Can I stream video without WMCE?

[marcus]

I dont have Windows Media Centre, but would like to stream video media from my comp to the 360, is this possible? I cant see a way apart from installing Win Media Centre, pictures and music are no problem though.

[John Beaulieu]

no you can't

[in5ane]

Even with MCE you're restricted to a few crummy video formats. I would actually get a WMC PC cos of the 360 if it was worth it, but it totally isn't

[marcus]

Its a strange omission, in almost other areas the 360 is the ideal entertainment hub. What a pity.

[sj33]

I think your limited to format like WMV and the like, rather than any formats people actually use.

[Kotatsu Neko]

MS sees formats like xVid and DIVX as formats for piracy, and MOV is a locked up Apple format which I guess they couldn't use even if they wanted to.

So yeah, media center PC or 360 is pointless really. But.. we still have the Xbox Media Center for Xbox 1, which is a wonderful thing.

[sj33]

Shame, there's potential. For example, if they included support for H.264, which subsides DivX/XviD and is a superior format in every way, it would put them in a slightly better position against the PS3 in terms of media capabilities, as Blu-Ray uses the H.264 format.

You can be sure Sony will be pushing the media capabilties, particularly Blu-Ray support, as key features of the PS3 over the 360, and the ability to stream H.264 over network would give the 360 a little boost.

IMO anyway. I know there's not any immidiate money to be had from supporting such a format, it would just makes things look slightly less dismal.
Would also give the 360 something that XBMC cannot do, as the XBox just doesn't have the required processing power to decode H.264 well.

That said, is the 360 compatible with WMVHD's? Might be worth it on it's own.

[Kotatsu Neko]

There has been some interesting discussion lately on a new kind of content delivery - over IP. Apple are (rumour has it) releasing a new Mac Mini early next year which will focus on this, and if it takes off, as iTunes and iPod have, it could be the next big thing.

The result of this, so people say, is that blu-ray and HD-DVD will become irrelevant before they have even been released. I've also heard talk that MS will be looking into delivering content over IP for Xbox 360, which when paired with a larger hard drive (it's removeable remember), and the system they already have in place with Xbox Live Marketplace could make them a player too. (and make the standard DVD drive in 360 a non issue)

[SubparMario]

MS sees formats like xVid and DIVX as formats for piracy

To be fair, that's probably true, in most cases.

[Simmy]

Using Windows Media Center and Xbox 360


What types of media stored on my Media Center PC can I access through my Xbox 360?


Live and recorded TV, digital photos, digital music, home video, and exclusive online multimedia content such as news clips, downloadable music, local weather, RSS feeds, and more (through Online Spotlight).


Video formats

• MPEG-1 with MPEG audio
• MPEG-2 with MPEG audio or AC-3 audio
• WMV 7, 8, & 9 with WMA Standard or WMA Pro audio
• WMV Image 1 & 2 (Photo Story 1, 2, & 3)

Audio formats

• Windows Media Audio (WMA) Standard
• WMA Pro
• WMA Lossless
• MP3
• Other formats for which a DirectShow decoder is installed and registered on the PC

Don't think any of us trully beleived that Xvid and similar format would be allowed did we !

[Kotatsu Neko]

Don't think any of us trully beleived that Xvid and similar format would be allowed did we !

No but it's pretty lame for them not to even support MP4 or H.264, and why not support OGG?

[Concept]

I haven't done any converting for ages (not had the need using VLC), but surely it isn't that difficult to convert Xvid and the like to WMV?

[Hodge]

I read somewhere that microsoft are expecting to release an update for media center to play divx files via marketplace early next year.

On another note I managed to get .TS files playing on my media center this morning perfectly by downloading the HDTVpumpfilter which you can get from here.

http://www.dvbportal.de/projects/hdtvpump/

install it on your Media center pc and you will be able to play ts files perfectly on your xbox 360 media center extender.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I read somewhere that microsoft are expecting to release an update for media center to play divx files via marketplace early next year.

Major Nelson talked about DIVX specifically on his podcast recently. He said unless commercial content in DIVX becomes available, then it will remain a pirate's format and so will not be supported.

[Edame]

I wonder if there's a way to get a stripped down version of MCE on a USB flash drive so it could be booted off that when needed. It can be done with XP.