.PlayMedia builtin can now play smartplaylists
2007-12-16 11016 fixed: assignment operator in CFileItem/CGUIListItem didn't assign all members (eg m_mapProperties) attempt 2 :p
2007-12-16 11015 fixed: assignment operator in CFileItem/CGUIListItem didn't assign all members (eg m_mapProperties)
2007-12-16 11014 added: Lyrics support for tagging. Available via the Song Information Dialog (via listitem.property(lyrics)) or the musicplayer (musicplayer.lyrics), and reported via httpapi. Thanks to evildude.
2007-12-16 11013 fixed: Use pool.ntp.org for timeserver address, thanks to DrDDT.
2007-12-16 11012 added: Lyrics support for tagging. Available via the Song Information Dialog (via listitem.property(lyrics)) or the musicplayer (musicplayer.lyrics), and reported via httpapi. Thanks to evildude.
2007-12-15 11010 added: Workaround to restrict music tag loader (files view) to one thread until it's made threadsafe.
2007-12-15 11008 changed: Handling of mouse focus event on visualisation and video controls (they aren't focusable, so everything should unfocus).
2007-12-15 11006 changed: Container.ViewType -> Container.ViewMode (consistency).
2007-12-15 11005 changed: Don't use exif thumbs for jpegs as the quality is not good enough.
2007-12-15 11004 fixed: crashes due to buffer overruns in libexif.dll
2007-12-14 11002 fixed: Oriented largeimages (via exif orientation) would be drawn in the wrong aspect ratio.
2007-12-14 11001 fixed: Scrolling labels with <align>center</align> (and possibly <align>right</align>
2007-12-14 10995 fixed: Ignore \r line breaking in labels.
2007-12-13 10991 added: Font scaling (aspect ratio correct) for differing resolutions. In theory, there is no need for separate font.xml files per resolution anymore (other than wide/nonwide variants possibly).
2007-12-13 10982 changed: Plugin settings added "mask" attribute for the browse settings changed: a few CStdString variable assignments Thanks JMarshall
2007-12-12 10973 changed: use Replace("/", "\\" instead of RemoveSlashAtEnd() changed: added "fileenum" plugin setting type with optional "mask". this setting is filled automatically based on the mask and path you set with the "values" attribute. the path is based on your plugins current directory. Use / for your mask to return only folders eg <setting id="scraper" type="fileenum" mask="/" values="showtimesAPI\scrapers\" label="30510" default="Google" />
2007-12-11 10972 fixed: removed some glitz/glamour in return for consistent returns, also cast credit order restored and works perfectly now thanks to recent patch #10957.
2007-12-11 10969 Updated Chinese (Simple) Language File (based on english 10901) thanks to pcman
2007-12-11 10968 Updated Spanish Langauge file thanks to jose_t Updated Icelandic Langauge file thanks to kristjan Updated/fixed polish language file based on english rev. 10901 thanks to napek Updated Maltese Langauge file thanks to michelbugeja Updated German strings based on rev 10710 thanks to asciiii
2007-12-11 10964 changed: UpdateVisibility() routine now uses CGUIListItem* instead of using void*.
2007-12-11 10963 merged: Various guilib features from the linuxport branch including listitem properties, container.hasnext/hasprevious and system.platform.*, plus numerous fixes.
2007-12-10 10959 fixed: More looping fun in IMDb.cpp
2007-12-10 10957 fixed: Don't allow choice of invalid thumbnail URLs from Set/GetThumb
2007-12-10 10955 fixed: First Episode result returned by scraper is ignored when scanning in tvshows, thanks to BriPeace. (merged from linuxport)
2007-12-10 10951 fixed: small typo in mtv scraper
2007-12-10 10949 fixed: Visible conditions inside containers weren't updated every frame.
2007-12-10 10948 fixed: Sanity check in case memory is incredibly low in image loader (unlikely)
2007-12-10 10947 fixed: Potential memory leaks in ImageLib.dll when memory is low.
2007-12-10 10946 fixed: Don't display <bordertexture> if <texture> is empty.
2007-12-09 10945 fixed: Fadelabel control would switch to the next item whenever the current item changed contents (eg Player.Time)
2007-12-09 10944 fixed: Crash with 2 filebrowsers on screen (eg Add Source -> Add Network Server -> Browse)

Sean

dpslusser

12-26-07, 01:21 PM

sean_w_smith

12-26-07, 01:37 PM

check your PM...

Sean

BLKMGK

12-26-07, 04:08 PM

Need some help guys...

I just softmodded my xbox with the Unleash Dashboard on my today without any major problems. Im just not sure on how to put XBMC on it. I was reading XBMC's website and it was somewhat confusing, on compiling the files and building with the build.bat file. There must be an easier way to put XBMC on it. I would like it to run as a dashboard so it boots everytime I turn the box on. Any ideas?

For the benefit of others... cannot directly link to the code here - long story involving the proprietary compiler required to compile blah blah but... Do a google search for XBMC and Torrent. You will find it, in fact you will likely find more than one group releasing builds for it. Since compiling the code is "problematic" there are several groups out there that build fromthe SVN source every so often, customize it some, package it up, and put it up on Torrent sites for download. Moving the code to the XBOX will require an FTP server running on the XBOX from say an AID disk or another copy of XBMC. Once it's on there you will need to modify some launch files to point to the directory where it's been installed. XBMC is often packaged with these files - the one I use is named the same as a dashboard but takes it's execution path from a .ini text file that I customize for the install path of XBMC. In a nutshell that is what needs to be done...

sean_w_smith

12-26-07, 05:58 PM

For the benefit of others... cannot directly link to the code here - long story involving the proprietary compiler required to compile blah blah but... Do a google search for XBMC and Torrent. You will find it, in fact you will likely find more than one group releasing builds for it. Since compiling the code is "problematic" there are several groups out there that build fromthe SVN source every so often, customize it some, package it up, and put it up on Torrent sites for download. Moving the code to the XBOX will require an FTP server running on the XBOX from say an AID disk or another copy of XBMC. Once it's on there you will need to modify some launch files to point to the directory where it's been installed. XBMC is often packaged with these files - the one I use is named the same as a dashboard but takes it's execution path from a .ini text file that I customize for the install path of XBMC. In a nutshell that is what needs to be done...

yep...

FYI: I honestly prefer XBE shortcut maker 2.0 since there is no .ini file, you generated a hardcoded shorcut. one less thing to accidentlly delete or mess up. works the same as the one that comes with T3CH distribution.

Sean

dpslusser

12-27-07, 11:30 AM

khewa

12-27-07, 11:38 AM

I am trying to get caught up on this thread, but obviously it takes time to get through all 89 pages :eek:

One thing I am not clear on. Can you play DVD movies on the XBox drive, that is, not stream them or play off the hard drive, but just like you would with a regular DVD player. I don't think I would need this too much but if it is possible then I could get rid of my DVD player altogether and still have an option if there is a DVD that my wife or son wants to watch that I haven't yet ripped.

yes it does play, but I find that it is pretty fussy on the dvds that it plays. On some DVDs, it doesn't play. My regular DVD player works fine with those DVDs.

Is SACD or DVD audio supported on XBMC ? I just need the raw signal, my receiver is able to decode it.

khewa

12-27-07, 11:40 AM

Hey quick question guys...i bought a set of universal component/composite cables that can be used for xbox, xbox 360, playstation 1, 2, and 3. Can the xbox output high defenition (or atleast componen)? When I flip the switch for RGB (component), and change the input on the TV to component (Y, pb, pr) its doesn't come in clear.

the quality of the component cable is very important. Use the Monster Component cable for the xbox. Most of the universal cables out there are of dubious quality. This is one instance where cable quality shows up very clearly.

khewa

12-27-07, 11:43 AM

dpslusser

12-27-07, 12:15 PM

Is anyone here using Monstercable's Gamelink 400 Component cable for the xbox???? How well does it work? I bought the Monstercable fiber optic cable with the toslink adapter last year when Radioshack had them on clearence for 5 bucks. Can someone check (who ever is using the Gamelink 400 component cable) if there is a little "headphone looking" jack on the side of the SCART plug. I get a 60% discount for monster cables, and am thinking of buying the Gamelink 400

khewa

12-27-07, 07:57 PM

BLKMGK

12-27-07, 11:20 PM

yep...

FYI: I honestly prefer XBE shortcut maker 2.0 since there is no .ini file, you generated a hardcoded shorcut. one less thing to accidentlly delete or mess up. works the same as the one that comes with T3CH distribution.

Sean

Different strokes, different folks:cool: I like the .ini file because swapping from one XBMC version to another (I keep at least two onboard in case the latest is buggy) is as easy as uploading a test file. Reading that text file also tells me which one I'm actually using at any given time:rolleyes: I know others do it different ways and that's fine - troubleshooting mine by just looking at the text file path works for me <shrug>

I too use the Monster adapters. I also tried a cheap one and umm, it sucked. Opened it up and the solder joints looked like they were done with chewing gum and it was all discrete components. I didn't want the Monster stuff as IMO the company rips people off and I hated their silly "special" optical cable but in the end it turned out to be a really good piece that was cheap off of Ebay. to get high def I do think you have to go into the MS Dashboard and turn it on though - can run it via XBMC as I recall heh.:p

The DVD drives themselves seem to be what is sensitive. I've had ZERO issues with mine reading any DD but other boxes have had issues. These aren't exactly brand new pieces of hardware - some are aging a bit. When that occurs they start having read errors, sux but what can you do...

