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[FordGTGuy]

He obviously means just because you(as in you as an individual, not as a general term) don't notice it, doesn't mean it isn't there.
Some people are pedantic about certain things, and some aren't.
The bane of my existence is audio going out of sync due to image processing of tv's etc. Most people don't notice or care but I can spot it straight away and it annoys the shit out of me.

Just loaded a grayscale on my Xbox One and on my PC and both look exactly the same on both with all of the grayscale showing.

 

[NooM]

"The only other major difference is a skewed gamma ramp on Xbox One, introducing black crush into the image, robbing it of some of the subtle detail you see in the PC game. We understand that this could be an issue in how the Xbox One blends its multiple display panes and would be more of an issue in upscaled games, and we're quite surprised that Microsoft hasn't sought to address this yet."

360 gamma vs 2.2:

Again, thanks for the effort and no offense, but you are still linking to a game article. I understand and have noticed the crushed blacks on some games (such as BF4, but not at all in Ryse for example).

However what i am asking is for the documented proof that the Xbox One crushes the blacks of media output through HDMI or played through DLNA or streaming or anything else.

People here want to downplay the Xbox One as a media machine saying it crushes the blacks on media, and i say it is false based on experience. Since you guys are making the accusations, i am asking you to prove it and so far no one has.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

How would the xbone do at playing media files saved to a NAS?

 

[boredandlazy]

Just loaded a grayscale on my Xbox One and on my PC and both look exactly the same on both with all of the grayscale showing.

Hey I'm not making an argument for or against what he's saying. I was just clarifying what he meant.

 

[spannicus]

Oh boy

 

[EventHorizon]

I never understood the benefits of the XB1 (or PS4) as a multimedia device. First, and I fully admit that this could be my own personal issue, after being burned with the 360's Red Ring of Death multiple times, I simply don't view a gaming console as an always on device. I only use it for gaming and turn it right back off.

Second, I almost never watch live TV. Everything I watch is done through my DVR and the XB1 wouldn't have very good control over that. I'd end up having to use my remote anyway, so any minor benefit of using voice commands has even less benefit.

Third, I already have numerous ways to watch Netflix, Plex.... While I'm not your typical user, I am the type of user who would be inclined to buy an XB1 if it really did offer some multimedia advantage. This is the fundamental irony of the XB1 as a multimedia device. Enthusiasts, the people most likely to be influenced to buy a console because of its multimedia features, get the least benefit out of it because of existing DVR and multimedia capabilities.

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

How do you guys and gals feel about Coke Zero™ paired with your Xbox One Entertainment System? I feel like it more than adequately quenches my thirst especially when I'm video gaming on my Xbox One entertainment console, lounging on Skype at home, browsing the Neogaf gaming forum or using my Windows phone on the go, wherever good times are had.

Heck, I'd say just about any beverage in the Coke family of beverages more than meets my demand for a great tasting, satisfying drink. What say you; do you agree or completely agree, share a story from when you enjoyed a Coke Zero™.

 

[Son of Sam]

One of the best features by far on the bone. Love it.

 

[Jrs3000]

I actually bought one just for this purpose. The Sunset Overdrive bundle. Then I immediately noticed a strange black crush in the image the system put out. Then I did a little research and learned that this is endemic to the system and everything output has a proprietary gamma applied to it and it is impossible to properly calibrate as a result. Then I learned that it can't bitstream lossless audio codecs for Blu Ray.

Then I sold the Xbox.

Nah, I'm serious. It's noticeable using Xbone's calibration images and seems to be a system wide issue. Like you said, it's been discussed here on GAF and on various other forums. It was pretty bad in Sunset Overdrive too.

It's also true about Xbox 360 having a skewed gamma curve. It's intentional in design and led to a lot of reviewers claiming PS3 versions of games looked "washed out" in comparison.

It's akin to display TVs in stores having completely fucked calibrations, yet people liking the "pop" and "vibrancy" of the colors.

