In Depth: Media Center Extenders - Xbox vs HP

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.thenears.com/index.php?p=80' target='_blank'>http://www.thenears.com/index.php?p=80</a><br /><br /></div><i>"When it comes to Media Center Extenders, there are really two options currently on the market: XBox Extender and HP Extender (virtually identical to the Linksys Extender). In this article I will compare various aspects of the two systems and hopefully give you enough information to make an informed decision for your living room."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/XBox_rack.jpg" /> <br /><br />Peter Near has a great look at a couple of Media Center Extenders and how well they work in various situations. Its a pretty good read if you are interested in how these extenders differ from each other.

[Jason Dunn]

That was a GREAT article...I'm just about to set up my Xbox Extender now that I finally have my 2005 MCE system set up.

[Felix Torres]

Good review indeed.
He only left one techie question unanswered:
What is the maximum WMV data-rate that each box can handle?
Can either handle better-than-dvd video streams?

Inquiring minds want to know since HDTV-recording is a reason in and of itself for getting an MCE PC...
&lt;hint!> ;-)

[rtrueman]

In order to run the Media Center OS, do you need a Media Center PC? I have a decent laptop that I'm not using and I have access to the OS through MSDN. Can I use this machine to serve up photos and WMA files? Granted, the TV portion won't be very usable.

Rob

[Jason Dunn]

In order to run the Media Center OS, do you need a Media Center PC? I have a decent laptop that I'm not using and I have access to the OS through MSDN. Can I use this machine to serve up photos and WMA files? Granted, the TV portion won't be very usable.

Yes, you need a PC running MCE 2005. You should be able to install it on your laptop, and everything but the TV portions would work. There are only a few TV tuners supported under 2005. You might be better off going with Beyond TV's SnapStream for that portion.

[Wilbert]

I just got my Media Center 2005 up and running and I LOVE IT! :rock on dude!: I could go on and on about MCE, and I might when Jason does his article, but even my wife for the first time today said she thought it was pretty cool.

I also just purchased the Xbox extender this weekend and I must say it does have some flaws, mainly due to the fact that the current version of the Xbox was not meant for this function and the Media Center Extender is more of an addon. HOWEVER, the next version of the Xbox will have Media Center capabilities built into the device and improve on them such as being able to play HD from the extender. :D

The picture quality is pretty good as well. I am using the component inputs from the Xbox to my TV and the screens look great. The picture quality is a little less than perfect on dark or lowlight shows such as Alias or 24 but this is due to the compession IMO. I would like to see this fixed with the next MCE update and the next Xbox. Maybe they could use WMV as the compression and not MPEG 2 :roll:

[pnear]

Good review indeed.
He only left one techie question unanswered:
What is the maximum WMV data-rate that each box can handle?
Can either handle better-than-dvd video streams?

Inquiring minds want to know since HDTV-recording is a reason in and of itself for getting an MCE PC...
&lt;hint!> ;-)

The maximum data rate is 4MB/s on the extender platform. Video must be NTSC or PAL standard at a 4:3 aspect ratio.

You can of course be the judge, but no that it not better than DVD video in my opinion. Primarily because an anamorphic DVD title actually uses 480 lines of resolution for the picture and then changes the output aspect (and doesn't bother encoding the letterbox empty space) whereas the extender expects the full 480 lines (it encodes the empty black space as part of that image). WMV at 4MB/s might have better clarity than MPEG-2 at 8 MB/s, but will never surpass the output resolution of 480 lines.

Pete