Personally, I'm finding that the XBMC for Linux is pretty darned solid. Still some quirks for DVD playback it looks like but for streamed video I love it. Slowly but surely I'm switching over,just need to tweak a few more things in Linux and I think I'll be happy.:D If you have the hardware to play with go for it!

dpslusser

12-27-07, 11:27 PM

Sean

Hey Sean, check your email. Thanks for the help. DP

dpslusser

12-27-07, 11:40 PM

yes, there is a little headphone looking jack on the side of the SCART plug.

How much better quality will they improve?

khewa

12-28-07, 09:39 AM

How much better quality will they improve?

got my Monster cable from a guy who claims that he has tried all manners of component cables for the xbox and the Monster was the best. If you can get the cable at a good price, give it a try.

dpslusser

12-28-07, 10:19 AM

got my Monster cable from a guy who claims that he has tried all manners of component cables for the xbox and the Monster was the best. If you can get the cable at a good price, give it a try.

Ya, I can get it for about 20 bucks, so i'll probably give it a try. Its hard to see the small words on XBMC when using composite, so in any aspect, it will be an improvment.

simonduz

12-28-07, 12:26 PM

Hello all. I am a 'sudo' newbie at this. I have modded 4 xbox's. 1 with a chip and 3 with softmods. I have used XBMC as the default dash for all.
My problem is that these were all done over several years and I have never updated any of them. Now I would like to take on this challenge to bring them up to the newest version.

The xbmc FAQ does not have "upgrade" instructions nor does the manual. I searched the xbmc forums and found threads related to scripts for auto updates (links are now dead). So I ask politely for your guidance. How can I update XBMC to the latest version while keeping all of my saved games, and network settings intact? :confused:

Thanks in advance for any reply.

Scotty6595

12-28-07, 02:11 PM

Simonduz,

Go here, http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=635094 and scroll down to the section highlighted "INSTALL NOTES from T3CH readme/nfo:" All the information you need should be available through notes and or links to information...

Good luck!

Gastric

12-28-07, 04:20 PM

got my Monster cable from a guy who claims that he has tried all manners of component cables for the xbox and the Monster was the best. If you can get the cable at a good price, give it a try.

I've had good luck with the Psyclone component cables and they're usually around $15 shipped or so on eBay and readily available used.

Ripper

12-28-07, 06:28 PM

Just a quick question - was the Mplayer or the DVDplayer the best for ISO playback off the network? I recall one of them gave a superior picture without 'jaggies'.
TIA

socorob

12-31-07, 11:17 AM

Ja Phule

12-31-07, 12:05 PM

im not sure if this has been covered already, but does anyone just copy the builds from their windows machine to the xbox over the network without using ftp? and if so, how do you do it, do you use some sort of smb client on the windows machine? my userdate is getting so big it takes FOREVER to copy with filezilla.

This is exactly what I do. I have an XBMC folder on my pc that I have shared that I keep all my xbmc releases on. I use file manager and create a new folder (ie, XBMC2) and browse to the local xbmc share on my pc and copy the files over. This can all be done in filemanager. When it is done copying over the network, I go into a different dashboard like UnleashX and go into it's file manager, rename your old xbmc folder to a new name (xbmc to xbmc old) and then rename the new xbmc folder (xbmc2 to xbmc). Then move the user data from the old to the new.

BLKMGK

12-31-07, 12:56 PM

Is copying with SMB any faster than FTP? There's some overhead I guess but I never thought it would be much faster to go that way - never tried it either so I'm curious.

Ja Phule

12-31-07, 01:07 PM

It's much faster for me at least.

sean_w_smith

01-01-08, 02:54 AM

Is copying with SMB any faster than FTP? There's some overhead I guess but I never thought it would be much faster to go that way - never tried it either so I'm curious.

yes its hugely faster on small files due to pipelining and piggy back acks...

BUT: XBMC's SMB client implimentation is buggy and ineffective at best. I have tried doing this with games and have extremely poor results. you end up with the error "At least 1 file failed to copy". thats it. so its basically useless for what I want to do with it but it make work for loading something small like an XBMC build...

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-01-08, 02:59 AM

im not sure if this has been covered already, but does anyone just copy the builds from their windows machine to the xbox over the network without using ftp? and if so, how do you do it, do you use some sort of smb client on the windows machine? my userdate is getting so big it takes FOREVER to copy with filezilla.

What does loading a new build have to do with userdata. The userdata directory on the common builds are empty....

are you really saying "its taking me too long to backup my data before I install a new build"

suggestion: use filemanager and backup from the local HD to the local HD... should be much faster if you dont get the infamous "at least 1 file failed to copy" error....

Sean

socorob

01-01-08, 01:26 PM

yeah i meant to say it takes frever to ftp te userdata off my xbox and back on. i know the last few builds hasnt erased it,, but i had it erase it a long time ago, and dont want to have to go through the imdb all over again. I dont know why i didnt think about moving it to somewhere else on the xbox harddrive and back...doh!!

socorob

01-01-08, 01:31 PM

Ja Phule

01-01-08, 04:05 PM

ok another question, whats the fastest way to copy userdata from one xbox to another? can they see each other through the smb filemanager over the network? i have 2, and want them to be mirror images, right now i ftp the userdata folder off of 1, then ftp it to 2, which takes way too long. any suggestions? i know you have several and i wonder if you have them all mirrored

XBMC will autodetect other XBMC xboxes in your network. If you have autodetection on in your network settings, it will show the other xbox in your filemanager and you can transfer files that way. I haven't tried to copy over the userdata from one to the other yet though.

dpslusser

01-01-08, 08:07 PM

sean_w_smith

01-01-08, 09:06 PM

David,

XboxHDM 1.9 is what you need.... you can use the contents of that HD if you want. just lock that HD to the Xbox in question with XboxHDM and re-apply the softmod....

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-01-08, 09:08 PM

ok another question, whats the fastest way to copy userdata from one xbox to another? can they see each other through the smb filemanager over the network? i have 2, and want them to be mirror images, right now i ftp the userdata folder off of 1, then ftp it to 2, which takes way too long. any suggestions? i know you have several and i wonder if you have them all mirrored

you can use FTP as jaPhule suggests. XBMC does not have SMB server so this will be done over FTP not SMB.

Curious have you found this worked... I have tried this in the past with poor results...

Sean

dpslusser

01-01-08, 11:03 PM

David,

XboxHDM 1.9 is what you need.... you can use the contents of that HD if you want. just lock that HD to the Xbox in question with XboxHDM and re-apply the softmod....

Sean

Sean this seems a little dangerous, reading the ReadMe.txt from the XboxHDM download. I can't just copy everythign from the factory hard drive (using FTP), to the new HD (using a USB encolsure), and slap it in?

dpslusser

01-02-08, 10:09 AM

Hey guys need some help. I am running unleashx as a dashboard but, it autoboots to xbmc as a dashboard. I want to upgrade the hard drive in the xbox, and my buddy gave me a maxtor 160gb he used in one of his chipped xbox's. It has some games and emu's on it. What is the proper way to swap out the factory hard drive for the new one?

My firend said that the drive that he gave me is already set up to run in an xbox. Its running EvoX as a dashboard. Since the Harddrive is already formatted to run in an xbox, why can't I just put it in? (Mind you it was in a chipped xbox not a softmodded xbox)

sean_w_smith

01-02-08, 10:19 AM

My firend said that the drive that he gave me is already set up to run in an xbox. Its running EvoX as a dashboard. Since the Harddrive is already formatted to run in an xbox, why can't I just put it in? (Mind you it was in a chipped xbox not a softmodded xbox)

because the HD is not locked to the motherboard. feel free to disregard my advise but you will never get it to work without locking, installing it physically, and re-installing the softmod....

Oh Yeah: one more thing. Is it locked? most likely it is which means you need the key to unlock before you can complete the steps above....

Sean

gwlbe

01-04-08, 06:34 AM

Average Joe

01-04-08, 11:40 AM

I've won an auction for a Clancy game and an Action Replay so I'm hoping to be doing some softmods soon. I've got a 1.6 that just kicked my ass so this will be my first softmod. I prefer hard mods and did 2 last year for gifts but this 1.6 just won't boot with the chip powered up <shrug> softmods are easier and cheaper anyway so as long as this disk pans out I'll be in business.

I'm currently in the process of trying to softmod a 1.6 and it's been a lot tougher than I thought. I have the original Splinter Cell and Action Replay. I made a rookie mistake and tried to use the Softmod Installer Deluxe from Xbins. That didn't work, of course, because I had a 1.6 with a kernel that was too new. I could get to the UnleashX dashboard, but it would hang up every time I tried to install the softmod.

So then I downloaded an Ndure installer for Krayzie's 3.1. The installer required me to transfer two files to the Xbox via Action Replay, which I had no trouble doing. I exploited the Splinter Cell exploit to get to the UnleashX dashboard once again (this one had more backup options and an option to use Slayer's disk), but it froze up when I tried to install the Softmod. I am thinking it could be because of my previous failed softmod installation, so I'm downloading Slayer's Autoinstaller disk and I'm planning on burning it to a DVD and seeing if it can erase the previous failed attempt. Does anybody think this will work, or am I barking up the wrong tree? For reference, it's a 1.6 and the standard dashboard has Xbox Live as an option, although I don't have the internet hooked up the Xbox yet.

sean_w_smith

01-04-08, 11:50 AM

My son got a 360 so I bagged his xbox and did the mod to replace my linkplayer. Excellent streamer, many thanks to all who have done the incredible work on this bad boy. After playing with it for week I have a question that seems trival that I couldn't find an answer to in the wiki online manual and this thread.

