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huck500

macrumors 6502
May 10, 2004
386
29
Southern California
3) ...and **** as a media hub (no support for much codecs used on the web (MKV/DIVX/XVID/H.264)

4) PAY for TV, are you ****ing kidding me?

I have no problem with you hating the 360, but when you say that it sucks because it can't play DIVX/XVID when the thread you're posting in is about how it CAN... that's pretty funny. It also plays H.264, by the way.

And almost every person in the country pays for TV.

Some of what you say is true, but despite all that I had a lot of fun playing Portal last night. Go figure.

EDIT: Sorry about the double post.
 

wwooden

macrumors 68020
Jul 26, 2004
2,028
187
Burlington, VT
Just got my 360 back from repairs this weekend, I immediately installed the new update...it's incredible!! The OS is so snappy now and I haven't found a video file that doesn't work yet. The DivX and Xvid support is great, no need to convert my videos anymore (unless I want to play them on my iPod). I was considering an AppleTV, which I know would have a nicer interface; but really, as long as the videos have a descriptive name, the 360 works great. In the end, it looks the exact same on the screen once a movie starts and you can have surround sound if the video is encoded with it.
 

soLoredd

macrumors 6502a
Mar 12, 2007
967
0
California
Until it supports .mkv, it's useless for me. I'm not saying I don't enjoy my 360...I love it! But, I would like it to be able to do 100% of my entertainment needs (sans DirecTV). Once .mkv is supported, I can stop having to hook up my MacBook to my HDTV.
 

machole

macrumors newbie
Dec 7, 2007
2
0
I have an Apple TV and to be honest then this device just made me love/hate Apple even more. For what it CAN do then it's easily the best solution on the market. But the problem comes in what it CAN'T do. And that's where the XBox 360 just humilates this thing.

People can hate MS or the Xbox all they want but the truth of the matter is that in the end they provided a product that is worth it's retail price while Apple gave us a product that they have now deemed a failed hobby. And in turn, they have flipped off it's userbase and called us all suckers for volunteering to be test subjects.

I have absolutely no desire to get an Xbox 360 but I might bite the bullet and get one simply for the media sharing. (If I somehow turn into a gamer then that's a nice little side effect)
 

hauss316H

macrumors member
Jul 10, 2007
51
0
America's Wang!
look lets get something straight here. I'm not sucking Sony's Tit. I have had enough of their ******** over the years (Betamax, DRM mechanisms, pushing blu-ray like the new betamax) but as a serious A/V professional it upsets me to see people rave on about the Xbox 360 when their are serious flaws with it, and makes me wonder how long the people who have one, with an hd-dvd drive last before realising that their investment wasn't futureproof past 2 or 3 years tops. Let me remind by saying that the Xbox currently does not: yadayadayadayada

not everyone wants HD DVD or wifi. its just options, settle down. a lot of people dont want the ultimate theater setup that you have in mind but thats what people want, choice. some people want a toyota corolla, some people want a bmw and everyone will give 1,000 different reasons why one is better.

its no reason to go buck nutty but if it makes you sleep at night, thats fine by me.

as per the "pay for tv" gripe you have. i dont understand it. ever heard of itunes? not everyone downloads movies on their computer. some people want it simple and downloading a movie/tv show to watch on their tv is what some people want.

finally, no technology is ever "futureproof." i think anyone that bought an iphone realized that one. anything in the field of technology will have a better counterpart, thats common sense. 5.1 surround sound is going to be 7.1, dvd to bluray/hd dvd, 1080i to 1080p, edge iphone to 3g iphone (in theory).

anyone that purchases technology with the mentality that it'll be superior to anything for 3+ years or is the "best and anyone that buys the competitor's product is an idiot" is a fool.
 

Adokimus

macrumors 6502a
Jun 2, 2007
842
3
Boston, MA
I'm getting seriously bored with people saying that the Xbox is a next generation console. hardly next gen the fact that you have to buy an add on box that links up over usb just to play back HD-DVD (which is looming to become a dead format, need some reasoning why?) well the xbox 360 cannot handle any of the next gen audio formats, it's all good that it can play 1080p now, only because of the Elite edition with HDMI, not gay VGA, who uses that for a digital picture?!?!?! but where the hell is DTS master audio, something still supported by the PS3. then there's people talking **** about its great use as in a cinema setup as a media extender. so you got 2 boxes (which wont match if you got the elite, well done clean loving one box solution microsoft), tonnes of cabling, HD-DVD which doesn't support any HD future formats atm which to me is ridiculous as a 1080p picture is half the story. hence blu ray will win, more space, more uncompressed audio. and then there's the games machine, yes loads of games, yes its been around longer. yeap 2 years older. older hardware than ps3. considering the ps3 comes with everything built in as standard in one box, with wifi/blu ray/ hd audio formats/ 1.3a HDMI output/ upscaling of dvd's, plus PVR capabilities in the new year, and is now cheaper than the xbox 360 (if you included the xbox with wifi enabler £55, HD-DVD drive £120) so £300 for ps3, over £400 for xbox with all trimmings, that's cheap. Now there's the apple TV, a rubbish half thought about idea. Just use your computer in the lounge, any formats, digital picture/sound as standard, upscaling dvd's divx/xvid/mkv all playable under VLC. sorted. PS3 with a reciever (onkyo HQV one) 42inch 1080p TV. mac mini, what an easy futureproof setup.