Both are you are misinformed on what's going on. First thing, if you are using a tv then the xbox should be set to limited and the TV must match that for the RGB settings. The mismatch or having it set to full results in crushing of blacks. Everything on xb1 is done based off the limited rgb scale. As far as issues with games that only applies to non 1080p games that use the MS upscaler. A dev chimed in that there was a issue with the earlier XDK but this has been resolved. Sunset overdrive has a bug with the gamma that the game dev said will be fixed in a patch. Any games still having the crush are old and were never patched or fixed. KI for example had the crush but I believe has been fixed. Newer games coming out that are non native don't have the issue. This is info from a dev. What you're looking at on web are old articles like that titanfall one. Now the only that I've heard of crushing when proper settings are used is from certain apps and that is possibly because they haven't been updated just like old games that have the issue. Sunset Overdrive Dev quote to backup what I'm saying. Now if there is a issue then it's xb1 not supporting full rgb so that you can complain about and that's what some complain because having their set on full and calibrated too it.

ok guys, I've chased this down and around and have a solid understanding. It may surprise some of you that I'm actually pretty into display calibration, but there's so many different pieces I wanted to make sure I had it all right before I gave the details.

Firstly - we DO have an issue with our gamma correction slider/menu in the game. So if you set it based on the logo just barely appearing at the start of the game, it's wrong, and it'll be way too dark. So don't do that, we're going to patch it ASAP. That's on our end. You may just want to set it to default (middle) or slightly higher if you use a PC Monitor as your display.

That said we're using HDTV standard called rec-709 for color space display. That standard uses a gamma curve that's darker, especially in very dark colors, and expects colors to be in the limited range (ie 16-235).

We use that standard by default, and it's the XB1 default and it is the encouraged range by MSFT since its HDTVs are what most people will be playing on.

What this means that if you're watching on an HDTV, and you've calibrated that TV with the XB1 calibration utility (or any blu-ray calibration disc in your XB1), Sunset Overdrive will look the way we intended the game to look.

Of course, if you're playing on a PC monitor or your TV was calibrated to give a PC-like response or is expecting the sRGB/PC standard (Full), then Sunset Overdrive will look darker than intended. For folks like this, we have gamma correction in the game, but it's not working quite right, as noted above (so again, use default or maybe a notch or two above).

Also - I know some of you noted something about earlier games having had issues. A couple issues of gamma were corrected earlier on in the XDK / upscaler etc. Regardless, those issues shouldn't effect us as we don't use the hardware upscaler: SO renders at 900p early in our rendering pipeline and then it's switched to 1080p later in the pipeline and that's how we output.

hope that helps.

 

[Sophistical Bunt]

It's pretty great as a multimedia device, although there's still no BBC iPlayer app for it - it's supposedly coming before the end of the year though.

I've been using it a fair bit with OneDrive recently. OneDrive needs some improvements as there's only 2 folder types allowed on it - Pictures and Documents - but if you put a folder of videos up in the cloud and set the folder type to "Pictures", the folder will appear under Albums in the OneDrive app on the Xbox One. When you open it, it takes a still from one of the videos and makes it into the background image (which looks cool), then it shows you all of the videos as thumbnails and you can click on one to stream it directly from the cloud. I am tempted to buy an Office 365 subscription when OneDrive storage bumps up to "unlimited", then I'll put a ton of stuff up there. To make it better though, they need to add extra folder types for Music and Video. While you can stream music and videos from it now, it would be better if there were separate tabs for Music, Videos and Pictures in the OneDrive app, and separate channels for them in the SmartGlass app.

I really like the SmartGlass stuff too. I like that all of the apps you install add channels, then you can browse through the content, select something, tap "play" and the relevant app launches on the console and the content starts playing.

I live in the UK so I've got the Freeview TV tuner for it. That has sling capabilities, so you can stream live TV to any phone or tablet, even while someone else is playing a game on the console, although the Android version of SmartGlass has yet to be updated to support that so it's only working on iOS and Windows devices right now.

