Microsoft Xbox Media Center Extener Reviewed

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/mcx_xbox_review.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/mcx_xbox_review.asp</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Microsoft's Digital Entertainment Anywhere campaign--internally known as XP Reloaded -- is a stacked deck, full of products that are at or near the pinnacle of their respective categories. There's just one problem, and it's a huge one. While the Digital Entertainment Anywhere campaign is rooted with Windows Media Player 10, a free product that all XP users can (and should) download, consumers really won't get the best experience unless they buy into the whole Digital Entertainment Anywhere scheme, and adopt Microsoft technologies across the board. That means getting a Media Center PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, adopting Windows Media Audio (WMA)-based online music services, using Portable Media Centers or WMA-compatible portable audio players on-the-go, and, if you'd like to access Media Center content in other rooms around your home, grabbing a Media Center Extender or two."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/mcx_xbox_03.jpg" /><br /><br />Whenever I visit Paul's site, I'm reminded of the immortal words of Jack Nicholson playing the Joker in Batman: "Where does he <i>GET</i> those wonderful toys!?". I'm waiting for my Xbox Extender to show up and Paul has probably had his for two months already. :lol:

[mcsouth]

8O Wow! I got started off on Paul's article, thinking that this was finally the last straw - I was finally going to spring for an X-box. And then he nailed me between the eyes with the reality of it as a Media Center Extender! :snipersmile:

This seems to fall into the category of 'almost', or 'so close'. To be fair, I'm sure that the X-box design team never had the Media Center Extender idea on their original Task List, so they are possibly trying to make it do something that wasn't thought of during design time. But I like Paul's comments about loading the software to the X-box HD in order to speed it up some - although, wouldn't you need to hack your X-box so that you could then boot to the Extender software, or at least to an intermediate selection screen? I'm not overly familiar with the X-box, but I don't think it boots to any kind of OS desktop, so that you could play stuff directly from the HD, right?

I guess this is why they call it the bleeding edge...someone has to try all of these ideas out to save the rest of us from a similar fate!

[Jason Dunn]

...although, wouldn't you need to hack your X-box so that you could then boot to the Extender software, or at least to an intermediate selection screen? I'm not overly familiar with the X-box, but I don't think it boots to any kind of OS desktop, so that you could play stuff directly from the HD, right?

Sure, you could install it to the Xbox itself - but only Microsoft and a few select partners know how to do that. ;-) The Xbox is running a version of Windows 2000, but it's not an open platform that anyone can install anything to. But if Microsoft wanted to, they could do it.

[Skitals]

I fully agree with this review. I have had my Xbox Extender for a few weeks, and am (sorta) glad Im not the only one with the sluggish response issues. One thing he didn't mention, while praising the remote, is that it is no where near as powerful as most other remotes. The Media Center remote I have for my PC has two IR leds, while the Xbox remote only has one. The result: you need to point the remote directly at the dongle for it to work. I even went as far as installing a second IR led, but it didnt make a difference because there is only power for one, and it is esentially just split.

Another note, I installed the Extender software onto the harddrive of my Xbox, and I didnt notice any really noticable speed increase when loading or connecting.

Despite all of this, I still use the extender daily, even though my PC is in the same room and I could just hook it up via TV-OUT. The video quality is infinitely better then my crappy tv-out, as Im using component (RGB) video from my Xbox.

[Jason Dunn]

Thanks for the input Skitals - good to know what I'll be in for...

[Felix Torres]

My first thought upon reading Thurott's review was: PIII 733 + 64Mb RAM...
In other words, like the chess-playing dog, the trick isn't how well it works, but rather that it works at all.
:)
I'm sorry to hear that the remote is wimpy and xbox specific.
But the DVD kit has given me no problem so the remote is no show-stopper.
The live TV lag doesn't much concern me at this point since I'm not (yet?) a PVR-addict. ;-)

What I do wonder about, though, and *nobody* has reported on this, is what WMV resolution/data rates do extenders safely support?
Windows Media tools are readily available for archiving content at DVD-quality on a PC drive but if the extenders are limited to NTSC-quality video, there is little point in using an extender for anything beyond music, photos, and low-res video...

Anybody with an extender try to playback an ED or better stream?

[Felix Torres]

Another note, I installed the Extender software onto the harddrive of my Xbox, and I didnt notice any really noticable speed increase when loading or connecting.

Despite all of this, I still use the extender daily, even though my PC is in the same room and I could just hook it up via TV-OUT. The video quality is infinitely better then my crappy tv-out, as Im using component (RGB) video from my Xbox.

1- How'd you get the extender software on the drive? You have a modd'ed box?
2- Do you have an early-production XBOX? First year or so? One of the "talking point" bullets on the early XBOX sales pitch is that MS used a premium quality video-out chip on the box. Mine is an early unit and the color purity, contrast, and saturation exceeds anything I've soon on dedicated players so I do virtually all my DVD viewing from the box instead of the dedicated DVD, whenever possible. Anyway, as MS looked to cut costs on latter XBOX production, the video-out chip was replaced with a cheaper model, but I don't know if it made a visible difference or not... (All my friends and xbox-ing siblings have the early units...)

[seatac]

It's a fine article and many of his points are valid. However, it's more of a condemnation of the Xbox and its SDK than anything.

His major flaws are:

1) Noise - The Xbox has a fan. Obviously this is going to be an issue. There really wasn't any thing that could be done there.

2) Performance - Not only is it an aging platform, it's a platform that was designed to be quite secure. As everyone knows security is the enemy of performance. In some ways it's a miracle that the thing works at all. This certainly has an effect on the UI. However, I would argue that the video performance (response-wise) is better in the XSled than the Bobsled.

3) ON/OFF -- Again this is an Xbox issue. In order to pass certification and become an Xbox title one needs to play by their rules. One of those rules is that a title cannot turn off the console. This is because there is no way to remotely turn the darn thing on again. IMHO, the bigger issue is that there is no way to turn the *TV* off with either extender. Personally, I just leave mine on all the time (although I realize that this would be an issue for some people -- see point 1).

4) As for the remote -- I agree with that one. It really should be compatible.

As an owner of both extender products the one thing that I thought that this review was missing was a comparison of the video performance. In this arena the XSled beats the Bobsled. I've found that skip and replay are much more responsive with the Xbox. Overall, when watching video, it just feels more responsive, and, after all, that's what really counts.