XBMC changed my life. This is incredible news.

@TheSohnly: Please do!!

Gina Trapani

I already have this on a referb Xbox I bought and love it, I can't wait for the linux port to be ready. It would be cool if you could cover some of the post install setup, like bookmarks. The online documentation leaves my head spinning.

kiwiboyus

I really wish you guys would update that old post. I recently started looking into turning my old xbox into a media center and this was the first place I looked.
The places and methods you link to are all outdated and apparently there are different ways to do fix it up and make it XBMC now.

I'll figure it out, write it down, and send it to ya. I'm a writer. Sorta.

TheSohnly

No, it isn't Apple Remote compatible... yet... (at least I haven't got it to work).

But I am looking forward to the completion of this project. When it is finished, I will get myself a mini and replace my Xbox XBMC.

BlackSmp

I'm almost curious to see how well this would work on a Hackintosh. I've been itching to get one up and running but haven't been able to find a good enough reason to dabble in the world of Apple (I'm a hardcore PC guy). Now it seems I have one.

wstraynor

@TheSohnly: Really? not a month ago I set up mine following Gina's directions exactly. . . . then got the t3ch downloader and i'm running current . . .

JeffDrake

@kiwiboyus: Are you using the official XBMC wiki? I've found the wiki to be very user friendly. Was there some specific issue that was frustrating you?

JFitzpatrick

@Paul: I can't speak for the mac version, but the xbox XBMC is key-mappable for infrared remotes meaning that if you've got an IR receiver on it you can map -any- remote. The only issue I can see with the apple gig is making sure that the infra-red dongle for the mac communicates with the XBMC bundle, the XBMC bundle itself has the ability to map out the remote if it can get the signal.

On a more general note: This is friggin sweet. I love my XBMC. Right now it's hooked up to a 2TB array serving up over 2,000 episodes of various tv shows and 300+ movies. Woot!

JFitzpatrick

can someone explain how you get 1080i or 1080p from a xbox with xbmc? i see xbmc declares hd?

luke holder

It would be worth mentioning somewhere in the article that this is for Intel Macs only :(

BingleyJoe

@Gina Trapani: What about XBMC have you found life-changing? I've found it useful to pull files from my computer and watch them while on the treadmill, but XBMC still can't replace my DVR from the cable company.

fritzk3

Is it compatible with the Apple Remote?

Paul

@JeffDrake: Really? It might be my inexperience [ineptitude] with IRC and/or Filezilla.
My bad. I still wanna try the new way though. It's supposed to be immune from the dreaded "clock loop" or something like that.

I also read you can do it without an action replay kit through having FTP access into the box. Some weird 007 exploit or something. Ugh. Weekend project, away!

TheSohnly

Note that this (the binary, at least) is currently only for Leopard; it won't run on Tiger right now.

BrianW62

But I am looking forward to the completion of this project. When it is finished, I will get myself a mini and replace my Xbox XBMC.
@BlackSmp: why replace? only for the smaller hardware size?

luke holder

Wow, it is very impressive. I was not familiar at all with the original version, so this is very novel to me. The best thing about it is how light the interface feels; it is very snappy. Right now, mouse and keyboard compatibility have some issues. Also, if you are like me and use iTunes and iPhoto to organize your music and photos, xmbc is not super convenient; you have to navigate through the different folders for artists then albums etc. Perhaps, I haven't discovered the right tricks yet. Anyway, I am looking forward to future releases!

nettoyeur

I have been in the process of digitally archiving my DVD's to a quicktime format. Can the XBMC connect to a Network drive to stream movies, or does it require a direct hdd connection?

This might be a better alternative than picking up a AppleTV (which I planned on doing once I got farther along with my digital conversion)

itloser

Am I able to run XBMC on my Intel iMac and somehow run it onto my HDTV?

I also have an xbox which I am in the initial stages of modding but will not bother if I can somehow run it straight from my iMac through my router to the TV, even if it has to go through the xbox somehow.....or will I just have to mod my xbox regardless to achieve this?

Thanks for any comments.

Dan

Dan.Oliver.Twist

"There is a great looking weather item that puts very useful info in front of your eyes."

Lol. Just lol.

Protector one

www.investinbiotech.net
The mouse and keyboard compatibility have some issues. Also, if you are like me and use iTunes and iPhoto to organize your music and photos, xmbc is not super convenient. I haven't discovered the right tricks yet.

Can-Car

@ITLOSER: XBMC will connect just fine to network shares - you can even add shares without editing any config files.

I use SMB (Windows) network shares, which you can setup on Windows/Mac/Linux. Anything that uses UPnP should work, too.

XBMC even connects to your iTunes library!

:)

remi

@FRITZK3: XBMC changed my life, as well, so here's my response to your question to Gina ...