 

[Zushin]

I find the Media Player app to be pretty lackluster TBH. No repeat, and I hate how when fast forwarding or rewinding it doesn't scrub through the video so you can see where you are up to.

 

[slapnuts]

I know media was a huge push for Microsoft at the origins of the Xbox One, and admittedly, it was definitely half-baked in that regard at launch - but over the last year with all these updates - it's easily become one of the most used devices in my household.

Between stuff like Plex, HBO Go (soon), Showtime Anytime (soon), Starz Play, Encore Play, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Comedy Central, Crunchy Roll, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Sports (NFL Sunday Ticket, MLB.TV, NBA Gametime, NHL Center Ice), the fact that it's a Bluray player and the recent addition of media streaming via DLNA, it has definitely cemented itself as the best commercial product for media consumption IMO.

I'm also a HUGE XBMC guy, so the HDMI In port has been an absolute godsend. The one downside of XBMC has always been application support like the before mentioned, so being able to instantly switch to and from my Xbox One into XBMC simply by saying 'Xbox, go to TV' - and effectively fuse the strengths of both my Xbox One and XBMC media center - has been absolutely awesome.

Between the fact that Microsoft seems hellbent on fleshing out the app support on XB1 at an impressively swift rate, and the possibility for developers to bring Windows 10 applications to the console, it seems like things are only going to get better.

My home theater PC's since 2002 has been doing the ultimate multimedia experience just fine for me.

 

[harSon]

My home theater PC's since 2002 has been doing the ultimate multimedia experience just fine for me.

Mine too. But one thing DIY Media Centers have always lacked is a consistently elegant experience. XBMC is awesome for streaming media from a network storage or playing it locally. With some effort, you can add some effort (Advanced Launcher) you can construct a pretty cohesive experience capable of launching into Netflix (through Windows Media Center), Hulu Plus, Steam, Emulators, etc.

But when it comes to stuff like HBO Go, Showtime Anywhere, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Encore Play, Starz Play, etc - there are either rudimentary Add-On solutions or no viable solution at all. And in that regard, the XB1 compliments my Media Center wonderfully. It's just the convenience of it all that makes it for me. Where as for something like Starz Play - that lacks an XBMC solution - I'd have to use a Mouse + Keyboard (although I have one of those fused solutions more tailored for HTPC's) to watch my media. I can certainly still see the media I want to see at the end of the day, but it's nice to just sit back and have a complete Media Center experience using one Harmony remote.

I know not everyone is into this type of stuff as much as me, evident by the lazy drive by snide comments, I just wanted to say that is has been a cool experience for me. I don't think it's worth the cost of the console, and I'm not trying to push people into making a purchase - I just wanted to share something about a subject I've seen rarely touched on.

 

[Krejlooc]

Mine too. But one thing DIY Media Centers have always lacked is a consistently elegant experience. XBMC is awesome for streaming media from a network storage or playing it locally. With some effort, you can add some effort (Advanced Launcher) you can construct a pretty cohesive experience capable of launching into Netflix (through Windows Media Center), Hulu Plus, Steam, Emulators, etc.

But when it comes to stuff like HBO Go, Showtime Anywhere, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Encore Play, Starz Play, etc - there are either rudimentary Add-On solutions or no viable solution at all. And in that regard, the XB1 compliments my Media Center wonderfully. It's just the convenience of it all that makes it for me. Where as for something like Starz Play - that lacks an XBMC solution - I'd have to use a Mouse + Keyboard (although I have one of those fused solutions more tailored for HTPC's) to watch my media. I can certainly still see the media I want to see at the end of the day, but it's nice to just sit back and have a complete Media Center experience using one Harmony remote.