Got the box last night and got xbmc installed (i think).. I can play music from my pc, but only by clicking on the song/album name.. Can't find how to play all or shuffle

I used search and found this question and I could not find an answer. I too have the same problem. I'm using the DVD remote. I have all my tunes in one directory that I added as a favorite. All my artists are grouped in individual sub directories. How does one shuffle every song?

Any help much appreciated.

Using the controller the Y button will add to playlist instead of play immediately. you can do this at any level of the hierarchy. Once you have a playlist you can randomize it.

Also it sounds like you are using file mode. If you scan the items to the database you will have additional options for playing music that are not available in file/directory mode.

There is no stock binding for add to playlist for the IR remote so you will have to modify the keymap.xml if you want to do this from the IR controller....

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-04-08, 11:52 AM

I'm currently in the process of trying to softmod a 1.6 and it's been a lot tougher than I thought. I have the original Splinter Cell and Action Replay. I made a rookie mistake and tried to use the Softmod Installer Deluxe from Xbins. That didn't work, of course, because I had a 1.6 with a kernel that was too new. I could get to the UnleashX dashboard, but it would hang up every time I tried to install the softmod.

So then I downloaded an Ndure installer for Krayzie's 3.1. The installer required me to transfer two files to the Xbox via Action Replay, which I had no trouble doing. I exploited the Splinter Cell exploit to get to the UnleashX dashboard once again (this one had more backup options and an option to use Slayer's disk), but it froze up when I tried to install the Softmod. I am thinking it could be because of my previous failed softmod installation, so I'm downloading Slayer's Autoinstaller disk and I'm planning on burning it to a DVD and seeing if it can erase the previous failed attempt. Does anybody think this will work, or am I barking up the wrong tree? For reference, it's a 1.6 and the standard dashboard has Xbox Live as an option, although I don't have the internet hooked up the Xbox yet.

sorry never seen it hang. Are you sure its hung... some of the steps take a minute or two and you may think its hung when its not....

do you get past the step to backup the eeprom?

Sean

Average Joe

01-04-08, 12:03 PM

Yes, I can back up the eeprom but then when I go to install the softmod it hangs. And I've waited over 15 minutes on the UnleashX black screen, so yes, I'm sure it's hung. Any ideas?

gwlbe

01-04-08, 12:04 PM

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

khewa

01-04-08, 12:22 PM

I've had good luck with the Psyclone component cables and they're usually around $15 shipped or so on eBay and readily available used.

the Monster cable has digital optical out, this cable doesn't. If having digital audio out is not important, then it is alright. For movies, it is a very important, especially if you have a sub woofer.

bigbw

01-04-08, 12:43 PM

My son got a 360 so I bagged his xbox and did the mod to replace my linkplayer. Excellent streamer, many thanks to all who have done the incredible work on this bad boy. After playing with it for week I have a question that seems trival that I couldn't find an answer to in the wiki online manual and this thread.

Got the box last night and got xbmc installed (i think).. I can play music from my pc, but only by clicking on the song/album name.. Can't find how to play all or shuffle

I used search and found this question and I could not find an answer. I too have the same problem. I'm using the DVD remote. I have all my tunes in one directory that I added as a favorite. All my artists are grouped in individual sub directories. How does one shuffle every song?

Any help much appreciated.

i sort by song title and press play on the first one.. when it is playing bring up the player menu, (menu on the remote).. you can find a selection for shuffle there..

ripit

01-04-08, 01:49 PM

the Monster cable has digital optical out, this cable doesn't. If having digital audio out is not important, then it is alright. For movies, it is a very important, especially if you have a sub woofer.

The Psyclone cable has an optical out jack. You can plug in any toslink cable and it will work.

sean_w_smith

01-04-08, 02:07 PM

Yes, I can back up the eeprom but then when I go to install the softmod it hangs. And I've waited over 15 minutes on the UnleashX black screen, so yes, I'm sure it's hung. Any ideas?

no suggestions... never seen that happen. I have done at least 25 softmods using kratzies... I would ask question on the forum on xbox-scene where he hangs out....

usually its a just a slam dunk and works...

Here's a suggestion. If you can backup the eeprom.bin and you can FTP in to the DASH and get the eeprom.bin you can build a new HD using the EEPROM.bin using XboxHDM 1.9

Since the unleash server runs FTP daemon you may also be able to FTP in and remove the files causing the problem.

your first step though should be to get the EEPROM.bin file backed up to your PC. as long as you have that you can always recover. without that you are hosed and will need a modchip or have to do a hot swap.

Sean

BLKMGK

01-04-08, 06:22 PM

sean_w_smith

01-04-08, 08:54 PM

I cannot say I've done this but I've seen at least one page that claimed the 1.6 boxes couldn't be done. I've also run across other pages that talk about doing it -doh!

This page had some interesting info -> http://www.althack.com/2006/02/07/how-to-softmod-your-xbox/ and mentions the 1.6 as well as a footnote about having HD turned OFF. Is it possible this is causing your issues?I really need to get to this on my 1.6 but just haven't had time :-(

I have softmodded at least 5 1.6 xboxes with Krazies softmod. 3 alone in the last month. chips are hard with 1.6's but softmods have been effortless for me...

BTW: What the 1.6 claim is that is somewhat more picky reading from the USB Flash drive... In my case my lexar 256MB POS that I got as a give away at a trade show has been working great.

Also BTW: The link is reffering to some older softmod tecniques which were all improved and simplified by SID 4.5 and Krazyies....

Sean

Average Joe

01-04-08, 11:29 PM

dpslusser

01-04-08, 11:59 PM

Actually, I was typing from work and misspoke. I can't even save my eeprom.bin file without the Xbox locking up. FWIW, when I try to install the softmod, it locks up on the black screen saying "Loading" with Remotex and Xbox below that.

I can confirm that my first attempt was using Softmod Installer Deluxe v2.0 NTSC. After that failed, I deleted it and tried Krayzie SC NTSC UXE installer, which also locks up.

I am now wondering if it could be the Action Replay device. When I tried to copy a saved Splinter Cell game to it, the copy failed even though there should have been enough blocks free. I formatted the AR and still couldn't save a single SC game to it. When I transfer the files to the AR from the AR program, it doesn't say that the copy failed, but the Linux installer is just about the size of the saved game that wouldn't work. Damn, I'm going to feel dumb if it was just a faulty AR...

Joe I had the same problem just the other week. I couldn't get the game saves to my memory card even though there were enough blocks available. It was like 2am and I was so tired my arms and legs were falling asleep. I gave up, shut everything down for the night and the next morning I tried it again. I reformatted the memory stick with the computer then went to the xbox and reformatted again. I came back, and all of a sudden it worked. I have no idea why. But, i dunno, its worth giving it a shot. If not try a different memory stick. I found a link to a site that allows you to use ANY usb flash device, so if you have a memory card reader and a memeory card (Sd, xd, pro duo, etc, etc.) you can use them too. I can give you the link to give that a try.
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=262740

dpslusser

01-05-08, 10:47 AM

What are the difference between scripts and programs???

Good ones to have?

I have the latest build for xbmc

sean_w_smith

01-05-08, 11:36 AM

What are the difference between scripts and programs???

Good ones to have?

I have the latest build for xbmc

Scripts are XBMC extensions written in python. My favorite is one called accuweather... XBMC Lyrics is cool too, youtube, etc

Programs are external programs that cause XBMC to exit and run them. Examples: DVD2XBOX for ripping stuff. Games, Emulators, etc....

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-06-08, 08:16 PM

New T3ch build today....

more GUI fixes and PM# tweaks... I need to try and a clean install and see if I can fix this hang that I have been seeing playing music in library mode.

Sean

admonish

01-07-08, 01:20 PM

just wanted to say that i am now a member of the club and i couldn't be more pleased with the results. i am now working on a 3rd xbox for my daughters' room.

i find it sad that movie studios and CE companies have not been smart enough to realizes that there is a market for media streamers and there are people who would be willing to pay for such a device. i stalled over 2 years waiting for try this and i bit the bullet over the holidays as i grew tired of empty promises and half baked ideas from CE companies

dpslusser

01-08-08, 02:17 PM

Is there a program for the PC to control xbmc? For instance...changing what music is being played...yada yada yada?

Scotty6595

01-08-08, 02:33 PM

dpslusser,

In xbmc go to /settings/network/servers/enable web interface.

Open your browser on you computer and then type in the ip address of your xbox and BAM! You have control of your XBMC via your computer!

Good luck!

Scotty

dpslusser

01-08-08, 02:40 PM

dpslusser

01-09-08, 01:05 AM

sean_w_smith

01-09-08, 01:47 AM

Hope you guys don't mind me posting this question here, but i thought I would have more luck, since it started out as a xbox problem.