XBMC is amazing, when used in combination with either:
* an _open_ DVR system, where you have access to the media
* a good download system for media (TV/Movies/Music/etc)

I have a 1-click method of downloading media which tells my home server to download and store whatever I click 'download' for.

All of the TVs in my house are connected to an Xbox, all of which connect wirelessly to my server. So, from any TV in the house, I have access to all of my media - as well as YouTube videos and whatever else you can download/write XBMC scripts to view.

( also, the whole system is easy enough for my girlfriend to use )

remi

@Yzerman Detective Agency: Just lowered the ban hammer, thanks for pointing that out.

@fritzk3: I never wanted a full computer in the living room, and after lots of frustration trying out various media center software, the XBMC turned out to be the perfect solution because A.) the Xbox was in the living room already (collecting dust, I might add) and B.) the software is amazing and plays anything. I never had a DVR (until my recent TiVo acquisition) but I did have tons of video downloads that I wanted to watch from the couch (and music) so the XBMC is perfect for that.

However, it's true the hard drive size is limiting. I stream video from the computer onto it, so I'm not actually storing files on the Xbox itself, but that's why the Mac port is so exciting: a mini with a remote and an external drive would be awesome, no Xbox required.

Gina Trapani

@Can-Car: Can we maybe drop the spammy investing links from the comments?

Yzerman Detective Agency

@alienhead: don't bother - just set it up to stream from your home computer/network. Plenty of help on the xbmc wiki or just google it.

ratt2581

I have xbmc on my xbox but with the puny hard drive, it's useless.

alienhead

Kinda off topic:
Can you guys post a step by step guide on how to upgrade my old xbox hard drive? I've seen some and they are so old dont even deal hard drive larger that 80-150gb.

alienhead

@jafac: Why don't you suggest it to them?

Flamsmark

Sux that it doesn't work on PPC macs (or Tiger).

Still looking for a purpose for my old 800 MHz pimped-out G3 iMac DV. (It has an external VGA connector 300gb HD, 2 gig RAM); I'm using it to feed video to my 56" Toshiba - it would be nice if they'd click the checkbox in xcode to complie XBMC as a fat binary. . .

jafac

@ ITLOSER

I have only used the XBOX version but... yes XBMC can connect to network drives and stream content (music, video and photo's). So go for it ;)

punkmachine

I shall! :)

jafac

@ratt2581:
What I want to do is copy all my six year old daughters DVDs onto the xbox. That way she can turn it on and pick a movie and watch it. She scratches most of her dvds.

alienhead

@Alienhead

I have the same problems with a 4 year old and a 8 year old daughters. I converted all of my dvd's to avi's and have them on my PC (1.5TB). It's networked to my xbox's (I have two). XBMC will automatically look to IMDB for dvd cover art and attach it to the movie. So, for my 4 year old that can't quite read yet, she's able to pick a movie. A few clicks from the Logitech Harmony 880 and she's in business. If the xbox could handle HD I'd be in media heaven!

DrunkenMaster

This is exactly what I've been waiting for. I have an Xbox with 250gb hard drive, which has all my games (about 15) and the rest is movies and music. Its my portable entertainment center which I can take to a friends house.

The only thing lacking is HD playback. I've looked at the various htpc and other replacements such as popcorn hour, Tivx etc and they all pale in comparision.

XBMC running in Leopard on a Hackintosh Acer mini would be awesome!!

MrCrispy

I think the Mac port is great, but everyone should realize that it's based on the official XBMC Linux port. You can compile the source from the official SVN to run in Ubuntu and it works pretty well. The XBMC Linux team has a goal to build an actual XBMC Linux distro. I'm not associated with XBMC, but I know they need developers if you are interested. [www.xboxmediacenter.com]

ejcdke

@Alienhead, @Drunkenmaster,

I have a similar setup using my old Powerbook for storing the movies my 2-year-old likes. I had been using MacTheRipper to create full-disk images that can be played directly with DVD player.

Unfortunately, for newer DVDs (that have a "this DVD is copy-protected" logo on the back), MTR is not able to rip them correctly. Have you found something that works for these newer DVDs?

ZZamboni

@DrunkenMaster: @luke holder:
My XBMC does 1080i, upconverting source media no problem. Just be sure to score yourself a Xbox Component cable, and you're in business. I got mine on ebay for, like, $15.
It's just in the video settings. Were I at home, I could tell you the exact path to it, but it isn't difficult to find.

Hijakk

@ZZamboni: Try using Handbrake

bobbyrognlien

@luke holder: The xbox processor is not powerful enough to do native HD. It will upscale ok, but if you want to rip your blu-ray or HDDVD, forget it. Puny 733 processor will choke on it.

stinkytaco