I know not everyone is into this type of stuff as much as me, evident by the lazy drive by snide comments, I just wanted to say that is has been a cool experience for me. I don't think it's worth the cost of the console, and I'm not trying to push people into making a purchase - I just wanted to share something about a subject I've seen rarely touched on.

Use Steam's Big Picture mode for HBO Go, Amazon Prime, etc. Create firefox profiles for each site (i.e. one profile for HBO Go, one for Amazon Prime, one for Starz Play), then, under each profile, set the appropriate site as the homepage. So if you launch firefox under the HBO Go profile, it'll open the homepage to HBO Go. If you open firefox with the Amazon Prime Profile, it'll open the homepage to Amazon Prime. And so forth.

You can use command line options to select which profile firefox opens with. i believe it's something like "Firefox.exe -p "HBOGo"" off the top of my head. Create some batch files that send the command to open Firefox in specific profiles. Example: You'd have an HBO Go batch file that would open Firefox using "Firefox.exe -p "HBOGo"" -- make sure to use the proper start command to launch this application, refer to windows batch help online if you don't know the command.

Next, use a program like batch-to-exe to turn your batch file into a stand alone launchable executable, then add them to steam as non-steam games. This will give you icons in Steam's big picture mode that will open to these streaming services. Ideally, you should be launching XBMC from big picture mode as well - BPM is your overall shell for the entire operating system in this instance. If you open XBMC within steam's BPM, the BPM overlay follows (i.e. pressing the guide button on the controller overlays BPM onto XBMC) which gives you access to friends lists, a webbrowser, etc. If you open your firefox profile executables through Steam BPM, the BPM overlay follows onto firefox as well.

For controls, I use a gyration MCE remote:

This is a universal remote with a learning function - so it controls my sound system and my television, as well as my PC. It connects to the PC via USB dongle which makes windows see the remote as both an MCE remote (for the media buttons at the top) and also as a keyboard and mouse, so you can boot your PC with no proper keyboard connected if needed. Using the freeware program EventGhost, you can remap any key on the remote to any sort of mouse or keyboard function.

Best of all, the remote is a gyration mouse - press and hold the button in the middle below the windows gem and moving your hand will move the mouse on your screen, much like a wiimote. To it's left and right are buttons representing left and right mouseclick.

I typically map windows+tab+ctrl to the green windows emblem on my remote, which does winflip 3D on windows 7, which is sort of my cool, nice looking way to flip between applications running without needing to use the start bar. The Ctrl modifier to the win+tab shortcut makes it so that you don't have to keep holding win+tab to do winflip 3D, making the button act like a toggle. Windows 8 kind of fucked that up by getting rid of winflip 3D, so I use switcher, a free program, as it's replacement.

I have a NAS drive in a raid-1 configuration elsewhere in the house that actually serves all the media. I have a few HPTCs that work like I describe, actually, with 3 different Gyration MCE remotes for different rooms. They all are served by the same NAS drive.

This gives me the absolute ultimate media experience. Absolutely nothing comes close. I can play absolutely any type of file, without needing to transcode it, and I can use every single streaming service around, without any sort of device restrictions. I can even get around ESPN3 blackouts by using a proxy. The UI is far more elegant than any of the consoles, with immediate task switching and true multitasking via winflip3D, and a persistent BPM overlay that follows me from games to the internet to XBMC to streaming services to anything else, at the push of a button that gives me friends lists and webbrowsers.

I also have an Acer XtremeCap U3 with HDMI in that I can run a cable box to, to get the DVR functions that the Xbox One has on my PC. Then I can set up window's built in speech recognition software to map out the kinect-style voice commands... if I wanted to. I actually don't have cable TV nor do I care for voice controls. But the options still exist for me.

 

[Brutalitops]

I absolutely will be as soon as Australia gets dedicated TV and OneGuide support.

 

[vesvci]

It's a solid multi-media console, better than the PS4 as far as apps. There's a lot more. However, for my needs, Netflix, Hulu Plus is all I need. Both get the job done.

