Where are the HD Media Center extenders?
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Aug 2nd 2007 6:03PM
posted Aug 2nd 2007 6:03PM
posted Aug 2nd 2007 6:03PM
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PS3 now... but honestly, I want them to be like XBMC (for those who know what that is)... Another reason is, most Extenders are limited to codecs... I would die for a non-DLNA media server for my PS3, and opened up the supported formats... give me Divx and Divx HD!!!!!
Transcode360 does an able job of allowing me to play Divx files on my Xbox 360 Media Center Extender.
Just get an Xbox then - there are many ways to get DivxHD to stream to an xbox through the extender software - just google it.
when transcode works it works. Plus do they have a vista version yet?
Um why would you need a media center extender when you have products like Tomacro limHD200i and the Tvix M-4100SH and M5100SH that you can use for HD files and many others.
because media center is a whole lot more than just a movie/video playback system if you let it be (and divx is a problem). the real power behind media center is it really is the one solution that can do almost everything. Its got a HD-PVR thats as good as any tivo out there (and in many respects much better), streams all your music, displays videos and pictures and with some addons can control your home automation system, control mce via cellphone/web and watch recordedtv/live tv on your cellphone or any internet enabled computer, have your whole movie collection in mce and do all of that in one interface that can be at every tv in your house. (and one of the coolest & slickest looking interfaces to boot).
Basically the power of media center is not that it excells at one thing but can do so much and do all of it well.... media center is very much a jack of all trades and master of none. but if you live within its limits it can be the best of both worlds.
And to the person who has 500 gigs of divx... you know you could just convert your files to something better (that plays nice with mce). WMV in my uses is tons better than divx ever was and all of my content is now encoded/converted in wmv-hd format.
My personal setup is 2 HD & 2 SD tuners, 1.2 TB of drive space for recording hd content and thats all extended to all of my 3 tv's in the house. Its a very impressive setup when I show it off and already converted a few friends to do almost the exact same setup as mine.
I have a 360 but I dont use it as a media center. I tried once but found that it was so limiting to just using my pc like I used to. It couldent play back 95% of the 500gb of video files on my hardd rive (which are almost exclusivly in xvid/divx and a feww other non microsoft formats. I found a much simpilar solution tho. I just ran a vga-hdmi cable from my pc to my tv. works like a treat. now i just need to buy some sort of reciever so i can use my 880 remote for the pc.
And the solutions I provided are not just limited to video/music playback. There are technologies out there that far exceed the limitations that an MCE extender provides. These solutions are also not DIVX/Xvid only. Your difference is the UI. I prefer full control over my personal media and not be limited to certain file formats. I use two 360's but am keen on the fact that the Tomacro limHD200i is a solution that I find is better
The lack of a quiet Vista compatible Extender is the only reason that my MCE solution is still a work in progress. xBox360 is too loud for the living room, the PC is quietish but huge.
If MS don't get their finger out and deliver quieter Xbox or alternatives through third parties, then Media Center will soon lose the advantage it currently holds to competitors like Apple.
I don't really care about DIVX playback, although it would be nice, MCX is all about moving the whole MCE experience to the living room (without the need to put a PC under the TV) and that means for me first of all Live TV and control of that programming.
For people still living 90% of their home life in their bedroom, then MCE doesn't need to leave the PC. For the rest of us who need to provide MCE around the whole house, extenders are an essential component.
If Apple opened up the Apple TV so that it would be an extender, that would be a perfect solution, but, lets face it, that's unlikely to happen.
“Sure, there are a few Media Center extenders on the market now, but other than the Xbox 360 none are HD.” --> Not a 100% true.
There are plenty of Windows friendly media players out there that support HD. I know they are not actual “extenders” in that they don’t precisely mimic the WMC user interface, but who cares? I’m not even into these boxes, but I can think of a three off the top of my head:
Netgear has the EVA8000
D-Link MediaLounge DSM-520
AveL Linkplayer 2
Bottom Line:
Manufacturer won’t hurt their bottom line by paying for the Windows UI when they can pay a Linux guy to whip up a copy-cat UI and call it good.
If they spend big bucks for the WMC UI, they will still have to complete against the 900 lb gorilla called the Xbox 360 anyway. Why would they let MS screw them both ways???
that comment IS 100% true --- you even said it was true when you said, "I know they are not actual "extenders"...". But hopefully this won't be 100% true pretty soon, as there is at least one known Vista extender being tested right now.
there is a market for the Vista extender, and it's not the same market as the 360.
I really don't think it's that hard to make a low profile HTPC. Unless you are willing to restrict your choice of codecs, an MCE is not going to do what you want unless it really is an HTPC.
The most important thing is price. The last non-console (non-subsidized) extenders were $300. Then people will start asking for a built-in DVD and perhaps now they'll want a built-in hddvdd/bluray and then suddenly balk at the $500+ price. Oh, yeah, I'm sure there are people that want to include 802.11n and want to pay $700+.
At least give us a barebone hd extender for at most $100 and keep your dvd/hddvd/whatever and too-slow-for-mpeg2-hdtv-anyway wireless. Otherwise, MCX will always be competing with a xbox360 that is approaching $200... with built-in dvd and other features (games, video downloads & rentals). Then no one buys a MCX due to the price. And with not enough sales to recoup startup costs, the MCX price never goes down. Then they are discontinued. Repeat and rinse for the next version of mediacenter.
The delay here is Sigma Designs'. Their chip had issues decoding HD H.264 and VC-1 streams. Integrators have been ready and waiting, but no worthy silicon from Sigma means no HD-capable MCX devices for the masses yet. That's not to say Sigma is the only chip vendor who had issues. Other silicon players in this market had their own issues too. It hasnt been easy spinning silicon with these capabilities into a low-cost package. Sigma and others are finally shipping real solutions in this class, which is why we will see a bevy of product releases this fall.
there is a program out there that lets you play your divx on your 360...its called Tversity...look it up.
Anyone try ripping an HD DVD to your hard drive and then playing it back through MC on your 360??