Hacking [Question]Xbox 360 Codecs and Streaming Services without Live Account

[nilum]

Are there any solutions for getting streaming services and the "Optional Media Update" without Xbox Live?

I wanted to use two Xbox 360s as Media Center Extenders and I do not plan on playing any 360 games online.

I was planning on getting a Ceton InfiniTV device and streaming TV to two rooms, but it's frustrating that I will need other devices for Netflix etc when the Xbox is perfectly capable.

The idea that I have to pay a subscription fee to use a client device to access a web service is beyond ridiculous to me. This is what happens when you let brain-dead marketing executives make decisions about consumer experience.

I've never owned an Xbox 360, so I'm unfamiliar with homebrew for it. Are there any solutions that would work?

I believe the Xbox will be able to play TV shows recorded as WMV (and maybe MPEG2 streams), but I will need to get the "Optional Media Update" to get the h.264 codec for other content. Is there a way to side-load this update?

I've also known for a long time that Netflix and other streaming services will not work on the Xbox 360 without a live account, but are there any homebrew apps that allow access to these services? Is it possible to access them through a web browser?

Are there any other issues I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DinohScene]

If you hack it (mind you it takes hardware and cannot be achieved with software) then you could load up XMPlayer (a homebrew mediaplayer)
It's not the best but it plays some things.

If all, I'd take a Wii over a 360 tho for media/homebrew.
Or even a PS3.
Media on the 360 is just rubbish.
Youtube/netflix etc is fine but it requires subscriptions/Gold accounts/connection to the MS servers.

 

[nilum]

Thanks for the info, DinohScene. I'll look into XMPlayer.

The problem with the PS3 and the Wii is that they won't playback encrypted cable streams.

You see, a few years ago Microsoft and the cable companies colluded to monopolize/defeat a growing trend among consumers to ditch cable boxes for alternative solutions. Cable box rentals are a huge part of the cable company's revenue and Microsoft was eating into this revenue with cheap Media Center Extenders, so the Cable companies decided to encrypt the cable streams to make it impossible to use these devices. It was ultimately decided in court that this practice was legal (with an exception for local broadcasts) and that's when Microsoft introduced "PlayReady" DRM and cable companies began encrypting their cable streams so that you'd have to use Windows OS/hardware compatible with PlayReady DRM.

This drove up the price for these devices and destroyed competition. Only a couple Ceton products and the Xbox 360 are left in the market.

Not even the Xbox One supports this feature anymore.

If our FCC and legal system wasn't full of retards, a simple Raspberry Pi for $35 with XBMC is more than capable of decoding MPEG2 and h.264 streams. But because of DRM this is impossible. You HAVE to use an Xbox 360.

I'm caving and buying two, but I still refuse to buy into the Xbox Live scam.

 

[DinohScene]

Hmmm interesting.
Neat to know!

Well, I think that you'll have to get the optional multimedia update anyway (don't worry, hardware hacked 360's can also obtain it with the XeXMenu installer disc upon installation of FSD)
Other then that, XMPlayer is purely homebrew (you'll lose Live access) and streaming online requires an XBLgold account.

 

[nilum]

I was hoping that there might be a way to stream netflix without a live subscription.

That way I would only need one device. I refuse to sign up for xbox live because it goes against my principles. Its a huge scam.

 

[hundshamer]

Off topic: Real scam for a company who is in the business of making money to actually make money off a superior service. PlayStation 3's free online sucked (IMO), Nintendo's is virtually non-existent, and both the new consoles (XB1 and PS4) require a subscription for online pay. Also consider they have to pay for the 300,000+ severs and maintenance. I personally do not think $5/month is too much to ask for. People pay close 3x that just to play WoW, and that is just for one game. PS+ (Sony's online subscription) is close to $4/month which is required to play online, all other services are available without it. Long story short, it's more incentive to purchase gold than it being a scam. Granted you're entitled to your opinion. I just wanted to give you a different one, so you may be a little more open minded about subscriptions.

On topic: You don't need a gold subscription of the media update, just all the other services.

 

[nilum]

PlayStation 3's free online sucked (IMO), Nintendo's is virtually non-existent

What does Xbox Live offer that is so compelling? What do they offer that I can't get elsewhere for free? Seems more like you're just drinking their marketing Kool-Aid.

consider they have to pay for the 300,000+ severs and maintenance

These servers are not dedicated. They run as virtual machines atop a hypervisor. This makes hosting these services incredibly cheap. This is why Amazon EC2 is so inexpensive. Moreover, not only is Microsoft making money from the clients, they also charge publishers to host their games. And, once a game is a couple years old, server support disappears. UT99 still has a thriving community on the PC. And keep in mind that most PC games offer free online play without charging a subscription.

People pay close 3x that just to play WoW

And they're being ripped off as well, but it's far more reasonable to pay for a persistent world and dedicated server than it is to pay for an instanced Call of Duty map on a VM somewhere.

Long story short, it's more incentive to purchase gold than it being a scam

Microsoft is not making my Netflix experience any better. You really think it's worth $5 more a month just to stream Netflix?

I figured that, because Xbox 360 is often recommended as a Media Center Extender, someone would have created a homebrew Netflix client. Apparently that's not the case.

 

[hundshamer]

I see your point. It seems you need to make a decision. Is it worth $5 a month to decrypt cable streams? I do agree that it would be nice to access pay services or decrypt cable streams via homebrew on any machine.

 

[naxil]

i have install all codec on my 360rgh (i have download some file and i have copy it on content folder), i have use a linux program for stream from my pc (shared folder), the only way for see it from pc is use some capture card... make a file (compatible with xbox360 codec) and reproduce it on 360... better way buy a hd cable from pc to tv and look the pc desktop on tv...