# XBox as MythTV Frontend **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 11, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163 "2008-01-11T18:31:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/1 "2008-01-11T18:31:19Z")
I know a number of dopers are running MythTV. Anyone using an older XBox as a front end? I’m mostly curious about what resolutions can be achieved. According to Wikipedia, it will do HD but I’ve read the CPU is not powerful enough to decode HD video. I’d like 720p but failing that I’d settle for 1024x768. I’ve got MythTV installed as a frontend/backend on a 2.0Ghz AMD Sempron. I don’t use it to record much, though, mostly to play music and avis through my home theatre. If my old XBox can do this, it’ll make my son very happy (he’ll get the PC). Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/2 "2008-01-11T18:42:33Z")
I know lots of people use older Xboxes as frontends for MythTV. I’m not sure about HD, though. You might check out [this thread](http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/285359) from the mailing list, which discusses possible integration of XBMC and MythTV. (XBMC is a very popular media frontend for the Xbox, which I’ve never used myself but have heard nothing but rave reviews of.) ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/3 "2008-01-11T18:58:34Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] I know lots of people use older Xboxes as frontends for MythTV. I’m not sure about HD, though. You might check out [this thread](http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/285359) from the mailing list, which discusses possible integration of XBMC and MythTV. (XBMC is a very popular media frontend for the Xbox, which I’ve never used myself but have heard nothing but rave reviews of.) [/QUOTE] Thanks **Giraffe**. Sounds like XBMC might be better for what I want instead of MythTV (esp. since I’m not recording). The XBMC FAQ is even nice enough to answer my questions about HD ([pretty much the XBox can’t but upconverts nicely](http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_is_XBMC_%26_What_Can_it_Do%3F#List_of_standard_supported_HD_resolutions)). So, anyone have experience with XBMC? What video player does it use (Xine, MPlayer)? ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/4 "2008-01-11T19:25:32Z")
I have an Xbox and I like doing stuff. Can one of you explain what you’re talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/5 "2008-01-11T19:28:59Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] I have an Xbox and I like doing stuff. Can one of you explain what you’re talking about? [/QUOTE] XBMC stands for XBox Media Center, and lets you use your Xbox to [do a lot of media type stuff](http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_is_XBMC_%26_What_Can_it_Do%3F), like stream movies and music and such. It’s supposed to be very easy to install and use. ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/6 "2008-01-11T19:33:10Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] I have an Xbox and I like doing stuff. Can one of you explain what you’re talking about? [/QUOTE] We are talking about replacing the software that runs your XBox to turn it into a Media Center PC. I initially asked about [MythTV](http://www.mythtv.org/), a popular Media Center/PVR software, but XBMC (XBox Media Center) would probably do what I want (play video and music files for a network) better. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/7 "2008-01-11T20:23:05Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] XBMC stands for XBox Media Center, and lets you use your Xbox to [do a lot of media type stuff](http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_is_XBMC_%26_What_Can_it_Do%3F), like stream movies and music and such. It’s supposed to be very easy to install and use. [/QUOTE] But only on a modded X-Box, which isn’t very easy to do, right? I’d love to have something like this. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/8 "2008-01-11T20:26:11Z")
[QUOTE=Cluricaun] But only on a modded X-Box, which isn’t very easy to do, right? I’d love to have something like this. [/QUOTE] Beats me. I don’t even have an Xbox. The link in my last post does discuss the mod chip, though. ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/9 "2008-01-24T20:18:35Z")
For those still interested in this, I just finished the mod and install last night. I choose to soft-mod rather than use a mod chip. I essentially followed [these directions](http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/transform-your-classic-xbox-into-a-killer-media-center-299809.php) but made my own XBox controller to USB connection instead of using Action Replay (I didn’t want to buy it & I like to solder stuff). You can cut a controller cord and connect a USB female to it but since I didn’t want to ruin a controller I opened the XBox and soldered a USB female directly to the motherboard ([great directions for make your own cables](http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Linux_USB_HOWTO) ). If you go this route you’ll need a [compatible memory stick](http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_USB_Compatibility_List) and to find/download the action replay software. Also, You have to [modify the Action Replay driver](http://www.hackosis.com/index.php/2007/09/24/xbox-make-your-own-action-replay-device/) to accept your USB memory stick. I just got it working at like 11 pm last night but from what I saw XBMC interface is slick. I can’t believe I just heard about this. Thanks again **Giraffe**. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/10 "2008-01-24T21:03:22Z")
XBMC _really_ matured through the years. I mean, it was always great, but the amount of things you can do with it nowadays with add-on scripts and whatnot are incredible. I tried a softmod on an Xbox once, but something went wrong and I ended up barely saving the thing. I never really trusted them after that. The chips are so cheap ($15) and the soldering job is so easy - a complete novice should be able to do it with a short soldering tutorial and an hour or two worth of practice on a broken alarm clock or something - that I never saw any compelling reason to softmod, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/11 "2008-01-25T03:24:47Z")
Yay! I can add (having used XBMC for a VERY long time) It was an ideal solution, playing pretty much any media I had on the file server, all it took was samba (or windows file sharing) and a sane folder structure and it played back everything exteremely well. Then I wanted the same thing in HDTV. See here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449306&highlight=xbox+apple](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449306&highlight=xbox+apple) It took a LOT of effort to get to the same place I was with a simple file server and XBMC. I did the softmod and it went mostly well. I dunno if things have changed since then but there was an achille’s heel to the situation: You could not EVER let the xbox lose power. If the remaining juice keeping the memory intact went away, on boot it would go to the ‘set the time’ code…only there wasn’t any ‘set the time’ code anymore. Dead xbox. The solution there was to get the xbox near a PC, power up the xbox, feel for the first ‘burp’ (the BIOS unlocking the harddisk. Pull the ribbing cable before the second ‘buurp’ (look for clock setting code), then HOT SWAP into the PC WHILE it’s running! So, long story short. It’s not in use, but it’s still hooked up to power in the closet. It’s _great_ for what it does, isn’t HDTV, still looks good, and other solutions aren’t there yet. (TwonkyMedia works well enough with the xbox 360) ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/12 "2008-01-25T04:43:09Z")
I just soft-modded my Xbox, and am thrilled with XBMC. I don’t use it as a front-end for MythTV (I use, and am pretty satisfied with, Windows Media Center), but I do use it to watch videos without any problem. I grabbed a 400GB drive that was on sale and have plenty of room to add in any videos or programs; it’s a nice set-up, and really extends the life of the older Xboxes. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/13 "2008-01-25T05:35:43Z")
[QUOTE=Unintentionally Blank] I did the softmod and it went mostly well. I dunno if things have changed since then but there was an achille’s heel to the situation: You could not EVER let the xbox lose power. If the remaining juice keeping the memory intact went away, on boot it would go to the ‘set the time’ code…only there wasn’t any ‘set the time’ code anymore. Dead xbox. [/QUOTE] That must have been ages ago because I’ve never even heard of that problem. I guess you’re running a very old BIOS. There are several different softmod methods now (you can even do it without having to buy a thing) so you may want to consider doing it another way or at least re-flashing the BIOS with something a bit newer. It would suck having a power outage kill your Xbox, although I bet you could recover it with a mod chip since they come pre-flashed. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xbox-as-mythtv-frontend/433163/14 "2008-01-25T12:44:21Z")
No doubt…I’ve been thinking about hooking it up to a TV upstairs for the few games the '360 isn’t backward compatible with.