[mythtv] XBox - MythTV

Ryan A. Carris rac at racarris.com
Tue Feb 4 23:50:59 EST 2003


Sorry if this offends, but I must be the only one who does NOT see the 
appeal in modding an XBox to work.

It really is not cheaper than a decent system.  I was able to buy an 
Asus AV266-VM, Athlon 1700XP, 256MB DDR, and Enlight Desktop case for 
$230 (http://mwave.com).  You still need to add a big hard drive, tv 
tuner, keyboard and mouse, but you need to add these to an XBox also. 
Once you add in the XBox mod chip, the price is really the same. More 
powerful computers can be built for the XBox's price, and this will only 
be more true with time.

I don't think it is any better looking.  For the past three years, I've 
had a couple different desktop cases painted black sitting under my 
receiver in my living room.  Most people don't notice. My wife doesn't 
mind (the wireless keyboard on the sofa is more an issue).  I think it 
looks very acceptable. The XBox on the other hand IMHO just doesn't look 
right next to my Denon receiver.

Noise isn't a big issue with me.  My current Athlon w/ el-cheapo 
heatsink and fan is only perceivable if the room is dead silent. If the 
the tv/stereo or HVAC running I can't hear it even if I try.  Everyone 
on this list that dreams of EPIA boards for their sound properties (the 
size does appeal to me) must have better hearing than myself.

Its definitely not easier. MS is trying very hard to make it difficult. 
  I don't have time to screw with mod chips and any more hacks then needed.

The only appeal I can see to an XBox is the novelty / challenge factor 
or some crusader idea of screwing microsoft.

-rac


Michael Stearne wrote:
> Assuming an XBox is good enough to encode and playback at 480x480 (live 
> tv), what, if any, Video 4 Linux capture device would work with an 
> XBox?  There is no PCI slot for a capture card.  Is there any USB device 
> that might work in this situation.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> The price point is soo good.  A capture device and big hard drive might 
> make this possible for $350-$400.
> 
> Michael
> 




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