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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > mac mini (front row) vs XBMC

mac mini (front row) vs XBMC
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Steve Bosell
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Jun 29, 2006, 11:33 AM
 
My xbox recently tanked and I was considering replacing it with a mac mini. My xbox had the mod chip and was running the Xbox Media Center, I primarily used it to listen to music through my home theater system. I noticed that there is no visualizer in front row when listening to music, the xbmc had a very cool visualizer called milkdrop. On the flip side the xbox has trouble playing a lot of h264 videos, and is a little buggy, but it cost 1/3 of the price of the mac mini. Any other advantages or killer features of front row?
     
HAGEhead
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Jun 29, 2006, 05:26 PM
 
Actually, I'd say it's the opposite. NOTHING touches XBMC in terms of functionality, as long as it can handle the bitrate of videos you throw at it. No MCE PC, not Frontrow. I am souping up my XBox from a hardware perspective so it's not so far behind, because not one of the expensive MC editions out there can compare. I WISH front row was anywhere near what XBMC is.
     
F*ckDell
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Jun 29, 2006, 05:55 PM
 
How would someone go about turning their xbox into a Media Center tool?
     
Steve Bosell  (op)
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Jun 29, 2006, 06:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by F*ckDell
How would someone go about turning their xbox into a Media Center tool?

The xbox media center requires an xbox with the mod chip installed, mine had the xecuter 2. The xbox media center is an open source project, however it is compiled with the xbox SDK which was leaked out of Microsoft, so the binaries are not freely distributed on the internet, but are easy enough to find through IRC and ftp. I am probably going to pick up a refurbished xbox for $100 and an xecuter3 mod chip for $50. I wonder if there is any way to upgrade the cpu, the xbmc can support virtually any codec but h.264 kicks its ass.
     
F*ckDell
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Jun 29, 2006, 11:02 PM
 
Ok, say I put a mod chip in, how would I get the MC software installed? You got a website that gives details and a how to page??

Thanks
     
Steve Bosell  (op)
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Jun 30, 2006, 12:51 AM
 
This site has everything you will ever need to know.
http://xbox-scene.com/

There are a ton of ways to do it, but I think the easiest way is to install the mod chip (enables the xbox to boot from a cd), get a copy of Slayers autoinstaller cd, boot it up and it is cake from there.
     
F*ckDell
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Jun 30, 2006, 12:23 PM
 
Thanks for the info Steve....
     
HAGEhead
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Jun 30, 2006, 12:33 PM
 
Even better, on that page you can find info on a soft-mod, which takes no hardware provided you have the necessary pieces and the whole thing is actually legal and open source (XBMC), too.
     
   
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