Considering XBMC to Win7 MC. Lots of questions.

[barnabas1969]

Funny almost a year and I am posting again, on the very same topic. Back in 2012 I decided to just stick with XMBC, and lived with the good and the bad. I even cut the cable, but that won over like a bag of bricks. So I am considering Win7 MC again, this time with a Ceton card for cable. The addition of the cable card really throws XBMC out of the loop.

So new questions:

1) Now in late 2013 are people having any issues with encryption/Ceton/WMC?

2) I would be using my 360 as an extender. If I used MediaBrowser I take it that the 360 would not be able to see those enhancements? My real goal is seeing the content like I do with my XBMC setup (Movies and TV shows categorized and with all the metadata entact).

1 - CableCARD works fine. I prefer the SiliconDust HD HomeRun PRIME tuner, but others are very happy with the Ceton tuners.

2 - I don't use Media Browser, but I think I've read that the latest version doesn't work with extenders. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, I may be thinking of some other product.

[LTParis]

"Wipes the floor" is a very strong statement. A short list of how?

[Scallica]

I don't use Media Browser, but I think I've read that the latest version doesn't work with extenders. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, I may be thinking of some other product.

Media Browser 3 works great on a Linksys DMA2100 extender.

[cw-kid]

Mediabrowser is now server>client based and wipes the floor with xbmc.
that is all

That's a bold claim when Media Browser Theatre is in its first Alpha!

Is it really that good already?

[cw-kid]

Ever since the switch to XMBCbuntu I have been having serious problems with my XBMC installation. Also given I am considering purchasing a XBOX 360 and I am considering swapping back over to MC. But I have a ton of questions.

1. I use Couch Potato and Sick Beard. Anyone with problems on this on W7MC environment?
2. Centon Support. What is the overall consensus of PVR on MC now in 2012?
3. Horsepower. I built a Zotac 9300, 4GB box built circa 4/10. Enough horsepower to playback and stream?
4. Boot to MC. Is this possible? My server would be a dedicated playback box too.
5. UI for things like TV Series and Movies. Are things like groupings simple and logical like XMBC offers?

If you need cable card support your probably better off with WMC. If you don't then I'd stick with XBMC.

WMC is still the better PVR but Live TV in XBMC is getting there slowly. If Live TV isn't your primary focus and your downloaded content is king then XBMC should serve your needs.

[Scott R]

I haven't posted here in a while but wanted to bump this thread. My main server/HTPC is in my bedroom and runs WMC, Plex, and XBMC (w/PleXBMC plug-in). I have this hooked up to a SiliconDust HDHomeRun PRIME (I actually have a 2nd one in a box that I've yet to make use of). In my living room I have an XBox 360 extender and an ATOM/ION-based nettop running OpenElec XBMC (again, w/PleXBMC plug-in).

Recently my main server has been showing signs of failure. I suspect I could wipe my hard drive, clean up any errors, and reinstall everything, but I'd rather not have to do that. With the recent release of the TiVo Roamio line I must admit that I've been eyeing that. I used to use the TiVo way back when and really liked the overall experience and reliability. One reason I switched over to WMC was to play around with the possibility of more easily (or so I hoped) streaming TV shows to my iPhone & iPad. Plex actually does a very good job of transcoding on-the-fly WTV files, but it doesn't work with live TV or shows that are still in the progress of being recorded.

Anyway, a couple of questions...
1) Given some of the occasional BSOD's I've experienced, what would you recommend I try doing to get my WMC server stable again that wouldn't require totally wiping the drive and reinstalling Windows?
2) There is talk in this thread of a few options for playing movie rips. I have full-bitrate Blu-ray rips. Which, if any, of these add-ins support playing back that type of content to an XBox 360? Do they do on-the-fly transcoding? If so, do any iOS apps exist that make use of it to let you play back that content? If you're at all familiar with Plex Media Server, you hopefully know what I'm talking about.

[milli260876]

Mediabrowser is now server>client based and wipes the floor with xbmc.
that is all

That's a bold claim when Media Browser Theatre is in its first Alpha!

Is it really that good already? :what the heck:

yes, yes it is...

for me xbmc seems to never really get anywhere no focus to development.

[milli260876]

The server>client set up in itself is one massive reason mb3 is better than xbmc Imo. Speedwise,ease of set up, web client/dashboard. The android tablet app is formidable and the wp one is great also with one notable annoying music bug ruining it! The Mb theater looks great Mb classic still works terrifically thru wmc and a new alpha w8 "metro" client has just been released that is stunning... Next PVR integration is in the works too. All in all in a few months they have pretty much caught up and then overtaken xbmc. The themes are amazing too as is the metadata scrapper...

[barnabas1969]

I haven't posted here in a while but wanted to bump this thread. My main server/HTPC is in my bedroom and runs WMC, Plex, and XBMC (w/PleXBMC plug-in). I have this hooked up to a SiliconDust HDHomeRun PRIME (I actually have a 2nd one in a box that I've yet to make use of). In my living room I have an XBox 360 extender and an ATOM/ION-based nettop running OpenElec XBMC (again, w/PleXBMC plug-in).

Recently my main server has been showing signs of failure. I suspect I could wipe my hard drive, clean up any errors, and reinstall everything, but I'd rather not have to do that. With the recent release of the TiVo Roamio line I must admit that I've been eyeing that. I used to use the TiVo way back when and really liked the overall experience and reliability. One reason I switched over to WMC was to play around with the possibility of more easily (or so I hoped) streaming TV shows to my iPhone & iPad. Plex actually does a very good job of transcoding on-the-fly WTV files, but it doesn't work with live TV or shows that are still in the progress of being recorded.

Anyway, a couple of questions...
1) Given some of the occasional BSOD's I've experienced, what would you recommend I try doing to get my WMC server stable again that wouldn't require totally wiping the drive and reinstalling Windows?
2) There is talk in this thread of a few options for playing movie rips. I have full-bitrate Blu-ray rips. Which, if any, of these add-ins support playing back that type of content to an XBox 360? Do they do on-the-fly transcoding? If so, do any iOS apps exist that make use of it to let you play back that content? If you're at all familiar with Plex Media Server, you hopefully know what I'm talking about.

There is a very good community of people to help you troubleshoot your BSOD problems at the following link:
http://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help-support/

Make sure to read the sticky at the top of that forum for instructions on how to ask for help.

[LTParis]

The server>client set up in itself is one massive reason mb3 is better than xbmc Imo. Speedwise,ease of set up, web client/dashboard. The android tablet app is formidable and the wp one is great also with one notable annoying music bug ruining it! The Mb theater looks great Mb classic still works terrifically thru WMC and a new alpha w8 "metro" client has just been released that is stunning... Next PVR integration is in the works too. All in all in a few months they have pretty much caught up and then overtaken xbmc. The themes are amazing too as is the metadata scrapper...

I still have not put both feet in the water with MB3, but the UI still seemed very unpolished (when teaming up with MB Classic). Also XBMC now has UPNP sharing between devices. It would be interesting to compare these head to head.

Maybe I am getting my signals mixed up, but it seems with MB3 that this is now going full independent from a server perspective and if one wishes a client perspective?