My buddy gave me a 120gb Maxtor internal HDD for my xbox. It was in a previously chipped xbox and he hasn't used it in a while. I was going to put it in my xbox (softmodded), but i changed my mind, and am going to wait untill a get a HUGE hdd (500+gb). But anyway, i put it in a IDE enclosure that I bought, pluged it in to the rear (powered) USB ports, and it won't show up in My Computer. It shows up in the USB and Disk Drives Device Manager screenm but not in My Computer and EVEN Disk Management. The drive is set (jumpers) to Cable Select. Can anyone help me out?

Its because most likely the disk is locked. you need the key or that drive is useless.... a PC can't read it even if its unlocked unless your using the XBoxHDM V1.9 boot discs also... you can't use normal PC disk tools to manipulate xbox hard drives. download XboxHDM 1.9 and get the key to the HD from your friend. if he does not know it the disk needs to back in that xbox. If it was locked with XboxHDM then there is a MASTER PW that will unlock the disc but I doubt a chipped xbox would use that. maybe the mod chip he has supports a master password.... XboxHDM will tell you if the disc is locked...

and BTW: using a USB enclosure wont work. the drive needs to be connected to an internal IDE port for all this to work..

and just to be clear. even if you want to use this Disk with windows. It needs be unlocked first before you can reformat and use with windows....

Sean

dpslusser

01-09-08, 01:22 PM

Ya my buddy is gunna put it back in his chipped box and unlock it. Thats all it needs rite?

dpslusser

01-09-08, 01:27 PM

Anyone no of a way to set content for the music library just like you can do for the video library?

sean_w_smith

01-09-08, 08:23 PM

Ya my buddy is gunna put it back in his chipped box and unlock it. Thats all it needs rite?

yes to access it.... are you still planning on putting in your xbox. if so you still need to use xboxHDM to relock with the key from your eeprom.bin file before you can install it in the xbox and re-apply the softmod...

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-09-08, 08:26 PM

Anyone no of a way to set content for the music library just like you can do for the video library?

There are no scrapers for music. it just happens automatically.... what are you trying to do? pick the folder you want to add to your library and hit the context button and then scan to library...

lots of details here:

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/Music_Library

Sean

dpslusser

01-09-08, 11:21 PM

what are you trying to do?
Sean

I want to be able to display Album details, such as: Thumbnail, year, label company, artist info, blah blah blah. Kind just like you can do with the video player and set your videos content to IMDB. I tried looking for a "Set Content" button in the music library but couldn't find it.

sean_w_smith

01-09-08, 11:32 PM

you need to read the online manual provided in the link above. it covers all this...

Sean

dpslusser

01-10-08, 12:02 AM

00g

01-10-08, 12:04 AM

For those of you with DVD servers, how much HDD space do you have?
Amongst what size drives?

Forgive me if this was already covered. I just found this thread, and I"m not about to read through 89 pages.

mwg47x

01-10-08, 07:37 AM

For those of you with DVD servers, how much HDD space do you have?
Amongst what size drives?
I'm sure you will get a great variety of answers to this question.
Personally I built my own DVD Server. I had a lot of parts laying around collecting dust and put them to use.
I had an Intel 875 PBZ motherboard and a 3.0 Prescott core processor, along with 2 power supplies, CD, Floppy, fans, cables etc.
I also had two 160GB IDE hard drives which I set up as a RAID 1 for the OS.

I bought the following to complete the server:
CoolerMaster CM Stacker Case (Can use dual power supplies in this case)
5 Seagate 500GB SATA2 Drives (ST3500630AS)
I wanted to go with 750 GB drives but 500 GB was the sweet spot price wise at the time.
2 Icy Dock MB454 Drive Cages
and the crown jewel is a 3Ware 9500S-12 SATA RAID Controller
I got the 3Ware card on E-Bay for $299.00
This is normally a $800.00 card and getting it so cheap was what made the whole endeavor possible for me.

As I'm sure you know, you lose one drive to parity in a RAID 5 array, so right now I have a 1.87 TB Raid 5 array.
I have 7 open ports on the RAID card, so I can add 7 more drives. Neat thing about this card is that I can expand the array "on the fly" without losing the data on it. Enterprise solutions rock if you can afford them! (or get a good deal) :)
So if I filled it up I could have 5.14 TB array without a hot spare,
or I can have a 4.67 TB array with a hot spare.

Next time I buy drives, I will add a hot spare to the array, so I will max out at 4.67 TB.

HTH
Matt

sean_w_smith

01-10-08, 09:43 AM

From reading this here (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=Music_Navigation_and_Control#The_Context_Men u). I deleted my music source, then added it again. Highlighting it I hit the White button and selected Scan Item into Library. It scanned all the music in to the library. I then went into the next folder were all the music folders are at. Highlighted the Return folder, and clicked the white button, and selected Queue Item Album Information.

I figured this would download all the information from AllMusic.com, but it didn't work. I kept getting the default "Passport" blackout human image.

OK so you want to update the database because your music is not tagged completely or correctly...

Persoinally I think the best way to do with is with Tag&Rename on your PC but the choice is yours....

goto into library view
goto into albums
hit the white button
select Query Info for All Albums

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-10-08, 09:44 AM

00g

01-10-08, 10:50 AM

I'm sure you will get a great variety of answers to this question.
Personally I built my own DVD Server. I had a lot of parts laying around collecting dust and put them to use.
I had an Intel 875 PBZ motherboard and a 3.0 Prescott core processor, along with 2 power supplies, CD, Floppy, fans, cables etc.
I also had two 160GB IDE hard drives which I set up as a RAID 1 for the OS.

I bought the following to complete the server:
CoolerMaster CM Stacker Case (Can use dual power supplies in this case)
5 Seagate 500GB SATA2 Drives (ST3500630AS)
I wanted to go with 750 GB drives but 500 GB was the sweet spot price wise at the time.
2 Icy Dock MB454 Drive Cages
and the crown jewel is a 3Ware 9500S-12 SATA RAID Controller
I got the 3Ware card on E-Bay for $299.00
This is normally a $800.00 card and getting it so cheap was what made the whole endeavor possible for me.

As I'm sure you know, you lose one drive to parity in a RAID 5 array, so right now I have a 1.87 TB Raid 5 array.
I have 7 open ports on the RAID card, so I can add 7 more drives. Neat thing about this card is that I can expand the array "on the fly" without losing the data on it. Enterprise solutions rock if you can afford them! (or get a good deal) :)
So if I filled it up I could have 5.14 TB array without a hot spare,
or I can have a 4.67 TB array with a hot spare.

Next time I buy drives, I will add a hot spare to the array, so I will max out at 4.67 TB.

HTH
Matt
Wow. I had no idea SATA RAID cards got that pricey. But, I've also never seen one with 12 ports.

Are you using HTPC's to view the movies?
Do you rip 1:1 copies of the movies or do you compress them?

About 3 months ago I upgraded from an Xbox server and built a server in a ATX case.

Rather than using a huge card I used a motherboard with decent amount of ports (Asus A8N-SLI Premium has 8 SATA ports). I know I'll fill these up rather quickly, but when that happens I'll go your route and use SATA cards.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/untitled-27.jpg
The C: and D: are a partitioned 320gb HDD.
C: is of course the OS.
D: is my FTP share drive.
E: is my media drive (Music, TV shows, Programs etc.)
The remaining 5TB is all DVD's (I believe I currently have around 830 movies)
I don't have them in a RAID array. Because I'm not familiar enough with it, and everything works great as it is.

As for viewing the movies, I use XBMC and I love it. XBMC is actually the reason I built this server.

Here's some pics.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/Computers009.jpg
The 5 HDD's you see are the Hitachi terabytes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/Computers021.jpg
There's currently 2 HDD's in this area. This is an old picture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/Computers011.jpg
One of the Xboxes (old pic)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/ca479dca.jpg
The XBMC interface you're probably all familiar with
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/screenshot000.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/screenshot001-1.jpg

stickyfingers

01-10-08, 11:22 AM

...I don't have them in a RAID array. Because I'm not familiar enough with it, and everything works great as it is...

...cause you haven't lost 30, or 100, or more, hours of ripping yet. ;)

Seriously though, for any project like this, RAID is your friend.

mwg47x

01-10-08, 12:23 PM

Are you using HTPC's to view the movies?
Do you rip 1:1 copies of the movies or do you compress them?

I use XBMC. I ran a Cat 5 cable through the walls from my computer room to the living room.
I rip ISO's of my DVD's. No compression. I haven't tried compressing the drive from inside Windows. I'm not even sure it would save much space.

The C: and D: are a partitioned 320gb HDD.
C: is of course the OS.
D: is my FTP share drive.
E: is my media drive (Music, TV shows, Programs etc.)
The remaining 5TB is all DVD's (I believe I currently have around 830 movies)
I don't have them in a RAID array. Because I'm not familiar enough with it, and everything works great as it is.

One nice thing about running RAID is that the OS sees all those physical drives as a single drive, in my case the whole 1.81 TB is the D Drive.
(I said I had 1.87 in my previous post, I was mistaken, it's 1.81)

RAID gives me piece of mind. I worked desktop support for several years and I've seen many a hard drive bite the dust.
Once I have the hot spare in my array, I would have to lose 3 drives to lose my data.
If a drive fails, the hot spare kicks in, and builds itself to take the place of the failed drive.
If another drive failed (after the hot spare builds but before the failed drive is replaced) I still have my data, though the array would be running degraded.
If I then lost a third drive, it's toast.
That is why when I come up with the cash to buy the 7 remaining drives I can hang off this card, I will buy 8 drives.
I want to have a spare drive ready to go, because sooner or later, one WILL fail.