I would love .srt support for the media player. I also noticed black crush on the media player and the live TV feed, besides the games. It's a bit annoying, I want true picture quality.

 

[ISee]

No, I do not think the Xbox ONE is a good Multimedia device.

1.) 50 hz support seems still chunky.
2.) There is "only" netflix, amazon prime and watchever in my country. Not even SKYgo (very similar to HBOgo, has all hbo movies/shows). Btw it is supported on 360...
3.) Can switch channels etc. via kinect but not set record or access the recordings on my recivers harddrive. And yes I would like to use kinect for stuff like that.
4. No native DTS-Master HD 7.1 support. You can force it, but the Xone transfers only the Dolby/DTS core.

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

I have been evaluating it as a plexbox for a little while, and it is functional with some issues, but was still nice. However, the little Google disc that showed up this week is, at first glance, my new ultimate plexbox (nexus player), and the android tv interface for plex is a whole lot better.

So, the last few weeks have been nice, but I think Google finally made the plex device I've been wanting, so, so long Xbone.

 

[harSon]

Use Steam's Big Picture mode for HBO Go, Amazon Prime, etc. Create firefox profiles for each site (i.e. one profile for HBO Go, one for Amazon Prime, one for Starz Play), then, under each profile, set the appropriate site as the homepage. So if you launch firefox under the HBO Go profile, it'll open the homepage to HBO Go. If you open firefox with the Amazon Prime Profile, it'll open the homepage to Amazon Prime. And so forth.

You can use command line options to select which profile firefox opens with. i believe it's something like "Firefox.exe -p "HBOGo"" off the top of my head. Create some batch files that send the command to open Firefox in specific profiles. Example: You'd have an HBO Go batch file that would open Firefox using "Firefox.exe -p "HBOGo"" -- make sure to use the proper start command to launch this application, refer to windows batch help online if you don't know the command.

Next, use a program like batch-to-exe to turn your batch file into a stand alone launchable executable, then add them to steam as non-steam games. This will give you icons in Steam's big picture mode that will open to these streaming services. Ideally, you should be launching XBMC from big picture mode as well - BPM is your overall shell for the entire operating system in this instance. If you open XBMC within steam's BPM, the BPM overlay follows (i.e. pressing the guide button on the controller overlays BPM onto XBMC) which gives you access to friends lists, a webbrowser, etc. If you open your firefox profile executables through Steam BPM, the BPM overlay follows onto firefox as well.

For controls, I use a gyration MCE remote:

This is a universal remote with a learning function - so it controls my sound system and my television, as well as my PC. It connects to the PC via USB dongle which makes windows see the remote as both an MCE remote (for the media buttons at the top) and also as a keyboard and mouse, so you can boot your PC with no proper keyboard connected if needed. Using the freeware program EventGhost, you can remap any key on the remote to any sort of mouse or keyboard function.

Best of all, the remote is a gyration mouse - press and hold the button in the middle below the windows gem and moving your hand will move the mouse on your screen, much like a wiimote. To it's left and right are buttons representing left and right mouseclick.

I typically map windows+tab+ctrl to the green windows emblem on my remote, which does winflip 3D on windows 7, which is sort of my cool, nice looking way to flip between applications running without needing to use the start bar. The Ctrl modifier to the win+tab shortcut makes it so that you don't have to keep holding win+tab to do winflip 3D, making the button act like a toggle. Windows 8 kind of fucked that up by getting rid of winflip 3D, so I use switcher, a free program, as it's replacement.

I have a NAS drive in a raid-1 configuration elsewhere in the house that actually serves all the media. I have a few HPTCs that work like I describe, actually, with 3 different Gyration MCE remotes for different rooms. They all are served by the same NAS drive.

