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XBMC Media Center (XBMC), formerly Xbox Media Center, is a media player application for the original Microsoft Xbox, and recently Intel Mac's, Windows, and Linux. XBMC can play video, music, and photo content from the disk drive, hard drive, USB drive, and, most significantly, from a networked computer. Streaming media content from a computer is largely viewed as XBMC's best feature.
MSRP $0.00
Release date January, 2004
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Pros & Cons21
Reviews40
Details
Buy It
Competitors7
Related3
Gallery5
Pros & Cons
31 positive
0 mixed
8 negative
![[i]](/images/info.png)
How is the ProSCORE calculated?
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The ProSCORE is calculated based on the ratio of Pros & Cons about this product as voted by
approved reviewers from the ProductWiki community.
ProSCORE = 100 x (Pro votes) / [(Pro votes) + (Con votes)]
Numbers used for this ProSCORE:
Pro votes = 159
Con votes = 47
Total votes = 206
If you want to help improve the accuracy of the results, register and start voting!
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Details
Since Xbox Media Center is not an officially licensed software application for the Xbox, it requires that the the Xbox is "modded" to permit the code to run. Typically, modifying the Xbox is done either (1) by physically modifying the motherboard by soldering some connections and adding a mod-chip, (2) applying a software patch (aka "softmod", see the 30 min. softmod tutorial for instructions), or (3) swapping the Xbox hard drive ("hot swap"). Note that none of that is required if XBMC is being installed on a PC, Mac, or Linux computer.
XBMC is a free, open-source application distributed under a GNU General Public License.Xbox Media Center won two categories at the SourceForge 2006 Community Choice Awards: 1) Best Multimedia Project, and 2) Best Game Project. It is nominated as a finalist in six categories for the 2007 awards. The non-Xbox versions can be downloaded at XBMC's official website.
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This report was started
February 15, 2006 at 12:01 pm by
Erik
with the last edit occurring
October 20, 2009 at 10:55 am by
Rodriguez Vincent
This page has been viewed
47484 times,
with
394 edits by
60 contributors.
See the
full report history »
Buy It
Competitors
XBMC Media Center is ranked 1st among it's competitors.
See the
top picks in
Software »
MSRP $0.00
Released --
Pros
- Free, open-source alternative to TiVO
- Support for multiple simultaneous TV tuners
- Live TV functionality. pause/rewind/fast forward live TV
Cons
- Complicated setup geared towards more techie people
- Difficult working with digital broadcasts and HDTV
- Doesn't interact with digital cable/satellite directly but instead requires an IR blaster
XBMC Media Center
50%
vs.
MythTV
50%
MSRP $229.00
Released March, 2006
Pros
- Integrated wireless
- Plays high-definition content
- Small footprint and sleek styling
Cons
- Limited to iTunes
- 24 hour movie rental time window
- Xbox with XBMC is cheaper and is more flexible
XBMC Media Center
67%
vs.
Apple TV
33%
MSRP $200.00
Released May, 2007
Pros
- Support DivX and XVid streaming
- Built-In WIFI
- Affordable
Cons
- Slow to boot
- Fast forward does not seem to work on XVid and DivX
- Built for geeks, not user friendly enough for mainstream users
XBMC Media Center
100%
vs.
ZIOVA Clearstream CS510
0%
MSRP $295.00
Released September, 2007
Pros
- Internet streaming of movies on your TV
- Supports 1080p/24 fps with HDMI output
- Innovate remote with scroll wheel
Cons
- No PC streaming support
- Doesn't work with universal infrared remotes
- No built-in WiFi
XBMC Media Center
100%
vs.
Vudu Box
0%
MSRP $249.00
Released --
Pros
- Both WiFi and Ethernet connectivity
- Fully functional Opera Web browser
- DVR functionality
Cons
- Doesn't support HD video
- Can't pause or rewind live TV
- Limited content from Archos portal and CinemaNow
XBMC Media Center
100%
vs.
Archos TV+
0%
XBMC Media Center
100%
vs.
Amazon Unbox
0%
MSRP $249.00
Released --
Pros
- Streams well over WLAN and fits together with Buffalo LinkStation NAS and a Buffalo Airstation router.
Cons
- It does not support subtitles!!
- The scart connection is a joke. It disturbs other scarts, can't "play together" with them and does not recognize (switch) the ration 16:9 . 4:3 as all other scart connected devices.
- The units respond to ~1 in 10 remote button pushes, so that to navigate down through 10 files and then play a file frequently takes hundreds of key presses. The units frequently loose network connection while idle, and this requires navigating all the way back to the main menu, frequently hundreds of button pushes on the remote. If a new file is added to the terastation or other media server the units lock up when a "refresh" is done to the server; any file that is playing halts. There are several buttons on the remote that if pushed lock the unit up to the point that a factory reset must be done to recover.
XBMC Media Center
100%
vs.
Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P4LWAG
0%
Reviews
September 16, 2009
approved
reviewer
love it
have it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
- Has Last.fm Scrobbling support.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
- Can play files inside .RAR compression
- Very useful to me!!!
- Cheaper than lose mediaplayer if you have a xbox
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
April 23, 2009
approved
reviewer
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
- Has Last.fm Scrobbling support.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
- Can play files inside .RAR compression
- Very useful to me!!!
- Cheaper than lose mediaplayer if you have a xbox
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
December 30, 2008
approved
reviewer
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
- Has Last.fm Scrobbling support.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
- Can play files inside .RAR compression
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
December 29, 2008
approved
reviewer
love it
have it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
- Has Last.fm Scrobbling support.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
May 4, 2008
approved
reviewer
love it
have it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
- Has Last.fm Scrobbling support.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Competitors
dialupinternetuser prefers
MythTV over
XBMC Media Center
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
October 6, 2008
approved
reviewer
love it
have it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
- Can play files inside .RAR compression
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Comments
Competitors
Erik prefers
XBMC Media Center over
Vudu Box
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
December 15, 2008
approved
reviewer
have it
love it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Has Last.fm Scrobbling support.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
- Can play files inside .RAR compression
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
June 7, 2008
approved
reviewer
love it
have it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Open-source and free
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Continually updated and improved because of development community
- Can play Internet radio
- Runs Python scripts for applications like YouTube
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
- XBMC ported to Windows, Linux, Mac OS X
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
August 15, 2008
approved
reviewer
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Open-source and free
- Configurable Xbox controller / remote functionality
- Can play Internet radio
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
Cons
- Xbox version requires a modded Xbox
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
June 23, 2008
approved
reviewer
have it
Pros
- Streams audio, video, photo content from your networked computer
- Amazing file-format support. Will play just about any file you throw at it.
- Great UI with nice graphics
- Great built-in audio visualizations
- Customizable, very much so if you get into the XML configuration files and MySQL databases.
Cons
- The Xbox version can't play HD video content (hardware limitation)
- Not officially licensed for the Xbox
- Can be difficult to configure and setup for a novice
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
/
No
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