Anyway to stream over internet instead of network? Movies, music, pictures and such?

There are a lot of python scripts you can dl that let you stream movies, music, and pictures from the internet like from youtube, cnn, etc. Just go to your scripts section and execute xbmcscripts and it will connect to the xbmc script site. Apple movie trailers script should also be preinstalled with your xbmc.

There are a lot of python scripts you can dl that let you stream movies, music, and pictures from the internet like from youtube, cnn, etc. Just go to your scripts section and execute xbmcscripts and it will connect to the xbmc script site. Apple movie trailers script should also be preinstalled with your xbmc.

O, im sorry JP, I ment for example, being at a friends house, and stream my media from my home to his house.

What is everyone doing for two (or more like Planet Earth) dvd sets? A good examples is I have Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet in two movie only .iso files (disc 1 and disc 2,) if you stick them into a folder, only the first disc will play and not the other. I could stick them both into the library, but then there's two of the same dvd posters. There must be some trick that I'm missing..

One folder with two iso files inside - click play on the folder and it will play both files one after the other

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

This worked for me. One of my old motherboards came with 2 female usb connectors attached to a bracket for the back of the computer case. I cut the cord on an old xbox controller and stripped and soldered the wires from the xbox to the usb connector together matching the colors. The xbox cable will have an yellow wire. This does not connect to the usb connectors.

I then used a usb thumb drive I got for free when I bought some CDR discs I had bought at Staples.

I did have to use the Action Replay software, I used usbview.exe to modify the Action Replay software to use my usb drive. It was easier than it sounds.

Here is a link http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/578329

Not to hijack this thread, but I like the direct shortcuts to the individual videos folders that Mebby is using. And I noted that a majority of people are using the Harmony. I have the Pronto 6000 (yep, did the custom bmps and set up all the screens), and am looking to upgrade the remote. Should I go with the 880 for the XBMC app, or go for the new Harmony One? And how is the software?
Again - sorry if this is non-topic!

There are a lot of python scripts you can dl that let you stream movies, music, and pictures from the internet like from youtube, cnn, etc. Just go to your scripts section and execute xbmcscripts and it will connect to the xbmc script site. Apple movie trailers script should also be preinstalled with your xbmc.

I am guessing not, but is there a script that would allow you to watch Netflix "Instant Movies" through XBMC? I imagine that all the MS requirements for DRM would be a showstopper, but it would be pretty cool if it could be done.

One folder with two iso files inside - click play on the folder and it will play both files one after the other

Understood, that worked for me. My problem is that when I then go to my library it's not the one folder with a movie poster, but both .isos with posters for each. Is it possible to have similar behavior in both modes?

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.


your plan is reasonable.... Use a program like Tag & Rename and see if you can figure out whats wrong with the files in question. I have had plenty of similar issues usually on music I acquired rather than I ripped myself.... Bad Tags, Bad format tags especially with FLAC files, improper End of File Flagging etc...

All players xbmc have issues with something... All mine certainly do and they are all different..

Sean

Not to hijack this thread, but I like the direct shortcuts to the individual videos folders that Mebby is using. And I noted that a majority of people are using the Harmony. I have the Pronto 6000 (yep, did the custom bmps and set up all the screens), and am looking to upgrade the remote. Should I go with the 880 for the XBMC app, or go for the new Harmony One? And how is the software?
Again - sorry if this is non-topic!

The SW is great. its very simply compared to the pronto. I am a computer engineer professionally and really like the simplicity of the harmony software. The remotes all have quirks with button shape, placement, etc like they all do. you need to spend some time looking at the button maps and decide which one you like best...

I own a bunch including the 880 but my favorite still is the 720 and I love the 659. I just wish it had a motion sensor to control the illumination like the 720 and 880 and 890...

Sean

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?

There is no issue with network drives. the local filesystem has different rules. your problem has to do with incomplete files or bad tags...

Sean

Anyway to stream over internet instead of network? Movies, music, pictures and such?

sure... xbmc does not care where the content is... do you have something specific in mind... like there is script for FlickR photos for example.

Sean

O, im sorry JP, I ment for example, being at a friends house, and stream my media from my home to his house.

sure assuming you know how to setup a VPN tunnel and he wants to expose his content to the internet.... Not a wise idea and something a non networking professional would ever succeed at setting up correctly and not having every hacker in the universe taking down their network.... This problem has nothing to with XBMC and is all about how to route SMB between to LANS effectively using a VPN.

Sean

Not to hijack this thread, but I like the direct shortcuts to the individual videos folders that Mebby is using. And I noted that a majority of people are using the Harmony. I have the Pronto 6000 (yep, did the custom bmps and set up all the screens), and am looking to upgrade the remote. Should I go with the 880 for the XBMC app, or go for the new Harmony One? And how is the software?
Again - sorry if this is non-topic!

I've got the 880 for my bonus room and the 890 for my family room. The only difference between those two is that the 890 is RF. I really like them both a lot. One thing I recently noticed with Logitech is that they've added some functionality to the remote. You can now add "Sequences" which are basically macros. With this sort of thing you can do some pretty cool stuff like change your receiver to swith to Dolby PL Music when you go to the Music section of XBMC. You could also have it dim the lights when you hit "play" while watching a DVD (assuming you have either a Z-wave or Infrared Dimmer).

You can't really go wrong with either of those models. I had to go with the RF b/c my plasma was interfering with my infrared repeater (and I even tried repeaters that were supposed to be plasma proof). I will say that if you can afford it then go RF - it's great not to have to even consider where you point the remote.

Oh - and keep that pronto b/c you can download a pronot CCF from the XBMC site that has a list of all the RCA codes that you can use for assigning special functions to the keymap.xml file (like the ones I've done for going straight to the various sections as described in my other post). This is nice b/c you can just pick any RCA number and assign the function to that number and then use the pronto to teach that code to your Harmony. This saves a lot of time and basically gives you an unlimited amount of control over how you code the keymap.xml file. I've got an old Pronto TSU2000 that I keep around for doing this exact task.

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

Like so....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/xbox009.jpg

I've got the 880 for my bonus room and the 890 for my family room. The only difference between those two is that the 890 is RF. I really like them both a lot. One thing I recently noticed with Logitech is that they've added some functionality to the remote. You can now add "Sequences" which are basically macros. With this sort of thing you can do some pretty cool stuff like change your receiver to swith to Dolby PL Music when you go to the Music section of XBMC. You could also have it dim the lights when you hit "play" while watching a DVD (assuming you have either a Z-wave or Infrared Dimmer).

You can't really go wrong with either of those models. I had to go with the RF b/c my plasma was interfering with my infrared repeater (and I even tried repeaters that were supposed to be plasma proof). I will say that if you can afford it then go RF - it's great not to have to even consider where you point the remote.

Oh - and keep that pronto b/c you can download a pronot CCF from the XBMC site that has a list of all the RCA codes that you can use for assigning special functions to the keymap.xml file (like the ones I've done for going straight to the various sections as described in my other post). This is nice b/c you can just pick any RCA number and assign the function to that number and then use the pronto to teach that code to your Harmony. This saves a lot of time and basically gives you an unlimited amount of control over how you code the keymap.xml file. I've got an old Pronto TSU2000 that I keep around for doing this exact task.

Thanks for the info on the 890 - I was planning to integrate the existing Xantech IR network to the new Harmony, but may go the 890 plus 2 RF extenders. Do you know if the Harmony IR repeaters are Xantech compatible?
And great idea on the Pronto re-use. I have extensive macros set up to sequence the TV inputs/receiver DSP settings/component video switches/etc so I'm stoked about the Harmony's capabilities.
Thanks!

Like so....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v253/iraymanl/xbox009.jpg

That's a nice looking cable.

Here's mine. Not as nice but gets the job done. :)

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj190/Cocophone/usb-cable.jpg

Thanks for the info on the 890 - I was planning to integrate the existing Xantech IR network to the new Harmony, but may go the 890 plus 2 RF extenders. Do you know if the Harmony IR repeaters are Xantech compatible?
And great idea on the Pronto re-use. I have extensive macros set up to sequence the TV inputs/receiver DSP settings/component video switches/etc so I'm stoked about the Harmony's capabilities.
Thanks!

The beauty of the Harmony line of remotes is their ability to retain the "state" of each device. So the remote knows what device is on or off, and it also knows which input each switch device (receiver, TV, switcher, etc) is on so that it can get it to the right setting every time. For devices that have discrete codes it's even better b/c it won't have to cycle through inputs. I'd really recommend the RF remotes b/c with those you'll never have a signal get missed.

On your question about the Xantech repeater - the Harmony remote will work with any repeater. My issue was that the repeater was picking up distortion from my plasma and was washing out the IR signal coming from my harmony.

Having said that - one gripe that most people have with the 880 (and the 890 if you're using any IR at all with it) is that there are only two IR leads on the remote. And these two leds appear to either be weak or aimed improperly so that the remote feels like it's range is not that good. This was an issue in my case b/c my family room is rather large so from certain angles my repeater was only picking up about 50% of the signals.

Problem 100% solved with the RF remote (890).

I'm sorry if this has been covered already but I was wondering how people connect their xbox to multiple display devices. At the moment I have my xbox connected to the tv with rca cables and with component cable to the projector but its kind of a drag to always switch the cables accordingly behind the xbox. I do have a entry level yamaha audio/video receiver but it only has one component out, so I can't run the cable from it to both the tv and the pj. Any help and suggestions are much appreciated.

Elastico - not sure if my answer will help. You seem to have 2 video requirements (composite video for the TV and component video for the projector). If the TV can take the component video as well, you may want to look into a component video distribution unit. That way you can send the XBMC video/audio to multiple devices.
I have the Key-Digital KD-CDA6 which I snagged when Good Guys went belly up. I use it to distribute the Xbox output to 3 rooms (yep, patio has it's own receiver). Other vendors make similar devices, so I would check Audio Authority as well.

The beauty of the Harmony line of remotes is their ability to retain the "state" of each device. So the remote knows what device is on or off, and it also knows which input each switch device (receiver, TV, switcher, etc) is on so that it can get it to the right setting every time. For devices that have discrete codes it's even better b/c it won't have to cycle through inputs. I'd really recommend the RF remotes b/c with those you'll never have a signal get missed.

On your question about the Xantech repeater - the Harmony remote will work with any repeater. My issue was that the repeater was picking up distortion from my plasma and was washing out the IR signal coming from my harmony.

Having said that - one gripe that most people have with the 880 (and the 890 if you're using any IR at all with it) is that there are only two IR leads on the remote. And these two leds appear to either be weak or aimed improperly so that the remote feels like it's range is not that good. This was an issue in my case b/c my family room is rather large so from certain angles my repeater was only picking up about 50% of the signals.

Problem 100% solved with the RF remote (890).

A few more questions on the Harmony 890 - The remote can be set up to send BOTH IR and RF, or do you have to set it to only RF and then use the extender? The Pronto 6000 is either, not both. I ask as I can have the Harmony run certain devices thru the RF extender and also hit the Xantech IR repeater for the other devices.
Also, can the Harmony replicate the Dish Network receiver Rf signals?
Thanks!

A few more questions on the Harmony 890 - The remote can be set up to send BOTH IR and RF, or do you have to set it to only RF and then use the extender? The Pronto 6000 is either, not both. I ask as I can have the Harmony run certain devices thru the RF extender and also hit the Xantech IR repeater for the other devices.
Also, can the Harmony replicate the Dish Network receiver Rf signals?
Thanks!

The 890 can do BOTH IR and RF. When you add a device (in the software) you specify whether it will be controlled via RF or via IR. You can even specify which IR emitter wil be used (optional but helpful in specific situations).

As for controller the RF signals for your Dish Network receiver - no. You're going to have to set your Dish Network to run on IR signals and either use your Xantech or the RF extender.

If you buy the 890 I'm wondering why you'd even consider using the Xantech repeater though. The only scenario that I could think of is if all your components are in different locations so that the RF extender cannot get the emitters to all of them at once. But if they're all in the same location then you should just use the RF extender.

Thanks for the info - yes, I have currently 3 locations where I have my equipment, and I have a Xantech setup to control the devices in 2 of the locations (so the main room, family room, and patio can access the XBMC Xbox and the two satellite receivers). The IR eye is on top of the main room TV. I really like the RF aspect, as my wife is prone to waving the remote around after pressing the buttons, so it's tough for the macro to finish sending the commands accurately for the main room. The Xantech works great for the other two spots as they are short burst commands.
Hmmm - 10% off rebate until the 31st....

....my wife is prone to waving the remote around after pressing the buttons....

Ha! How true is that! I have a similar setup and for some reason my wife has no time to point the remote at the IR eye until everything is on and switched to the correct input. Rather she seems to find it easier to press the activity button, immediately put down the remote, wait for everything to get completely out of sync, pick up the remote, press the 'help' button and answer:
Is the TV on? Yes.
Is the DVR on? No.
Is it on now? Yes.
Did that fix the problem? No.
Is the TV set to DVI? No.
Is the TV set to DVI now? Yes.
Did that fix the problem? No.
Is the AV Receiver set to Video 3? No.
Is the AV Receiver set to Video 3 now? Yes.
Did that fix the problem? Yes.

Go figure. :rolleyes:

One of the exact reasons I went with the 890. My wife had no concept of the fact that the device was sending multiple signals.

With RF - it all goes away.

Thanks for all the wonderful information in this thread. I am almost ready to take the plunge. I bought MechAssult and a Halo xbox yesterday. I bought an action replay off of ebay tonight. Tomorrow I will get componet cables and the DVD remote, so hopefully by this time next week I will have everything working.

I have read the entire thread and alot of other info from the links in the first post and my question has probably been answered and I just can't recall it. I want to make my first xbox for my 4 year old son( I am in the process of building a new house and will have a softmodded xbox in all my bedrooms and both livingrooms if all goes well with this first one). He has about 80 dvds(mostly disney,pixar and dreamworks) and he keeps scratching them when he tries to change the movies out of his dvd player.
I want to swap out the harddrive and put a larger one in so I can put all of his dvd movies on it and he can then watch any of his movies without scratching them up. Where is the best tutorial for me to do this with pics and step by step instructions? I have never installed any computer equipment so I am a total newb.
or
Can I hook up an external HD to the xbox and store his movies on there? If so what do I need to do this exactly?
My current house is not networked so I cannot hook up the xbox to a computer to stream the dvds off of.
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance to any who help me.

Heith

Thanks for all the wonderful information in this thread. I am almost ready to take the plunge. I bought MechAssult and a Halo xbox yesterday. I bought an action replay off of ebay tonight. Tomorrow I will get componet cables and the DVD remote, so hopefully by this time next week I will have everything working.

I have read the entire thread and alot of other info from the links in the first post and my question has probably been answered and I just can't recall it. I want to make my first xbox for my 4 year old son( I am in the process of building a new house and will have a softmodded xbox in all my bedrooms and both livingrooms if all goes well with this first one). He has about 80 dvds(mostly disney,pixar and dreamworks) and he keeps scratching them when he tries to change the movies out of his dvd player.
I want to swap out the harddrive and put a larger one in so I can put all of his dvd movies on it and he can then watch any of his movies without scratching them up. Where is the best tutorial for me to do this with pics and step by step instructions? I have never installed any computer equipment so I am a total newb.
or
Can I hook up an external HD to the xbox and store his movies on there? If so what do I need to do this exactly?
My current house is not networked so I cannot hook up the xbox to a computer to stream the dvds off of.
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance to any who help me.

Heith

Since you consider yourself a total newb... I think the EASIEST solution for you would be to get a NAS (network attached storage). I know sean_w_smith mentioned earlier that it is possible to hook a NAS directly to the xbox via ethernet. You can use the NAS on your personal computer first to put all the movies on there. NOw you can either re-encode the movie to a smaller video size so you can use a smaller hard drive and play the movie directly without a menu or do a dvd rip but you will need a bigger hard drive.

I would suggest using dvd decrypter to rip the dvd and autoGK to convert the movie to avi divx. IF you want to keep the actual dvd with menus then use dvd shrink.

The harder solution would be to install a bigger hard drive internally inside the xbox and keep the movies on there. If you do this, you will need to shrink the dvd to 4gb in size (since the xbox file system doesn't support anything greater than 4gb). You can try this site to replace the hard drive (i've never done it myself...not yet anyways).

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

Feel free to post any other questions you have or what you decide to do, I'm sure everyone here will chime in and help you.

Thanks for the pictures, very helpful. I'm off to buy a controller. Does it have to be a USB cord to a mouse, or can it be any plain old USB cord? I've got plenty of USB cords laying around that I don't mind cutting up...

Also, did you guys install any software to get the Xbox and computer to recognize everything?

And, has anyone had any success with the Xbox to VGA cable mod?

Click here (http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/vga-cable.php)

I was innocently surfing AVS a couple of days ago looking for thoughts on the best way to stream some of my several hundred CDs worth of FLAC files from the PC in my study to the home theater in the den (looking at Squeezebox, etc) when I happened upon this thread and discovered that XBMC could do everything I wanted with music, as well as handle DVD isos, pictures, home movies, etc. with a spectacular interface, all for less than the squeezebox duet.