Slack

01-10-08, 06:03 PM

sean_w_smith

01-10-08, 06:52 PM

Stoopid question.

Suppose I rip a DVD to an ISO. And later decide to just extract the main movie and compress it for keeping it around permanently.

What's community consesus' best choice for a proggy to do this? To a single VOB that is.

dont know of any program that creates a 4Gig single vob. certainly there could be one but I dont know of any....

What I do...

extract the ISO with WINRAR. (or you could mount the ISO with a virtual DVD program)

re-author with DVD Shrink. get rid of extras menus, extra audio tracks, subtitles, etc and then author then use DVD Shrink to create a new ISO

works everytime... DVD Shrink remains the Swiss army knife of DVD manipulation for me.

Sean

Slack

01-10-08, 07:46 PM

dont know of any program that creates a 4Gig single vob. certainly there could be one but I dont know of any....

What I do...

extract the ISO with WINRAR. (or you could mount the ISO with a virtual DVD program)

re-author with DVD Shrink. get rid of extras menus, extra audio tracks, subtitles, etc and then author then use DVD Shrink to create a new ISO

works everytime... DVD Shrink remains the Swiss army knife of DVD manipulation for me.

Sean

K then. Extract vobs with winRAR.
vobmerge to re-assemble
AutoGK for the rest.

Slack

01-10-08, 07:51 PM

...cause you haven't lost 30, or 100, or more, hours of ripping yet. ;)

Seriously though, for any project like this, RAID is your friend.

First thing I thought when I read his post.

Seriously JBOD dude. If you have home movies or pictures of kids/loved ones on any of those drives back that **** up. Then back it up again and keep a drive in a drawer at work incase a fire/flood/tornado takes out that rig.

RAID it all and that will protect your investment (time) for the ripping. But you have got to have backups for the **** that cannot be replaced with a re-rip.

I have a disk off-site (work), and one in a safe deposit box. Call me anal.

00g

01-10-08, 10:31 PM

First thing I thought when I read his post.

Seriously JBOD dude. If you have home movies or pictures of kids/loved ones on any of those drives back that **** up. Then back it up again and keep a drive in a drawer at work incase a fire/flood/tornado takes out that rig.

RAID it all and that will protect your investment (time) for the ripping. But you have got to have backups for the **** that cannot be replaced with a re-rip.

I have a disk off-site (work), and one in a safe deposit box. Call me anal.

I have all my pictures, music, programs and personal stuff backed up in triplicate. But I just can't afford another 5tb just for backing up the movies.

If I lose a drive, I lose ~200 movies. It'll suck. But, that's what I get.
It's nothing irreplaceable.

If I lose the entire thing...it was fun while it lasted. ;)

00g

01-10-08, 10:34 PM

Stoopid question.

Suppose I rip a DVD to an ISO. And later decide to just extract the main movie and compress it for keeping it around permanently.

What's community consesus' best choice for a proggy to do this? To a single VOB that is.

In DVD Shrink:
Edit>Preferences>Output Files> Uncheck box that says "Split VOB files into 1GB size chunks

I've never done it that way, but I can only assume it'll make it one single VOB file.

BLKMGK

01-10-08, 10:53 PM

I have all my pictures, music, programs and personal stuff backed up in triplicate. But I just can't afford another 5tb just for backing up the movies.

If I lose a drive, I lose ~200 movies. It'll suck. But, that's what I get.
It's nothing irreplaceable.

If I lose the entire thing...it was fun while it lasted. ;)

Suggest you look into unRAID. you'll lose one disk worth of space but losing a single drive will NOT toast the data. Losing TWO disks, unlike with standard RAID, will result in the loss of data from just those two disks and not the entire array. I could go on (and on) but I'll be brief. Go checkout lime-technology (http://www.lime-technology.com) to learn more. There's even a free version you can use to checkout your hardware. If you search the AVS Forums you'll also find a lengthy thread.

squidboy

01-11-08, 08:40 AM

dont know of any program that creates a 4Gig single vob. certainly there could be one but I dont know of any....

What I do...

extract the ISO with WINRAR. (or you could mount the ISO with a virtual DVD program)

re-author with DVD Shrink. get rid of extras menus, extra audio tracks, subtitles, etc and then author then use DVD Shrink to create a new ISO

works everytime... DVD Shrink remains the Swiss army knife of DVD manipulation for me.

Sean

DVD Decrypter will rip to a single VOB. That's what I use all the time.

Slack

01-11-08, 02:07 PM

DVD Decrypter will rip to a single VOB. That's what I use all the time.

Yeah that much we know. Now how do you tell DVD decypter to open/mount an ISO image? Which was the original question.

Me thinks it looks solely for ATAPI devices.

sean_w_smith

01-11-08, 03:07 PM

Yeah that much we know. Now how do you tell DVD decypter to open/mount an ISO image? Which was the original question.

Me thinks it looks solely for ATAPI devices.

The suggested setting for shrink works for above. DVD decrypter does not give you reauthoring flexibility of shrink for removing unwanted sound tracks and captions etc....

how do you get any program to open an iSO? I answered that question in my last post.

1. extract it with winrar
2. mount it using daemon tools which makes the ISO look like a CD/DVD Drive with a drive letter.

Sean

squidboy

01-11-08, 03:20 PM

The suggested setting for shrink works for above. DVD decrypter does not give you reauthoring flexibility of shrink for removing unwanted sound tracks and captions etc....

Sure it does. Rip in "IFO" mode and you can get rid of all the extra crap you don't want.

how do you get any program to open an iSO? I answered that question in my last post.

1. extract it with winrar
2. mount it using daemon tools which makes the ISO look like a CD/DVD Drive with a drive letter.

Sean

Daemon Tools would be my vote as well.

sean_w_smith

01-11-08, 03:24 PM

Sure it does. Rip in "IFO" mode and you can get rid of all the extra crap you don't want.

Daemon Tools would be my vote as well.

Yes I see what you mean.... Its still awful cryptic compared to the way DVD Shrik organizes the info...

Sean

Ripper

01-11-08, 07:34 PM

OK guys - need some guidance here. Somewhere in this thread I saw a quick mention of updating the settings such that the thumbnails for the videos were stored as a larger size.
The default is 192 - what is the consensus for 240? I would like to have the thumbnails appear a bit sharper on the 55", and I believe the 240 setting will suffice. Thanks

sean_w_smith

01-11-08, 08:11 PM

Ripper

01-11-08, 08:16 PM

The default is 192x192 - but what is the setting you are using? Or are you using some other source than IMDb for your thumbnails?
Thanks!

sean_w_smith

01-11-08, 08:42 PM

The default is 192x192 - but what is the setting you are using? Or are you using some other source than IMDb for your thumbnails?
Thanks!

I use the default. I tried larger thumbnails and it made the Music UI at least 10X slower so I went back to stock....

Sean

Ja Phule

01-12-08, 03:35 AM

dpslusser

01-12-08, 04:40 PM

Quick question. Whats the Best FTP program to FTP into the xbox. Im using FlashFXP, but it expires in 15 days. Other than that?

RockDawg

01-12-08, 05:33 PM

Check out FileZilla. It's open source (free) and seems to be quicker than FlashFXP when transferring a lot of small files like XBMC is comprised of.

http://http://filezilla-project.org/

Ja Phule

01-13-08, 03:56 AM

jwheeler

01-13-08, 09:47 AM

I have a question regarding the function of downloading covers and movie info for backed up DVD's. I just updated XBMC to the latest release and im trying to DL all the covers from IMDB. Half my movies are in folders and the others are ISO's. It seems I have to go through each movie and search it out before it will come up with the movie info and thumbnail. Isnt there a way to scan the whole lot? When I set up the directory I selected the scan option and it did scan but every folder ends up with the title "Movie" instead of the real movie name. Any help would be appreciated.

sean_w_smith

01-13-08, 10:19 AM

Quick question. Whats the Best FTP program to FTP into the xbox. Im using FlashFXP, but it expires in 15 days. Other than that?

Used to use FlashFXP and SmartFTp and someone turned my on to fileZilla. it works better than the other 2 and its free. Highly recommended...

Sean

khewa

01-13-08, 10:55 AM

Used to use FlashFXP and SmartFTp and someone turned my on to fileZilla. it works better than the other 2 and its free. Highly recommended...

Sean

in what ways does fileZilla works better than FlashFXP ?

ripit

01-13-08, 10:59 AM

sean_w_smith

01-13-08, 12:24 PM

Used to use FlashFXP and SmartFTp and someone turned my on to fileZilla. it works better than the other 2 and its free. Highly recommended...

Sean

3 things....

1. It does not leak memory and allows large file transfers without retries. Both SmartFTP and FlashFXP fail to transfer 30 gig of games in one sitting. They both slow to a crawl as the transfer progresses and eventually fail. This is evident on any large transfer whether it be music or games...
2. its much faster than flashFXP
3. It does not error and need to retry as much as either of the other 2 programs...

and BTW its free... and it does SSH and SFTP for those who use stuff like that at work...

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-13-08, 12:25 PM

It seems my original xbox component adapter has bit the dust. I'm gonna try out a Psyclone cable this time around and hopefully it will work ok. I'm using the monster component cables on my other xbox, but I don't like the fact that I have to get the audio adapter to get optical out. The psyclone has the optical port built in also.

