Command-Tab

Mac Meet Xbox: Part 1

Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 8:55 PM

Although this is a little late — the successor to the Xbox has already been released for some time — I thought it would be useful to others to write up a comprehensive guide on modding an Xbox and using it with a Mac in a Windows-centric world. It’s never too late, though, because the Xbox is continuing to drop in price and makes a dazzling home media center that blows the Mac Mini away.

This is going to be a multi-post article, as it would otherwise be an extraordinarily long post. Sections will cover opening the Xbox, installing a modchip, and finally loading and configuring the media center software.

Why Xbox?
…And why not a Mac Mini? Why choose an Xbox for a home media center solution, and how does it outperform to the Mac Mini? In a word: compatibility. Right out of the box, the Xbox is a terrible home media solution. In fact, it doesn’t even make an attempt at any media center capabilities, short of ripping CDs. However, when modified and loaded with the open-source Xbox Media Center software, it can play just about any file format you’ll ever encounter in an interface that’s as shiny as Apple’s own. Covering all the bases from AVC/H.264 to Xvid, Xbox Media Center is what makes it happen, and is a stellar example of the kind of quality software that can be produced from a truly dedicated team of programmers. Finding plugins for QuickTime that work as smoothly as Xbox Media Center would be a nightmare. Adding a DVD Playback Kit to the Xbox setup lets you have complete control from the couch, even if you’re just checking the weather or listening to some music from iTunes.

Choosing Chips
Like all modern gaming systems, the Xbox has copy protection and various restrictions to stop people from backing up games and/or running their own software on the system. That has to go. Thankfully, modding Xboxes has been a long, well documented effort, and there is much to show for it. It took only a few months for clever hackers to exploit bugs and holes in the system and gain access to the inner workings, making all sorts of homemade projects possible. Xbox Media Center is among the most popular and well-recognized of the lot.

First on the route to an Xbox-centric home media solution, comes the choice of deciding on the right hardware to enable all the cool stuff to come. Dozens of Xbox modchips are available, many of which require soldering to tiny, tiny spots on the motherboard. If you’re uncomfortable soldering or have an unsteady hand, there are solderless solutions available, but I highly recommend practicing soldering if you intend to get good and continue modding beyond a modchip. Soldering a modchip into an Xbox is far less complicated than with other systems like the PS2, but still requires both patience and skill. Practicing soldering on an old VCR or stereo motherboard is a good way to start (it’s how I learned!). Xbox modchips can run up into the $70 range, but you don’t have to spend a bunch of money to get great features. My modchip of choice — at least until production ends — is the Xecuter 2.6 CE Lite. This model is intended to be soldered in, although a solderless kit is available. Among it’s notable features are included front panel switches, total Xbox hardware compatibility, a backup BIOS bank if you make what would otherwise be a costly mistake, and network flashing. For all the features included, the Xecuter 2.6 CE Lite can’t be beat.

Up Next
That’s it for this edition of “Mac Meet Xbox.” Stay tuned (via RSS, perhaps) for the next installment, which will cover opening of the Xbox and installation of the modchip.

Mac Meet Xbox: Navigation
Part 1: Why Xbox + Choosing Chips
Part 2: Cracking the Case + Installing and Flashing
Part 3: Installing XBMC
Part 3.1: Networking in Detail

This entry was posted on Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 8:55 pm and is filed under Hacks, Mac, Xbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

XBMC Changes

Saturday, July 29th, 2006 at 2:52 PM

When updating my copy of Xbox Media Center earlier today, I noticed that the XboxMediaCenter.xml file was missing. Looking into the matter further, I found that some significant changes had been made to the development of XBMC earlier this month.

The original XML configuration file has been removed, and most of the important options have been added to the program settings, allowing new shares to be connected directly inside Xbox Media Center. Bookmarks can now be added by starting up XBMC, pressing the white button on the controller, and choosing “Add Source.” For those who still prefer to open a file and type in the paths manually, edit the UserData\sources.xml just as you did before.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 29th, 2006 at 2:52 pm and is filed under Tips, Xbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Xbox 360 DVD-ROM Hack

Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 at 8:11 PM

Yesterday, a clever hacker released a modified firmware file for the Xbox 360’s DVD drive which essentially causes it to lie to the console about the type of media off which games are running. This comes not long after the release of a similar firmware for the original Xbox, allowing an unmodified (i.e. no modchip) console to run games off a burned DVD. While both of these hacks are impressive, they currently offer no advances towards running unsigned code, particularly on the Xbox 360. Despite that, I’ll soon picking up a 360 to hack around with. This is the first crack in the wall I’ve been waiting for.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 16th, 2006 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Hacks, Xbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Connect360

Saturday, February 11th, 2006 at 2:25 AM

Connecting a Mac to an original Xbox is a great feature for users of Xbox Media Center, as there are a number of ways to stream your content to your TV. Network shares, iTunes DAAP access, and several streaming programs can all be used to get your stuff from “here” to “there.”

With the release of the Xbox 360, though, there are no easy ways to achieve the same results. The 360 is limited to communication with a Windows Media Center powered PC — software I wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole. Luckily, NullRiver Software just released Connect360, a small $10 shareware Mac application which can eaily share iTunes and iPhoto libraries to your networked Xbox 360. This should tide us over until the 360 is truly as hackable as the original Xbox is. Thanks to Olly for the tip!

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 11th, 2006 at 2:25 am and is filed under Mac, Xbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.