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Xbox hackers release media player
Well, so far the "security" of Microsoft's XBox. Besides a Mod Chip for Microsoft's console, there is also a media player to play DivX and MP3's making it a sweet home entertainment set:
The first homemade software to take advantage of new hacker add-ons for the Xbox has started to dribble onto the Internet, including a media player that purportedly runs DivX video files. ... Future: Programmers posting on an XboxHacker Web site said they have completed an initial version of "Xbox Media Player." The software allows modified Xbox consoles to play videos in the VCD format, commonly used for bootleg movie discs, and versions 3.x and 4.x of DivX, a controversial compression format used to swap videos over the Internet. Future versions of the application will include support for MP3 and Windows Media Audio files, according to the developers. ... Reaction of MS: Microsoft representatives have said the software giant is investigating legal options to shut down makers of mod chips. |
In my humble opinion, it's only a matter of time before there will be that player. Shutdown the creation of the modchips isn't that good I guess . It will only slowdown things.
Also progress is being achieved to port Linux to the XBox as well as emulators (who needs an XBox when he/she can run the games on his computer anyway?
Read the full article over here.
Source: News.com
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"who needs an XBox when he/she can run the games on his computer anyway?"
Some people claim that the graphics are better in XBox than in the average pc - i have never played an XBox game to so i don't know...
BTW are there any news about the XBox emulator??? It would be nice to play XBox games in my P4 system :4"who needs an XBox when he/she can run the games on his computer anyway?"
Give me an Xbox baby!! the Xbox has a true 128Bit proccesor. The only machines that will be able to preform like an Xbox would be Sun systems. Considering that most home users that run windows have a 32bit proccesor, i don't think that an Emulator will be possible to create unless they plan or re-writing most of the source code for the games. And playing an xbox on a normal TV is pretty cool, but playing it on a $10,000 PLasma screen with the Xbox Component video adapter is better then any computer game i have seen.
Xbox uses DirectX so a very well equipped Windows machine could run an Xbox game and should have the identical graphics. Xbox is just a specially designed PC, nothing more. The CPU is a modified Pentium III with less cache than a normal P3. It is a PC (as stated before). I still want one though 
true 128 bit processor..
greta so you have a 128bit wide processor that proceses everything in 32bit (as the OS is 32 bit (ala windows). In other words ya paying for a fast cpou that isnt using its full potential. Bah.. silly!
"who needs an XBox when he/she can run the games on his computer anyway?"
Last time I checked, Dear or Alive 3, Project Gotham, etc... weren't being ported to the PC. And we're more likely to see working emulators for the Dremcast and PS2 long before any XBox emulators pop up.
If the XBox is a PC, then so is the Dreamcast (has WinCE), and the PSX (RISC processor), and most other consoles that use rather standard parts. And I haven't seen a PC running console games without a full-fledged emulator. The hardware design in consoles is still too different from a PC to do that, XBox included. The XBox being a slightly modified PC, and being able to easily run XBox games on your own PC is just an urban legend for the gullible. If your PC can run XBox games, be sure to let know! It would be a first.
Did you people actually read the specs on the Xbox? It is basically a NVIDIA nForce motherboard using a Pentium III with lower cache than normal. It runs a stripped down version of Windows 2000 Professional. It also uses DirectX as the graphics API. Read this link and you realize it is a glorified PC.
The XBox uses a Pentium III. It's a 32-bit processor. The only 128-bit processor that's made by Intel isn't even fully designed yet. An XBox is a PC but it has a different hardware configuration and a custom operating system. But at the hardware level it's a just a 32-bit PC.
I would like to end this post by saying the Xbox is the best system out there :4
By
Guest,
Wednesday 12 June 2002 09:16
i dont care much about the xbox. Its just a console. Dont try to compare it to the real Computer. Its the same as you might try to compare a Audio Recorder for ur hifi and a CD Recorder. These two things can record, but they are limited as the xbox compared to the real computer. I always say: If you cant use a pc then stick to a console. I dont see any differnces in graphics quality. Just the quality of games is very high for consoles, but connect a xbox or an other console to pc monitor and u will see that the graphic is the same. The Television just manipulates your impression. Play quake3 or wait for doom3 and play it via tv out and you will see that it looks like a console game. cheers. 
Yeah, I'm a little too "old" to be playing games too! But that didn't stop me from buying a ps2 when they dropped their price to 199. I admit it, yeah, I hate m$ and just about everything they stand for, but I won't go into that rant.
That's really cool though that some hackers are having a fun time with "useful" apps to make the console experience more enjoyable. Only bad thing is that there are so many custom versions of divx codecs out there, that to make it playable on one unit and one piece of software would be something that might be like a dog chasing it's tail. If the programmers decided to go only with the "standard" like divx.com/3.11a divx codecs, then life would be a little nicer. I imagine eventually that they might have divx v 5.x working after they get the 3 and 4 codec dialed in nicely and debugged.
