Can i have some XBox advice please ?!

[bjd]

Hi guys, first time in this part of the forum so be gentle.

Basically i am after a little advice. I am not a gamer at all but i am looking to buy an XBox. Bear with me on this...

Basically i am not interested in playing games but i think it would be a perfect media server for me.

Currently i have this NAS drive. It is not connected to any pc but just to my router. My home pc and laptop connect to it via IP address. I want to do the same with the Xbox (i currently have 750gb of music on the NAS drive)

Also i do a lot of film and tv downloading andi would be looking to watch the things i download via the Xbox onto my HD tv. (XBox has HDMI out doesn't it?)

So my three questions are :

1-Does all this sound plausible to you ?

2-As i wont be playing games would i be ok with second hand Xbox?

3-Where is the best place to buy a Xbox new or second hand just on its own , and not part of a package (games and extra controllers etc)?

Many thanks in advance for your help. Apolgogies for invading this forum as im not much of a gamer , apart from the odd round of Tiger Woods or ISSPro on the Playstation ive only ever really played the Commodore 64!!

[dkw]

if your wanting an xbox with full Hd then you need an elite, but if your happy with 720p then you will need to make sure you get the xbox with an hdmi port as only the later versions came with this. your best bet is probably to get an xbox arcade as it comes with an hdmi but no HDD and is the cheapest going, i think you can get a new one for about £150.

[ethicalstrategy]

My experience of the xbox as a media centre extender is that it is limited and very, very noisy. Things may have changed but if you are looking at it purely as a media server then there are better options.

I use an Apple TV. You can sync or stream Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Music, Playlists, Youtube, Photos to it. The downside is that you need to have everything in iTunes which may not suit.

There are a lot of other media players out there though that will play stuff in other formats. Best just to google. Some sites worth looking at are AV Forums and AVS Forums.

[Ruh Buh Juh]

If you're looking at watching movies in HD on it, why not go the whole hog and get a PS3, with it's Blu-Ray player?

[bjd]

Hey guys thanks for the advice. Im doing some investigation right now. I will let you know how i get on.

Am i also right in assuming that to do this i would need a xbox wireless adapter too ?

rbj - i already h ave a bluray player so ps3 isnt really an option for me

[Ruh Buh Juh]

Hey guys thanks for the advice. Im doing some investigation right now. I will let you know how i get on.

Am i also right in assuming that to do this i would need a xbox wireless adapter too ?

rbj - i already h ave a bluray player so ps3 isnt really an option for me

Ahh, fair enough!!

And I agree with dkw, get an Elite, they're the most powerful and have more memory.

[dkw]

Hey guys thanks for the advice. Im doing some investigation right now. I will let you know how i get on.

Am i also right in assuming that to do this i would need a xbox wireless adapter too ?

rbj - i already h ave a bluray player so ps3 isnt really an option for me

if you want to do it wirelessly then yes, though ethernet cable will do the job if your not too bothered about an ugly cable running. if your not going to be saving enything and just streaming from it then just get an arcade version as it will do everything you need. theres quite a lot of good films you can watch over xbox live now, though its about £35 a year i think .

[Plavi26]

For the wireless connection, if you have a laptop and don't mind having it running with your xbox...you can actually connect the two together with a regular RJ-45 Ethernet cable and bridge the connections on the laptop, that way the xbox will be using your laptops wireless modem to connect to your server. Can be a bit of a pain and not pretty, but saves you a 100$

[bjd]

if your wanting an xbox with full Hd then you need an elite, but if your happy with 720p then you will need to make sure you get the xbox with an hdmi port as only the later versions came with this. your best bet is probably to get an xbox arcade as it comes with an hdmi but no HDD and is the cheapest going, i think you can get a new one for about £150.

thanks for taking the time to reply dkw. if i can get an xbox arcade with no hdd for around 150 then would you agree it makes sense to go for this ? for the extra £40 ? ideally i would be looking for full hd so i do think it makes sense.

[bjd]

My experience of the xbox as a media centre extender is that it is limited and very, very noisy. Things may have changed but if you are looking at it purely as a media server then there are better options.

I use an Apple TV. You can sync or stream Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Music, Playlists, Youtube, Photos to it. The downside is that you need to have everything in iTunes which may not suit.

