Streaming videos etc. from an external HDD to Xbox - possible?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Erector, Dec 2, 2007.

  1. Erector, Dec 2, 2007
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    Erector

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    I've got a load of videos on my PC, but obviously I prefer playing them over my TV. So I figure, I've got an XBox 360, why not stream them from the PC to the XBox?

    I've got them on my internal HDD at the moment, but I told my girlfriend about this and she thought, that's a good idea, why not put a load of our DVDs on there as well, instant access as it were. And of course that's gonna eat space! So, I'm toying with the idea of picking up an external hard drive - maybe 500gig or something to start.

    My question to all of you who have more computer experience than I is, will there be enough transfer speed on a USB 2.0 external HDD to stream well over a wireless network? Anyone got any tips?

    cheers :) 
     
  2. MegaMoonMan, Dec 2, 2007
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    MegaMoonMan

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    The USB 2.0 should be fine for bandwidth, I'd worry more about the wireless bandwidth.
     
  3. TheIncredibleHulk, Dec 2, 2007
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    TheIncredibleHulk

    TheIncredibleHulk Bad Luck Incarnate

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    A flash drive works fine. Right now the Xbox only supports WMV files. But wait till the Fall update on Dec 4th. The 360 will then support AVI and MPEG4.

    I have my internet connection from my PC shared with my 360 thru an extra NIC on the computer. Because of that, I can stream music and videos straight to my 360.

    http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/personality/elle/20071130-systemupdate.htm
     
  4. hXcpunk23, Dec 2, 2007
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    hXcpunk23

    hXcpunk23 The Chaos Bringer

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    Your best bet is to use an external HDD connected directly to the Xbox 360. Streaming is possible, but nothing beats the direct connection to the console. Also, as stated above, your files must be converted to WMV or MP4 (in H.264 container--using Videora Xbox 360 Converter or PS3 Video 9), but on December 4th, the Fall Update will give support to AVI.

    I've been using two external HDD on my 360 since the old Fall '06 Update that allowed WMV playback (a 250GB Western Digital MyBook HDD and a 120GB Seagate Barracuda HDD). I keep them directly connected, so there is no loss in quality or anything that streaming could possibly have). I had a few issues when I gave the streaming a try, but I'd attribute that to fact that I was downloading, uploading, and searching online while trying to stream. An external HDD can be neatly tucked away and you can move it between your PC and 360 (like I do) without any real problems.

    My only other suggestion is make sure the HDD is formatted in FAT32.
     
  5. Erector, Dec 2, 2007
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    Erector

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    Didn't realise you could just do that - that'd make life a lot more easy actually.

    One thing though - can Videora rip directly from a DVD? Since we'll be putting a lot of our movies on it from our DVD collection, that'd make life a lot easier... if not, any idea of some software that can?