This gives me the absolute ultimate media experience. Absolutely nothing comes close. I can play absolutely any type of file, without needing to transcode it, and I can use every single streaming service around, without any sort of device restrictions. I can even get around ESPN3 blackouts by using a proxy. The UI is far more elegant than any of the consoles, with immediate task switching and true multitasking via winflip3D, and a persistent BPM overlay that follows me from games to the internet to XBMC to streaming services to anything else, at the push of a button that gives me friends lists and webbrowsers.

I also have an Acer XtremeCap U3 with HDMI in that I can run a cable box to, to get the DVR functions that the Xbox One has on my PC. Then I can set up window's built in speech recognition software to map out the kinect-style voice commands... if I wanted to. I actually don't have cable TV nor do I care for voice controls. But the options still exist for me.

Thanks for the information, but you're unfortunately telling me stuff I already know. I have given people this same advice on this very forum. I've pretty much pushed XBMC as far as it's going to go, and between Advanced Launcher and some batch scripts, I had a damn good media center. But there's no comparing native support to a full screen web page. I'd much rather utilize the applications on the Xbon One - especially since I already own the damn console.

 

[Kyzon]

I'm loving it. There's nothing I enjoy more than just talking to the damn thing although netflix is ass now since the update.

 

[harSon]

I have been evaluating it as a plexbox for a little while, and it is functional with some issues, but was still nice. However, the little Google disc that showed up this week is, at first glance, my new ultimate plexbox (nexus player), and the android tv interface for plex is a whole lot better.

So, the last few weeks have been nice, but I think Google finally made the plex device I've been wanting, so, so long Xbone.

You should look into getting an Amazon Fire and side loading XBMC. I picked one up to throw in my bedroom, and while it won't have the complete functionality of an actual computer based media center, it's still damn good and infinitely easier to set up. Pretty cheap too if you get one on sale.

I do install Plex Media Server on my media centers though. The ability to stream remotely can't be beat. Otherwise I tend to prefer XBMC quite a bit more.

 

[Hubble]

I still use my FireTV 90% of the time for all of my streaming stuff, I ran it through the HDMI in on the XB1 for awhile, but it caused the video to be super dark and HDMI audio switching was flaky, so I don't use anything for the HDMI In anymore.

My wife and son do use the XB1 for NFL Sunday Ticket, but other than that, I find the media player to be bare bones and difficult to work with for most server apps on the PC, and I don't have a Plex pass, so that's not something I have access to currently. On the FireTV I use XBMC and it's amazing, and Amazon Prime/Netflix load quicker there. I can also run most if not all of the stuff listed here on the FireTV through side loading them or downloading add-ons in XBMC.

I think the XB1 has a long way to go compared to other, cheaper alternatives, it's better than the PS4 at this point, but it's definitely not my "go to"

lol You dont need a Plex Pass to use the Xbox One app

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

You should look into getting an Amazon Fire and side loading XBMC. I picked one up to throw in my bedroom, and while it won't have the complete functionality of an actual computer based media center, it's still damn good and infinitely easier to set up. Pretty cheap too if you get one on sale.

I do install Plex Media Server on my media centers though. The ability to stream remotely can't be beat. Otherwise I tend to prefer XBMC quite a bit more.

I prefer plex's media handling and cohesive experience, I've been using it in place of xbmc for years. Xbmc was my godsend on the og Xbox. It doesn't get me anything over plex now.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I'm also a HUGE XBMC guy, so the HDMI In port has been an absolute godsend. The one downside of XBMC has always been application support like the before mentioned, so being able to instantly switch to and from my Xbox One into XBMC simply by saying 'Xbox, go to TV' - and effectively fuse the strengths of both my Xbox One and XBMC media center - has been absolutely awesome.

I'm a huge XBMC guy myself and this was mostly solved with an Amazon Fire TV rooted and running XBMC. You can directly link any of the Android apps, ie Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc, into XBMC so it's completely seamless.

 

[harSon]

I prefer plex's media handling and cohesive experience, I've been using it in place of xbmc for years. Xbmc was my godsend on the og Xbox. It doesn't get me anything over plex now.