There are a lot of other media players out there though that will play stuff in other formats. Best just to google. Some sites worth looking at are AV Forums and AVS Forums.

cheers for the reply es.

ive done some investigating and the noise does seem to be an issue. how bad/ how loud actually is it ? i guess it wont be so bad when i am playing music but i dont really want it to be an issue when watching tv shows and films ? also you mention that it is 'limited' , can you perhaps elaborate on that ? im not after too many fancy dan things if truth be told. as long as it can play my music and tv/films that i have downloaded then im happy.

im aware of lots of other media players/servers but they seem to be a bit more expensive and i dont really want to spend too much. for the price the xbox360 seems to fulfill my basic needs. its just this noise issue im worried about.

[bjd]

For the wireless connection, if you have a laptop and don't mind having it running with your xbox...you can actually connect the two together with a regular RJ-45 Ethernet cable and bridge the connections on the laptop, that way the xbox will be using your laptops wireless modem to connect to your server. Can be a bit of a pain and not pretty, but saves you a 100$

thanks for the reply SpAcE126.

at the moment i download tv/films and then connect my laptop to my tv using a dvi>hdmi cable. its all a bit of a pain and looks a right mess, thats why i am looking at this xbox business so i dont have to piss about everytime i want to watch something. i wasnt aware you could bridge the xbox through the laptop though so its handy to know!

i cant believe how much the xbox wireless adapter is mind you , £45-£50. jesus! i bet it costs them about £2 to make and import each one!

[dkw]

thanks for taking the time to reply dkw. if i can get an xbox arcade with no hdd for around 150 then would you agree it makes sense to go for this ? for the extra £40 ? ideally i would be looking for full hd so i do think it makes sense.

definately, for the extra £40. the wireless bridge is a rip off, and i cant believe theres no other way to do it unless you wire it. robbing gets.

[Granticus]

If you're looking at watching movies in HD on it, why not go the whole hog and get a PS3, with it's Blu-Ray player?

I would certainly agree with this. The PS3 as a media centre is so much better. I have both consoles, and the Xbox is solely used for games, the PS3 handles all my media. Whether you need the Blu Ray or not, it's still better.

Edited November 25, 2009 by Granticus

[ivorycoast]

Firstly, watch out, as there are many Xbox's which have been banned & locked by MS because people were running pirated games, which MIGHT not be able to stream media(as far as I can remember). This has caused the market for 2nd hand 360's to be flooded. IF they can still stream media (can't remember) then you might be able to get one for dirt cheap.

Also ps3 is a better media center than the xbox. If you aren't planning to get any games, then try and find a second hand one which optical drive has failed - you will be able to get it for cheap. It's also possible to replace the optical drive if you can find a new one online in future if you change your mind.

[bjd]

Firstly, watch out, as there are many Xbox's which have been banned & locked by MS because people were running pirated games, which MIGHT not be able to stream media(as far as I can remember). This has caused the market for 2nd hand 360's to be flooded. IF they can still stream media (can't remember) then you might be able to get one for dirt cheap.

Also ps3 is a better media center than the xbox. If you aren't planning to get any games, then try and find a second hand one which optical drive has failed - you will be able to get it for cheap. It's also possible to replace the optical drive if you can find a new one online in future if you change your mind.

thanks for the post mate.

very interesting about the ps3 - would it do everything i outlined in the first post ? also is it wireless capable or does it need an adapter ?

[Plavi26]

The ps3 comes with a built-in adapter I believe, and does have some nice media features. If you're not thinking of using the console as the primary gaming system, I think I would go with the ps3, but for gaming, it's 360 for me all the way. (I am a bit biased so it's all up to you )

[Ruh Buh Juh]

And, unlike the Xbox, PS3s have free internet too!

[Plavi26]

Yeah, but the servers are crashing, annoying and the whole thing has a general bad design ;)

[dkw]

And, unlike the Xbox, PS3s have free internet too!

arent they about to start charging the same as xbox?

[Ruh Buh Juh]

arent they about to start charging the same as xbox?

Google says no...

[dkw]

Google says no...

my google argues...

http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony-may-i...scription-model

[Ruh Buh Juh]

my google argues...

http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony-may-i...scription-model

Jeeves is fighting his corner...

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2006/10/71982

[dkw]

Jeeves is fighting his corner...

http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2006/10/71982

bloody hell mate, thats from 3 years ago. theres been rumours that sony are going to copy xbox live and have a two tier system, one you pay for and one you dont.

[bjd]

ok guys, thanks for all your help but im actually going for this - http://www.thextreamer.com/

does everything i want and it makes sense because i really wasnt interested in gaming!

let me know what you think!

[dkw]

looks like a good bit of kit. read a few reviews and the only gripe seems to be about the noisy fan, which you can change settings on or even turn it off. seems to play pretty much everything which is very impressive. might even have a bash myself at one of them. and when my wife complains about me wasting more money ill tell her to speak to you....