As for the stupid auguement about which is better, consoles or pc, I say that it depends on what you want to do with the box? Consoles are about 99.9% compatible with all games and most hardware items. On the other hand, pc's are NOT. If you don't care to fuss with drivers, incompatible hardware, incompatible software, etc, etc, etc then go with a console! Just slap the game in and it runs. Some pc's are very tempermental and have to many different variables when it comes to os/ram/vid card/sound card/gaming device (joystick or pad)/etc. Understand where I'm coming from?
On a parting note, it's a major pain in the ass to disconnect and pack and move a pc to another place to play games on with friends at parties or whatever than to just have a console. Plus, look at the life of the leading video cards out there! A new version comes out every 6 months or less. Hell, a pc is a lot like a boat when it comes to expenses. It's a big hole in the water that you pour money into constantly....
YAHOO 
Sounds great; or I'll start usin' Linux, or I'll buy an XBOX 
Grtz JP.By
Guest,
Wednesday 12 June 2002 12:56
ehm, a console is not as cheap as a pc. Look at the prizes for addons or games for a console like xbox or ps2. first, u can copy allmost any game cd for the pc with clonecd combined with a good recorder. And what about consoles??? first u need a modchip. now you have lost your gurantee for any damage. Next you need a computer to copy discs(hoho, again, without the pc u cant live) and the needed cracks for those games. Look at the development in computer hardware. It goes faster and faster and so dont expect that a console like xbox or ps2 will stay long on the market. Maybe 2 years. Now count how much you spend on games and the newer consoles cant always run old console games. So its just waste of money. I prefer to spend money every 6 months on some hardware changes, but im sure that i dont need to pay for software titles like console users do and thats a hell lot of money. Okay, console games are made better, because they can earn more money. Console user dont copy as much as pc users do and mainly younger kids have no pc, because they would not know how to set up everything and parents dont want to spend much money on a good gamer pc
There are NO 128bit propcessors. Sun's processors from the ultrasparc and forward are 64bit. The Xbox is an expensive PC with a graphics chip that was unique when it was released... not now. Today you can get better PC's with the new graphics cards on the market. The resolution of a tv cannot achieve the resolution or clarity of a CRt onitor so hence a PC game designed for 1024x768 for example will always look better than any game on a regular tv. However it (Xbox) is a cool toy... don't think I'll buy one but I understand those who do.
// swede_242
-------------------------
"Three people can take efficient care of a unix system as long as two of
them are dead"
-------------------------
Wouldn't it be safe to assume that if the media player can decode Divx content then it can decode Mp3s? (as many Divx rips have an mp3 audio track) Unless ofcourse it doesn't decode the audiotracks yet.
It's funny reading some of the ignorant replies that are coming out of the box.
Yes, the Xbox does use a cut-down version of a p3 chip (which resembles more of a late-celeron edition)
However an emulator has to do a lot more than just emulate the CPU! It has to emulate EVERYTHING from the Bios to the control ports, to the memory interface etc.
This is why s/w emulators seem to require 5 to 20X the processing power (under good conditions and great coding) to achieve close-to-realtime results
I wouldn't hold my breath for those people expecting to run Xbox games on their P4s.
I won't say Xbox is the best system and try to convince everyone. All to their own. But the Xbox is my favorite console system.
I hear people saying that "the graphics on the xbox are better than on the PC" all the time.
Isn't this just because Xbox graphics are displayed on a TV (= low resolution, etc.), and the PC graphics on a pc monitor (eg at least 1024x800 res)?
I mean, playing a SVCD on TV also shows 'better graphics' than on a PC monitor. So I guess it's the same thing. :7
By
Guest,
Wednesday 12 June 2002 18:28
mwuhaauha LOL 128bit...
man there are sum stupid fux out there....
mwuhahaha
PS. I just registred now to reply to this.
!Keep up the good work cdfreaks ppl! DS.
As a reply to Mouse, I agree that most emulators so far has needed 5-20x the power of the machine it emulates, but since the xbox uses win2k and directx I wouldn't think you would need to emulate everything in it.
If they crack the encryption system, wouldn't it be possible to just make a cracked exe for the games and run them without emulation? Or possibly make an emulator that emulates the encryption?
Xbox has got better graphics than the PC - I DONT THINK SO!!! Have you seen UT2K3,UT2 and especially DOOM III - they all are much better than Xbox graphics.
>Give me an Xbox baby!! the Xbox has a true 128Bit proccesor.
Give me a break. Check out things BEFORE you react something COMPLETELY inaccurate. Please. There is no such thing as a 128 bit system. The CPU powering both PCs and all XBoxs are 32 bit.
