So I setup MCExtender on the Xbox with Media Center in Vista Ultimate. All works well but I don't have a "Play DVD" option on the 360. This does exist on the PC and works great but can't get it to show up on the 360. Any ideas? Would anyone else be willing to try it and see if they can get it to work? :)

Thanks,
Robert.

DVD playback from the MCE PC is not supported. The closest thing is ripping the DVD to the HDD of the MCE PC.

I have been looking at getting a 360 to use as a Media Extender, but heard issues with DVD playback as well. If I have a PC set up with ripped CDs and DVDs on the hard drive, can I use the 360 extender to play the music, movies, and also use the DVR function? Thanks.

I have been looking at getting a 360 to use as a Media Extender, but heard issues with DVD playback as well. If I have a PC set up with ripped CDs and DVDs on the hard drive, can I use the 360 extender to play the music, movies, and also use the DVR function? Thanks.
Yep. The My Movies plugin for MC works quite well with the Xbox extender. It's pretty slick, actually.

Yep. The My Movies plugin for MC works quite well with the Xbox extender. It's pretty slick, actually.


So will this allow me to stream DVD's or do I still have to rip them to the harddrive and then play it back?

So will this allow me to stream DVD's or do I still have to rip them to the harddrive and then play it back?
No, you have to rip them. You also need to either convert them to mpg or wmv format or use a transcoding program like transcode360. I do the former.

So 360 will not play back Divx format?? I am new to this and that is what a friend recommended to rip my DVDs. What is the preferred method to rip DVDs for 360 playback? Are you able to retain DD and DTS audio? Thanks.

well for ripping dvds in general divx or xvid is the way to go,i dont know if they support dd or dts,i think if you rip it in wmv format is supports 5.1 but will result in a larger file,but i rip my dvds in divx or xvid and use transcode 360 to stream em to the 360,since microsoft doesnt support xvid or divx

I'm just curious, why use the MCE to play DVD's and not the 360 itself?

I'm just curious, why use the MCE to play DVD's and not the 360 itself?

Just to have the convienence of having my entire DVD collection ripped on the PC hard drive and I can surf my collection for a movie to watch from the comfort of my couch. Eventually I want to stream the content to other rooms of the house as well.

It is not legal for Microsoft to allow streaming of dvd to the extender. This isn't a 360 problem, it simply isn't allowed due to DRM rules. You can play divx on your 360 if you use something like tversity or transcode 360. They work pretty well with just about any format you can throw at it. However, it is more limited with high def content. The 360 can play high def mp2, wmv videos, but not h264 videos, although support for it is coming in the spring update. All in all, the 360 is a great media center extender and easily the best console media center you can legally buy, especially for high def content.

It is not legal for Microsoft to allow streaming of dvd to the extender. This isn't a 360 problem, it simply isn't allowed due to DRM rules. You can play divx on your 360 if you use something like tversity or transcode 360. They work pretty well with just about any format you can throw at it. However, it is more limited with high def content. The 360 can play high def mp2, wmv videos, but not h264 videos, although support for it is coming in the spring update. All in all, the 360 is a great media center extender and easily the best console media center you can legally buy, especially for high def content.


According to Amir, it became legal as of late. Just has not been implemented.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10363249&&#post10363249

Just to have the convienence of having my entire DVD collection ripped on the PC hard drive and I can surf my collection for a movie to watch from the comfort of my couch. Eventually I want to stream the content to other rooms of the house as well.

I said damn! That's gotta eat up some space! How many DVD's do you have?


According to Amir, it became legal as of late. Just has not been implemented.

Managed Copy policies?

For those using Transcode 360 to playback ripped DVD's from your hard drive to the Xbox 360... two questions:

1.) Do you have to rip them to one Vob file?

2.) Is there a significant load put on the host PC while transcoding?