Wow... but the real question is, do you like the ps3?



(WARNING, prepare to be "seriously bored": The xbox 360 is a next generation console. Now, if only your post was so kind as to give me a boredom warning. And don't call the VGA gay... little thing about the pot and the kettle.)
 

JonHimself

macrumors 68000
Nov 3, 2004
1,553
5
Toronto, Ontario
I have the 360 and have been streaming files with Connect360 for a while. I recently purchased an Apple TV as well simply because it organized my files better. I hate browsing through my folders and having them all listed alphabetically instead of by show etc etc.. The 360 has better features, but for what I use it for, the Apple TV is more convenient. All of my media is in h.264 format as well, so the divx thing doesn't help me.
 

Jovian9

macrumors 68000
Feb 19, 2003
1,967
110
Planet Zebes
I have both an :apple:TV and an Xbox 360......and I stream on both. Both are great for streaming. The Xbox 360 obviously can do more than the :apple:TV but 2 things keep me from using it very often compared to the Apple:

1. Interface. The interface on the :apple:TV is fantastic and near flawless. Absolutely perfect for the nearly 250 movies I now shuffle through. The Xbox 360 interface is terrible. It hurts to use it.

2. Noise. The :apple:TV is silent. The Xbox 360 is..........well...........NOT silent. When watching a movie the noise coming from the 360 can interfere with the overall atmosphere of the film if you are really into it and hit points where it is quiet. That can RUIN a movie for me.
 

sas76

macrumors member
Sep 10, 2006
90
0
Australia
I have both an AppleTV and a 360.

AppleTV wins hands down for ease of use.

Navigating through the 360 is just annoying.

end of story.

I couldn't disagree more. Connect 360/xbox 360 works perfectly and you only need one to play games and view all media on my Mac.


ss
 

Cloudane

macrumors 68000
Aug 6, 2007
1,627
217
Sweet Apple Acres

Fair point :D The 360 is like a jet engine, and that's before you put a disc in the drive... :eek:

There's also the matter of size. The 360 is, well, not small. Of course, if you're gonna have a 360 anyway for gaming then you're actually saving space but I certainly wouldn't consider using one as a "media extender that happens to play games", IYSWIM.

I'd say if you're going to do a lot of streaming (or don't want a console), the :apple:TV is the better option, but if you have a 360 anyway and are just going to stream something now and again (a "games console that happens to have a media extender function") the 360 is more than adequate.
 

OrangeSVTguy

macrumors 601
Sep 16, 2007
4,127
69
Northeastern Ohio
well i finally got internet sharing on my mac to work with the xbox and d/l the new update. i like it so far. but since i don't have my xbox hooked up to my entertainment center, i won't be doing much "media extensions" anymore. maybe just music while the kids/i play on the 360. too bad this update didn't come out sooner :( love the new layout on live
 

TBi

macrumors 68030
Jul 26, 2005
2,583
6
Ireland
look lets get something straight here. I'm not sucking Sony's Tit. I have had enough of their ******** over the years (Betamax, DRM mechanisms, pushing blu-ray like the new betamax) but as a serious A/V professional it upsets me to see people rave on about the Xbox 360 when their are serious flaws with it, and makes me wonder how long the people who have one, with an hd-dvd drive last before realising that their investment wasn't futureproof past 2 or 3 years tops. Let me remind by saying that the Xbox currently does not:

Gosh darn it... i always thought the XBOX 360 was a gaming console! Turns out i was wrong all along :O
 

fkntotalkaos

macrumors 6502
Nov 24, 2007
306
0
so if I want to start burning my DVD, and having it play in my home theater what is my best option now? If i want 5.1 I have to use my xbox 360 Elite? If this is true using connect 360, what is the best method for ripping DVD to a format I can stream to the 360? Also I don't understand why you can not store files on the 360 them play them back? Is there a way to convert .avi to Divx/Xvid? What about .mkv to Divx/Xvid?
 

soLoredd

macrumors 6502a
Mar 12, 2007
967
0
California
You can convert .mkv to mp4 (H.264) using VisualHub and watch it on the 360. In my opinion, until they get .mkv locally supported on the 360, this is the best way. Just use VisualHub and the maximum quality (Go Nuts) and you won't notice the difference, if any.
 

Scarpad

macrumors 68020
Jan 13, 2005
2,135
632
Ma
First of all, I'm the proud owner of no less than two AppleTVs and a Mac Mini that feeds them. I'm very much a fan of the AppleTV and I think it's one of the greatest "diamonds in the rough" in Apple's lineup. HOWEVER, this burns:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/xbox-360...-tested-verdict-its-almost-perfect-329769.php

The xbox 360 is now a better media extender than the AppleTV in many respects. It's also cheaper than the AppleTV. Oh yeah, and it's also a friggin next-gen gaming system that can be used to play HDDVDs with a fairly inexpensive addon.

Boo.. hiss... Come on Apple, why are you making me regret buying your products instead of Microsoft products. :mad:



You left out a couple things. First All 360's will break, it's a matter of when not If you get the RROD. Second the Interface on the 360 is terrible for Media. I've had a 360 and now a PS3, the PS3 added the ability to play Divx files, it does it well, but the interface is equally as Bad. Also H264 files just look better than Divx (Although a Well Encoded Divx file is no slouch)

So for me it all comes down to interface and the ATV has a better one.
 
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