Truly amazing. I read this whole thread over the couple of days and went from never even having heard of XBMC to buying all the requirements for softmoding on Ebay (used Xbox ($59), Action replay, used copy of splinter cell, etc). Should have everything arriving this week and looking forward to venturing into the world of XBMC. I'm sure I'll have some questions while I am trying to follow the several hundred "tutorials" that are out there for the soft mod. In the meantime, a few questions:

I have the usual 802.11g wireless home-network. It will not be feasible to run Cat5 from the router in the study to the xbmc in the den. I am worried that the wifi is not going to cut it for streaming video--moving files i can get 6-10mb/sec which I think is cutting it pretty close for smooth video. Has anyone hooked their XBMC to their network using a Powerline system like Netgears? Did it have sufficient throughput to do video? I realize that it depends a lot on circuit load, house wiring etc.

Another option would be to get a NAS and actually place it in the den (could be in a closet) and wire the NAS directly to the XBMC with ethernet. Would still be wireless to move files from the study pc to the NAS but video/audio could stream directly from the NAS to the xbmc over a wired connection. This would presumably work, right?

Thanks to all who started and participated this thread. Looking forward to joining the XMBC world. :)

XBMC is truley amazing, and at a fraction of the cost compared to some streamers. But anyways. You don't have a computer in the den? My friend has used the powerline netgear extenders (although, ungodly expensive at the time) for connecting is gaming computer in the far end of his house were wireless could not reach. He NEVER had any problems with speed. Try checking some reviews on the Powerline series. Click here (http://www.cnet.com/4244-5_1-0.html?query=netgear+powerline&tag=srch&target=nw) You may want to consider the HD powerline

Okay, I think I will go the nas route. I am thinking about buying this:
1 50ft cat5e crossover cable from monoprice
1 500gb NAS HD from fleabay item#150207225831 for $170 w/shipping

Is this all I need?
Also will this NAS HD work with XBMC?
here are its listed requirements:
Intel Pentium III 500 MHz or faster
· 512 MB RAM (will this still work?)
· Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/VISTA
· Wired Ethernet Network
· Available RJ-45 Ethernet 10/100 connection or 10/100 Network Router for wired Ethernet
· CD-ROM drive (for software installation

If anyone has a better NAS HD for around the same price as the one above or cheaper please tell me.

Thanks
Heith

transis wrote: Understood, that worked for me. My problem is that when I then go to my library it's not the one folder with a movie poster, but both .isos with posters for each. Is it possible to have similar behavior in both modes?


rename the first file filename.cd1.iso and the second file filename.cd2.iso and then enable the "stack" option in your library settings. You may have to manually remove one of the files from your library but it should now read as one file in your library and actually be both files played back to back

I believe the term NAS is being misused here. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. That is a standalone piece of storage not a HD attached to a desktop via something like USB. Think Buffalo Terrastation or unRAID for instance. unRAID is the backend storage for my 600+ DVDs and gigs of music. Lots of ways to slice that problem and with varying levels of cost, I won't beat the unRAID drum here again though ;-)

If you're going to have media front-ends all over the house then having data centrally stored makes great sense. If possible run CAT5 as it will be most reliable for gig ethernet speeds, wireless being least reliable IMO. Have some sort of redundant data storage scheme too or a good backup. Ripping 5 DVD isn't too bad, ripping a few hundred takes AGES. Even if you have the media on-hand it can take me as much as 15mins to rip a DVD (DVD Shrink) so I make sure I won't lose all of this:eek: Music is even worse since getting the tags right is a royal PITA. Consider oversizing the NAS as you will quickly find that it's a great place to do things like backup all the computers in the house. My two NAS together can store more than 7TB of data, the other day when an update went awry I didn't pull my hair out but instead fired up my backup software and restored from the day before. Fixed in 30mins! I have had to pull "lost" files for the woman on multiple occasions too - no more crying. I also backup my Linux XBMC install at every stable step of the way (I'm no Linux pro). This way if I do something stupid I have a point to go back to and it only takes minutes :D

When you decide to move into the HD realm look closely at XBMC for Linux. It still needs work, won't play my DVD rips yet, but it does play VERY nice 1080 quality media with the same interface I grew to love with my older XBOX - which is currently playing Ratatooie (sp?!) for the grandkid in the other room now as I type this.:cool:

Food for thought but I'd seriously advise against going dirt cheap. Do something that can be expanded and expand as you need to and as drives go on sale.:p

More info -> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12864297#post12864297

I believe the term NAS is being misused here. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. That is a standalone piece of storage not a HD attached to a desktop via something like USB. Think Buffalo Terrastation or unRAID for instance. unRAID is the backend storage for my 600+ DVDs and gigs of music. Lots of ways to slice that problem and with varying levels of cost, I won't beat the unRAID drum here again though ;-)

If you're going to have media front-ends all over the house then having data centrally stored makes great sense. If possible run CAT5 as it will be most reliable for gig ethernet speeds, wireless being least reliable IMO. Have some sort of redundant data storage scheme too or a good backup. Ripping 5 DVD isn't too bad, ripping a few hundred takes AGES. Even if you have the media on-hand it can take me as much as 15mins to rip a DVD (DVD Shrink) so I make sure I won't lose all of this:eek: Music is even worse since getting the tags right is a royal PITA. Consider oversizing the NAS as you will quickly find that it's a great place to do things like backup all the computers in the house. My two NAS together can store more than 7TB of data, the other day when an update went awry I didn't pull my hair out but instead fired up my backup software and restored from the day before. Fixed in 30mins! I have had to pull "lost" files for the woman on multiple occasions too - no more crying. I also backup my Linux XBMC install at every stable step of the way (I'm no Linux pro). This way if I do something stupid I have a point to go back to and it only takes minutes :D

When you decide to move into the HD realm look closely at XBMC for Linux. It still needs work, won't play my DVD rips yet, but it does play VERY nice 1080 quality media with the same interface I grew to love with my older XBOX - which is currently playing Ratatooie (sp?!) for the grandkid in the other room now as I type this.:cool:

Food for thought but I'd seriously advise against going dirt cheap. Do something that can be expanded and expand as you need to and as drives go on sale.:p

More info -> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=12864297#post12864297

I appreciate your response, but I am currently only looking for a cheap solution for my 4 year old son to have access to his 80+ dvd's so that he won't scratch them. I will have a central location for my media in the house I am shortly hoping to start on, which will hopefully be fully networked and prewired for future automation. The item on fleabay seems like it should work or how about this one:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154165 . One of the comments a person has a PS3(which I also have) hooked up to it and streaming music and videos off of it.

So if these are not a NAS that will work then I will try to put a larger HD in the xbox itself, though I would rther spend the $200 on one of the above listed NAS if they would somehow work.

I appreciate your response, but I am currently only looking for a cheap solution for my 4 year old son to have access to his 80+ dvd's so that he won't scratch them. I will have a central location for my media in the house I am shortly hoping to start on, which will hopefully be fully networked and prewired for future automation. The item on fleabay seems like it should work or how about this one:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154165 . One of the comments a person has a PS3(which I also have) hooked up to it and streaming music and videos off of it.

So if these are not a NAS that will work then I will try to put a larger HD in the xbox itself, though I would rther spend the $200 on one of the above listed NAS if they would somehow work.

Here's a link to the XBMC wiki with a list of compatible NAS/UPnP devices. I'm not sure if the Lacie is compatible but it does seem to be an UPnP device...
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=UPnP_Sharing

Here's a link to the XBMC wiki with a list of compatible NAS/UPnP devices. I'm not sure if the Lacie is compatible but it does seem to be an UPnP device...
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=UPnP_Sharing

I would recommend a SMB device over UPNP. The LaCIe should fit the bill if it supports SMB which I beleive it does....


Sean

I agree on the SMB vs UPNP and if that will do standard SMB go for it - I understsnd not everyone needs a full blown solution but I sort of grew out of one myself. You might consider one of the older Buffalo Linkstations if you can find one. Those do both UPNP and SMB - the best UPNP I've seen so far but I did stop looking awhile ago - not sure it would work with XBMC. The Linkstation I have is a little older - the advantage being that hacking it is pretty well documented. So, you could slap whatever sized drive in it you wanted (LBA48 aware) and if you wanted to do a little more work it will even accept TWO drives but you'll need a case. Not a super quick off the shelf solution in that it requires work but it's pretty flexible and can run some Linux packages too (ARM CPU).

Yeah, I pretty much cannot leave anything alone in my house and try to hack most everything :) Many if not most of my purchases are made with that in mind and sometimes it's hard to remember that not everyone has fun with this kind of thing ;)

So I got the Psyclone cable in finally. There's a very small amount of ghosting in the image, but it is only noticeable with fine text/edges, and not noticeable at all when watching video. I get none of that with my orig component adapter (now broken) or the monster component pack. I think I will keep the psyclone for now but I will probably cave in and get the monster optical adapter one day.

The harder solution would be to install a bigger hard drive internally inside the xbox and keep the movies on there. If you do this, you will need to shrink the dvd to 4gb in size (since the xbox file system doesn't support anything greater than 4gb). You can try this site to replace the hard drive (i've never done it myself...not yet anyways).


if its in vob files, so its several 1 gb chunks, wouldnt it be able to read a non compressed dvd off the hdd since its not 1 file? I was thinking about putting a larger hdd in my xbox, but not if i have to compress them, i have everything uncompressed in vobs and play it off my server right now. Id like to be able to have a few of my favorites always on there, so i can take when i have to travel for work.

So I got the Psyclone cable in finally. There's a very small amount of ghosting in the image, but it is only noticeable with fine text/edges, and not noticeable at all when watching video. I get none of that with my orig component adapter (now broken) or the monster component pack. I think I will keep the psyclone for now but I will probably cave in and get the monster optical adapter one day.

DId you see a big defference between the cables that come with the xbox (composite) compared to the Monster Component?

DId you see a big defference between the cables that come with the xbox (composite) compared to the Monster Component?

Of couse, you can't get HD with the composite cable. However, the MS HD Component cable and Monster, I see no difference.

A question while I anxiously await the arrival of my used Xbox from Ebay as well as the other stuff needed for modding to XBMC--

Other than obvious expandability of storage, what is the advantage of a dedicated NAS vs. just using a PC? I have 750 GB of hard drive space on my PC which is where i have all my digital media stored (I realize that that will eventually become insufficient as I rip more of my DVD collection)--are there advantages to having a dedicated NAS other than just more space?

Assuming that there are substantial advantages to having a NAS, do people have thoughts about the HP MediaSmart Server as opposed to the other solutions like the Buffalo, infrant, etc. Seems like the HP is comparably priced per/MB and maybe simpler to manage for a relative neophyte (like yours truly)?

Thanks in advance for the advice-
Mike

A question while I anxiously await the arrival of my used Xbox from Ebay as well as the other stuff needed for modding to XBMC--

Other than obvious expandability of storage, what is the advantage of a dedicated NAS vs. just using a PC? I have 750 GB of hard drive space on my PC which is where i have all my digital media stored (I realize that that will eventually become insufficient as I rip more of my DVD collection)--are there advantages to having a dedicated NAS other than just more space?

Assuming that there are substantial advantages to having a NAS, do people have thoughts about the HP MediaSmart Server as opposed to the other solutions like the Buffalo, infrant, etc. Seems like the HP is comparably priced per/MB and maybe simpler to manage for a relative neophyte (like yours truly)?

Thanks in advance for the advice-
Mike

I think one of the advantages of the NAS is that it can run on its own as a standalone device. It doesn't need to be attached to a PC in order to be accessed.

I think one of the advantages of the NAS is that it can run on its own as a standalone device. It doesn't need to be attached to a PC in order to be accessed.

I think you get two other main advantages:

1 - Storage is easily expandable. You can add storage fairly easily.
2 - Multiple HDD look like one. This makes file management and organzation much easier. This isn't a huge deal with XBMC b/c it can "map" multiple SMB shares to one "source" thereby easliy pulling together multiple drives into one view.


I'm also looking at the HP solutionn as well. Seems pretty sharp to me.

You can tell I am getting a lot of work done here at the office during the holiday:)

On Ja Rule's list of links in the first post of this thread, he included a link to instructions to creating a Evox boot disc, which as I understand it would let you boot directly to the EvolutionX dashboard and get FTP access to the box. If that is so, wouldn't this allow you to FTP XBMC to your box without going through all the gamesave exploit stuff? I am missing something (likely?)

Is there a reason to make a boot disc even if you are soft modding using the gamesave exploit?

Of couse, you can't get HD with the composite cable. However, the MS HD Component cable and Monster, I see no difference.

Well it all depends on what your displaying it on. I got a xbox connected on a 19" lcd via composite and compared to component and didn't see much difference. But when I compare on a 110" screen from my 1080p projector, there is a big difference.

You can tell I am getting a lot of work done here at the office during the holiday:)

On Ja Rule's list of links in the first post of this thread, he included a link to instructions to creating a Evox boot disc, which as I understand it would let you boot directly to the EvolutionX dashboard and get FTP access to the box. If that is so, wouldn't this allow you to FTP XBMC to your box without going through all the gamesave exploit stuff? I am missing something (likely?)

Is there a reason to make a boot disc even if you are soft modding using the gamesave exploit?

Yea - I'm blazing through work at tremendous speed today as well. Good thing I have other people around here that actually DO something. :D

I'm not 100% sure on your question as I've never really modded a box myself before (bought mine pre-modded) so you'll have to rely on Ja Phule or sean_w_smith but I think that the boot disc is mainly used for recovering from a failed upgrade and will only work once the box itself has been modified before. In other words I don't think you can use the boot disk to simply install the Evox dash.

I had to use the boot disc when I screwed up one of my updates.

On Ja Rule's list of links in the first post of this thread, he included a link to instructions to creating a Evox boot disc, which as I understand it would let you boot directly to the EvolutionX dashboard and get FTP access to the box. If that is so, wouldn't this allow you to FTP XBMC to your box without going through all the gamesave exploit stuff? I am missing something (likely?)

Is there a reason to make a boot disc even if you are soft modding using the gamesave exploit?

I have softmodded a number of xboxes now, using the gamesave exploit. Using that method, you won't need to make a boot disc. Alternatively, you could install the Evox or Unleash dashboard using something like AID4.1 Auto Installer, in which case I don't think you'd need to do the gamesave exploit.

Since I already have the hardware for the gamesave exploit, and I'm familiar with it, thats how I do it, but I have made and booted to the AID disc on a few occasions for some of the tools it contains.

If you know someone who has done the gamesave exploit, ask them to pop the gamesave onto a cheap xbox memory card and you wont need to struggle with the whole process of finding the gamesave and transferring it onto the memory card. Then you would just need to find the corresponding game (or borrow that too)

I little help needed, I got everything I needed to a softmod my xbox but I'm having a little problem. When I'm in the dashboard trying to copy the Linux file from the memory card to the the hard drive the only option that I am giving is delete. Also went I go to the system info. It does not show dashboard version.

Do I need to update my dashboard; if so, I see that Halo 2 up will update your dashboard. But how do you it.

Thanks

When I'm in the dashboard trying to copy the Linux file from the memory card to the the hard drive the only option that I am giving is delete.

When you're highlighting the MechAssault game save, move to the right to the smaller icons to the one that says Run Linux. Once that's highlighted you will have the option to save it to the hard disk.

As for updating the dash, first I would try to do the exploit, if it gives you errors, then go back to try updating the dash. I think with Halo2, when it tries to connect, it will give you the option to update the dash. I don't remember the exact sequence, but it was pretty intuitive.

You can tell I am getting a lot of work done here at the office during the holiday:)

On Ja Rule's list of links in the first post of this thread, he included a link to instructions to creating a Evox boot disc, which as I understand it would let you boot directly to the EvolutionX dashboard and get FTP access to the box. If that is so, wouldn't this allow you to FTP XBMC to your box without going through all the gamesave exploit stuff? I am missing something (likely?)

Is there a reason to make a boot disc even if you are soft modding using the gamesave exploit?

You need to have the xbox modded in some way (hard mod or softmod) in order to play xbox discs that are on recordable media.

You need to have the xbox modded in some way (hard mod or softmod) in order to play xbox discs that are on recordable media.

Thanks. Make's sense to me now.

Hello guy once again.

I'm using Softmod Installer Deluxe 4.5 N-Knave Edition to do my mod. The problem that I'm have now is that when I try to do the "MS Backup" the system states that it has found a existing softmod, which can be because I have never moded the system.

The Mod will not install until the MS is backed up.

Know I'm pretty late to the party, but I'm looking to softmod my dusty old Xbox and give it new life with XBMC. I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can help me with:

1. Ideally, I'd like to put the Xbox upstairs in my bedroom and stream video to it wireless from my computer downstairs. Is smooth playback possible over wireless through a few walls and a floor? And if so, is there a cheap wireless adapter I can get for this?

2. Is there any sort of guide for turning your PC into a DVR? Any software that schedules and records? Guess I'm looking for a cheaper alternative to Tivo or DVR if that's at all possible. Would make wifey very happy if I could have a set up that would record all her soap operas daily and she could watch them streaming to either the 360 downstairs or the modded Xbox upstairs.

3. Saw something posted for an on/off switch mod. There are two versions, one being an 'easy' variety requiring no soldering. Anyone have any experience with this? Do you just need a regular screwdriver to open up the Xbox?