Let us know how it works out....

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-13-08, 12:27 PM

I just set up my first xbox the other day. I am just starting to play around with it and I am impressed with it so far, but I can tell that it will take me some time to unlock its full potential. I had someone do the mod for me with the DuoX2 modchip. What I am trying to figure out is how exactly to set it up to boot directly to XBMC since that is all I really want it for. I know it is possible but I just can't seem to find any clear information on how it is done. Right now it boots to the Evolution X dashboard and I have to select XBMC from the program menu. I would like to eliminate this step. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

you need to figure out what binary file the duoX is booting? and then create a shortcut to make XBMC the default. Its easy once you know what file you chip is booting....

The instructions are fairly complete in the XBMC online manual here...

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/As_a_Dashboard

Sean

intomed

01-13-08, 12:30 PM

Quick question. Which version of filezilla would I need (client vs. server)? All I want to do is communicate with XBox to update XBMC.

sean_w_smith

01-13-08, 12:49 PM

Quick question. Which version of filezilla would I need (client vs. server)? All I want to do is communicate with XBox to update XBMC.

Client

intomed

01-13-08, 12:51 PM

Thank you Sean.

00g

01-13-08, 01:06 PM

Ja Phule

01-13-08, 01:17 PM

I just set up my first xbox the other day. I am just starting to play around with it and I am impressed with it so far, but I can tell that it will take me some time to unlock its full potential. I had someone do the mod for me with the DuoX2 modchip. What I am trying to figure out is how exactly to set it up to boot directly to XBMC since that is all I really want it for. I know it is possible but I just can't seem to find any clear information on how it is done. Right now it boots to the Evolution X dashboard and I have to select XBMC from the program menu. I would like to eliminate this step. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

I have the Duox2 on one of my xboxes. On that box, I believe the xbox boots up first with the evoxdash.xbe on the C:. One way of checking is go into XBMC's file browser, go to the C directory and execute evoxdash.xbe and see if it loads up Evolution X. If so, you can use one of the shortcut xbe's from XBMC and rename it to evoxdash.xbe and place them on the C drive (and rename the original evoxdash.xbe to something like evoxdashreal.xbe). Be sure to have a boot disk handy in case something goes wrong and you can get back into EvolutionX so you can change things back.

ripit

01-13-08, 02:47 PM

Ja Phule

01-13-08, 03:38 PM

OK, thanks for the quick replies. It looks as though mine is set up a bit differently. The only .xbe I have in my C directory is xboxdash.xbe, which launches the original Xbox dash. I found the Evolution X shortcut in E:\Dashboard\default.xbe. This file launches the Evolution X dashboard. There is also a shortcut to XBMC located in Q:\default.xbe.

It appears that both shortcuts are named default.xbe but are in different partitions. It appears that when it boots up it launches the dash located at E:\Dashboard\default.xbe. If I download the shortcut xbe from XBMC and rename it to default.xbe, place it in the E:\Dashboard directory and rename the old one to evolutionx.xbe, would that work? I am not too familiar with any of this stuff so I appreciate the help.

The default.xbe in the Q: is the actual executable file that launches in the program. So do not copy the default.xbe from the Q: (which is the probably your E:\Apps\XBMC location).

If E:\Dashboard is where Evolution X is launched, then if you get the shortcut xbe that is found in the _Tools folder of XBMC (when you dl it from T3CH), there should be "shortcut by team xbmc.xbe" and "shortcut by team UIX.xbe) in those folders. I use the UIX shortcut, which is a shortcut to E:\Apps\XBMC\default.xbe. The XBMC shortcut uses a config file to specify the specific location of XBMC. YOu can rename those shortcuts to default.xbe and put it in the dashboard folder and it will launch XBMC on bootup if you do it correctly.

mebby

01-13-08, 11:12 PM

Ja Phule - I noticed the Xephyr skin you were showing off a while back and it looks pretty slick. I found the download and dropped it in my skins folder but I keep getting a message:
"incompatible skin. We require skins of version 2.00 and higher"

I'm pretty sure you're at least running XBMC 2.0 - what am I missing?? I poked around a bit and found where they suggested that you remove an reference to xephyr in your guisettings.xml file. I've never used a xephyr skin so accordingly I had no references there.

Any idea what's up? Thanks in advance for your help.

Ja Phule

01-13-08, 11:28 PM

mebby

01-14-08, 12:09 AM

Thanks for the tip - I checked and I had it copied in there correctly.

I just tried deleting my guisettings.xml file (and then re-establishing all my preferences so it would create a new one) and then I deleted the Xephyr skin off the Xbox and tried to reload it.

No instead of getting the error message about it not being a 2.0 skin it tells me that it's an incomplete skin. Maybe I've got an old link or something?

Can you tell me where to go to get the latest and greatest version of the skin?

Ja Phule

01-14-08, 12:16 AM

Make sure you are using the latest version which is Alpha 8.

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26995

sean_w_smith

01-14-08, 10:07 AM

For those using Shrink, I believe Shrink can open iso files directly. Just go to File>Open Disc Image. I prefer alcohol 120 over daemon as alcohol lets me integrate the mounting/unmounting of iso via the windows shell. It's been awhile since I've used daemon, maybe it's a feature of it also.

Your right and it works great!!!!!!!!!! This will save me a lot of time using winrar....

This has been quite a useful exchange... have a few more tips and tricks in my arsenal.....

Sean

mebby

01-14-08, 10:33 AM

Make sure you are using the latest version which is Alpha 8.

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26995

That's what I was using. Not sure what's up.

I'm thinking that I have some old files on my box that are tripping certain things up a bit. About 6 months ago I had a failed upgrade that completely screwed up my box and I had to create a boot disk and then start all over.

It looks like I have some old folders/files on my box... I've been going through and deleting out obvious errors (like I actually had an entire XBMC folder within the XBMC folder, and crap like that).

But if you can think of any other things to try I'd appreciate it.

stickyfingers

01-14-08, 01:57 PM

That's what I was using. Not sure what's up.

I'm thinking that I have some old files on my box that are tripping certain things up a bit. About 6 months ago I had a failed upgrade that completely screwed up my box and I had to create a boot disk and then start all over.

It looks like I have some old folders/files on my box... I've been going through and deleting out obvious errors (like I actually had an entire XBMC folder within the XBMC folder, and crap like that).

But if you can think of any other things to try I'd appreciate it.

Also Xephyr requires (or, at least, required on my box) an 08 XBMC build. I picked up a January 08 T3CH build and that fixed my problems.

I believe there's a note about it in the Xephyr thread.

It's a beautiful skin and instantly became my default.

mebby

01-14-08, 02:07 PM

Thanks Stickyfingers. I'll have to pull down the latest 08 build out there. I had grabbed the latest "stable" build from TC3H but it was an 11-12-2006 build so that's likely the problem.

I just get nervous when I see one build as being labled "stable" and the other builds being labeled as "current"

I've already blown up my box one time and I don't want to go through that again.

mebby

01-14-08, 02:17 PM

mebby

01-14-08, 02:51 PM

I should further clarify that I'm using bookmarks to group multiple drives together into one view. For instance, I have to 500gb external USB drives that I store all my DVDs and home movies on. Each drive has the same three folder names (DVDs, Kids, Home Videos). I have set-up bookmarks for each that incorporate the same folder from both drives. For instance I have a DVD bookmark that has two links in it - on for each DVD folder of each of my 500gb external USB drives, and I have the same thing for Kids and the same thing for Home Videos.

All of these are defined in the Sources.xml file.

ripit

01-14-08, 03:51 PM

The default.xbe in the Q: is the actual executable file that launches in the program. So do not copy the default.xbe from the Q: (which is the probably your E:\Apps\XBMC location).

If E:\Dashboard is where Evolution X is launched, then if you get the shortcut xbe that is found in the _Tools folder of XBMC (when you dl it from T3CH), there should be "shortcut by team xbmc.xbe" and "shortcut by team UIX.xbe) in those folders. I use the UIX shortcut, which is a shortcut to E:\Apps\XBMC\default.xbe. The XBMC shortcut uses a config file to specify the specific location of XBMC. YOu can rename those shortcuts to default.xbe and put it in the dashboard folder and it will launch XBMC on bootup if you do it correctly.

OK, thanks for all the replies. It worked! I followed the instuctions here. (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=As_a_Dashboard)

I am not sure I followed everything to a "T", but it seemed to work nevertheless.

BTW, Ja Phule - I've been using the Psylone cables and they seem to work very well and have good build quality. The optical out works with any Toslink cable. The cord is quite long also. The only thing I did not like which I only thought of after I hooked everything up is the fact that while the cable is long the RGB and analog audio cables are branch out right at the end. This is fine if you are connecting the analog audio to the TV, however if you want to hook the analog jacks to your receiver you would need to get a female to male adapter cable in order to make the run from the TV.

Though I use the optical audio to my receiver in my HT, I need to run analog audio to the receiver also in order to play XBMC on my whole house audio system. I ended up routing the video through my receiver since I did not have adapter cables. This seems to be working fine, so I have no complaints and frankly my problem may be a bit unique. In retrospect, a dongle type connector where you use your own cables would probably be more versitile, but as I said, not really a big deal and the audio/video quality seem good (though I have nothing to which to compare).

