Welcome To Australia's No.1 Media Center Community!
You Are Currently Viewing As A Guest - you'll need to register in order to participate in our community and make this annoying message disappear!
By registering you'll be able to post & reply to questions, set up your own image gallery & blog, communicate privately with other members, create & respond to polls, access downloads and other "members only" features.
Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so why not join our community today - you'll be glad you did!
For any problems with the registration process or your account, please contact support.
Hi all, does anyone know of any extenders that can play back MPEG-4 Part 10 (ie H.264/x264/AVC)? Either in an mp4 container or an mkv (preferably both).
If there aren't yet any of these available, do we know how long we'll have to wait for them?
I'd also consider a dvd player capable of playing these, as the old DivX players aren't up to scratch anymore (I'm starting to do all my archives in AVC instead of xvid now, and the family can't watch them).
Do the X360 Media Center Extendor or the PS3 PlayTV support AVC?
I think the Xbox 360 can play h.264 though the dashboard, but not through the extender interface. I don't think it supports the MKV container though (.mp4 maybe?).
Justin
__________________
VMC32: Asus M3N78-EMH HDMI, 4850e, TMG A2 CPU Cooler, 2x1GB Kingston HyperX 800, 2 x HVR-2200 (4 tuners), 500GB Samsung, NSK2480B. Connected to a Metz 32 inch LCD.
Office/Server: Abit A-N78HD, BE-2350, 2x1GB Kingston HyperX 800, 2 x AverTV Duo (4 tuners), CoolerMaster Centurion 5 Tower.
The following Member(s) said "Thank You!" to logifuse for this information:
I don't know what the dashboard is (being a PC gamer myself rather than a consoler), but can it access the files over the network like the extender can? Also, the unfortunate side is that I would need to buy the $650 version to get HDMI, rather than the $350 version. But I guess it's a choice that's out there, with all the currently available extenders only supporting MPEG-4 Part 2.
I don't know what the dashboard is (being a PC gamer myself rather than a consoler), but can it access the files over the network like the extender can?
Yes, the Vista PC just needs to share the files via WMP11 (very easy) - I use it a bit for watching AVIs in the bedroom on a small CRT (I prefer to watch them in the main room via the VMC & use FFDShow's post processing). In this screen, you select Video instead of Media Center:
If you want the AVI & MKV plaback, but can live without the TV side of an extender, then there are a number of devices that can do that (Networked Media Tank, Tomacro, Tvix, etc) - have a look on ebay for something like "hd media player" - you can work out what most of the players are & then research them & find the best performer. If you go down that route, make sure you get one that you can find regular firmware updates for (& not just promises of firmware updates).
Thanks again Justin. It seems a fair bit cheaper than most of the other players I was finding (which were ridiculously priced). It looks like a difficult choice between the xbox and Media Tank. I think the media center side of it is leaning towards the xbox (though both are significantly more expensive than the $200 for a normal extender).
i've just come back from overseas and been doing alot (and i mean alot) of research into this, basically i have found a chipset which does DRM and will playback .mkv and .m2ts files (as well as H.264) the catch is that the chipset is 7 times more expensive than some of the more basic media players on the market.
once i receive the models i've ordered for testing i'll most likely start selling them, for now i would like some feedback from people in the know (you guys) tell me if you think this would be a good thing...
Specs do look good, but the one thing conspicuous by its absence is its function as a media center extender (which is a dealbreaker - read the thread title). If it does in fact function as a media center extender, then its specs seem close to perfect.... and price would be the only obstacle, but I guess prices on all things computer related come down with time.
Specs do look good, but the one thing conspicuous by its absence is its function as a media center extender (which is a dealbreaker - read the thread title). If it does in fact function as a media center extender, then its specs seem close to perfect.... and price would be the only obstacle, but I guess prices on all things computer related come down with time.
whilt the players specs don't state that it is an extender, the manufacturer of the chipset state the following -
The MCX-8634 enables development of networked digital
TVs, digital media adapters, TV receivers, and/or audio/video
receivers that connect to Media Center PCs running Windows
Vista for access to the rich set of entertainment experiences,
including recorded TV and 3rd party applications. In addition
to the Media Center Extender experience, every product built
with the MCX-8634 will be able to connect with a wide range
of content sources, including DLNA and Windows Media
Connect servers.
the only difference is that the player i'm getting is a non-macrovision version of the chipset which is the 8635
I'll know for sure when i get to play with it next week, i'll attempt to set it up as an extender, and also speak to the factory to see what additional gear i need to make it an extender if it isn't one.
Yep, unfortunately no extender does it natively. If you were to get a 360 you could install Transcode360 on your rig and they would play fine throught the MCE interface on a 360, however like previously stated you can play h.264 on the dashboard natively.