4. Also saw someone mention a thread to find local modders. Can't someone point that out to me? Might just be worth it to have someone else do all the work for me if it isn't too costly.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

I want to go ahead and start putting my sons dvds on the HD as I wait for everything else to be delivered to softmod my xbox. I have downloaded DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, DVDFab HD Decrypter 4, and RipIt4me. I have about 80 children movies and a 500GB drive to put them on.
Okay here is my question:
What is the best way for me to put the movies on the HD?(I can not figure out how to get an iso instead of a vob)
Where can I find a step by step on how to do this?
I found this guide http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/422740 but cannot seem to figure out how to get an iso out of it.
Is there any benefit to iso instead of vob?
I am very much a Newb and I have been reading and searching everywhere but step by step guides are hard to find.
Any suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated.

I prefer ISO, because you have only one file. If you decide you burn it to a dvd-r you mount it with daemon tools and your computer sees it as a dvd disc. It also simplifies your directory tree since you don't have lots of folders for all the folders on the dvd.

The ISO will be just like the DVD it was created from. Or if you want you can rip just the main movie (or an episode from a TV series DVD) to an ISO too.

I want to go ahead and start putting my sons dvds on the HD as I wait for everything else to be delivered to softmod my xbox. I have downloaded DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, DVDFab HD Decrypter 4, and RipIt4me. I have about 80 children movies and a 500GB drive to put them on.
Okay here is my question:
What is the best way for me to put the movies on the HD?(I can not figure out how to get an iso instead of a vob)
Where can I find a step by step on how to do this?
I found this guide http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/422740 but cannot seem to figure out how to get an iso out of it.
Is there any benefit to iso instead of vob?
I am very much a Newb and I have been reading and searching everywhere but step by step guides are hard to find.
Any suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated.
Using DVD Decrypter to create ISOs is, far and away, the simplest solution (and I'd highly recommend ISO for the reasons the previous poster stated).

That said, try this guide: http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/dvddec.htm

(Skip the first two parts of the guide and just jump in at the "ISO Mode" section)

Cheers.

Know I'm pretty late to the party, but I'm looking to softmod my dusty old Xbox and give it new life with XBMC. I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can help me with:

1. Ideally, I'd like to put the Xbox upstairs in my bedroom and stream video to it wireless from my computer downstairs. Is smooth playback possible over wireless through a few walls and a floor? And if so, is there a cheap wireless adapter I can get for this?

2. Is there any sort of guide for turning your PC into a DVR? Any software that schedules and records? Guess I'm looking for a cheaper alternative to Tivo or DVR if that's at all possible. Would make wifey very happy if I could have a set up that would record all her soap operas daily and she could watch them streaming to either the 360 downstairs or the modded Xbox upstairs.

3. Saw something posted for an on/off switch mod. There are two versions, one being an 'easy' variety requiring no soldering. Anyone have any experience with this? Do you just need a regular screwdriver to open up the Xbox?

4. Also saw someone mention a thread to find local modders. Can't someone point that out to me? Might just be worth it to have someone else do all the work for me if it isn't too costly.

Hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance.

1. Possible yes. It all depends on your set up and the quality of your signal strength and speed. If you can get a strong connection between your wireless devices then it should work fine. The only problem is you really don't know until you try it yourself.

2. It really depends on what software is supported by your tv tuner card. Most cards come with their own software and most software give you the ability to schedule recordings on a daily/weekly basis. Most tv tuner cards record in MPEG2 which XBMC can play just fine but the 360 will only play mpeg2 from Media Center PCs.

3. The non-soldering method is pretty easy. Should take you less than 30 minutes. You need Torx screw drivers to open up the xbox.

4. Lots of local modders like to advertise their services on craigslist. You can also try here: http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=12

Thanks for the help above
Okay I have this sort of figured out. I ripped one movie in iso allready. I tried to rip another movie but it has the widescreen(which is what I want) and the full screen on the same dvd. Now how do I get just an iso for only the widescreen?

Thanks for the help Ja Phule.

I've yet to buy a tv tuner for my PC. Was looking just to get a USB tuner and go from there. Can you recommend one that'll be compatible with both my Xbox and 360?

Thanks for the help above
Okay I have this sort of figured out. I ripped one movie in iso allready. I tried to rip another movie but it has the widescreen(which is what I want) and the full screen on the same dvd. Now how do I get just an iso for only the widescreen?

In DVD shrink, you should see two main movie files.. Drag one over and preview the movie... you should be able to quickly see which one is WS and which is not.

In DVD shrink, you should see two main movie files.. Drag one over and preview the movie... you should be able to quickly see which one is WS and which is not.

Or in DVDFabDecrypter you should have a preview option. Additionally it shoudl tell you the aspect ratio of each stream without having to use the preview window.

Have used DVD shrink and DVD decrypter before but DVD Fab decrypter seems to be the most full featured, up to date, and easiest for burning isos. It is quite easy to burn the whole disc or a subset (only english audio streams, only main movie, etc) as an iso file.

Have used DVD shrink and DVD decrypter before but DVD Fab decrypter seems to be the most full featured, up to date, and easiest for burning isos. It is quite easy to burn the whole disc or a subset (only english audio streams, only main movie, etc) as an iso file.

Thanks, this is what I am using and it seems really simple and fast.

If I am playing media off of a NAS is there still a size limit on what the xbox will play. If I don't have to compress my movies I would prefer not to.

I don't believe there is a limit to the file size but I'm not 100% sure. Let's just say that I've never run into a problem or heard of anyone having this problem.

Thanks for the help Ja Phule.

I've yet to buy a tv tuner for my PC. Was looking just to get a USB tuner and go from there. Can you recommend one that'll be compatible with both my Xbox and 360?

I have a USB HDTV tuner that works well when it comes to recording HD, but SD was done via software and it did not work well at all. XBMC will not play HD so I wouldn't recommend the tuner for XBMC. I don't know anything else about other usb tuners, I think the htpc forum can help with that. If it was up to me, I'd go for a internal pc card that supports hardware mpeg2 encoding.

I don't believe there is a limit to the file size but I'm not 100% sure. Let's just say that I've never run into a problem or heard of anyone having this problem.

The XBox uses the FATX file system and it has a 4GB file size limitation. If you rip to .vob and .ifo files rather than .iso you will avoid this problem.

The XBox uses the FATX file system and it has a 4GB file size limitation. If you rip to .vob and .ifo files rather than .iso you will avoid this problem.

That only applies to the hard drive inside your xbox, not the drives on your server. I have many, many movies that over 5 gig on my shared drives that stream perfectly without any issue whatsoever...

I have a 500 gig hard drive in my xbox and yes it is FATX formated but all I have on there are xbox games, none of which are over the 4 gig limit...

Nice! 500 gigs on the box! I only have 300 on mine. Hmmm Frys has those on sale pretty regularly...
And I'm also running ISOs that are larger than 4gb on the NAS.

That only applies to the hard drive inside your xbox, not the drives on your server.

I thought he was talking about putting them on his Xbox hard drive. I know the 4GB limit doesn't apply to non-local files. I, myself, have over 650 movies on an unRAID NAS that I access with XBMC.

I'm hoping someone here has an answer for me...
I have started to backup my DVDs as ISO files and I use DVDProfiler2XBMC to export my collection. I am re-authoring the DVDs with DVDshrink to just play the movie without menus, etc. I have been searching the forums and the net but can't seem to get a straight answer on Subtitles.
Should I include Subtitles in the re-author? I don't really use them, but some movies have subs that are necessary (ie Star Wars, when Jabba the Hut speaks). Should I include all Subtitles when I create the ISO's to ensure I don't lose important subtitles?
Some Subs are listed in DVDShrink as FORCED. Are these the subs that I would need?
Also, for some movies that seem to have the subs embedded in the movie (they show up even though I didn't choose them), I understand that you can turn them off in the Audio settings in the OSD. Will this setting be remembered for each movie, so the next time I watch it, the subs will be turned off? Or do I have to turn it off every time?
Sorry for the long post. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks.
PS: Great utility DVDProfiler2XBMC! Works like a charm!

I'm hoping someone here has an answer for me...
I have started to backup my DVDs as ISO files and I use DVDProfiler2XBMC to export my collection. I am re-authoring the DVDs with DVDshrink to just play the movie without menus, etc. I have been searching the forums and the net but can't seem to get a straight answer on Subtitles.
Should I include Subtitles in the re-author? I don't really use them, but some movies have subs that are necessary (ie Star Wars, when Jabba the Hut speaks). Should I include all Subtitles when I create the ISO's to ensure I don't lose important subtitles?
Some Subs are listed in DVDShrink as FORCED. Are these the subs that I would need?
Also, for some movies that seem to have the subs embedded in the movie (they show up even though I didn't choose them), I understand that you can turn them off in the Audio settings in the OSD. Will this setting be remembered for each movie, so the next time I watch it, the subs will be turned off? Or do I have to turn it off every time?
Sorry for the long post. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks.
PS: Great utility DVDProfiler2XBMC! Works like a charm!

I'm not 100% sure on your subtitles question but I'd leave the "forced" ones there and get rid of the rest.

However, if you do happen to get a movie that displays sub titles you can use the OSD (as you've mentioned) to turn them off and that setting will be rememered so that you don't have to do it each time.

most movies seem to embed them if its only a few sentences here and there, i take them all out unless its a movie thats totally in a foreign langauge, that way you can leave subtitles turned on at all times,, and it will only show the ones for foreign languages, not english, it saves having to toggle bck and forth

what would be the benefit of iso then shrink? it seems like double work for no benefit unless im missing something

Some movies are authored so that subs are forced for some scenes while others will have the subs burned into the picture, it varies by movie and studio. If you are unsure, then leave the subs, they're only a few megabytes anyway.

Was wondering if the XBMC programmers can take a HD DVD Player and change the firmware to support a version of XBMC. The Player has enough power, persistant memory and can use an external USB hard drive to work with, it is also dirt cheap now.

However, if you do happen to get a movie that displays sub titles you can use the OSD (as you've mentioned) to turn them off and that setting will be rememered so that you don't have to do it each time.

Thanks! I tested this out and it does seem to remember the settings for next time.

what would be the benefit of iso then shrink? it seems like double work for no benefit unless im missing something

I'm using DVDShrink to Re-Author the DVD (remove menus and extras) so that all I have left in the package is the movie with audio.
After that I use Nero to burn the new re-authored DVD package as an ISO.
Then when I click on the ISO from XBMC, the movie starts to play without menus, FBI Warning, trailers, etc.

Some movies are authored so that subs are forced for some scenes while others will have the subs burned into the picture, it varies by movie and studio. If you are unsure, then leave the subs, they're only a few megabytes anyway.

I think you are right.
I was playing with Return of The Jedi last night. I found that if I do not include any of the Subtitles, then the movie plays without any translation for Jabba.
If I include all of the subtitles in the ISO, then the default subtitle that plays with the movie is the English Normal Captions Sub (meaning, I get English translation for all of the dialogue). I then have to scroll through the list of subs and select the other English subtitle included.
I am assuming that perhaps I can ditch non-English subs and any that are listed as Normal Captions and just include secondary English subs for most DVDs?
It's kind of messy. You need to really know your movies. I guess what I was looking for is a global rule for subs. So I don't have to analyze every DVD.
Standalone DVD players can seem to figure it out (pop in your disc and hit play and it grabs the correct subs). I'm wondering why XBMC cannot or what is the difference here.

After that I use Nero to burn the new re-authored DVD package as an ISO.

Do you mean you burn the ISO to disk or do you mean you use Nero to make the ISO file? If it's the latter, Nero is unnecessary as DVD Shrink will rip to an ISO.

Do you mean you burn the ISO to disk or do you mean you use Nero to make the ISO file? If it's the latter, Nero is unnecessary as DVD Shrink will rip to an ISO.

Thanks for the tip!
I never realized it.
I am using Nero to make the ISO file after DVD Shrink repackages.
Guess I just got used to doing it this way.
I'll check it out.

Just want to to say that I'm now in the club:D. I just finish modding my xbox this morning and I have to say this is one nice piece of software. I got just about everything I want in a media ext. for less than $25 out of pocket, that's one hell of a deal in my book.

Now its' time to find some deals on a couple of 500gigs to 1.0 TB drives:D

Just want to to say that I'm now in the club:D. I just finish modding my xbox this morning and I have to say this is one nice piece of software. I got just about everything I want in a media ext. for less than $25 out of pocket, that's one hell of a deal in my book.

Now its' time to find some deals on a couple of 500gigs to 1.0 TB drives:D

Welcome aboard! The more you use it the more you'll appreciate it.

I strayed for a while to try to use my Xbox 360 (I mean - it was just sitting there so why not tinker with it?) and it sucked.

After coming back to XBMC as my only streamer (for video at least... I use the Sonos for audio) I've realized just how sweet this thing is.

I'm using DVDShrink to Re-Author the DVD (remove menus and extras) so that all I have left in the package is the movie with audio.
After that I use Nero to burn the new re-authored DVD package as an ISO.
Then when I click on the ISO from XBMC, the movie starts to play without menus, FBI Warning, trailers, etc.

you can skip the nero step. shrink will create an ISO natively all in 1 step when re-authoring....

Sean

You seem to have 2 video requirements (composite video for the TV and component video for the projector). If the TV can take the component video as well, you may want to look into a component video distribution unit. That way you can send the XBMC video/audio to multiple devices.


Yes, my tv can take component too. It's just that almost all of those component video distribution units ship to US only and they have a power cord that doesn't fit my euro wall outlet. What about this: cgi.ebay.c0m/3-RCA-RGB-Component-Video-Splitter-Cable-1-M-to-2-F_W0QQitemZ320211029862QQihZ011QQcategoryZ73390QQtcZphotoQQc mdZViewItem
(Replace the zero in the .com)
Will it do the job? I'm wondering will there be alot of picture quality degredation..

I should be getting the last piece for softmoding in the mail today (Action Replay bought from Ebay) so I will be doing my first soft mod this weekend.

I have been ripping some of my media in preparation for the XBMC experience--

What is the right naming convention for TV Shows to make sure the scrapers work properly? I tried to RTFM but I am still a bit confused.
I have been ripping each episode as individual ISOs and saving them like:

Deadwood/Season 1/"Episode 1-Name.iso"

Will that work?

you can name them several ways. Also you can do custom naming and modify the AdvancedSettings.xml for your custom filenames.

Here's a link with info http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=TV_Shows

For example I use the following for the 1st episode of the 3rd season:

I use \\ServerName\ShowName\ShownameEp301.avi

I put all the files for every Season in one folder under ShowName.

Okay, I finally got everything in today to do my softmod. I did it (mechassault softmod using the latest sid5.xx and then ftp to put xbmc on the e drive)fairly quickly but I cannot get it to load straight to xbmc. I have to go to my e drive and select xbmc to load it. Is there a walkthrough to show me how to get xbmc to load by default?
Also I cannot figure out how to stream my media to my xbox.
As I have said before I am a total newb and any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Heith

Okay, I finally got everything in today to do my softmod. I did it (mechassault softmod using the latest sid5.xx and then ftp to put xbmc on the e drive)fairly quickly but I cannot get it to load straight to xbmc. I have to go to my e drive and select xbmc to load it. Is there a walkthrough to show me how to get xbmc to load by default?
Also I cannot figure out how to stream my media to my xbox.
As I have said before I am a total newb and any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Heith

What OS are are you using to try to stream your media

What OS are are you using to try to stream your media

XP pro and XP on my pc and a 500 gb NAS.

One more question did you use Krayzie Ndure to do your mod. The reason I'm asking is that I hear that there are some time problems with SID mods

One more question did you use Krayzie Ndure to do your mod. The reason I'm asking is that I hear that there are some time problems with SID mods

I used sids not krayzies. I had trouble finding krayzies.

I used sids not krayzies. I had trouble finding krayzies.
w
Never has a problem SID 4.X or Krazies. I just switched to Krayzies because it did not use the force 480p switch which my buddy needed for one of his TV's which only accepted 480I over component.

I never saw any difference in either of them.... The steps are about the same. menu's look a little different...

I think Krayzies is a hair more intuitive...

Tutorials are on Xbox Scene and also check out their respective sites. There is lots of info and stuff out there...

Sean

I used sids not krayzies. I had trouble finding krayzies.

Never had a problem SID 4.X or Krazies done over 10 softmods with each . I just switched to Krayzies because it did not use the force 480p switch which my buddy needed for one of his TV's which only accepted 480I over component.

I never saw any difference in either of them.... The steps are about the same. menu's look a little different...

I think Krayzies is a hair more intuitive...

Tutorials are on Xbox Scene and also check out their respective sites. There is lots of info and stuff out there...

Sean

BTW: I bought a squeeze box 3 for my garage stereo and discovered an online radio provide called RadioIO

www.radioio.com

They have 128K streams, real DJ's, and I am really liking a few of their stations like real jazz and jam bands...

one downside is that they have commercials but its my new favorite streaming radio provider despite that one drawback....

just play the stream on your PC. Right cliclk on the URL/Stream Name in the bottom of the windows media player window. And you can copy the URL to the stream into the buffer...

then create a file like:

RadioIO - Real Jazz.strm

and paste the URL into that file with Notepad.

