"EncodeHD" is a application written by Dan Cunningham which will re-encode all types of video files for use on your Xbox 360, home media player or other on-the-go device. EncodeHD replaces the older application named "Encode360".
EncodeHD is still in an early beta stage and as such, may not work exactly as expected
So firstly, let’s talk EncodeHD. Look at the current beta release (0.71) as a ‘technology preview’ of sorts. The idea here is to verify that we’ve got the primary encoding mechanisms up to scratch. So what I’m looking for here is to make sure that video converts for all devices as expected and that the quality is good (or great).
The key things to note for EncodeHD are:
Outputted video is MPEG4 and H.264 with AAC (or AC3) audio, NOT WMV (this is not strictly for X-Box 360 anymore)
This means that 5.1 audio for the X-Box 360 is not yet supported in these formats
Subtitles are also not yet possible, although I’m looking into it
As of now, there’s still a lot of unimplemented functionality that will be added later. If you want to see something in particular, please let me know. However, if it’s going to cludge up the interface and start making things complex, I may not implement requests. We’ll have to see.
One of the nice things about EncodeHD is that it has built-in bug reporting. If you hit a problem, it will ask you if you want to submit a bug report - including all the details I need to help solve the issue. If however, the problem is with video output, it may not detect any problems. In this case, could I ask you to email my bug-tracking system: [email protected], and attach the EncodeHD.Log file which you can find in your Temp folder (Click Start > Run and type %TEMP% to access it).
Once again Xbox 360 is making another step forward in the content market via Xbox Live unveiling a deal with Warner Music Group for music videos on Thursday.
Starting this week Xbox Live members will be able to download videos from artists such as Matchbox Twenty, Panic At The Disco, T.I., Flo Rida and many others with the list to grow.
This and with Xbox recently striking a deal with online DVD rental pioneer Netflix the content available will continue to grow and flourish and this will add an extra direction to the huge entertainment machine Xbox 360.
The guy's over at USBfever.com have recently given 360-Hq the opportunity to review their “EasyCap USB 2.0 Video Adapter with Audio” which can be used to capture video from composite or s-video sources, including the Xbox 360. To start the review I will first explain what exactly the EasyCap is.
If you are on the 360-Hq Homepage click read more to read the full review.
Microsoft has released an update for Media Center Extenders for Windows Vista. This update is intended for computers that are running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate.
Issues that are resolved by this update:
This update addresses the following issues. These issues occur when you use Media Center on an Xbox 360 console.
This update addresses a picture quality issue that occurs when you use Media Center Extender on an Xbox 360 console that has a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connector to the TV for video and a Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format (S/PDIF) connection to the audio device for audio.
This update addresses an issue in which the Media Center Extender stops responding (hangs) when you play a large non-WMV video over an HTTP session.
This update provides support for 50Hz output together with better quality for HD models. This feature applies primarily to regions that use the PAL video standard.
Major Nelson Blogcast #279 has a little segment in it about the 360 live update report that was supposedly leaked by MS some time back.
So it seems Major Nelson and the MS public relations team all agree that the list is fake and even make comments that indicate that in some places the list is way off from the truth.
The podcast never makes mention of any updates that are sure to be on the update but I'm sure the HQ will have all that information for you as soon as the real list hits.
It will be interesting to see how close the fake list is to any of the options found on the real update when it surfaces.
There are several ways to provide your customers with the Windows Media Center experience. This post covers one of those design strategies simply referred to as centralized Extenders. Like all designs, this approach has certain advantages and disadvantages and it will be up to you, the installer, to determine which is right for your customer’s system.
This solution is particularly advantageous for the customer that wants a minimal amount of AV hardware in each room, or who wants to distribute the audio from their Media Center experience throughout the house using a conventional distributed audio system, or desires the elegance of both.
In this design approach shown above, all five Extenders are located in the rack with the Windows Media Center PC, with the Extender’s video output connected to dedicated, in room, displays. This connection can be done via one of the various methods used to extend video between rooms that exists today (primarily baluns, and in-wall wiring) In addition, the audio from each Extender is routed to an audio switcher and amplifier, then on to speakers in each room.
For the user who simply wants a display with speakers (and no distributed audio speakers) in each room, traditional A/V or cat 5 wiring can be used to bring the audio and video signals to the displays. We highly recommend using HDMI or component video to ensure HD performance on the display. For distances over 25 feet, an HDMI or component video extender can carry the signal up to 150 feet or more (depending on model/mfg used).
Here is a quick list of the various advantages and disadvantages of using the centralized Extender design strategy.
Click the read more link to view the entire story..
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