Do I have to buy an Xbox 360 if I want an extender?
I’ve been poking around Microsoft’s new Media Center site and noticed this page focusing on Media Center around the house.
It appears that the Xbox 360, which includes Media Center Extender technology, is going to be the primary way to send digital media around the house, and that the older, simpler, cheaper extender technology is being phased out.
This seems like a mistake to me. I’m not a gamer, and I really have no desire to become one. I’m a digital media enthusiast, and I suspect there are a lot of folks like me out there. Today, we can buy a Linksys Media Center Extender for a little over $200. The Xbox 360 will start at $299, but if I want a wireless controller I’ll have to pay $399 for the hard-drive-equipped model?
Isn’t there any option for the digital media enthusiast who isn’t a gamer?
I understand your opinion. The best, I think, would be a second generation of non XBox 360 hardware extenders.
In my opinion, the current generation isn’t really up to the task. Since current extenders do not support high definition, they’re really not the future. Plus, as a owner, I can tell that current extenders feel like beta products.
But, sadly, the best be for an extender is still a modded XBox though networking.
I don’t have any inside info, but I am sure there was/is a plan for a new set of extenders (like the DVD with MCE built in)
In my opinion you as a non-gamer are actually getting the best deal out of the XBox 360. The current-gen extenders simply aren’t up to the demanding tasks that we want of them. In the XBox 360 is killer hardware that can do whatever we want it to do now (HDTV and fullly rendered menus) and has room to do even more.
The cost of the 360 is not represented in its retail price – it is subsidized by future licensing of games and peripherals. If you don’t want future games or peripherals, you’re making out ahead in “sticking it to the man”.
The 360 looks good, is quiet, and is cheap. I think that for now it is the preferred option and I fail to see how anyone else can be competitive with alternative hardware at this point.
I don’t think the $399 package comes with a wireless interface. It comes with a wireless controller, but I don’t think it has anything to interface with 802.11a/g.
Regarding #4, the wireless controller is available as an accessory for $50 MSRP. I misread your comments as looking for 802.11, rather than simply a controller
Mbg,
The Xbox fact sheet includes this cryptic line:
Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g
I think that means it has wireless connectivity in addition to wired, but the word “ready” could also imply that you need ot buy an add-on for it.
And paying $50 for the wireless controller (remote control) that is essential to using the media features adds insult to injury.
Peter,
I don’t disagree with your assessment of the Xbox 360, but I do quibble with characterizing it as “cheap.” Over $300 for a box that is simply going to play DVDs and stream media from my PC in another room is too much to pay.
I hope Ian is right and there’s another option lurking out there.
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Well, I just recently setup a simliar environment. Xbox360 with PC in another room as the file server with MCE. I must say, it is very seemless. You can pretty much buy any cheap computer with enough PCI/USB slots for all the tuners you need and your ready to go. The Xbox does all the heavy video/audio processing. So what audio and graphics card you have in your PC doesn’t matter.
And if your not gaming, don’t worry about the wireless controller, you can get the Xbox 360 harmony remote for $60 after rebate and it runs circles around the media remotes.
Tons of talk here about the 360 being the best way to go for the extender. However, what if you have more than 1 tv to share content with? Who wants/needs 2 360′s in there house for this feature to work. I believe that if MS wants to keep a market for this idea, they must allow non-360 extenders to exist. They advertise that Vista will allow for sharing media to up to 5 devices in the house… I doubt they would create a product with a feature such as this that is limited to only the 360 extender. There has to be plans for others, so where are they? I’ve been searching everywhere, but I can find ANY information regarding non-360 extenders. Anyone have any updates on this?