FTP the file to XBMC\userdata\playlists\music

and your all set. shows up in file and library mode....

Sean

Okay, I finally got everything in today to do my softmod. I did it (mechassault softmod using the latest sid5.xx and then ftp to put xbmc on the e drive)fairly quickly but I cannot get it to load straight to xbmc. I have to go to my e drive and select xbmc to load it. Is there a walkthrough to show me how to get xbmc to load by default?
Also I cannot figure out how to stream my media to my xbox.
As I have said before I am a total newb and any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Heith

This is the way I did it. In setting you should see something called SMB clients put your user name and IP address of the computer that your are trying to stream from.

BTW: I bought a squeeze box 3 for my garage stereo and discovered an online radio provide called RadioIO

www.radioio.com

They have 128K streams, real DJ's, and I am really liking a few of their stations like real jazz and jam bands...

one downside is that they have commercials but its my new favorite streaming radio provider despite that one drawback....

just play the stream on your PC. Right cliclk on the URL/Stream Name in the bottom of the windows media player window. And you can copy the URL to the stream into the buffer...

then create a file like:

RadioIO - Real Jazz.strm

and paste the URL into that file with Notepad.

FTP the file to XBMC\userdata\playlists\music

and your all set. shows up in file and library mode....

Sean

Thanks for the heads up on RadioIO!

Ok. So I'm trying to put in a bigger hard drive for the softmod I put together for the first time. I had a 30gb hard drive laying around and I decided to try to get that working. However, after trying for a few hours, I gave up b/c I think the drive was just bad. So I decided to take the 200gb drive I had in my ps2 and try my luck with it on the xbox and I finally got it to work. However, I only have 120gb in my F: and 0 in my G:. I had to redo the softmod after putting in the bigger hd using Krayzie's mod, and it stated that it would put the extra space in G: but I get nothing for my G:. When I'm at the softmod dash it shows my F: with 183gb but when I'm in UnleashX or XBMC I only have 120gb for F and 0 for G. Any help?

I'm blind. I found the format option in UnleashX. Just had to scroll down a little further in the file manager options.

Yo...

glad you figured it out. If you dont like the way UnleashX parititions your disk you can use XBPartitioner which will make F bigger than 127GB. you can find it on Frostys Recovery Disk and AID....

Sean

I am going crazy. I uninstalled sids and undid my softmod. I then started over with krazies and I ftp xbmc just like the guide said but I cannot get xbmc to come up. At least with sids I had to select xbmc to load, but now after 3 attempts I cannot get xbmc up. I am at wits end, but I will prevail, just have to figure out what I am missing.

I am going crazy. I uninstalled sids and undid my softmod. I then started over with krazies and I ftp xbmc just like the guide said but I cannot get xbmc to come up. At least with sids I had to select xbmc to load, but now after 3 attempts I cannot get xbmc up. I am at wits end, but I will prevail, just have to figure out what I am missing.

When you FTP XBMC to your xbox are this the files your doing. Just want to make sure your not missing anything.

http://i28.tinypic.com/2v84px1.jpg

When you FTP XBMC to your xbox are this the files your doing. Just want to make sure your not missing anything.

http://i28.tinypic.com/2v84px1.jpg

Yes. I am putting them in e/dashboard.

All I get to load is evox and I have no option to get to xbmc. All I want is xbmc and nothing else. I just removed xbmc off of e and undid my softmod again.

Make sure XBMC is in the E:\Apps folder. It should show up under applications on the dashboard.

Yo...

glad you figured it out. If you dont like the way UnleashX parititions your disk you can use XBPartitioner which will make F bigger than 127GB. you can find it on Frostys Recovery Disk and AID....

Sean

Thanks! Got it off xbins and I was able move all my extra space to the F drive.

I am going crazy. I uninstalled sids and undid my softmod. I then started over with krazies and I ftp xbmc just like the guide said but I cannot get xbmc to come up. At least with sids I had to select xbmc to load, but now after 3 attempts I cannot get xbmc up. I am at wits end, but I will prevail, just have to figure out what I am missing.

First of all why the heck do you keep un installing the softmod...

re-install the softmod...

once that works and boots into EvoX....

FTP XBMC to E:\apps\XBMC

Evo-X will then show XBMC under apps... test it and make sure it works....

then follow the instructions on the XBMC wiki to create a shortcut which points to e:\apps\xbmc\default.xbe

this shortcut will replace the evoX file in e:\dashboard\default.xbe

Curious, Didn't you have all this working under SID. Why did you switch to krayzies...

BTW: The online manual which talks about streaming is here...

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

If you get stuck again. take a step back. ask for help and dont uninstall anything.... There are 3 separate steps to this process. its sounds like you are having some trouble with the 3rd. no need to uninstall and repeat steps 1 and 2. They have nothing to do with your problem.

I'm going snowboarding but will check back later... BTW: Even if you can't get XBMC to boot by default first thing you can still explore it and get it working... making it boot is a pretty easy and repatable step. Lot easier than setting up networking to your PC if you are a n00b.

Sean

The only downside to the softmod, afaik, is that you have to go on a treasure hunt to buy Mechassault, or one of the other games that will load the eeprom from the MU.

The only downside to the softmod, afaik, is that you have to go on a treasure hunt to buy Mechassault, or one of the other games that will load the eeprom from the MU.

I got lucky, the first Gamestop I went to had it for $3. He kept asking why I wanted it to have a specific serial number on it. When I told him to mod my Xbox, he said "well then you can't return it, we don't condone modding", heh. Next time I'll tell him to mind his own business ;)

First of all why the heck do you keep un installing the softmod...

re-install the softmod...

I just had my first experience with softmodding this weekend and it went well until I tried to set up the XBMC as the dashboard (using a shortcut). I had tried out XBMC by starting it through the EvoX dashboard and it worked great, so I wanted to have it jump straight to XBMC. I couldn't figure out what/where the EvoX dashboard was called or where it was, and I replaced the xboxdash.xbe and added the .cfg file and rebooted. Nothing, still EvoX.

After more tinkering, I ended up with it not loading anything except the MS dash (what it defaults to if there is a problem). I was ready to uninstall the softmod and try everything over, but once I started Krayzie's again, I tried to FTP in and it worked, so I just fixed all the xbe's back to normal and at least had it back to where I started.

I finally figured out where the EvoX dash was and got the shortcut all figured out, so all is well now. :)

The only downside to the softmod, afaik, is that you have to go on a treasure hunt to buy Mechassault, or one of the other games that will load the eeprom from the MU.

Splinter Cell(Platinum Hits) also works that what I used

Splinter Cell(Platinum Hits) also works that what I used

Me too. I bought it for $4.99 at "Game Crazy" its part of Hollywood Video.

$3 for MechAssault at GameStop. I wish I can say the game was in better condition. It takes me 10+ tries sometimes to get the game to load.

When I bought my game they gave me a 30 day exchange policy and they ran the disc in a polisher to remove all the scratches.

Maybe you could exchange your copy.

Thought I would post this here is the XBMC thread....
First I would like to say that I am an XBMC fanatic with one Xbox on each of my familys four TV's
I also currently use a Comcast DVR (only due to a long promotion offer) on my main TV.
I am considering getting a Mac Mini as a DVR replacement. I will use it to pause live TV and record and playback High Def content.

Do any of XBMC fans out there also have an HTPC in your home theater? Or did it end up replacing your XBMC?
I know the other three rooms will still be using the Xbox for at least a few more years.
Any thoughts?

Thought I would post this here is the XBMC thread....
First I would like to say that I am an XBMC fanatic with one Xbox on each of my familys four TV's
I also currently use a Comcast DVR (only due to a long promotion offer) on my main TV.
I am considering getting a Mac Mini as a DVR replacement. I will use it to pause live TV and record and playback High Def content.

Do any of XBMC fans out there also have an HTPC in your home theater? Or did it end up replacing your XBMC?
I know the other three rooms will still be using the Xbox for at least a few more years.
Any thoughts?

Umm, I use XBMC (http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=52) *on* my HTPC.... HiDef no problem:D

First of all why the heck do you keep un installing the softmod...
I thought I must be doing something wrong, so I wanted to start fresh at each attempt in case I was missing something in one of the steps.


FTP XBMC to E:\apps\XBMC

This was a big reason of my problem. In the first post the link to softmod your xbox in 30 minutes has xbmc being installed in the dashboard on e, not the apps.


Curious, Didn't you have all this working under SID. Why did you switch to krayzies...

Yes I could select xbmc to come up with sids, but after reading different post everywhere it seemed people preferred krayzies so I thought I would give it a try.

I will give it a try while I am at work tomorrow and I am pretty sure now I will get it working. I kept following that link in the 1st post and it didn't have anything about e:\apps or about creating the shortcut.

Also, can I delete all the foreign languages that are in xbmc except for english before I ftp to the xbox to make in transfer a little quicker? It took me over 30 minutes to ftp to my xbox(which I completely deleted after I could not get it to work)?

Thanks for all the help and patience as I attempt to get this working.

It took me over 30 minutes to ftp to my xbox(which I completely deleted after I could not get it to work)?


30 minutes:eek: why is your network so slow the XBMC is only 30-40 megs if you transfer it over your local LAN it should have taken only 3-4 minutes. If you LAN is that slow you may have trouble streaming.

We're here to help you get it working so keep working at it.

After getting all the stuff assembled to soft mod by Xbox this weekend, I was killed by a bad AR memory card (which I guess is a known issue with corrupting the gamesave, it is mentioned in the first paragraph of Krayzie's read me file that that is a problem with those memory cards. When I tried to launch the exploit, caused an error 21 rather than starting the softmod.)

Since no memory cards available at the local Gamestop, had to order a new one via Ebay so now I have to wait for it arrive before I can do my mod.

Oh, the agony.

After getting all the stuff assembled to soft mod by Xbox this weekend, I was killed by a bad AR memory card (which I guess is a known issue with corrupting the gamesave, it is mentioned in the first paragraph of Krayzie's read me file that that is a problem with those memory cards. When I tried to launch the exploit, caused an error 21 rather than starting the softmod.)

Since no memory cards available at the local Gamestop, had to order a new one via Ebay so now I have to wait for it arrive before I can do my mod.

Oh, the agony.

I had the same error 21 msg. I returned the xbox and got a different one and was able to install softmod with no problem.

I also did krazies this morning and ftp xbmc to the e\apps and this time xbmc took maybe 2 minutes tops, not 30 like before. Now to try to get it to boot straight to xbmc and figure out how to stream my media.

Now to try to get it to boot straight to xbmc and figure out how to stream my media.

I just setup my xbox to boot straight to xbmc following Option 1 in these instructions from the xbmc wiki

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=As_a_Dashboard

Using the above instructions, I downloaded the pre-compiled shortcut from the link in the instructions and renamed by old evoxdash.xbe to avalaunch.xbe and the named the new shortcut evoxdash.xbe and created evoxdash.cfg.

I uploaded the 2 new files to c:\ on the xbox and made sure that xbmc had its FTP server turned on before I rebooted.

Also, at first all I got was a black screen when I tried to load the old dashboard from the menu in the xbmc skin. I just need to go to the settings in xbmc and tell it to use avalaunch.xbe as the dashboard when exiting out of xbmc to the old dashboard.

I had the same error 21 msg. I returned the xbox and got a different one and was able to install softmod with no problem.

I also did krazies this morning and ftp xbmc to the e\apps and this time xbmc took maybe 2 minutes tops, not 30 like before. Now to try to get it to boot straight to xbmc and figure out how to stream my media.

cool.... your close... dont muck with anything on the C:\

just put the shortcut and config file in e:\dashboard\default.xbe if you are using crazys and have it point to e:\apps\xbmc\default.xbe and you should be in business....

Sean

I just setup my xbox to boot straight to xbmc following Option 1 in these instructions from the xbmc wiki

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=As_a_Dashboard

Using the above instructions, I downloaded the pre-compiled shortcut from the link in the instructions and renamed by old evoxdash.xbe to avalaunch.xbe and the named the new shortcut evoxdash.xbe and created evoxdash.cfg.

I uploaded the 2 new files to c:\ on the xbox and made sure that xbmc had its FTP server turned on before I rebooted.

Also, at first all I got was a black screen when I tried to load the old dashboard from the menu in the xbmc skin. I just need to go to the settings in xbmc and tell it to use avalaunch.xbe as the dashboard when exiting out of xbmc to the old dashboard.

glad its working but with a softmod you should not have to mess with C:

Oh, the agony.

I feel your pain man!! Nothing sucks worse than being so close and then having to wait for something via snail mail.

cool.... your close... dont muck with anything on the C:\

just put the shortcut and config file in e:\dashboard\default.xbe if you are using crazys and have it point to e:\apps\xbmc\default.xbe and you should be in business....

Sean

glad its working but with a softmod you should not have to mess with C:

My softmod did not make an E:\dashboard directory. So I followed the instructions on the xboxmediacenter.com wiki page. Worked for me. When I did my softmod I followed these instructions on this webpage
http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/transform-your-classic-xbox-into-a-killer-media-center-299809.php

With the exception that I used a usb thumb drive instead of a memory card.

I just thought I'd chime in here... I just bought an XBox though ebay (from a local guy) and went about the business of modding myself and seeing what others have been talking about. Sorry in advance for the long reply.

On Friday, I picked up the console, I paid $26 and no shipping. Its just a bare unit with a 10gig drive and one controller. I thought that I'd stop at an EB Games close by and see if they had a Splinter Cell game. They did and it was $0.99. I also bought a controller extension cable to hook up a USB drive. Saturday was mod day. I had to buy two other items, a USB key that actually worked (Kingston Datatraveller100 1Gig) and the DVD remote, which was another EBGames purchase.

Cost in Summary:
$26 for Xbox
$.99 for game
$2.99 for cable
$10 for USB memory
$20 for DVD remote (broke the bank)
_____
$59.98 WOW!

Free stuff:
USB cable extension (for female USB end)
XBMC Software

Instructions are widely available on the net. It only took a couple of hours total time to get up and running. I have not fully used all of the functionality, but was able to get movies, photos and music running fine. It played everything I threw at it... and right away.

Initial observations... the UI using the default skin is top notch for a media centre. I have a popcorn hour a-100 and the UI is horrible to say the least. However, it does play the latest media files at full resolution on my projector. I want a unit for an SD tv that we have upstairs.

I tried some high-def media just for fun. XBMC will play it, but is very choppy, 1080i was better than 720p. 1080p gave me a lockup. This is to be expected, but we are talking MKV H.264 files here.

I also have an HTPC, ok, I'm a gadget guy and I like to put things together myself but sometimes don't have the time to dedicate to the creature comforts in Windows. Its easy for me to run and the wife can ALMOST run things, but nobody else would be able to. The XBMC exceeds this with NO tweaking. I sometimes enjoy tweaking, but it does get old after movies hang, stutter and/or won't play on the HTPC.

Kudos to anyone involved in this project and a gentle nudge to anyone out there who is thinking of taking on another science experiment. It seems to be very much worth it. Why can't retail products be this intuitive?

Darren

Does anybody use the skin "Back Row"?

I got it on xbox-scene. Here's a link to the discussion thread there

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=599350

It's really well done. Lots of options and looks great.

Its easy for me to run and the wife can ALMOST run things, but nobody else would be able to. The XBMC exceeds this with NO tweaking. I sometimes enjoy tweaking, but it does get old after movies hang, stutter and/or won't play on the HTPC.

This (to me) is one of the huge benefits of the system. If you play around with the keymap.xml file you'll find that your opportunities for automation are virtually limitless. You may have already read (earlier in this thread) what I've done with my Logitech Harmony remote but it's simple enough that my 4 year old daughter can pick up the remote, hit one button to get to "her movies" and then navigate to the one she wants and play it.

I'm currently tinkering with the idea of setting up IP Cameras in both of my kids rooms as a baby monitor to be used through XBMC. It's just a concept right now but I'm pretty sure I can set it up where I can hit one "activity" button on my remote and go directly to the video stream from each room. Talk about a high tech baby monitor!! All I need to really do to get this working is to set up a source that's the web stream from the camera and then figure out how to manipulate my keymap.xml file to get me there in one click. Then I could have an activity button for each room in the house with a camera!

I'll let you guys know if I get it working. Any suggestion are also much appreciated.

Yes, I finally have 2 xboxes softmodded and the default dash is xbmc. Now I get to play around and figure out how to stream my media.
I had it hooked up to my nas, and when I added it there were no videos or pics on there in xbmc. I have iso files for my movies and jpeg for my pics but nothing shows up on xbmc. I will figure this out eventually. I am so excited. Thanks for all the help everyone.

Yes, I finally have 2 xboxes softmodded and the default dash is xbmc. Now I get to play around and figure out how to stream my media.
I had it hooked up to my nas, and when I added it there were no videos or pics on there in xbmc. I have iso files for my movies and jpeg for my pics but nothing shows up on xbmc. I will figure this out eventually. I am so excited. Thanks for all the help everyone.

Congrats...

can you browse to this content on your PC.

if so the same URL is what you can place in the sources.xml or you can just do this through the GUI...

so for starters. post the valid path from your PC to the content on your NAS...

Sean

Can anybody recommend a currently available heatsink to replace the horrendously loud heatsink+fan combo on a v1.0 xbox? Cracked open my xbox to replace the stock case fan and install an XIR kit and discovered it was probably the GPU fan that was making most of the noise.

