[mythtv-users] XBox as a frontend?

Allen T. Gilliland IV alleng4 at yahoo.com
Fri Jun 20 09:59:39 EDT 2003


I just got my xbox frontend setup working properly
last night ... and it seems perfect for running
mythtv.

I do pretty high end recordings ... mpeg4 640x480
4500kbit/s w/ mp3 audio ... and it doesn't seem to
have any problems with playback.  The cpu is usually
around 50% ... I have a pvr 250 and i'll play around
with it a bit more this weekend, but i'm sure the xbox
can playback a full frame 720x480 mpeg2.

The remote works great aside from the key press issue
Ryan mentioned ... someone on the list mentioned
having fixed this with their setup but didn't leave
any instructions for the rest of us ... maybe that
person is still around and willing to post that info
now?

I haven't messed with the overscan because its only
slightly off for me and not a big deal right now.

I had a bunch of problems getting the thing working
properly, most because I was just uninformed about
some things and that caused me to waste a bunch of
time.  I am going to put together some notes on what I
did this weekend and send it out so others don't make
the same mistakes.

But I would certainly encourge others to try the xbox
as a frontend ... its very cheap now, and extremely
flexible.  


--- Ryan Shoff <RyanShoff at mcbrideandshoff.com> wrote:
> The Xbox make a very good front end. I've been
> working on the Xbox-linux
> project for a long time, and MythTV is one of the
> best uses of it.  Overscan
> can easily be controlled with the "xbv" utility. 
> The remote control works
> with a special kernel module that simulates
> keypresses.  It does not require
> Lirc at all.
> 
> My XBox plays 352x480 with about 20% CPU usage. 
> This is all my 650 MHz dual
> processor backend can record without being jerky.
> The Xbox can handle DVD
> playback so I'm sure much higher resolutions are
> possible.  Remember the
> Xbox has a 733 MHz CPU with 64 MB of shared
> processor and video memory for
> comparison purposes.
> 
> One downside is that there is no sound mixer in
> hardware, so volume control
> doesn't work.  You have to use your TV's volume
> control.  Also the remote
> control keys repeat a little too quick if you press
> too long.  Both of these
> could be fixed in software if someone wanted to. 
> 
> I would also like to point out that there is a way
> to boot the Xbox-linux
> without using a mod chip.  By using a special game
> save that exploits a
> buffer overflow in the "007: Agent under fire" game,
> you can boot linux.
> That is how I am booting linux and using MythTV.
> 
> 
> Ryan Shoff
> 
> http://www.xbox-linux.com
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dennis Cartier [mailto:pvr at trigger.net]
> Sent: Friday, June 20, 2003 4:04 AM
> To: Mythtv-users
> Subject: [mythtv-users] XBox as a frontend?
> 
> 
> I would like to hear from anyone attempting to use
> the XBox as a
> front-end. I am wondering how hard it is to get the
> remote control working
> under Lirc and whether or not the TV-out driver
> supports over scan properly.
> As well knowing that it can play 720 x 480 DVD
> quality Mpeg2 without
> stuttering would also be nice.
> 
> Dennis Cartier
> 
> ---
> A Microsoft Certified System Engineer is to
> information technology as a
> McDonalds Certified Food Specialist is to the
> culinary arts.
> 	Michael Bacarella commenting on the limited value
> of certification.
> 
> 
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