What causes Optional Media Update Notice?

[jriker1]

I've been using MCE for a long time now and family still loves it. I did go recently from Windows 7 to 8.1 but other than that stellar experience. I do from time to time get an XBox 360 Slim that will pop up a message you need to re-download the Optional Media Update when watching recorded shows or HD versions of standard public broadcast. From what I can tell there is no DMR on them as can play them directly elsewhere. At least the WTV files anyway. When this happens I basically forget the MCE Computer on the XBox and setup the extender again. Well that didn't work a couple days ago. Ends up apparently always or at some intervals it's necessary for the XBox 360 to physically connect to Live. Not the standard where it shows your profile online but literlaly click on Sign In and connect. Apparently there is a difference. Well there was an issue recently where people could connect to live but couldn't download their profile. Well I had my profile. I had my Optional Media Update. So I wiped the full hard drive and that's when I ran into the connection issue. Microsoft just fixed it. I was able to download the Optional Media Update again, and it immediately started being able to watch recorded shows and Live TV. That tells me there is a tied to being online. Anyone know what in general causes an extender to ask for the Optional Media Update? And do we know if there is a way to make sure going forward if Live vanished it would keep working? Didn't know there was still such a robust paying XBox 360 gaming community so maybe that's not a risk, but me who just uses it to watch TV, shouldn't be reliant on these things being online when everything is available local on the device. Thoughts?

[Cory98122]

The media update works just like a game where even if it's already downloaded, you must "own" it in order to use it. One way to prove that you own it is to be signed in and online. However, every account can have a single main Xbox where you don't have to be online in order to run the games you own. If you're using multiple Xboxes, create a unique account for each one and make sure it's signed in when you first download the update. Then you shouldn't need to go online ever again.

[jriker1]

Thanks for the reply. I think this may not be 100% but I currently have two active XBox 360 units. The second one hasn't been on for months until I had an issue here so wanted to see if it was broke there to.
Login though is different for XBox Live.

Anyway, there was a profile download issue with MS that was just fixed and seems to be related but it bothers me that it broke because of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3B8wh8JQnM&t=1s

This shows either some reliance on being off-line even if tied to one account which my device was updated years ago with the optional media update. Or something is checked when on-line and if something breaks with MS or they discontinue things but the device is on-line, could break the optional media update. Almost wondering if I need to block outbound traffic to my XBox devices what that would do in the long run since I don't play games on these.

[joeer77]

I still get media update message weekly. I blame the MSFT server. Some days it works. Some days not so much. My last XBOX 360E is on it's final legs. Pieces of junk.

[joeer77]

My Xbox has been behaving better lately. I have not had any media update notices. I also notice that it now signs out of Xbox live after watching TV for 5-10 minutes. Long as it works I don't care.