Can anybody recommend a currently available heatsink to replace the horrendously loud heatsink+fan combo on a v1.0 xbox? Cracked open my xbox to replace the stock case fan and install an XIR kit and discovered it was probably the GPU fan that was making most of the noise.

I've never found any of the xboxes I've got my hands on to be loud. Have you tried turning on automatic temperature control so that XBMC will control the fan speed and and keep it quiet when its cool?

I have run into a few where the GPU fan was going bad and thus were pretty loud. These guys sell stock replacements which are probably reasonably quiet, plus I think they offer a no-fan solution:

http://www.llamma.com/xbox/

I've never found any of the xboxes I've got my hands on to be loud. Have you tried turning on automatic temperature control so that XBMC will control the fan speed and and keep it quiet when its cool?

The 1.0 xboxes have a GPU Fan and Case FAn and the GPU Fan especially if its getting old is quite loud... I have always used one a heatsink out of my collection at work.....

Sean

All,

If I can offer some assitance, I have done my Softmod with instructions from

http://www.productwiki.com/microsoft-xbox/article/how-to-go-from-xbox-to-xbox-media-center-in-30-minutes.html

I found this to be a great resource.

To assit the rest of us n00bs, I have included my "lab notes" down on the bottom of that page, discussing where to get software and tips in doing the upgrade to an XBMC.

Is anyone else having problems getting their ripped DVD recognized by the IMDB link in XBMC?

Background: My network shares are fine, internet connectivity is no problem. I am running the latest build in the dashboard (not apps) subdirectory. I am signed up for the T3CH RSS feed, and have successfully used the "T3CH Upgrader script" to do the upgrade on my system. MP3's are scanned into the DB and show up great in the library. For DVD ripping to my network storage I use ANYDVD and DVD Shrink. I can store in both File Format and ISO modes. Both formats play great if I do the List mode.

Library mode does not seem to work .

Problem: The previous version of T3CH XBMC read the fractured VOB files, and came back saying all my videos were all the same "whitesnake" music video ("my... my... my" :eek: ).

So, I tried to store in ISO mode, with the name of the ISO being the same as the DVD Disk.

In either case, no IMDB (or other DB) connectivity.

1) Is this lack of connectivity a known issue?

2) Is there a "best way" to store the DVD rip so that it will be recognised & catagoried in XBMC?

I would try one of two tools:

xboxhdm can add/remove/format G: partitions. Nice tool to have but kind of a pain because you have to create a specific linux boot CD with YOUR keys burned in. You also have to temporarily connect your HDD to a PC

Second option would be AID4.1 which comes with the tool xboxpartioner, which can also do all that and more. Difficulty there is you have to find and download a big file, then burn it to a DVD thats compatible with your xbox.

Upshot is once you have these tools and know how to use them, they're quite useful.

If you decide to pursue either of these and get stuck, as I certainly did, I will try to help.

Is anyone else having problems getting their ripped DVD recognized by the IMDB link in XBMC?

Background: My network shares are fine, internet connectivity is no problem. I am running the latest build in the dashboard (not apps) subdirectory. I am signed up for the T3CH RSS feed, and have successfully used the "T3CH Upgrader script" to do the upgrade on my system. MP3's are scanned into the DB and show up great in the library. For DVD ripping to my network storage I use ANYDVD and DVD Shrink. I can store in both File Format and ISO modes. Both formats play great if I do the List mode.

Library mode does not seem to work .

Problem: The previous version of T3CH XBMC read the fractured VOB files, and came back saying all my videos were all the same "whitesnake" music video ("my... my... my" :eek: ).

So, I tried to store in ISO mode, with the name of the ISO being the same as the DVD Disk.

In either case, no IMDB (or other DB) connectivity.

1) Is this lack of connectivity a known issue?

2) Is there a "best way" to store the DVD rip so that it will be recognised & catagoried in XBMC?

Make sure you set the Content type of your parent movie/dvd folder to be movies and set IMDB as the info source. You won't get anything into library mode until you've set this and let IMDB scan your movies successfully.

Make sure you set the Content type of your parent movie/dvd folder to be movies and set IMDB as the info source. You won't get anything into library mode until you've set this and let IMDB scan your movies successfully.

There is a bug in the most recent builds... the 1/6/06 T3CH release works. Anything later than that is broken. If you go into the properties screne when setting content type and tweak somthing and then untweak it the IMDB will start working again....

Sean

I can now view the pics of off of my nas, but when I go to my videos on my nas nothing shows up on xbmc. I have attached a copy of what the files in my nas look like. I can open the pics file and see my pics, but none of my iso files show up when I go into my nas for videos.

I can now view the pics of off of my nas, but when I go to my videos on my nas nothing shows up on xbmc. I have attached a copy of what the files in my nas look like. I can open the pics file and see my pics, but none of my iso files show up when I go into my nas for videos.

Sorry can't see anything off that snapshot. its too low res...

If you can view pics there is something simple you are not doing....

if pics in are in

\\servername\media\pics and you created a menu item for that.

then

\\servername\media\videos and you should see the ISO's avi's etc from the my videos menu item....

you should also just be able to browse there...

If you post some more exact details about exactly what you are doign I'm sure we can help but otherwise we are just guessing....

Sean

When I go to file manager I added my nas under upnp, when I go to pictures I can see my files and folders and view my pics, while I am at the same spot I select my nas and go to videos and there is nothing there. I did not do anything to view my pics. I added my nas as a upnp and my pics were automatically there but as I have said my videos are not. My pics are in a folder then subfolders by date. My videos are just in an iso image and not in a folder or anything. I can play them on my desktop with VLC. What do I manually have to do to get my videos to show up? I did nothing but add my nas as a source in my root directory.

When I go to file manager I added my nas under upnp, when I go to pictures I can see my files and folders and view my pics, while I am at the same spot I select my nas and go to videos and there is nothing there. I did not do anything to view my pics. I added my nas as a upnp and my pics were automatically there but as I have said my videos are not. My pics are in a folder then subfolders by date. My videos are just in an iso image and not in a folder or anything. I can play them on my desktop with VLC. What do I manually have to do to get my videos to show up? I did nothing but add my nas as a source in my root directory.

Go to your videos section in XBMC. Make sure you're in file mode (not library mode). You need to add your UPNP as a source in your Videos section.

There is a bug in the most recent builds... the 1/6/06 T3CH release works. Anything later than that is broken. If you go into the properties screne when setting content type and tweak somthing and then untweak it the IMDB will start working again....

Sean

I see... First, thank you both for answers.

Ja Phule - Yes, I did set content and select IMDB. That is the part that had me confused. I renamed databases, tried to get it to recognise, but no-go. (PS... great work on this website!)

Sean - thanks for the head's up on it being broken in the current version. I thought it was definately my error. Glad to see it is revision related. I tried so many different way to try to resolve that my wife was wondering if I had forgot her! :D I suppose that my feedback to T3CH's site and email may ask him to look into this.

So, let me step away from the XBOX, and ask a DVD question... IF this was working the way that it should, if I use DVD Shrink to create my DVD rips on network storage, does it matter if the VOB (actual film) is contiguous or not?

By default, DVD Shrink breaks the film into chunks (wether you save as ISO or File structure). Should I save the film as one large VOB inside those structures to aid IMDB in locating it?

Does it matter? What you YOU guys do?

When I go to file manager I added my nas under upnp, when I go to pictures I can see my files and folders and view my pics, while I am at the same spot I select my nas and go to videos and there is nothing there. I did not do anything to view my pics. I added my nas as a upnp and my pics were automatically there but as I have said my videos are not. My pics are in a folder then subfolders by date. My videos are just in an iso image and not in a folder or anything. I can play them on my desktop with VLC. What do I manually have to do to get my videos to show up? I did nothing but add my nas as a source in my root directory.

Use SMB not Upnp. Upnp support seems to be in its infancy for XBMC and I and most others here have no experience using it. SMB will provide a superior solution for your xbox...

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=NAS_%28Network_Attached_Storage%29

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=Videos#Files_View

Sean

I see... First, thank you both for answers.

Ja Phule - Yes, I did set content and select IMDB. That is the part that had me confused. I renamed databases, tried to get it to recognise, but no-go. (PS... great work on this website!)

Sean - thanks for the head's up on it being broken in the current version. I thought it was definately my error. Glad to see it is revision related. I tried so many different way to try to resolve that my wife was wondering if I had forgot her! :D I suppose that my feedback to T3CH's site and email may ask him to look into this.

So, let me step away from the XBOX, and ask a DVD question... IF this was working the way that it should, if I use DVD Shrink to create my DVD rips on network storage, does it matter if the VOB (actual film) is contiguous or not?

By default, DVD Shrink breaks the film into chunks (wether you save as ISO or File structure). Should I save the film as one large VOB inside those structures to aid IMDB in locating it?

Does it matter? What you YOU guys do?


It does not matter whether its one vob file or many. The directory name is used to lookup the info in IMDB.

If you use an ISO file the filename is whats used in IMDB to do the lookup.

Shrink does not segement ISO's. It can segement the vobs but ISO's come out as one big file.

All 3 will do the same thing with a functioning version of XBMC.

The 1/6/2008 build will work just fine...

Me personally I prefer ISO's.....


t3ch just compiles what the developers check in. They aren't writing code or testing it. just compiling it and making it available... I always recommend new users start with a stable released build like 2.01. Learn how the SW works and then update. Then when stuff breaks you know its not you and you dont pull your hair out...

Sean

It does not matter whether its one vob file or many. The directory name is used to lookup the info in IMDB.

If you use an ISO file the filename is whats used in IMDB to do the lookup.

Shrink does not segement ISO's. It can segement the vobs but ISO's come out as one big file.

All 3 will do the same thing with a functioning version of XBMC.

The 1/6/2008 build will work just fine...

Me personally I prefer ISO's.....


t3ch just compiles what the developers check in. They aren't writing code or testing it. just compiling it and making it available... I always recommend new users start with a stable released build like 2.01. Learn how the SW works and then update. Then when stuff breaks you know its not you and you dont pull your hair out...

Sean

Cool... so, I should not folow the DVD Volume name, I should actually save it as the actual film name. Got it.

Once the bug is resolved, I will be set.

FYI: What I was saying about the VOB being broken up is that in --- DVD Shrink / Edit / Preferences / Output Files --- there is the setting " [x] Split VOB files into 1 GB size Chunks (recommended) " That is what I have been doing. in either ISO or File mode. (If you do make an ISO, open it up with Daemon Tools and look... the VOB is still broken into chunks within the ISO)

That is why I was asking "Does it matter or not?" I take it your answer was "doesn't matter" to the IMDB scrapper function, because it looks strictly by name, not internal structure.

I agree with you: I think ISO format will be best for storage as well. XBMC plays the ISO, does the DVD Menu, and there is less directory structure to mess with. (easier burning later, too)

As for me, I am am a software engineer in a network company, so I will go with the latest. :D This, of course, is my own stupidity, and not recommended for others.

Thanks again for the answer!

Cool... so, I should not folow the DVD Volume name, I should actually save it as the actual film name. Got it.

Once the bug is resolved, I will be set.

FYI: What I was saying about the VOB being broken up is that in --- DVD Shrink / Edit / Preferences / Output Files --- there is the setting " [x] Split VOB files into 1 GB size Chunks (recommended) " That is what I have been doing. in either ISO or File mode. (If you do make an ISO, open it up with Daemon Tools and look... the VOB is still broken into chunks within the ISO)

That is why I was asking "Does it matter or not?" I take it your answer was "doesn't matter" to the IMDB scrapper function, because it looks strictly by name, not internal structure.

I agree with you: I think ISO format will be best for storage as well. XBMC plays the ISO, does the DVD Menu, and there is less directory structure to mess with. (easier burning later, too)

As for me, I am am a software engineer in a network company, so I will go with the latest. :D This, of course, is my own stupidity, and not recommended for others.

Thanks again for the answer!

your on track now with everything you said.... I am also a professional and often use code that I should know better but you get addicted to seeing what cool new stuff they added this week :)

again you can make it work now you dont need to wait. when setting content type there is a properties menu I never noticed. Go in there and toggle a switch and then set it back and rescan and it all should work. It did for me...

There is a 1/26 build out but from the SVN checkin logs it does not look like they fixed this bug but who knows....

Sean

Okay I think I found the problem right before I left work. My nas does not recognize my iso's as a video file, that is why they do not show up on xbmc. When I go into the admin on my nas it shows how many pics are on the hd but it shows 0 videos on my hd, even though my iso files are on the hd. I then put an iso in my shared video folder on my pc and connected from xbmc thru smb to my pc and the video was there for me to play. Tomorrow or thursday I will try vob files on my nas and see if that works. I will also call the company that made my nas and see if they have any idea what is going on. They walked me thru adding the nas to my network at work so I could access it thru my computer as a network drive.
I did notice that the iso I played had captions on it and I could not find the option on xbmc to remove them.
I am happy as now I am a lttle closer to getting everything working. Sorry for any typos as I am on my blackberry posting this. Thanks again for all the help everyone.

Okay I think I found the problem right before I left work. My nas does not recognize my iso's as a video file, that is why they do not show up on xbmc. When I go into the admin on my nas it shows how many pics are on the hd but it shows 0 videos on my hd, even though my iso files are on the hd. I then put an iso in my shared video folder on my pc and connected from xbmc thru smb to my pc and the video was there for me to play. Tomorrow or thursday I will try vob files on my nas and see if that works. I will also call the company that made my nas and see if they have any idea what is going on. They walked me thru adding the nas to my network at work so I could access it thru my computer as a network drive.
I did notice that the iso I played had captions on it and I could not find the option on xbmc to remove them.
I am happy as now I am a lttle closer to getting everything working. Sorry for any typos as I am on my blackberry posting this. Thanks again for all the help everyone.

As sean mentioned earlier, I think you should try to use your NAS as an SMB server, not a UPNP server. As an SMB, it's just storing files, you don't need to worry whether the NAS recognizes your files as a audio or video (which is what it does as a A/V UPNP).

As sean mentioned earlier, I think you should try to use your NAS as an SMB server, not a UPNP server. As an SMB, it's just storing files, you don't need to worry whether the NAS recognizes your files as a audio or video (which is what it does as a A/V UPNP).

I did it! I did it!
My nas does not recognize iso files as video, so this was the problem.
I listened to sean and ja phule and set up my nas thru smb with xbmc and now my iso files appear. Now I have to finish making iso files of my movies then figure out how to use dvd profiler and dvdprofiler2xbmc to put the covers to my movies so my 4 year old can pick the movie he wants to watch by the cover.

Thanks again for all the help and patience with this newb.
Heith

Now I have to finish making iso files of my movies then figure out how to use dvd profiler and dvdprofiler2xbmc to put the covers to my movies so my 4 year old can pick the movie he wants to watch by the cover.

You don't need to do that now. Use the context menu (white button on controller, or title button on remote) on the "source" and choose Set Content. Select Movies, then choose the IMDB option. Tick the Run automated scan button and let it run. You will have all your movie covers when it's done. If there's a cover you think looks wrong, try going to Info and then choose thumbnail. Now they often give you 3 or 4 choices for which cover to display.

Fun tip: before you run the scan, go to the Video Settings menu under Library and tick Automatically grab actor thumbs. Then when you click Cast, you'll see the headshots of most actors. BTW, clicking on the actors will show you all the movies you have with that actor. Neat stuff!

I did it! I did it!
My nas does not recognize iso files as video, so this was the problem.
I listened to sean and ja phule and set up my nas thru smb with xbmc and now my iso files appear. Now I have to finish making iso files of my movies then figure out how to use dvd profiler and dvdprofiler2xbmc to put the covers to my movies so my 4 year old can pick the movie he wants to watch by the cover.

Thanks again for all the help and patience with this newb.
Heith

Your welcome... welcome to the cluib....

Sean

You don't need to do that now. Use the context menu (white button on controller, or title button on remote) on the "source" and choose Set Content. Select Movies, then choose the IMDB option. Tick the Run automated scan button and let it run. You will have all your movie covers when it's done. If there's a cover you think looks wrong, try going to Info and then choose thumbnail. Now they often give you 3 or 4 choices for which cover to display.

Fun tip: before you run the scan, go to the Video Settings menu under Library and tick Automatically grab actor thumbs. Then when you click Cast, you'll see the headshots of most actors. BTW, clicking on the actors will show you all the movies you have with that actor. Neat stuff!

Yep... Key thing as Major Points out is to do this before you scan your library... Also note the IMDB problem on latest builds.... 1/6/08 works... Everything I have seen after that fails...

Sean

This (to me) is one of the huge benefits of the system. If you play around with the keymap.xml file you'll find that your opportunities for automation are virtually limitless. You may have already read (earlier in this thread) what I've done with my Logitech Harmony remote but it's simple enough that my 4 year old daughter can pick up the remote, hit one button to get to "her movies" and then navigate to the one she wants and play it.

I'm currently tinkering with the idea of setting up IP Cameras in both of my kids rooms as a baby monitor to be used through XBMC. It's just a concept right now but I'm pretty sure I can set it up where I can hit one "activity" button on my remote and go directly to the video stream from each room. Talk about a high tech baby monitor!! All I need to really do to get this working is to set up a source that's the web stream from the camera and then figure out how to manipulate my keymap.xml file to get me there in one click. Then I could have an activity button for each room in the house with a camera!

