Windows Media Center Xbox Edition

[Jasoco]

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/hardware/xboxmediacenterextender.htm

Yep. It seems the dream Microsoft talked about when the Xbox was announced is starting to form..

Back when they announced the Xbox, they hinted at wanting to make the Xbox sort of an all-in-one set top box that does everything.

Well, now it almost can.

With the Windows Media Center Xbox thingy, your Xbox can now play your music, view your photos, and your VIDEOS as well as listen to radio, watch AND RECORD TV, and still play DVD's and games. Yeah.. It turns your Xbox into a TiVo-like Digital Video Recorder. (All they need to do now is make the Xbox have a DVD-RW drive..)

Drawbacks seem to be that you (1) need a Windows Media Center PC and (2) can't use it with a Mac.

Basically, all they need NOW is to integrate the MSN TV (Formerly WebTV) into the Xbox and THEN you will have achieved Billy-boy's dream of having the Xbox be-all and do-all that is entertainment.

I can't use it, as can't most people, but it's a nice little idea actually. Also, I can't begin to express how ugly I think the interface is. But it's a nice idea, if you're into that sort of thing.

[tholly]

But it's a nice idea, if you're into that sort of thing.

that about sums up all of my thoughts about this little accessory

[omnedon]

My box already does all of that EXCEPT the TiVo stuff.

The TiVo stuff seems neat. I assume the PC must be doing a chunk of the data storage.

[goatdan]

I can't use it, as can't most people, but it's a nice little idea actually. Also, I can't begin to express how ugly I think the interface is. But it's a nice idea, if you're into that sort of thing.

I actually kind of like the interface's look. Then again, I'm a fan of the new XP look :embarrassed:

Honestly though, this is not a nice idea. Microsoft wants the Xbox to become the system that you connect with to the outside world to get all of your TV and Internet access. If they control it, you know that they will monopolize the market and then force people to pay for a buggy product every year.

Right now, I can (and do) get my TV for free. I don't want to pay any company to descramble it for me or to view it. Microsoft (smartly, admittedly) wants to be the company that reaps those billions of dollars worth of profits.

[EnemyZero]

ehhhh....how come I don't see this selling well..whats the point of buying the extender..if you have media center on ure pc WHY get it on xbox? meh

[sirgeoph]

Pretty sure mine does that already.

Oh yeah, that's right... I don't have a stock XBOX.

[Jasoco]

ehhhh....how come I don't see this selling well..whats the point of buying the extender..if you have media center on ure pc WHY get it on xbox? mehYeah, that part is a little confusing. Don't Media Center PC's already have all the inputs/outputs, come with the remote and everything? Maybe to just make it a more compact and separate package maybe? I know if I spent hundreds on a computer, I would want it hooked up as a computer. So having the media stuff also available separate on my TV is cool.. But I dunno.

Also, Blue and Green.. Fashion faux-pa. IF I had to use this thing, or Windows in general, I would change to a better color scheme. I would completely remove all the colored shitty Luna (Or at least change it to Silver). And if that thing has the same option, Silver would be on that thing faster than you can say "Clashing Colors". But enough about Windows and their clueless asses in the GUI design department.

I still see this as what MS claimed the Xbox would become back in 2000. I couldn't find an article, but I remember lots of articles from months before the release (In 2001) saying they wanted it to be-all and do-all. So, I just see this as their way of doing just that.

I don't expect these will sell much at all. I picture half a dozen boxes of it in the case for years sitting next to the FF XII HDD's and remaining PSOne's.. oh, yeah. Someone bought them all. Okay, then just the HDD's and maybe some of the Donkey Konga's and Taiko's which sadly don't move all that often.

[evilmess]

Honestly though, this is not a nice idea. Microsoft wants the Xbox to become the system that you connect with to the outside world to get all of your TV and Internet access. If they control it, you know that they will monopolize the market and then force people to pay for a buggy product every year.

You sir, are correct!

This Xbox media center extender is preview of what MS and Sony (and others (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/01/apple_digital_appliance/)?) have in mind for the next generation of gaming console. The chances are very high that the upcoming Xbox2 and PS3 will not only play games but also feature other media capabilities that allow you to download and purchase music that you'll play on your console, watch and record tv, watch HD movies via Blu-Ray or HD DVD, communicate with others via an Eye Toy like device and maybe even surf the web or view some proprietary portal that your new console is "tuned" into.

Scary isn't it?! @_@

[ddockery]

I think the idea is that with this you can view the media center PC's content in another room, but if you have a good media center PC, it's likely already in the room you want it in. I can see some decent applications though, ;ike 2 people viewing different shows in diffeent rooms w/o buying another machine. Assuming it lets you do that.

[Promophile]

Honestly though, this is not a nice idea. Microsoft wants the Xbox to become the system that you connect with to the outside world to get all of your TV and Internet access. If they control it, you know that they will monopolize the market and then force people to pay for a buggy product every year.

You sir, are correct!