Ja Phule

01-14-08, 05:01 PM

OK, thanks for all the replies. It worked! I followed the instuctions here. (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=As_a_Dashboard)

I am not sure I followed everything to a "T", but it seemed to work nevertheless.

BTW, Ja Phule - I've been using the Psylone cables and they seem to work very well and have good build quality. The optical out works with any Toslink cable. The cord is quite long also. The only thing I did not like which I only thought of after I hooked everything up is the fact that while the cable is long the RGB and analog audio cables are branch out right at the end. This is fine if you are connecting the analog audio to the TV, however if you want to hook the analog jacks to your receiver you would need to get a female to male adapter cable in order to make the run from the TV.

Though I use the optical audio to my receiver in my HT, I need to run analog audio to the receiver also in order to play XBMC on my whole house audio system. I ended up routing the video through my receiver since I did not have adapter cables. This seems to be working fine, so I have no complaints and frankly my problem may be a bit unique. In retrospect, a dongle type connector where you use your own cables would probably be more versitile, but as I said, not really a big deal and the audio/video quality seem good (though I have nothing to which to compare).

Thanks for the info. The Psyclone seems to be a lot like the Monster with the exception of the built in optical output vs the mini that monster uses.

That reminds me, I tried took a mini to 1/8" adapter and tried to get audio via coax from the monster. It did send audio via coax but it dropped out way too much that it was unusable.

Console makers need to make the a/v outputs on the actual console itself, I guess they want to squeeze more money out of us with adapters. At least HDMI requires them to be on the actual device.

mebby

01-14-08, 10:32 PM

Also Xephyr requires (or, at least, required on my box) an 08 XBMC build. I picked up a January 08 T3CH build and that fixed my problems.

I believe there's a note about it in the Xephyr thread.

It's a beautiful skin and instantly became my default.

Hey man - thanks a ton! You were right. I needed a 2008 build and bam I got it.

It IS an awesome skin. I like how it's so customizable. One question though... I have multip locations in the Weather section. How do I flip between them??

sean_w_smith

01-15-08, 11:08 AM

Hey man - thanks a ton! You were right. I needed a 2008 build and bam I got it.

It IS an awesome skin. I like how it's so customizable. One question though... I have multip locations in the Weather section. How do I flip between them??

Can't figure that out. I find the skin has limited views and does not make good use of screen real estate for thumbnails... but its great to see lots of different skins...

Sean

mebby

01-15-08, 01:24 PM

Can't figure that out. I find the skin has limited views and does not make good use of screen real estate for thumbnails... but its great to see lots of different skins...

Sean

I agree with you about the thumbnails.

I'm just now jumping back into XBMC (I had strayed into trying to get my Xbox 360 to do the trick - not even freakin' close) so maybe I'm just missing some things in the other skins (like Mayhem III) that have been updated.

But here are the main things that I like about the Xephyr skin:

It can remember views for each source. This is helpful where I want thubmnails (or posterboard) for my DVDs but I want a list for my home videos b/c I don't want to go through the process of creating thumbnails for them. Is this feature available in other skins?
This is probably there in other skins but Xephyr has an option in the video settings to try to jump straigh to the DVD menu. Awesome feature.
I like how you can easily assign your own images to the various backgrounds.

The main thing that I do NOT like about it is that it's sometimes hard to determine which item you have selected. The "focus" isn't very obvious at times. The other thing that's bugging me is I can't find a way (as previously mentioned) to switch to my other cities in the Weather window. This is not a huge deal as I rarely use it, but it should still work.

mebby

01-15-08, 01:29 PM

I have a question on skinning/bookmarks. I've been using the Mayhem III skin predominantly b/c it's the only skin that enables me to put a boomark on the left hand margin of the My Videos, My Pictures and My Music screens.

I use this mainly for videos to separate videos into three broad categories:

1 - DVDs
2 - Kids Movies
3 - Home Videos

This is nice b/c I can keep all these in their own separate view so that when browsing through my DVD archive I don't have to see "Winnie the Pooh" and crap like that. I know this is anal but it's the way I like it.

But since no other skin allows me to do this I'm starting to wonder if I'm just missing the boat on a different way of doing this. What would be really slick is if I could use the keymap.xml file to code in a soft button on my harmony remote to jump to these bookmarks - is this possible?? I'm currently using that to jump directly to the various sections (my videos, my pictures, my music, and weather) and it works perfectly - very wife and kid friendly.

I figured out how to do this so I thought I'd post the solution in case it helps anyone else.

I didn't realize that there was additional syntax available for the "xbmc.activatewindow" command. I'm currently using these commonds to jump back and forth (directly) between windows (weather, videos, music, home). You do this by using assigning an RCA code to the command in the keymap.xml and then teaching that code to your Harmony remote. For example, to jump to the video section you'd use "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos)" But you can add another paramter to call out one of your sources as identified in your sources.xml file and go straight to that source.

So in my case I can simply expand the code to "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,Kids)" or "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,DVDs)" or "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,Home Videos)" and go straight to those "bookmarks".

This will be huge b/c now I can assign activities to my remote for going straight to those libraries so that it will be almost 99% idiot proof.

sean_w_smith

01-15-08, 01:43 PM

I agree with you about the thumbnails.

I'm just now jumping back into XBMC (I had strayed into trying to get my Xbox 360 to do the trick - not even freakin' close) so maybe I'm just missing some things in the other skins (like Mayhem III) that have been updated.

But here are the main things that I like about the Xephyr skin:

It can remember views for each source. This is helpful where I want thubmnails (or posterboard) for my DVDs but I want a list for my home videos b/c I don't want to go through the process of creating thumbnails for them. Is this feature available in other skins?
This is probably there in other skins but Xephyr has an option in the video settings to try to jump straigh to the DVD menu. Awesome feature.
I like how you can easily assign your own images to the various backgrounds.

The main thing that I do NOT like about it is that it's sometimes hard to determine which item you have selected. The "focus" isn't very obvious at times. The other thing that's bugging me is I can't find a way (as previously mentioned) to switch to my other cities in the Weather window. This is not a huge deal as I rarely use it, but it should still work.

FYI... you can do everything you listed in Project Mayhem III (the stock skin)....

PMIII actually remembers views for each folder...

check out the default option in sources.xml to go straight to the DVD menu and you might also check out the library mode for videos. it has improved a lot.

you can change the main home page background in the skin settings and the others are tweakable but not as easy as it is in Xephyr.

agreed on the focus issue as well....

Sean

sean_w_smith

01-15-08, 01:44 PM

I figured out how to do this so I thought I'd post the solution in case it helps anyone else.

I didn't realize that there was additional syntax available for the "xbmc.activatewindow" command. I'm currently using these commonds to jump back and forth (directly) between windows (weather, videos, music, home). You do this by using assigning an RCA code to the command in the keymap.xml and then teaching that code to your Harmony remote. For example, to jump to the video section you'd use "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos)" But you can add another paramter to call out one of your sources as identified in your sources.xml file and go straight to that source.

So in my case I can simply expand the code to "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,Kids)" or "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,DVDs)" or "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,Home Videos)" and go straight to those "bookmarks".

This will be huge b/c now I can assign activities to my remote for going straight to those libraries so that it will be almost 99% idiot proof.

Sweet... sounds like I have something to play with this weekend and do some updating on my harmony...

Sean

ripit

01-15-08, 07:21 PM

Sorry for all the questions, but I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on which video format would work best for me. Before I got my Xbox I ripped a few DVD's as both ISO and IFO (with single .vob) to see which would work best. I am not entirely pleased with either. I thought I would like to have menu navigation in place but after playing around with it, I think I would prefer the movie to play upon clicking the DVD thumbnail. For some reason, the DVD's that are ripped as single .vob's will not play in library mode. The only way to get them to play is to go into file mode and navigate to the .vob file, which is what I want. Should XBMC know to look in the Video_TS folder for the main .vob file? It is possible that I messed up when I converted the file which could be why it is not working.

I want to maintain full 5.1 DD and/or DTS and I do not want to compress the video at all (storage is not an issue). I want to rip the rest of my DVD collection and I'd like to get an idea of the best format to rip to in order to maintain full resolution, 5.1 audio and also have the main movie start directly from clicking on the thumbnail in library mode.

Thanks again in advance.

Scotty6595

01-15-08, 07:26 PM

ISO is the easiest answer I have for you... Maybe someone else can chime in...

sean_w_smith

01-15-08, 07:36 PM

ripit

01-15-08, 07:48 PM

Right. I haven't had any problems with ISO either. It's just that 99% of the time I just play the main title. I like the idea of the movie starting as soon as I click on the dvd thumbnail without having to navigate the DVD menu. I figured if I ripped the DVD as a single .vob that would accomplish this, but somehow in library mode the movie does not play when I click on the thumbnail. I am just wondering if I set something up incorrectly or if I am missing files or if XBMC just doesn't work this way with .vob files. I suspect I may have somehow deleted some of the .ifo or .bup files and that may be why it is not working. If it is supposed to work that way I will try ripping a different DVD. Otherwise I will continue to rip as ISO since that is easier than re-encoding to another format I would think.

dpslusser

01-15-08, 08:45 PM

dpslusser

01-15-08, 08:50 PM

I think this has been asked before, but I can't find it, sorry. But anyway...