I'll let you guys know if I get it working. Any suggestion are also much appreciated.

Mebby -

I have been following how you added the ability to get to your video sources with one click on the Harmony. I am interested in doing this also, as I have a very similar setup. I have a bunch of my son's videos that I would prefer to keep separate from my movies and TV shows. The only way I can figure out how to do this is in file mode. I have my video files in different folders (Movies, TV Series, Kids Videos) and each is a separate source. I know I can edit the keymap.xml file to have one of these folders accessible by a button press on the Harmony, but this only works in file mode. I would prefer to use Library mode and have an additional video category choice called Kids Videos. As far as I can tell, the only category choices I have are Movies, TV Shows or Music Videos. It seems that you should be able to add your own categories in Library mode but for the life of me I cannot figure out how.

Are you just using file mode for videos or is there a way to do this using Library view? What am I missing?

On a related note, I figured out an easy way to get the the MyVideos, MyPicture & MyMusic buttons mapped to the Harmony. Go to "add new device" and select Media Center PC -> Microsoft -> Xbox Media Center Extender. This has these buttons mapped unlike when you use the Video Game w/DVD player -> Microsoft -> XBox profile. You can then customize all of your XBMC activities to include this device. You can then go to "customize buttons" for all of your XBMC activites and you will have the option to select the XBox Media Center Extender as a device. Under "additional buttons" you can simply select this device and add the MyVideos, MyPictures and MyMusic commands to the soft buttons. This way you don't have to teach the remote any new commands nor do you need to modify the keymap.xml file to get these commands to work.

Not the most elegant solution, but it is effective.

BTW, your idea to use XBMC as a baby monitor is pretty cool. Keep me posted if you make any progress!

Mebby -

I have been following how you added the ability to get to your video sources with one click on the Harmony. I am interested in doing this also, as I have a very similar setup. I have a bunch of my son's videos that I would prefer to keep separate from my movies and TV shows. The only way I can figure out how to do this is in file mode. I have my video files in different folders (Movies, TV Series, Kids Videos) and each is a separate source. I know I can edit the keymap.xml file to have one of these folders accessible by a button press on the Harmony, but this only works in file mode. I would prefer to use Library mode and have an additional video category choice called Kids Videos. As far as I can tell, the only category choices I have are Movies, TV Shows or Music Videos. It seems that you should be able to add your own categories in Library mode but for the life of me I cannot figure out how.

Are you just using file mode for videos or is there a way to do this using Library view? What am I missing?

On a related note, I figured out an easy way to get the the MyVideos, MyPicture & MyMusic buttons mapped to the Harmony. Go to "add new device" and select Media Center PC -> Microsoft -> Xbox Media Center Extender. This has these buttons mapped unlike when you use the Video Game w/DVD player -> Microsoft -> XBox profile. You can then customize all of your XBMC activities to include this device. You can then go to "customize buttons" for all of your XBMC activites and you will have the option to select the XBox Media Center Extender as a device. Under "additional buttons" you can simply select this device and add the MyVideos, MyPictures and MyMusic commands to the soft buttons. This way you don't have to teach the remote any new commands nor do you need to modify the keymap.xml file to get these commands to work.

Not the most elegant solution, but it is effective.

BTW, your idea to use XBMC as a baby monitor is pretty cool. Keep me posted if you make any progress!

Thanks for the tip! I never thought about doing it that way but it sounds like it would work just as effectively.

You are correct - I'm only using File Mode. It would be nice to be able to get this to work in Library mode but I can't readily think of one. File mode works just fine for me as I only have about 90 movies or so. It doesn't take long to scroll through 90 movies and typically when I sit down to watch one I know what I want to watch anyway so using Library mode is typically just a slower means of getting to where I want to go. If you figure it out please keep everyone updated.

I'll keep you update on the baby monitor idea.

So I completed my softmod last night. Went extremely well. Now, I'm looking to replace the hard drive. Is there a max HD size that I'm constrained to or is the sky the limit?

Any good HD swap tutorials that you guys would recommend? TIA

So I completed my softmod last night. Went extremely well. Now, I'm looking to replace the hard drive. Is there a max HD size that I'm constrained to or is the sky the limit?

Any good HD swap tutorials that you guys would recommend? TIA

Here's one link: http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox2.shtml

At home I have a link for the site I used, but the one above has lots of photos for step-by-step instructions.

I'm not sure about size limits. I've seen a couple places mention 137GB BOIS limit, but I successfully installed a 200GB drive.

I've done this about 10 times. I've done 320s, 500s and even a 750. Someone else here did a 750 too somewhere in the last 20 pages or so -- I think it was sean_w. I think the 500 is the way to go given the price per megabyte. Not hard to find them for $90.

That seems like a good tutorial. I would add a few small details which I'll try to post later.

OK, FWIW here is my supplemental guide to the tech freaks one, which is quite good, but here are some additional details that may save some headaches along the way:

Where it says:
xboxhdm_v1.9.zip (available on Xbins in the directory: /XBOX/Operating Systems/linux/distributions/xboxhdm/)

I would add that you also get that here: http://www.xbox-hq.com/html/downloads-cat31.html if you sign up for the site. Or you can get it on torrent sites like this: http://www.mininova.org/tor/374617

Where it says:
Connect to your Xbox via FTP and navigate to E:\backup\MS. If you used my first article, there should be a file called eeprom.bin in there. Transfer that file to your local \xboxhdm\linux\eeprom folder.

Mine are always in E:\backup\eeprom I guess due to the softmod tool I use. The point is, they'll be in there somewhere and you NEED them. And it may not matter, but I always transfer all the files from teh backup eeprom folder to the linux\eeprom folder. Certainly can't hurt.

Where it says:
Navigate back to the root of your Xbox hard-drive and transfer the contents of your C:\ and E:\ folders from your Xbox to your local \xboxhdm\linux folder. The local folders should be empty prior to transfer.
Make it so the contents of C: go into a folder named simply C, so it would be \xboxhdm\linux\C Ditto for E.

In the middle of this part:
Depending how much stuff you have on your Xbox, this transfer might take a bit of time. Once you have transferred the eeprom.bin and c:\ and e:\ folders, navigate to your local \xboxhdm\ folder and double click the make-iso-win file. This will launch the command prompt and will make a linux.iso file.
Before you compile the ISO, make sure your linux folder is under 700MB. They usually are, but if your xbox has a lot of old game saves etc, it can swell beyond that. If it's too big you will need to clean out some of those game save folders (UDATA and/or TDATA).

On this step:
Once the CD has burned, turn off your system and disconnect your current hard-drives. Set the jumper on the hard-drive you intend to use in the Xbox to Single Master. Connect this hard-drive. Go into your BIOS and make sure the boot order sets to boot from the CD drive before the hard-drive. Reboot your computer (if necessary), insert the burned CD into your CD drive and it should boot into the Xbox Maker and Recovery Tool program.

It's worth noting that you will need a regular IDE interface CD drive. I had a newer SATA CD drive and it won't boot off that. Also, disconnect any of your PC's normal IDE HDDs.


On this part:
* Press 1 (Boot VGA Console with Xbox-Drive Utilities (default)) and hit enter.
* Type xboxhd and hit enter
* Type yes (do not type y, you must spell out yes) and hit enter
* Press 1 (Build a New Xbox HD from Scratch) and hit enter
* Type yes and hit enter
* Type yes and hit enter (Continue Copying Files from /xboxhdm/C)
* Type yes and hit enter (Continue Copying Files from /xboxhdm/E)
* Reboot once it has finished copying (this might take awhile)
* Press 3 (Boot Linux with Locking/Unlocking Utilities)
* Type lockhd -a
* Turn off your computer

If you're going above some limit around 200GB (Sorry I don't know the cut-off and I've heard many different numbers tossed out) before you lock it, you should use use option 4 to Install an F: You may need a G: partition too, depending on the size. Certainly for 500GB and above you would need an F: and a G: I know the tools on AID4.1 can install a G: -- not sure what other ways there are to do it. The unfortunate thing is that it will allow you to format the drive above the limit that is safe, and you can even store files on that, but after so many files (or so many GB of space used) you start getting corruption errors.

When it comes to actually physically installing the drive, I would add this: They say to get a size 10 and a size 20 torx drive. Get a 15 too while you're there. I've seen a few that used that size on the HDD screws. And on that subject, I recommend getting the little bits that fit in your screw gun. I had a folding tool with all the sizes but what a PITA that was. You can see on the last picture where all the screws are. For the four corners what I do is peel back the rubber feet from the outside in, but just enough to expose the screw. Then you can stick them back down when you're done. Once inside the case there is a single brass screw hiding under the data ribbon that holds the hard drive cage in the enclosure. Once that's removed, you can lift out the blcak plastic cage to R&R the HDD. You'll have to unclip the HDD power wire too, but that's self-evident.

Make sure to set the HDD jumber back from single-primary to Cable Select.

Hope that all helps, if you get stuck, give a shout.

I need some help guys. Im running XBMC, and I bought a set of universal Component cables from gamestop. Well, I kooked them up to my, and I was getting these vertical lines. Spaced evenly and stationary, through the screen. I tried it on the other big screen and the picture looks beautiful. So its defenetly the TV. But...thats not my problem. Well it is, but not rite now. I thought I would mess with some setting and I enable 480 740 and 1080 in the video hardware settings. Now all I get is the xbox blob thing and then it cuts out. If I switch to standard defenition (composite), it doesn't allow me to deselect the three options. How to I reset it to default?

Ahhh, i figured it out. I just logged the key sequence on paper, to get into the settings, and disable the 480 740 and 1080 settings.

Another question. I thought anything that outputs component, is y, pb, pr?

I guess I must be wrong because it only works on y, cb, cr

I've done this about 10 times. I've done 320s, 500s and even a 750. Someone else here did a 750 too somewhere in the last 20 pages or so -- I think it was sean_w. I think the 500 is the way to go given the price per megabyte. Not hard to find them for $90.

That seems like a good tutorial. I would add a few small details which I'll try to post later.

done 3 750's in the last 2 months... Theoretically 1TB might work with 32K clusters but have not done that...

Sean

Ja Phule, what is the latest greatest functional skin available? Everything is still woring great, I just added antoher TB to the Ubuntu Linux server. I'm still using a 13 month old build (Jan-Feb 07 I think) so hopefully any newly released skins will work with it.

I have been thinking of moving the Xbox and Video server to the front of the house (Office, to cut down on the fan noise in the HT room). The only major problem would be with the remote. I believe the ports on the Xbox are USB 1.0 compliant but wired differently to MS spec.'s for their joysticks. I have been thinking of running cat 5 cable to the HT room and putting the IR sensor for the remote in there by modifying An Xbox Joy stick cable extendor and using the MS ends with the cat 5 spliced into them (About 60-70 feet). Anyone ever try that?

Ja Phule, what is the latest greatest functional skin available? Everything is still woring great, I just added antoher TB to the Ubuntu Linux server. I'm still using a 13 month old build (Jan-Feb 07 I think) so hopefully any newly released skins will work with it.

I have been thinking of moving the Xbox and Video server to the front of the house (Office, to cut down on the fan noise in the HT room). The only major problem would be with the remote. I believe the ports on the Xbox are USB 1.0 compliant but wired differently to MS spec.'s for their joysticks. I have been thinking of running cat 5 cable to the HT room and putting the IR sensor for the remote in there by modifying An Xbox Joy stick cable extendor and using the MS ends with the cat 5 spliced into them (About 60-70 feet). Anyone ever try that?

I haven't tried that, but I've used one of these LeapFrogs (http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Wireless-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000T5JCSW******pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1202058510&sr=8-1) to solve that particular problem.

However, I would add that most xboxes are pretty quiet and if yours is a problem it may have a fan going bad or something. With GameStop selling them for $60 now, it might make as much sense to just find a nice quiet one. Then you can relegate the first one to another TV. (Or order a fanless kit from llama)

Ja Phule, what is the latest greatest functional skin available? Everything is still woring great, I just added antoher TB to the Ubuntu Linux server. I'm still using a 13 month old build (Jan-Feb 07 I think) so hopefully any newly released skins will work with it.

I have been thinking of moving the Xbox and Video server to the front of the house (Office, to cut down on the fan noise in the HT room). The only major problem would be with the remote. I believe the ports on the Xbox are USB 1.0 compliant but wired differently to MS spec.'s for their joysticks. I have been thinking of running cat 5 cable to the HT room and putting the IR sensor for the remote in there by modifying An Xbox Joy stick cable extendor and using the MS ends with the cat 5 spliced into them (About 60-70 feet). Anyone ever try that?

You should update XBMC. Try the 1-6-2008 build. As for your remote solution, maybe it would be easier to just get one of those remote IR extenders?

Ja Phule, what is the latest greatest functional skin available?



Have you tried "Back Row"?

You should update XBMC. Try the 1-6-2008 build. As for your remote solution, maybe it would be easier to just get one of those remote IR extenders?

OK, just wanted to check what is current and running without problemo's. I'm gonna give it a try right after I back up the system.

Yes, thanks to an earlier post I found a Next Generation Remote Control Extender that looks really good on amazon for $38 shipped.

Have you tried "Back Row"?

No I haven't. I'be been out on sourceforge.net looking for some new ones.

Found them. Good grief, there are pages of them. :)

No I haven't. I'be been out on sourceforge.net looking for some new ones.

Found them. Good grief, there are pages of them. :)

I usually check the XBMC skin forums to see which skins have good support and popularity.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=286

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Some popular ones I've seen are:
xTV
Aeon (formely known as Xephyr, which is what I use)
MC360
Vision
Fluid (possible PMIII replacement as XBMC default)

Ja Phule, what is the latest greatest functional skin available? Everything is still woring great, I just added antoher TB to the Ubuntu Linux server. I'm still using a 13 month old build (Jan-Feb 07 I think) so hopefully any newly released skins will work with it.

I have been thinking of moving the Xbox and Video server to the front of the house (Office, to cut down on the fan noise in the HT room). The only major problem would be with the remote. I believe the ports on the Xbox are USB 1.0 compliant but wired differently to MS spec.'s for their joysticks. I have been thinking of running cat 5 cable to the HT room and putting the IR sensor for the remote in there by modifying An Xbox Joy stick cable extendor and using the MS ends with the cat 5 spliced into them (About 60-70 feet). Anyone ever try that?

The new skins wont work with the old build...

Sean

Here is the link to "Back Row"

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=599350

The forum thread is titled "Front-row (pdm Skin Mod)" but the skin is "Back Row"

The creator of the skin has a link to the latest version in his forum signature.

I usually check the XBMC skin forums to see which skins have good support and popularity.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showforum=286

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=12

Some popular ones I've seen are:
xTV
Aeon (formely known as Xephyr, which is what I use)
MC360
Vision
Fluid (possible PMIII replacement as XBMC default)

Yeah, I was trying to find "Aeon (formely known as Xephyr, which is what I use)" since it was setup for HD or 720P format.

I also like the looks of Back Row and I will take your and sean's advice and upgrade to the latest build so I can use them. I like being able to choose the theme based upon my current mood or that of my guests. :D

Still using your DVDProfiler2XBMC and it is working great with dvd profiler 3.0. Good work Bro!

Is it possible to distribute the modded xbox out to other tvs? If so, how is that done.

To distribute the output from the Xbox to multiple locations, I use a A/V distribution unit. This is a simple audio/video input with multiple audio/video outputs. You can pick these up at Radio Shack or fleabay rather inexpensively. I am using a Key Digital since I run component video.

First of all, 2 weeks after discovering this thread (I had never even heard of XBMC when I found it) I am running XBMC and it is absolutely amazing. I started out looking for somthing to stream FLACs from my computer to the home theater setup and now have so much more. my 2 year old is so obsessed with watching her home videos on the big TV now, we can barely get her to do anything else. Thanks to all who have contributed on this thread.

After a few expected bumps in the road, I have gotten everything running smoothly. My only issue is that for some reason, my TV only works intermittently in downloading episode thumbnails. E.g. for season 1 of deadwood, eps 1-7 come up with episode thumbs, eps 8-12 pull up the info but no thumb.

For season 3 of the Wire (the best show in the history of TV, by the way), only ep3 has a thumbnail, none of the rest do. Is this sort of hit or miss on the scrapers just par for the course? I am running the 1/6/08 T3CH build.

I would check the actual site for the scraper service you chose. For example, if you chose thetvdb.com (my personal pref.) then go to that site and look up the shows you're referring to. They put a check mark next to the episodes that have thumbs. And if they don't have thumbs, you can always consider making some :)

I did a few seasons worth of a couple shows I enjoy and it gives me pride every time I see them, lol.

I understand that there is a bug preventing the scrapers from working properly with the latest builds, but I'm not sure if I'm experiencing the bug or problems with my router. I can download Apple trailers, but can't get the scrapers to work nor get the Weather function to work. Does this sound like the known bug?

I understand that there is a bug preventing the scrapers from working properly with the latest builds, but I'm not sure if I'm experiencing the bug or problems with my router. I can download Apple trailers, but can't get the scrapers to work nor get the Weather function to work. Does this sound like the known bug?