This Xbox media center extender is preview of what MS and Sony (and others (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/01/apple_digital_appliance/)?) have in mind for the next generation of gaming console. The chances are very high that the upcoming Xbox2 and PS3 will not only play games but also feature other media capabilities that allow you to download and purchase music that you'll play on your console, watch and record tv, watch HD movies via Blu-Ray or HD DVD, communicate with others via an Eye Toy like device and maybe even surf the web or view some proprietary portal that your new console is "tuned" into.

Scary isn't it?! @_@

Who the hell wants to do all that on your video game system? I'm sorry, but I want my computer to be a computer, my home console to be a home console, and my DVD player to be a DVD player.

[evilmess]

Who the hell wants to do all that on your video game system? I'm sorry, but I want my computer to be a computer, my home console to be a home console, and my DVD player to be a DVD player.

Have you hugged your Gamecube lately? :D

I'm not sure how Ninty will play in the next generation but I' don't think they'll try to compete for the "digital living room" space that Sony and MS want. My hopes are that Ninty will at least step up their presence in online gaming at the very least.

I think you'll find that a lot of consumers will perceive all those features as added value much like when the dvd player was added to the Xbox and PS2 and of course the price will be low enough to get these uber convergence machines in the living rooms and then they'll charge a monthly subsciption to use all the cool features and make billions of $$$ (comcast anyone?).

[goatdan]

You sir, are correct!

This Xbox media center extender is preview of what MS and Sony (and others (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/01/apple_digital_appliance/)?) have in mind for the next generation of gaming console. The chances are very high that the upcoming Xbox2 and PS3 will not only play games but also feature other media capabilities that allow you to download and purchase music that you'll play on your console, watch and record tv, watch HD movies via Blu-Ray or HD DVD, communicate with others via an Eye Toy like device and maybe even surf the web or view some proprietary portal that your new console is "tuned" into.

Scary isn't it?! @_@

Well, I hate to say this but it makes sense that they would want to do this. The amount of money involved with controlling all the content would be HUGE. M$ already pretty much controls the computer market, so it only makes sense they would shoot for home entertainment. Sadly, it looks as if it isn't a question of if there will be this link, but how soon.

Luckily, the other attempts to stop stuff like this from going on have been thwarted. Anyone remember the DIVX players that Circuit City was selling?


Who the hell wants to do all that on your video game system? I'm sorry, but I want my computer to be a computer, my home console to be a home console, and my DVD player to be a DVD player.

Big business wants it done that way because they can charge more for their copyrighted material once they own the market. Think about it -- want to see the Packers vs. Philadelphia this weekend? You have to pay Microsoft or Sony for the bandwidth usage while the game goes on. You want to see the Bourne Identity on a Pay Per View channel, you can start it and stop it whenever you want, but you must pay.

You can't copy the stuff you're seeing because it is all decoded by your box. Therefore, you can't record TV to tape or DVD (unless your media center has something TiVo-ish) and you have to pay for the service.

Some of it sounds like a decent idea -- for instance, if I wanted to see a movie, I wouldn't have to wait for the right time of it starting, it just would. But at the same time, I don't want to give companies that control.

I'm not opposed to devices accomplishing more than one thing -- I wouldn't have an Xbox if it didn't play DVDs and have the ability to copy music to it. I was planning on getting a NDS until I saw that there was no built-in PDA functionality. I am opposed to not being able to purchase and do what I want with something.

If I spend money to purchase a movie, I want to own it or sell it to a friend or whatever. I don't want to only purchase the rights to see it. I'm extremely supportive of anti-piracy methods, but I HATE the Half Life 2 / Steam method because you lose control of your own stuff. If you didn't hear, Valve kicked 20,000 people offline that were either using pirated copies or had been known to cheat. The only way to open back up your account was to purchase another copy of the game.

If I paid $50+ for a game and I want to cheat, I don't want the company that wrote it disabling parts of my game. I would like there to be something online that would perhaps detect if they were using any cheats and disable them from using certain rooms if they were, but removing part of the product that they had purchased is the same as stealing in my book.

Anyway, it's a ridiculous, but it will happen. Just like the DMCA. I just hope that I'm too old to know or care by that point in time...

On a related note, if you care about stuff like this and your rights, make sure to follow the current Kazaa trial. It will change the copyright laws forever with its outcome, and it is the first real threat the music industry has ever had for legalizing music trading online. Kazaa has deep pockets and a decent bit of legal ground to stand on with their argument. The music and movie industry doesn't, but they are MUCH bigger and have most of the politicians (of all parties) in their pockets. I'm excited about it all, but also rather nervous...

[Sylentwulf]

Just a side-track here...

So you're saying people playing online games should be allowed to cheat (and thereby wreck everyone else's experience) just because they bought the game (when most of them probably didn't)?

Valve didn't go house to house and take their games away, they just said "no more online for you".

[ddockery]

Although we're heading off-topic, I agree on the cheating/pirating thing. If they catch you and are 100% sure, banning is the right way to go. They shouldn't have to add more checks because some people don't play fair, that's crap.