I want to use my Xbox 360 as a media player

custardy

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote: »

I use a flash drive to play stuff on my xbox360. I have never had a problem with it not playing anything except MKV. I used to have a IOmega network drive but it died so I would recommend getting one of them.

I dont know how people can be bothered
admittedly its no good if you keep your PC switched off,but we have the main(The Beast!) PC on and it serves all the media needs of the house

mttylad

I used to do this, use the xbox to play divx videos.

However, a cyclone player that can play even MKV files is under £30.

It costs a damn site more than that if the xbox fails.

Getting a network capable media player is IMO a lot better option, I can download direct to it, use it for storing other stuff and watch movies without risking the xbox failing (which is unfortunatly something that does happen).

custardy

mttylad wrote: »

I used to do this, use the xbox to play divx videos.

However, a cyclone player that can play even MKV files is under £30.

It costs a damn site more than that if the xbox fails.

Getting a network capable media player is IMO a lot better option, I can download direct to it, use it for storing other stuff and watch movies without risking the xbox failing (which is unfortunatly something that does happen).

wouldnt it make more sense to do this if the xbox fails?

Coveredinbees!!!!

because I don't leave my pc running eating electric for the sake of it.

mttylad

custardy wrote: »

wouldnt it make more sense to do this if the xbox fails?

A bit of a late reply, but if you read what I said - this is what I am suggesting.
The Xbox does fail so it is more sensible to get a dedicated media player so as not to risk the Xbox failing.
And to top it the xbox is noisy where a player is not.

custardy

mttylad wrote: »

A bit of a late reply, but if you read what I said - this is what I am suggesting.
The Xbox does fail so it is more sensible to get a dedicated media player so as not to risk the Xbox failing.
And to top it the xbox is noisy where a player is not.

does or may?
I have an old premium thats still going strong
a newer elite doing the same
you dont know what model of 360 the OP has. it could be the newest quieter models

Juxxize

thanks everybody for your reply's you all made some very good points, I'm still using PS3Media Server to stream to my xbox but my long term plan is to get a cheap media player the main reason being is to save wear and tear on the laptop and xbox which cost a lot more than a £30 media but thats the only reason the PS 3 media server is great and simple to use. I did try using the plex media server because that means i would beable to access my media away from home for example a friends house ( provided my PC was on at home ) but because of the very annoying metadata system it uses i stopped using it.
Also on the same subject ( streaming media ) I have found a free and easy way to stream media to my Android phone using ES File Explorer File Manager and MXplayer both free apps , but i need to be at home and again the PC needs to be on.

Juxxize

I've just been looking at Serviio and it too uses metadata , why ? doesn't anyone know why media servers like serviio and plex use metadata its so annoying having to rename everything, i know what it is so why does the media server need to know. PS3 media server just keeps the files in the same order as i put them and doesn't require a name change. It's a shame there isn't a way to turn off the metadata system off in plex and serviio.

custardy

Juxxize wrote: »

I've just been looking at Serviio and it too uses metadata , why ? doesn't anyone know why media servers like serviio and plex use metadata its so annoying having to rename everything, i know what it is so why does the media server need to know. PS3 media server just keeps the files in the same order as i put them and doesn't require a name change. It's a shame there isn't a way to turn off the metadata system off in plex and serviio.

serviio gives various metadata options
does turning off thumbnail generation and no descriptive metadata option not do enough?

mttylad

Get one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sumvision-Cyclone-Adapter-Internal-Surround/dp/B0073H7LKA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1359838728&sr=8-3

A HDMI cable from Poundland:
Use a USB drive for media storage.

Superb media playing and no risk to the Xbox.

Even the new ones can fail and do make a noise.