I've never had a problem getting Weather to work so that one is likely tied to some other problem (perhaps your router issue).

Even though there currently is a bug on the scrapers you can get it to work by forcing it to set itself back to the default settings and then it shoudl work fine for you. I'm away from my box or I'd tell you how to reset the default settings but I just can't remember off the top of my head.

I'm not sure if it's my skin or XBMC, but sometimes my episode thumb doesn't show (even though I'm positive it's there) but if I view the episode info, it refreshes and shows up again. Also, if the tvdb scraper doesn't get episode thumbs I switch to tvrage and it usually finds one.

I think they believe the tv/movie lookup issue recently so we should expect it fixed when the next builds are released...

I've never had a problem getting Weather to work so that one is likely tied to some other problem (perhaps your router issue).

Even though there currently is a bug on the scrapers you can get it to work by forcing it to set itself back to the default settings and then it shoudl work fine for you. I'm away from my box or I'd tell you how to reset the default settings but I just can't remember off the top of my head.

Thanks. It's strange, because I can download items such as Apple trailers or the latest T3CH build, but I can't stream anything or scrape anything from the internet. In fact, I used to not be able to watch the Apple trailers when it was set to stream them, and then when I switched the setting to have them downloaded and I was able to watch trailers. Strange...

After reading everyone's great inputs to modify XBOX, ( which will take a few days), has anyone recently done a mod? I understand that the softmod can now be done with Splinter Cell & 007, along with MechAssult. I am about to embark on the journey of modify a xbox for the first time and I will like to be current on the correct install ( T3CH 01/27/08 ). If anyone one has any input or ideas ( things they would done different ) they would be greatly apperciated. On installing a bigger HD, what brands have been most successful?

I use the MechAssault softmod, and have done it numerous times. There are two main parts, getting the game save onto a game save cartridge, then doing the actual mod.

Once you have the game save on the cartridge, the rest is easy. I recommend this method. As for HDDs, I have been using whatever Fry's has on sale, mostly Maxtor/Seagates, and never a problem.

I am running TC3H build from 1/6/08.

Everything working perfectly but I cannot get the LOTR isos to stack to save my life. I have all three of the 2 disc sets, and have tried naming the isos every way I can think of...

Two Towers.1.iso & Two Towers.2.iso, .dvd1.iso and dvd2.iso, -1 and -2, etc etc.

I have checked to treat stacked files as one in both the video settings and in the library options on the left margin in library view.

I still get separate files and thumbnails for each (i.e., 2 LOTR-The Two Towers)

Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

My experience and recollection is that .1, .2 doesn't work, but something like .cd1 and .cd2 will work. Try that and see.

Found the reference: bottom of this page: http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/?title=Stacking

New T3CH build out. IMDB scraper doesn't seem to work for me in this build either. I'd recommend sticking with the 1-6-2008 build. The TV scraper seems to work though in the new build.

New T3CH build out. IMDB scraper doesn't seem to work for me in this build either. I'd recommend sticking with the 1-6-2008 build. The TV scraper seems to work though in the new build.

FYI: this can easily be worked around by going into the scrapers settings menu and hitting default and then OK.

Sean

I am running TC3H build from 1/6/08.

Everything working perfectly but I cannot get the LOTR isos to stack to save my life. I have all three of the 2 disc sets, and have tried naming the isos every way I can think of...

Two Towers.1.iso & Two Towers.2.iso, .dvd1.iso and dvd2.iso, -1 and -2, etc etc.

I have checked to treat stacked files as one in both the video settings and in the library options on the left margin in library view.

I still get separate files and thumbnails for each (i.e., 2 LOTR-The Two Towers)

Any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

I finally gave up on trying to stack dvd ISO's after reading from one of the devs that they took dvd iso stacking out in one of the 06-2006 builds. I can't find the link right now, but I'll keep looking. I ended up using dvd2one to combine my two disc features into one.

FYI: this can easily be worked around by going into the scrapers settings menu and hitting default and then OK.

Sean

It worked... I never even knew there was separate settings section for the scrapers....

Ja Phule, where can i get a copy of Aeon9?

I've found Aeon9A but it is reported with some problems.

Ja Phule, where can i get a copy of Aeon9?

I've found Aeon9A but it is reported with some problems.

I'm not having any problems with Aeon9a, what's wrong with it?

Oh Crap, forget Aeon9A for now, I screwed up (Loading the new 1/6/08 build). Haven't used the FTP SW since I first loaded the softmod, BUT, I was backing up my UserData file to my PC (Across the network) and I decided to backup E:Apps\Xbox\ default.xbe also but instead of copying it I transferred it (Deleted) it off the Xbox. Now I have it on my PC backup folder but when I went to copy the new Xbmc build over to the Xbox I lost connectivity. I can't FTP or even ping the Xbox and the dreaded RED led around the drive is on.

I can get it to the Xbox dashboard, but when I try and go into settings to look at an IP it locks up. Whoa is me!

I put the MEM into the joy stick area and I can view the SID4.NK.Launcher file and 007 saved on there. I wonder if I should re-install the softmod from scratch. (I mean starting with the Transfering of the saved files from the original mem card and 007 game disk). What do ya think?

I'm not having any problems with Aeon9a, what's wrong with it?

bump, look at post above. I figure u might have email notification on.

Going to take the notebook in there and connect directly (Crossover) to the Xbox and see if I can bust in there somehow. I have Network magic installed on my local network and it detects the static IP of the Xbox and it shows up on the network map. But I can not ping it or FTP to it. Re-booted my PC and the Xbox to no avail. I don't know why Network magic can see it from my PC.

bump, look at post above. I figure u might have email notification on.

Going to take the notebook in there and connect directly (Crossover) to the Xbox and see if I can bust in there somehow. I have Network magic installed on my local network and it detects the static IP of the Xbox and it shows up on the network map. But I can not ping it or FTP to it. Re-booted my PC and the Xbox to no avail. I don't know why Network magic can see it from my PC.

I'd redo the softmod. No need to backup your eeprom again if you did last time (also be sure to save the eeprom on your pc if you haven't already). The softmod will replace your dashboard default.xbe (which I assume currently is a shortcut to your now deleted xbmc default.xbe). This will get you back into the evox or unleashx dashboards and you can ftp your files back.

What is the purpose of backing up the eeprom?

I understand it is used for Xbox Live.

If I don't use Xbox Live, do I need a backup of the eeprom?

What is the purpose of backing up the eeprom?

I understand it is used for Xbox Live.

If I don't use Xbox Live, do I need a backup of the eeprom?

For softmods, you need your eeprom in order to put in a bigger hard drive. If your hard drive ever dies, you'll need it for whatever hard drive you replace it with also.

I'd redo the softmod. No need to backup your eeprom again if you did last time (also be sure to save the eeprom on your pc if you haven't already). The softmod will replace your dashboard default.xbe (which I assume currently is a shortcut to your now deleted xbmc default.xbe). This will get you back into the evox or unleashx dashboards and you can ftp your files back.

No dont do that!!!!!!! all you need to do is boot off a boot disc like Frostys, Slayers, AID and re-ftp back what you deleted....

The softmod should not re-install and will most likely error because its already installed. Everyone should have a boot disc handy....when you screw up the dash or XBMC the solution is NOT TO RE-INSTALL THE SOFTMOD.


SEan

What is the purpose of backing up the eeprom?

I understand it is used for Xbox Live.

If I don't use Xbox Live, do I need a backup of the eeprom?

If your Hard Drive dies and you dont have your eeprom.bin you know own a brick. or at least a brick that needs a modchip.

Sean

If your Hard Drive dies and you dont have your eeprom.bin you know own a brick. or at least a brick that needs a modchip.

Sean

I used SID V2.0 to install the softmod. I have the unleashx dashboard. It looks like I need to install the evox dashboard to backup the eeprom. How do I install the evox dashboard?

Thanks

I used SID V2.0 to install the softmod. I have the unleashx dashboard. It looks like I need to install the evox dashboard to backup the eeprom. How do I install the evox dashboard?

Thanks



many ways:

via FTP
via FileManager in XBMC
via any of the popular boot discs. Slayers, Frostys, Auto Installer Deluxe

Recommendation:

Get Evox
ftp to your xbox
create dir e:\apps\evox
put the evox files in that dir

run evox from XBMC or whatever dash you currently have.

e:\apps should automatically show up in that programs menus after FTP and a reboot...

thats it...

Sean

Am I the only one that set up my softmod to dual boot? ie. Boot directly to evox by powering up using the DVD tray button or boot directly to XBMC by pressing the "smaller" power button. This would save many people the heartache and headaches when updating XBMC...

Just a thought...

Krazie's allows for these multiple boot options... Actually up to 3 different boot options...

Well finally did it all. (Aeon is pretty cool, but no as functional as Vision, espically in Movies with over 250+ titles)

Now I need to find out why when I power on it doesn't take me to Xbmc. I need to select apps from msdash and then select Xbmc as an app to load.
Somewhere a default.xbe is either missing or I put one in a wrong folder. :(

But the good new is the newer build and skins seem to have visibly improved 720P and 1080i movie content.

Well finally did it all. (Aeon is pretty cool, but no as functional as Vision, espically in Movies with over 250+ titles)

Now I need to find out why when I power on it doesn't take me to Xbmc. I need to select apps from msdash and then select Xbmc as an app to load.
Somewhere a default.xbe is either missing or I put one in a wrong folder. :(

But the good new is the newer build and skins seem to have visibly improved 720P and 1080i movie content.

if you are using SID. The default dashboard should be e:\dashboard\default.xbe

place the shortcut to XBMC here... If not check the SID instructions and see what files its looking for on boot.

and btw you must mean EvoX or unleashx. The MS dash does not let you run other apps...

Sean

Am I the only one that set up my softmod to dual boot? ie. Boot directly to evox by powering up using the DVD tray button or boot directly to XBMC by pressing the "smaller" power button. This would save many people the heartache and headaches when updating XBMC...

Just a thought...

Krazie's allows for these multiple boot options... Actually up to 3 different boot options...

Thanks for the heads up. Setting up for dual boot is part of the 'Extras' so I never saw it (being new to modding, I was just glad I got it softmodded at all!).

I am currently just using the filemanager in XBMC and starting evox from there (which isn't too big a hassle, but I like the idea of a dual boot better). Can the boot options be passcoded? Meaning, if I use the button to boot to evox, can it require a passcode before running evox (and then maybe, if failed, run XBMC)?

Also, when booting using the DVD tray button, does it also open the tray, or does it require an additional press to open the tray once it's booted?

Thanks.

if you are using SID. The default dashboard should be e:\dashboard\default.xbe

place the shortcut to XBMC here... If not check the SID instructions and see what files its looking for on boot.

and btw you must mean EvoX or unleashx. The MS dash does not let you run other apps...

Sean

Yes, I did mean UnleashX dash. But I have looked for E:\dashboard, but I do not have that folder. Maybe I should create one, I have tried to copy over default.xbe to the E:\directory (That is where config.xml and evox/unleash stuff is) and I renamed evox.xbe to old and renamed the default.xbe to evox.xbe (I also modified the config.xml which is unleashX and pointed it to the E:\APPS\Xbmc directory to no avail) . That was a no go and thankfully I was still able to FTP to it to change it back.

I think I'm going to create the E:\dashboard folder and put default.xbe in there as you suggested.

OK, created E:\dashboard and put default.xbe in there from Xbmc directory (Copy). IT errored and informed me that the FTP liink is up, that's all folks.

Here is the log from the dashboard directory.

3456 NOTICE: -----------------------------------------------------------------------
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: Starting XBoxMediaCenter. Built on Jan 6 2008
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: Q is mapped to: E:\Dashboard
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: The executeable running is: E:\Dashboard\default.xbe
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: Log File is located: Q:\xbmc.log
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: -----------------------------------------------------------------------
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: Unmapped drive T
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: Mapping drive T to Harddisk0\Partition1\Dashboard\userdata
23:09:33 M: 57982976 ERROR: Failed to create symbolic link! (status=0xc0000034)
23:09:33 M: 57982976 NOTICE: Setup DirectX
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Mapping drive C to Harddisk0\Partition2
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Mapping drive E to Harddisk0\Partition1
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Unmapped drive D
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Mapping drive D to Cdrom0
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Mapping drive F to Harddisk0\Partition6
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Mapping drive X to Harddisk0\Partition3
23:09:33 M: 57958400 NOTICE: Mapping drive Y to Harddisk0\Partition4
23:09:33 M: 57954304 NOTICE: Unmapped drive Z
23:09:33 M: 57954304 NOTICE: Mapping drive Z to Harddisk0\Partition5
23:09:33 M: 57954304 NOTICE: load settings...
23:09:33 M: 57954304 NOTICE: Mapping drive P to Harddisk0\Partition1\Dashboard\userdata
23:09:33 M: 57954304 ERROR: Failed to create symbolic link! (status=0xc0000034)
23:09:33 M: 57954304 NOTICE: loading T:\guisettings.xml
23:09:33 M: 57954304 ERROR: Unable to load T:\guisettings.xml, creating new T:\guisettings.xml with default values
23:09:33 M: 57909248 ERROR: Unable to save settings to T:\guisettings.xml
23:09:33 M: 57909248 ERROR: XFILE::CFile::Delete - Error deleting file T:\guisettings.xml
23:09:33 M: 57921536 ERROR: Unable to save settings to T:\guisettings.xml
23:09:33 M: 57921536 WARNING: Emergency recovery console starting...
23:09:33 M: 35872768 FATAL: XBMC Fatal Error:
23:09:33 M: 35872768 FATAL: T:\guisettings.xml, Line 0
23:09:33 M: 35872768 FATAL: Failed to open file
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Unmapped drive C
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Mapping drive C to Harddisk0\Partition2
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Unmapped drive D
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Mapping drive D to Cdrom0
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Unmapped drive E
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Mapping drive E to Harddisk0\Partition1
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Unmapped drive F
23:09:33 M: 35872768 NOTICE: Mapping drive F to Harddisk0\Partition6
23:09:33 M: 35872768 FATAL: Init network using dash settings...
23:09:33 M: 35872768 WARNING: use dashboard
23:09:34 M: 35557376 FATAL: IP Address: 192.168.0.3
23:09:34 M: 35557376 FATAL: Starting FTP server...
23:09:34 M: 34836480 NOTICE: XBFileZilla: Started
23:09:34 M: 34836480 FATAL: FTP server running on port 21, login: xbox/xbox

Mapping drive P to Harddisk0\Partition1\Dashboard\userdata failed as well as guisettings because Udata and guisettings are both within the XBMC directory I would assume. Any Suggestions?

many ways:

via FTP
via FileManager in XBMC
via any of the popular boot discs. Slayers, Frostys, Auto Installer Deluxe

Recommendation:

Get Evox
ftp to your xbox
create dir e:\apps\evox
put the evox files in that dir

run evox from XBMC or whatever dash you currently have.

e:\apps should automatically show up in that programs menus after FTP and a reboot...

thats it...

Sean

I started up the xbox using the button that opens the dvd tray at startup and I got the softmod menu that let me install the evox dashboard. I install that and did the backup of the eeprom and then redid the steps to have xbmc as my dashboard at startup.

thanks for the help.

Did you test your shortcut first from the other dashboard?

thats important before you actually replace it...

the fact that putting the shortcut in place changed the boot behavior means you found the right spot.

does xbmc run?
where is XBMC installed?

test the shortcut....

your close...

it looks like from your log you have XBMC in e:\dashboard...

if so thats not where it belongs.... tell me where you have everything installed...

Sean

XBMC is in e:\APPS\XBMC\. I could not find an e:dashboard so I created one and put default.xbe from the Xbmc folder in there. That's why it can't find Udata and guisettings since it is the wrong path. What I need to do is create a path to the XBMC directory. But it looks like one is there in an items.xml in the E:\ folder where UnleashX's config.xml file is located.

I can load XBMC from the apps directory on UnleashX's dashboard once it is up and running. Yes, I did create a dual boot, but I think because I wrote over stuff instead of a clean install some things are missing, like the dashboard in E:\ folder.

XBMC is in e:\APPS\XBMC\. I could not find an e:dashboard so I created one and put default.xbe from the Xbmc folder in there. That's why it can't find Udata and guisettings since it is the wrong path. What I need to do is create a path to the XBMC directory. But it looks like one is there in an items.xml in the E:\ folder where UnleashX's config.xml file is located.

I can load XBMC from the apps directory on UnleashX's dashboard once it is up and running. Yes, I did create a dual boot, but I think because I wrote over stuff instead of a clean install some things are missing, like the dashboard in E:\ folder.

When you dl the T3CH build of XBMC, there is a folder called _tools and in there is a shortcut xbe file. YOu need to take that xbe file and rename it to default.xbe and place it where your dashboard's default.xbe is. Instructions for making XBMC your main dash is also in the xbmc readme file. Creating the E:\dashboard folder and placing the xbmc xbe file won't do the trick. You need to figure out where your dashboard's default.xbe is. It might be C:\default.xbe. I usually try to figure it out be going to file manager and running the xbe file and see what loads up.

Thanks for the heads up. Setting up for dual boot is part of the 'Extras' so I never saw it (being new to modding, I was just glad I got it softmodded at all!).

