A while back I posted an entry about Simple Center, a media freeware that lets you share and sync your files between your devices, one of them being Xbox 360. Now, I’ve got two great open source media centers: one lets you hook up your machines to your 360, just like Windows Media Center itself and the other just acts as a full media center.

Don’t know what a Media Center is? See Media Center Wikipedia.

XBMC aka XBMC Media Center – for Xbox 360

Attention! XBMC requires a modded Xbox or else won’t work.

XBMC can be installed on a flash drive and run from Windows, Linux and Mac. It is available in 20 language and plays almost any video and audio format available today, while MS Media center has a limitation. For a complete feature list, go to XMBC-Features.

From the page:

Currently XBMC can be used to play/view most common video/audio/picture formats such as MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, XviD, MP3, AAC, JPG, GIF plus many more less known formats directly from a CD/DVD in Xbox DVD-ROM drive or of Xbox hard-drive, XBMC can also stream files from a PC over a local network and even stream media streams directly from the Internet.

Because I haven’t got a modded 360 and I don’t intend to mod mine any time soon,I can’t vouch for it so I am hoping that XBMC runs without problems and any major bugs. There is a forum that you can turn to in case you get stuck or have problems.

The installation procedure and any other information have been documented on XBMC Online Manual.

If you’ve got any experience with this software, or any thoughts whatsoever, please share with it with us.

Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac.

MediaPortal II aka MediaPortal Infinity

Media Portal will transform your computer into an advanced media center. From the page:

MediaPortal allows you to listen to your favorite music & radio, watch and store your videos and DVDs, view, schedule and record live TV as a digital video recorder and much much more

According to the FAQ’s, Media Portal II doesn’t support Xbox 360 or Playstation consoles, but I am sure they will soon make this happen. I’ve installed Media Portal last year and I was quite happy with it. It is very rich in features; some of those features cannot be found in any other media center I know.

For more documentation and download, go to the Media Portal web site. Platform: Windows XP and Vista

After a long silence, Team Xecuter is back, but this time with a fix kit for the Red Rings of Death on the Xbox 360 console.

The Xbox hacking team decided this time to fix the machines instead of modifying them,
so they swapped mod chips with a kit containing T10 and T8 screwdrivers, necessary to open the console….maybe some other stuff too.

1 Kit $12.95 each
10 Kits $11.95 each
50 Kits $9.95 each
100 Kits $8.95 each

For those unfamiliar with Team Xecuter, you can find some information on the Team Xecuter web site.

I’ve been monitoring for long time the incoming searches to my blog regarding XBOX 360 issues and believe me when i say that it doesn’t look that pretty.
Heck, it looks mean and disappointing.

Because there are other issues with the 360 besides the ROD, i see an average of 120 daily unique visits to my web site looking for answers to their console issues…
There are questions i can answer and problems i can help get fixed, but ROD….now that’s something either MS can fix, or yourself with the ROD Kit.

Taking from the comments on the entries i blogged about 360, most of my visitors (and me too) have had more than one dead Xbox 360, and so the comeback of Xecuter means more than good news, especially to those who have their machine out of warranty or have bought it through eBay or overseas.

Was about time some shiny prince came along weaponedwith some screwdrivers to revive the dead 360, instead of sending it to repair to MS and wait for a month to have it back….only to have it dead again about 2 days later.

Altough this console has more issues than anyone expected, i still love it and it remains my favourite machine to play my games and enjoy one of the best communities i’ve ever been into.

Maybe if my 360 breaks again, which i hope it won’t, i will try this kit.

Attention: Although the kit has been successfullytested on 18 consoles ROD infected, is good to keep in mind that his is not a permanent fix.
Nothing can replace and new working console.

Welcome back Xecuter!

My friend Becky from Sprites and Bites , just broke the news to me, that Splinter Cell Conviction has been delayed for 2008.

She also provided me with a link to EuroGamer for the full story. Thanks Becks!

This makes me really mad and sad.

I was already boiling for the game to come out…and now this????

Grrr!

From DailyTech.com :

Nearly one in every three Xbox 360 consoles fail, according to retailer reports. The failure rate is as high as 33%.

How about 4 out of 5 in my case?

By several metrics, the Xbox 360 is the most successful console so far of this generation. Despite the startling pace of the Wii, the Xbox 360 still has the most consoles sold worldwide and the longest list of games and exclusives…….

Read the rest of the article on DailyTech.com - Retailers Estimate Xbox 360 Failure Rate High as 33 Percent

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