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2008-09-21, 16:29
I'm starting this thread because I've seen a lot of discussion crop up lately involving HTPC vs. Xbox, "ending Xbox support for XBMC", and other offtopic chats about the subject.
So I figure...let's have a free-for-all right here. HTPC people...let's hear it. Xbox fans...sound off.
Personally, I think that there is still a massive following with the original Xbox crowd here. I would guess that it's actually the largest fanbase for XBMC.
So, am I wrong? Should the Xbox be put on the back shelf? Or should it be supported until the very bitter end?
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2008-09-21, 16:51
(This post was last modified: 2008-10-09, 07:57 by Bob___.)
It is clear that the largest group of users own an xbox and want that e.g. the skin development still goes on.
But if the development comes to the point when it is necessary to make compromise with legacy hardware (e.g the skin development -> greater resolution & more memory usage) like it is time to make a cut.
If i were one of the developers and i have the choice between Xbox 1 and HTPC (Linux, Windows, Mac) i would go for the new hardware and the new potentiality that this new hardware offers.
After so many years the limitations of the Xbox 1 are bigger and bigger and nowadays we have the HD-age which the Xbox is not capable for. If we want still full legacy support i wonder when the first users are crying for a XBMC version for the C64 ;-)
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Freddo
Skilled Skinner
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I love the xbox, and I've been using XBMC since it was called yAMP, I think as long as it doesn't compromise other platforms, and aslong as there are still xboxs in the field, it makes sense to continue supporting it. For standard definition content theres very little competition at that price point and form factor. I fully believe XBMC's xbox only roots are what has made it such a lean mean HTPC killing machine, given limited hardware the developers were forced to polish and polish and polish some more without the kind of feature creep that other media centers suffer.
As for skins, i can understand why some skin developers might want to "drop" the xbox as a platform, either because they don't have one to test themselves, or because it doesn't allow them to create what they want due to memory requirements etc. Let's not forget though as long as skinners make their textures available unprotected it's probably always going to be possible for someone else to optimize the skin for use on xbox. Perhaps further optimization of the GUI rendering could make this less of an issue in the future too. ( I don't know but the team has worked miracles before so I wouldn't put it past them ).
Another cool spin-off of continued xbox support is that low-power subnotebooks and SFF machines like the Asus EEe Box, or Via's teeny tiny motherboards shouldn't struggle too much to run XBMC, and these are great platforms for SD only playback in playrooms and bedrooms, low cost, low power usage etc.
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I agree...as a developer, the goal is most often to reach the fullest potential that a software can support.
But a developer also needs to consider the largest demographic for the medium they're creating for. And in this case, the largest demographic is Xbox users. It would, IMHO, only make sense to design a core around what the people want.
So, in the example of Aeon Stark...how difficult would it actually be to set a flag for certain features or graphics that would be deemed Xbox compatible, or xbox noncompatible? Aeon already has a setting to "enable xbox performance mode". Why not work around that? Or hell...make the 1080p res set non-xbox, and the 720p set Xbox compatible...
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i think both need to be supported...
but thats the nice thing about XBMC.. it has its own total skin engine.. which has a nice effect that your skin can be as heavy... or as light as you want it to be..
the standard code base needs to be updated as it is..
plugins should work for both "pc" and xbox...
while i'm not against more advanced feature (aka suspend etc) that are only ment for PC..
as long as the normal fixes and 'just basic nice features' are also added to the xbox version its all good with me.. i have... 4 xboxes and 1HTPC..
I'm still pretty content with Xvid and so are my parents and brother..
its not like we have a 104" plasma etc we have normal 82cm lcd and even a normal CRT tv..
so no real need for a real htpc @ each tv..
also the cost for XBMC @ xbox is cheap as hell.. try to build an entire 'htpc' for 50euro.. (thats the price i paid for each xbox except my first one that one was 80euro, each xbox with dvd remote!).
a normal htpc is around 350euro.. so.. 7,5 times more expensive..
(cpu: 110euro, mb: 50a55euro, memory: 35euro, case: 150euro.. remote 30euro+usb receiver: 15euro.., usb stick 20euro..) it adds up.. ofcourse its more flexible.. but I think as long as they can keep going forward and be able to also keep the xbmc for xbox 'ok' i say why not?
in like 5 years when most HTPC's will be death replaced or whateveR.. i'm pretty sure that my 4 xbox's will still work as happily as ever..
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lets face it the majority of people using XBMC on htpc only came across the software because they were originaly using it for xbox and more than likley are still using it as a second, third or even forth media streamer
XBMC IS XBOX
PEACE
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Things that need to be considered...
1. Scarcity. MS no longer makes the Xbox, they are becoming difficult to find.
2. Life Span. It is becoming apparent that the average xbox is reaching end of life. Many people I know are seeing failures and anomalies associated with impending hardware failure. This perpetuates point 1.
3. Usefulness. The age of HD is upon us, and we all know that the xbox just isn't going to cut it much longer.
4. Interested Developers. It is hard to remain interested in a platform when your application is being stonewalled by weak hardware disallowing addition of useful features.
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I created the poll but it's not exactly presented the way I'd like. For instance, I currently USE only Xbox, but develop the SDL ports.
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I think XBMC always should target at least one older/slower platform such as the Xbox (or the Apple TV) to make sure that even hardware that is not top of the line can run it smoothly.