I am currently just using the filemanager in XBMC and starting evox from there (which isn't too big a hassle, but I like the idea of a dual boot better). Can the boot options be passcoded? Meaning, if I use the button to boot to evox, can it require a passcode before running evox (and then maybe, if failed, run XBMC)?

Also, when booting using the DVD tray button, does it also open the tray, or does it require an additional press to open the tray once it's booted?

Thanks.

No passcode is available for boot as far as I know...

Yes, the DVD tray will open upon boot but all you have to do is push the DVD tray button again and it will close... (it will not shut down the xbox... Only the power button will do that...)

Another trick is to keep a second copy of XBMC in a backup folder on your hard drive that can easily be renamed via FTP if you get an error on boot. XBMC will normally open an FTP session when it errors on boot and this will allow you to go in and rename your back up and reboot to a known "good" XBMC version...

Using an Airport Extreme Base station and USB drives, I ran into a problem similar to this one posted 3/07:

I have all my movies ripped as Movie Name/VIDEO_TS/ and I can only get them to play in the File List mode. If I add them to the media library mode, they won't play whatsoever, yet still work fine if i just go straight to the directory and hit play.

Anyone encounter this? Thanks.

When you dl the T3CH build of XBMC, there is a folder called _tools and in there is a shortcut xbe file. YOu need to take that xbe file and rename it to default.xbe and place it where your dashboard's default.xbe is. Instructions for making XBMC your main dash is also in the xbmc readme file. Creating the E:\dashboard folder and placing the xbmc xbe file won't do the trick. You need to figure out where your dashboard's default.xbe is. It might be C:\default.xbe. I usually try to figure it out be going to file manager and running the xbe file and see what loads up.

Yeah, I have downloaded the Xbmc manual. I looked in the tools directory and there were the shortcuts. It looks like I also need to create a .cfg file with the same name of the shortcut (defualt.xbe and default.cfg) with the path for the Xbmc files in the .cfg file. (E:\APPS\XBMC) so the boot knows where the files are located. That's what I didn't do in my previous steps. I will do it tomorrow night after work.

Thx

I picked up a fourth xbox today from game stop. 7 days to return

I have it setup in my office. I set the IP, but when I ping it from my main workstation I get nothing.

The former owner (wif3 beat3r) apparently had a live account. And after entering gateway and dns info. The box sees two of his friends online. Does this prove the RJ45? I'd like to see a reply to a ping before I crack the case and chip it.

Do stock xboxen ignore pings?

Edit: Nevermind. After forcing connect to live via dashboard network troubleshooter, it responds to ping. No to find that old chip I have around here somewhere.

Slack

LOL!!! I just picked up my 3rd one earlier today. My wife looked at me like I was crazy. What can I say, I'm addicted. Now I have XBMC for each TV in the house.

:)

I just did a new softmod this weekend for a coworker with hard drive replacement in addition adding a bigger hard drive to another xbox I have in my place.

It's so easy to do the mods I recommend it to my friends and peers all the time for them to get one, and they do! :)

Just demonstrated the XBMC to the cable repair guy. LOL. I think I just hooked another 'addict'. He told me he is going to steal the XBox from his son. LOL

What is the easiest, most idiot-proof way to take a pawn shop xbox and mod it to the point where it will run XBMC? I want to put one at every tv in the house, connected to my home (wired) network and a central file server. My goal is to play DVD ISOs, MKVs, Divx, Xvid and my MP3 library. I doubt seriously I'll ever play a game on one of them, and certainly nothing on xbox live (whatever that is), so losing the ability to connect to xbox live is a non-issue for me. (I have a Wii and PS2 which I've never played anyway).

My desire is 100% for XBMC player or media extender. I was going to buy a Popcorn Hour (http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/), Tvix (http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/), SageTV Media Extender (http://www.sage.tv/hd_extender.html), or similar media extender, but I'm tired of these products being almost available or coming soon. I'm ready to get my home video distribution system working *now*.

My problem is that even the supposedly simple guides to modding your box in 10 minutes (http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox.shtml) are somewhat intimidating to me. I've tried to find a pre-modded box to buy, but nobody seems to sell them anymore. So that means (I think), searching pawn shops and craigslist for old xboxes, then doing the mod myself. I'm looking for the world's easiest way to mod a box enough to run XBMC.

What is the easiest, most idiot-proof way to take a pawn shop xbox and mod it to the point where it will run XBMC?
My problem is that even the supposedly simple guides to modding your box in 10 minutes (http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox.shtml) are somewhat intimidating to me. I've tried to find a pre-modded box to buy, but nobody seems to sell them anymore. So that means (I think), searching pawn shops and craigslist for old xboxes, then doing the mod myself. I'm looking for the world's easiest way to mod a box enough to run XBMC.

I used the instructions at this website
http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/transform-your-classic-xbox-into-a-killer-media-center-299809.php

Here's my thought. I agree that can be pretty intimidating, although it's not THAT hard once you gather the materials and site down and actually do it. However, if it truly seems like too much, consider trying to get someone who has already modded one to loan/sell you the tools. The most difficult part of that procedure is the first half and once thats done you have a toolkit that can be used over and over, AND readily duplicated. For the cost of the game ($2) and a used game card ($5) a veteran could send you what you need and you could be done in 15 minutes.

What is the easiest, most idiot-proof way to take a pawn shop xbox and mod it to the point where it will run XBMC? I want to put one at every tv in the house, connected to my home (wired) network and a central file server. My goal is to play DVD ISOs, MKVs, Divx, Xvid and my MP3 library. I doubt seriously I'll ever play a game on one of them, and certainly nothing on xbox live (whatever that is), so losing the ability to connect to xbox live is a non-issue for me. (I have a Wii and PS2 which I've never played anyway).

My desire is 100% for XBMC player or media extender. I was going to buy a Popcorn Hour (http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/), Tvix (http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/), SageTV Media Extender (http://www.sage.tv/hd_extender.html), or similar media extender, but I'm tired of these products being almost available or coming soon. I'm ready to get my home video distribution system working *now*.

My problem is that even the supposedly simple guides to modding your box in 10 minutes (http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox.shtml) are somewhat intimidating to me. I've tried to find a pre-modded box to buy, but nobody seems to sell them anymore. So that means (I think), searching pawn shops and craigslist for old xboxes, then doing the mod myself. I'm looking for the world's easiest way to mod a box enough to run XBMC.


Hey I'm with you, not as intimidated because I have hacked my PSP in the past and this seems just as easy but I always get nervous about this stuff when I start. On that note I finally found a copy of 007: AUF at a local shop yesterday for 3.99. So I have everything I need know just need to get started. But a question if anyone knows this I will mainly use it for DVD streaming so is it worth putting in a bigger HDD? I have a 120gb laying around I could use.

But a question if anyone knows this I will mainly use it for DVD streaming so is it worth putting in a bigger HDD? I have a 120gb laying around I could use.

Unless you need to store them locally on that xbox (i.e. no network connectivity) it's pointless.

I have one xbox set up with a 500 gig drive that I use for traveling with the family. We hook it up to our portable DVD player in the car and the kids can play all their games that are ripped to the HD as well as all their movies that reside on the internal HD. No need to carry any game or movie CD's... If you have no need for the above scenario then really you might not want to bother...

What is the easiest, most idiot-proof way to take a pawn shop xbox and mod it to the point where it will run XBMC? I want to put one at every tv in the house, connected to my home (wired) network and a central file server. My goal is to play DVD ISOs, MKVs, Divx, Xvid and my MP3 library. I doubt seriously I'll ever play a game on one of them, and certainly nothing on xbox live (whatever that is), so losing the ability to connect to xbox live is a non-issue for me. (I have a Wii and PS2 which I've never played anyway).

My desire is 100% for XBMC player or media extender. I was going to buy a Popcorn Hour (http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/), Tvix (http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/), SageTV Media Extender (http://www.sage.tv/hd_extender.html), or similar media extender, but I'm tired of these products being almost available or coming soon. I'm ready to get my home video distribution system working *now*.

My problem is that even the supposedly simple guides to modding your box in 10 minutes (http://www.techfreaks.org/articles/modxbox.shtml) are somewhat intimidating to me. I've tried to find a pre-modded box to buy, but nobody seems to sell them anymore. So that means (I think), searching pawn shops and craigslist for old xboxes, then doing the mod myself. I'm looking for the world's easiest way to mod a box enough to run XBMC.

If you were willing to pay for shipping to and from your location, I would be happy to softmod your Xbox for no charge. I live in Cortland, OH 44410. Just food for thought.

Am I the only one that set up my softmod to dual boot? ie. Boot directly to evox by powering up using the DVD tray button or boot directly to XBMC by pressing the "smaller" power button. This would save many people the heartache and headaches when updating XBMC...


I used the "Kingroach" installer disc which uses Ndure + Xboxhdm. It allows the same option of using the eject button to power up and boot the MS dash, or the standard power button to boot from the dash located iin E:\dash (XBMC, Evox, etc). I did something wrong on one of my three Xboxes that stops the eject button thing from working, but it works fine on the other two.

Still need to check out the contents of C: on that Xbox and look for missing files. I still have the original hard drive, so I could always rebuild a new CD-R with the files from the original drive and then hotswap and run Xboxhdm to rebuild the drive from scratch. But looking for missing files and then FTP'ing them back in sounds easier and doesn't require me to re-open the case. :)

What is the easiest, most idiot-proof way to take a pawn shop xbox and mod it to the point where it will run XBMC? I want to put one at every tv in the house, connected to my home (wired) network and a central file server.

I used this guide:
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=496263
(Note that this guide references Ndure 3.0, but the current version is 3.1. The options presented when running the ndure *.exe are slightly different, but the process is otherwise the same.)

The only problem I had was that the old Dell P3 box I was using to do the hotswap has a weird BIOS that detects hard drives a bit differently than many other PCs. But once I figured out how to work around that the rest was quite easy. After the softmod, you can simply boot the Xbox and then FTP the contents of your downloaded XBMC folder into E:\DASH on the Xbox. Reboot, and you're running XBMC as the default dash. No need to deal with any of the shortcut XBEs, etc. Also no need to find/buy a memory card or card reader to complete the softmod.

The user might want to consider a premodded system like this or something off of ctragslist...

http://www.sell.com/22RJTB

Skreifal, interesting softmod technique would be cool for bigger HD swaps and I am executed you got it done but if you have an action replay/flash the process gets a a lot simpler as you dont have open either the Xbox or the PC.

Sean

I don't own an Action Replay, and I wanted to swap in different hard drives into all three of my Xboxes. But I'll keep the gamesave option in mind if I decide to do any additional mods.

I don't own an Action Replay, and I wanted to swap in different hard drives into all three of my Xboxes. But I'll keep the gamesave option in mind if I decide to do any additional mods.

You can hack together a game controller cable and a usb cable. This will allow you with some software hack to use a usb drive.

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/578329

This is an awesome thread! I've been wanting a modded xbox for a long time now, and this thread really pushed me to do it. For those of you who are considering trying a soft mod for the first time, it was really easy (even hacking the controller to a usb cable).

I've got a bit of tinkering to do to get XBMC set up all nice and everything. Once I get it figured out, I'll probably start buying more xboxes for the other TVs in my house.

i noticed on the xbmc.org forums some of the developers are working on a port of xbmc to windows, a full port, not just for skinning.. I was home sick yesterday, so i loaded it up it and worked fine on my pc. All i tried was some music and iso files i had stored on my pc and they all played just like xbmc on my xbox.. will be interesting to see how this procedes.. perhaps to a point where you can play a full 1080p blu ray movie ??

Hey guys quick question. What program are you guys using on your computer to watch IFO/VOB files. I have ifo/vob's stored on my usb external harddrive, that i stream from my xbox over my network. But what do I use to watch them on my computer? I can't get nero to work. And I tried Daemon tools, nero, and MagicDisc, to mount them, but that didn't work either.

Another question. Anyone using X2VGA with their xbox?

Hey guys quick question. What program are you guys using on your computer to watch IFO/VOB files, streaming from the xbox?

Another question. Anyone using X2VGA with their xbox?

Streaming FROM the xbox ain't gonna happen. With XBMC that is. As XBMC has no SMB server. You can share the contents using the FTP server, but nothing on the PC side is going to stream from an FTP server.

The only possibilities I am aware of are...

1) boot into Xenium OS (which requires that you have a Xenium chip). Enable the SMB server, and stream to the PC. I did once just to see if it worked. I streamed 10 minutes of a DVD rip. Looked fine in VLC. But lots of errors were logged on the Xenium side.

2) boot into linux on the xbox and enable a samba server. Never tried that.

Streaming FROM the xbox ain't gonna happen. With XBMC that is. As XBMC has no SMB server. You can share the contents using the FTP server, but nothing on the PC side is going to stream from an FTP server.

The only possibilities I am aware of are...

1) boot into Xenium OS (which requires that you have a Xenium chip). Enable the SMB server, and stream to the PC. I did once just to see if it worked. I streamed 10 minutes of a DVD rip. Looked fine in VLC. But lots of errors were logged on the Xenium side.

2) boot into linux on the xbox and enable a samba server. Never tried that.

Im sorry. Let me edit that. I didn't mean stream from the xbox. I was just asking what software guys are using to watch stored ifo/vob's from their computer.

XBMC comes with a player pre-packaged... You don't need anything else if you are using XBMC...

Im sorry. Let me edit that. I didn't mean stream from the xbox. I was just asking what software guys are using to watch stored ifo/vob's from their computer.

I have all my media files stored on a file server at home running windows 2000.

The xbox running xbmc uses smb to connect to the shared drives and I use the built in xbmc player to play the media files. Most of my movies are ripped stored as ISO files (movie only, not the whole dvd).

If I'm watching movies using another computer I use zoom player. On that computer I use a combination of Netremote and Girder to select the ISO and mount the ISO for Zoom Player to play.

I have all my media files stored on a file server at home running windows 2000.

The xbox running xbmc uses smb to connect to the shared drives and I use the built in xbmc player to play the media files. Most of my movies are ripped stored as ISO files (movie only, not the whole dvd).

If I'm watching movies using another computer I use zoom player. On that computer I use a combination of Netremote and Girder to select the ISO and mount the ISO for Zoom Player to play.

I just have the ifo/vob's on a external usb hard drive. Will zoom player play them easily?

I just have the ifo/vob's on a external usb hard drive. Will zoom player play them easily?

Here's the link that explains how it will play ifo

http://www.inmatrix.com/zplayer/highlights/playdvd.shtml

Here's the link that explains how it will play ifo

http://www.inmatrix.com/zplayer/highlights/playdvd.shtml

Zoom player works great!!! Thank you so much.

Hey guys. I just bought a new 22inch Hanns G montior with VGA and DVI connections. Whats the best way to hook my xbox up to it? the x2vga device?

Zoom player works great!!! Thank you so much.

1) Drag an ISO onto VLC. (streamed or local to pc)
2) Enjoy full menu support.
3) Grab some popcorn

VLC is free.

Hey guys. I just bought a new 22inch Hanns G montior with VGA and DVI connections. Whats the best way to hook my xbox up to it? the x2vga device?

Or try to find the older version of the x2vga
http://absoluteinsight.net/1332

I have seen them on eBay for less then 20.00 in the past

Or try to find the older version of the x2vga
http://absoluteinsight.net/1332

I have seen them on eBay for less then 20.00 in the past

Why the older version?

Here's the link that explains how it will play ifo

http://www.inmatrix.com/zplayer/highlights/playdvd.shtml

Hey coco, quick question. Some of my movies that I load, you can't hear the voices. You can hear the background noise and such. And another thing. I can't get subtitles off.

Hey coco, quick question. Some of my movies that I load, you can't hear the voices. You can hear the background noise and such. And another thing. I can't get subtitles off.

That is weird.... I would check the forums at their website.

Sometimes I have audio problems, because I running a multichannel sound card and I'm trying to get the 5.1 audio track to play out the SPDIF to my receiver. And windows has scrabbled my settings.

Why the older version?

Only reason I have is cost, because if you have no use for the extra input why spend the extra money. However the x2vga is a good deal any way at 49.99.

i noticed on the xbmc.org forums some of the developers are working on a port of xbmc to windows, a full port, not just for skinning.. I was home sick yesterday, so i loaded it up it and worked fine on my pc. All i tried was some music and iso files i had stored on my pc and they all played just like xbmc on my xbox.. will be interesting to see how this procedes.. perhaps to a point where you can play a full 1080p blu ray movie ??

Any idea whereI can get a compiled version?

Any idea whereI can get a compiled version?

Try this:

http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/forum/showthread.php?p=167081#post167081

MOD DONE!!!!! I have XBMC up and running but I have still yet to figure out why I can't stream videos to it. I have ripped my videos to a .vob and a file structure like this movies\Movie Title\Video_TS and Audio_TS. I also ripped my files in 1gb chunks, now some videos have been found things on my main HDD but my rips are on and external 500gb drive. I could unhook it from my pc and hooking it up to my Airport extreme and have it act as a NAS. Any suggestions? Also Ja Phule can I use DVDProfiler2XBMC with pre-existing rips?

Other than that so far so good only a few hiccups. I am running the XBOX360 skin but I may change that out.