I'm looking for a good solution to consolidating both live TV (HD local channels through an OTA antenna) and recorded media (bluray rips in H.264 in MKV format) in a single media player. I currently use my TV tuner for TV and a WDTV media streamer for playing MKVs stored on a USB hard drive. I have a pretty capable PC in another area of the house which can act as a server and I'm thinking of delivering all the TV stations through a HDHomeRun tuner box. So I figured my main 2 options are to either get a dedicated HTPC to place next to the TV (which would be independent), or place an XBOX-360 next to the TV, which would get it's media delivered from my main PC running Windows Media Center. I should mention that every point in the network is on gigabit ethernet via Cat5e cable.
The XBOX option appeals to me because of price - for $200 I can get the XBOX and everything is ready to go (I have a Logitech Harmony remote). Whereas for the HTPC build I'm looking at $100 purely to get a 2nd Window7 license, plus around $300-$400 for the hardware I want.
My main question marks about the XBOX center around performance - what is the quality of Windows Media Center on an XBOX360 like compared to playing on the source PC? Is there a lot of lag when changing channels? Also, how are HD MKVs handled on an extender? They are typically compressed bluray rips. Would they have to be transcoded by the PC first and then sent to the XBOX?
Thanks for any help with this dilemma!
XBOX or HTPC?
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makryger
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I'm dont an xbox for mkvs so I can't answer that question, but I well say that if you can wait, id consider the yet-to-be-released Ceton Echo. Specs are yet to be released, but it will likely be cheaper than an xbox, have better codec support, smaller, quieter, and less expensive. It will be released some time in 2012.
My Channel Logos XL: Get your Guide looking good! ~~~~ TunerSalad: Increase the 4-tuner limit in 7MC
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Ferrino
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Thanks. I did see people mentioning the Ceton Echo, but I haven't yet grasped why it will be significantly better than an XBOX360 as an extender?
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bmblank
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I have an xbox slim that is awesome.the difference in noise levels between the console and the slim is very substantial. It also plays all the formats I need, but I'm no videophile so I don't have complicated needs. I'd be interested in seeing the ceton as well.
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ckensto
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On my plasma the Xbox PQ and responsiveness is excellent. I also use a Slingbox on it for remote viewing. The downside as someone mentioned above is not being able to play BDs or MKVs from your HTPC.
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newfiend
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I am able to play .MKV on my XBOX just fine using Media Browser and the DIVX codec Package. http://www.divx.com/ although MB is a bit slow to respond on the XBOX.ckensto wrote:On my plasma the Xbox PQ and responsiveness is excellent. I also use a Slingbox on it for remote viewing. The downside as someone mentioned above is not being able to play BDs or MKVs from your HTPC.
newfiend~
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AceMCE79
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Same here I have Divx which enables MKV support and Media Browser installed on my main PC. I agree navigating thru the menus is a bit slow but it seems to play all my MKV's. I only us this option for the bedroom. In my main LR I use the PC to run the live TV and Plex Media Server to stream movies. Plex Media server for Windows creates an addon for WMC and looks really nice browsing thru collection of movies.