Can I connect an external hard drive that has network capabilities, with a crossover cable, to the xbox?

mebby

01-15-08, 10:26 PM

Is there a setting in XBMC to get out of a game? For instance. If im playing a game, is there a key sequence I could set up to take me back to the dashboard? I thought I rememebr seeing a config for that?

There is definitely a sequence. I think for me (haven't played games on my Xbox in quite a while) it was RT, LT, Select, Back or something like that. I think I had to hold them all down at the same time. Search around a bit on the XBMC forums. If you can't find anything then I'll see if I can drum it up for you.

dpslusser

01-15-08, 10:31 PM

dpslusser

01-15-08, 11:00 PM

There is definitely a sequence. I think for me (haven't played games on my Xbox in quite a while) it was RT, LT, Select, Back or something like that. I think I had to hold them all down at the same time. Search around a bit on the XBMC forums. If you can't find anything then I'll see if I can drum it up for you.

I checked again on the xbox (the settings), and I check xbmc online forum. I must be missing something. Its no big deal. I mean, if you want to look for it you can, if not, im sure someone else knows. Its not important. I just thought I was seeing things.

00g

01-15-08, 11:14 PM

IGR or In Game Rest

Both triggers, back and start.

I always used a big controller.

On the small one I think it's both triggers back and black

00g

01-15-08, 11:17 PM

Ja Phule

01-16-08, 02:26 AM

Ja Phule

01-16-08, 02:40 AM

I figured out how to do this so I thought I'd post the solution in case it helps anyone else.

I didn't realize that there was additional syntax available for the "xbmc.activatewindow" command. I'm currently using these commonds to jump back and forth (directly) between windows (weather, videos, music, home). You do this by using assigning an RCA code to the command in the keymap.xml and then teaching that code to your Harmony remote. For example, to jump to the video section you'd use "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos)" But you can add another paramter to call out one of your sources as identified in your sources.xml file and go straight to that source.

So in my case I can simply expand the code to "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,Kids)" or "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,DVDs)" or "xbmc.activatewindow(MyVideos,Home Videos)" and go straight to those "bookmarks".

This will be huge b/c now I can assign activities to my remote for going straight to those libraries so that it will be almost 99% idiot proof.

There are technically 3 video menus on the home screen in Xephyr: Movies, TV Shows, and Clips. From what I've read on the xephyr forum, you can easily rename those titles by editing the homescrollers.xml file to say something like DVD, Kids, and Home Videos (which could possibly be too long).

sean_w_smith

01-16-08, 10:02 AM

sean_w_smith

01-16-08, 10:05 AM

I think this has been asked before, but I can't find it, sorry. But anyway...

Can I connect an external hard drive that has network capabilities, with a crossover cable, to the xbox?

YES

mebby

01-16-08, 10:32 AM

I just updated XMBC to the 1-14 version, installed Xephyr due to the hype on this forum....

...I'm not impressed.

The only thing I liked about it, was the "poster wall" view when viewing DVD's.

Other than that it's needs a lot of tweaking and polishing.

Back to PMIII

You know - after playing with it a bit and then reading Sean's post where he told me that I could do all of that with the PMIII skin I have to agree with you. Since it had been quite a while since I upgraded (and I really only upgraded to check out that skin b/c everyone was hyping it up) I thought that all the new functionality was related to the Xephyr skin.

Once I figured out that PMIII could do all the things I liked in the Xephyr skin I switched back to using it. The only thing I really like now about the Xephyr skin is the Weather screen - it looks pretty good. But then again, I can't for the life of me figure out how the hell to toggle between my weather locations using that skin.

I'm thrilled to be back up and running with XBMC. I had abandoned it for a while b/c it kept freezing up on me. Once I figured that issue out and then upgraded (I was WAY behind) I've been blown away once again. AND my wife actually commented that she was happy to have it back so that tells you right there how sweet this thing is.

Now I'm just keeping my eye on the Linux development. What box are most people planning on using for this once it's stable? I would also assume that the management of the system itself would be much easier. Instead of having to FTP into it you could just manage your xml files directly within the system right?

Scotty6595

01-16-08, 10:57 AM

Cocophone

01-16-08, 12:24 PM

I just softmodded my xbox using splinter cell game and installed the latest T3CH build of xbmc.

I xbmc scan and add to the database 2 network drives of video files. It did this sucessfully.

I then tried to have it scan and add my music files. The music files are also on a network drive and are a mix of ogg and flac files. When xbmc is scanning in the music files it will freeze up. I then start up xbmc and have it start over with the scanning of the music files. It then freezes up on the same file. I moved the file folder containing the file off the network drive and xbmc will scan until it again freezes on a different file. I have about 6,000 or so files. The files are in stored in directories in this format.

Artist
-- Album
---- Tracks

Is anybody aware of any workarounds? Should I just move the files that are causing the freezing off the network drive until after xbmc does a successful initial scan and then add them back one at a time?

Thanks for any help.

00g

01-16-08, 12:41 PM

Now I'm just keeping my eye on the Linux development. What box are most people planning on using for this once it's stable? I would also assume that the management of the system itself would be much easier. Instead of having to FTP into it you could just manage your xml files directly within the system right?
I had Linux (GentooX) running on an Xbox of mine for about 2 years or so. I took the DVD and HDD out of a V1.1 and replaced them with a 320gb and a 250gb HDD. The Xbox was on 24/7 and acted as a server for my media files. I couldn't have asked for it to have worked any better. I could be watching something different on each PC/Xbox in the house, all being served from this one Xbox. The only reason I ditched it and built a real server, was the 2 drive limitation. I needed 6-10TB of storage and the Xbox wasn't gonna cut it.

Cocophone

01-16-08, 01:01 PM

mebby

01-16-08, 01:23 PM

stickyfingers

01-16-08, 01:45 PM

Sorry - I should have been clearer. What I meant to ask is what hardware are most people going to use? I searched through the XBMC forums and it looks like there are lots of choices but I really like the Aopen Mini PC boxes. I could see purchasing one of those for every TV in my house.
I think it's too early to answer that question.

Given the progress the XBMC Linux dev folks have made in 6 - 8 months, I really do expect/hope that I'm running a stable build by this fall.

As the build stability increases, everyone will have a much better sense of what HW is a "good fit" for XBMCL.

My $.o2...

daskrabs

01-16-08, 02:26 PM

Cocophone

01-16-08, 02:44 PM

I'd remove them all from the xbox, then move them back using FlashFXP. It will change the names of files to XBOX-friendly names before it dumps them. Chances are, that's the prob.

All the files are on a network server. I'm using smb from xbox to play the files stored on the server.

What restrictions does xbox or xbmc have on file names?

mebby

01-16-08, 02:58 PM

I think it's too early to answer that question.

Given the progress the XBMC Linux dev folks have made in 6 - 8 months, I really do expect/hope that I'm running a stable build by this fall.

As the build stability increases, everyone will have a much better sense of what HW is a "good fit" for XBMCL.

My $.o2...

Good to know. I"ll hold tight and watch this thing develop. For now, XBMC on the Xbox suits my needs perfectly so I really have no reason to go out and jump on a Linux solution at this point anyway.

socorob

01-16-08, 06:11 PM

anyone else upgrade to the newest build and have no text?

Ripper

01-16-08, 07:44 PM

As for the problem Cocophone is having - There are very few file restrictions for names. I have mine setup in a similar fashion, with directory for each artist. I used ID3 tags for my FLACs, and I have over 14,000. I did not need to break the scan into smaller batches - it ran as one long scan.
Perhaps you can isolate the problem by comparing the files in the 'suspect' directory to one that does work.

dpslusser

01-16-08, 09:55 PM

YES

Sean, what type of hard drive network enclosure? It can't be NDAS, becasue you need software on each computer for that rite?

Average Joe

01-16-08, 10:35 PM

Ja Phule

01-16-08, 11:05 PM

dpslusser

01-16-08, 11:14 PM

This is very frustrating. I purchased a used Action Replay on ebay to mod my Xbox. I have now concluded definitively that the AR 8MB memory card was defective. I ordered a 16mb memory card from Datel on the codejunkies web site, only to now realize that I have ordered a memory card and apprently Datel's Action Replay device does not recognize Datel memory cards. I don't even care about the wasted money, but I really wanted to mod my 'box this weekend and now I have no method of transferring the files. I have tried to modify the driver for Action Replay to recognize the new memory card, but I don't think it can be done.

Now, all of this wouldn't be a problem except that I have no idea where to go in Washington DC to find a stupid Action Replay 16mb memory card (I'd prefer 16 megs just in case, but may be able to live with 8). Does anybody have any suggestions for (a) how I can get an AR (that works!) between now and Saturday, or (b) how I can otherwise transfer files to the Xbox without hot-swapping? Faulty equipment and poorly worded web sites have driven me to the point of pleas. Heck, I'd pay for overnight shipping just to get a 16mb Action Replay card that works...

Go buy a xbox quick dissconnect or extension cable at gamestop or EB games. Find yourself a Female USB cable. Cut the Female USB end off, with plenty of wire behind it. Cut the round plug off the breakaway cable, so you have the xbox plug left. Solder together, there ya go.

OR.....

Get yourself a spare controller with a break away cable (since there only 2 bucks to replace). Cut the Xbox connector off of it. Find yourself old scroll ball mouse in the basement. Cut the MALE USB cord off and solder them together. And...you got yourself another Transferr Device. And I believe you can find software to use the controller as a PC controller