But that's not the deciding factor. The video card is. The XBox may look pretty on a TV, but look at what resolution it's at. 320x240! That's TV res. And PC video cards are 256 bit, for your 411. Consoles are for people who aren't smart enough to use PCs. I HAVE seen an XBox.
It SUCKS 
PCs = High resolution, great multi-player, great graphics, and the ability to crack, cheat (properly with third party non-embedded progs), and upgradability.
Consoles (all of 'em) = Super-low resolution, NO multi-play, sucky graphics that make PC owners puke with disgust, only the ability to cheat with what has been programmed into the game, and HELLO, NO upgradability.
Guess which one is better... 
Power to the PCs!I'll make this one short and sweet for compairison's sake. Assuming that you don't have either a pc or a console, it's less expensive to buy a console and a game or two and a memory card and a cheating "device" than it would be to buy a pc that has comparable specs and enough cpu horsepower to play games with.
You gotta buy the mobo, cpu, ram, case, power supply, "high end" video card, good sound card, a gamepad/joystick, monitor, harddrive, cd/dvd drive, floppy drive, an os, updates for os, the latest drivers for hardware for the box, you get my drift?
You have to spend a hell of a lot more for a pc to play games than a console. Plus misc software like a dvd playing prog.
Ps2/xbox has a dvd player built in, a decent video gpu, dolby surround or better. I'm not not only am I sharing my opinion but I'm showing the logic behind the thoughts also.
Pc's are a "jack of all trades, master of none." Since pc's are forced to do so many different types of tasks and run different types of software, they aren't really the best in anything. If something was designed from the ground up to do a SPECIFIC task or thing, then it "should" be more efficient than something that can emulate it or have the ability to do different tasks. I'm not trying to MAKE people think that something is better than something else per se, but I'm simply discussing the facts at hand when people compair apples to oranges.
Listen, you're avoiding the argument, Fishbutt.
The resolution of games on the PC is WAY higher, with better frame rates and more control over graphics versus gameplay speed. Ahem, try playing Halo at 1600x1200 on a 22 in. monitor (when Halo comes to PC). I promise you, you won't be let down. And the DVD playback on XBox ain't anything you'll write home about...
And about your thing about the XBox (or any consoles for that matter) being made specifically for games, so it should be better, is complete crap. You should know better. Example: This is in a newspaper, so it must be true. Xbox is for games, so it must be good. Think.
And it's true, the PC IS a "jack of all trades" but it does all that stuff and then some. To me, it's master of MANY. If you just wanna play games, get a console. You're obviously too intimidated by the PC. I'd like to see the XBox give you the sort of MULTIPLAY (didn't hear you mention that one...) the PC gives you, and the control over the graphics. Plus, PC games aren't riddled with the dreaded "Jap-Crap-Anime-Style-Big-Eyed-SOBs" games. (read: PS2)
If you want to buy a PC, it's completely upgradable down the road. XBox people? Buy the next newest console. If you don't want to get a monster machine, fine, you don't need to. A decent PC costs $800 Canadian. That's $520 US. You will get WAY more bang for your buck. Games, Office Apps, Music downloading, buring music, Internet, download games, patches, updates, movies, email, multiplay, the list goes on. And who doesn't have a PC? You aren't reading this if you don't have one. All you need to do with it to get it good enough for some sweet gameplay, (if it isn't already,) is buy a video card. $140 Canadian over here.
That is the logic behind my argument.
It is almost unbelievable the rationale behind some peoples "arguments". That if someone wants a console that they must be "scared" of the PC. For those that dont understand what emulation entails I suggest you merely refrain from commenting at all re-read the post by mouse which is highly accurate. Emulation requires more processing then todays computers can handle.
For those that make the argument that a console is MORE expensive than the PC, omg, that is merely ludicrous. Your basing that information on the fact that you are a pirate and can d/l games, so you save money. The fact of the matter is if you actually BOUGHT your games then the console is of course cheaper, and with no compatibility or installation issues.
Someone metioned addons for consoles...ummm, if you are going to make an argument how about trying to be fair. The last time i checked there were gamepads, steering wheels and joysticks for the PC as well. I have a monster PC but that doesnt stop me from wanting to pop a cd in my console and start playing.
For everyone else out there that did not do an accurate comparison of vga vs. tv...your one-sided argument looked at the resolution of xbox on tv and computer on vga...well, we all know that vga will always win that battle, however, you neglected to look at the fact that many consoles can ALSO be played on a vga monitor or HDTV. Now if you are going to compare graphics how about comparing the computers graphics on a TV when as compared to the xbox on tv and vice versa on vga or hdtv. Personally, the PC and console can coexist....then again i guess all the people here who hate the xbox, threw awway there vcrs when dvd hit the scene ;-)
I like all the consoles, there is nothing wrong with just wanting some brainless entertainment, every now and then. hell look at all the summer blockbusters at the movies ;-)
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