Ah, to each their own I suppose. I agree Plex is more polished Vanilla, but if you're willing to put in the work, XBMC is almost capable of anything you throw at it. Give it another go if you ever get the chance.

 

[Hilbert]

I was so invested in Windows Media Center on my media PC and my various 360s, I really wish Xbox one supported it.

 

[Occam]

Power consumption of Xbone is too high to use it as a media player, in my opinion (wouldn't use a PS4 for this, either, even if it were possible).
More energy efficient options exist: For instance modern smart TVs by LG can play all sorts of filetypes (even MKV) right out of the box and may even have NAS support.

 

[Marty Chinn]

I prefer plex's media handling and cohesive experience, I've been using it in place of xbmc for years. Xbmc was my godsend on the og Xbox. It doesn't get me anything over plex now.

I see it the other way around. I don't see anything that Plex offers me that I can't get with XBMC.

Power consumption of Xbone is too high to use it as a media player, in my opinion (wouldn't use a PS4 for this, either, even if it were possible).
For instance modern smart TVs by LG can play all sorts of filetypes (even MKV) right out of the box and may even have NAS support.

I'd imagine most if not all TV interfaces are probably mediocre to crappy though.

 

[Krejlooc]

I'm a huge XBMC guy myself and this was mostly solved with an Amazon Fire TV rooted and running XBMC. You can directly link any of the Android apps, ie Netflix, Hulu Plus, etc, into XBMC so it's completely seamless.

As I said earlier in this topic, I have an XBMC little black box to bring XBMC into my Xbox One. As far as media player options goes, XBMC is pretty much as good as it gets.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Nope, kind of sucks as a media box. Voice recognition only works for some channels, some of the time. Plex wanted me to sign up for some ridiculous subscription, shit has really gone downhill since the days of XBMC on the OG Xbox. If you snap TV it's ridiculously small and drops frames worse than AC Unity.

Its media features have basically just been good enough for me to sit around like a fool waiting for it to get better instead of just buying a Amazon FireTV or upgrading my old HTPC.

 

[Krejlooc]

I was so invested in Windows Media Center on my media PC and my various 360s, I really wish Xbox one supported it.

I remember, when microsoft first rolled out Windows Media Center and announced it's integration into the then up-coming Xbox 360, I thought we'd finally made it. It sounded awesome. Unfortunately, if always felt like a half hearted execution on microsoft's part, and it seems they've completely abandoned it by now. Plus, the coolest options, like the cable tuner card options, were only available at very select OEM editions, not as something the average person could hobble together on their own.

I remember, prior to Windows Media Center, I maintained a mythTV box for several years. I actually returned to windows specifically as a challenge from someone to build a media box that did everything an OEM WMC HTPC could do for half the cost.

 

[DOWN]

It's nothing without HBO Go and Xfinity tho

 

[Herbshire]

My sister bought one just for the media capabilities; MKV update was a big part of it.

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

Ah, to each their own I suppose. I agree Plex is more polished Vanilla, but if you're willing to put in the work, XBMC is almost capable of anything you throw at it. Give it another go if you ever get the chance.

Also to Marty: you are both right, they are two sides of a coin. I get that xbmc is more extensible and capable (hell, you can hook it up to Pms with plexbmc), i just have no need for it (some do), the plex out of box server client setup and multiple device support have me covered, one central cloud connected server in the closet, and a bunch of thin clients, is all I need.

 

[soxinthebox]

I wish the media player app actually remembered where you were up to when opening videos you had already watched part of in the past.

 

[xxracerxx]

It's nothing without HBO Go and Xfinity tho

XBO has HBO Go though, at least in the US I thought.

 

[harSon]

XBO has HBO Go though, at least in the US I thought.

It was officially announced as coming soon, but I don't think it's out yet.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Also to Marty: you are both right, they are two sides of a coin. I get that xbmc is more extensible and capable (hell, you can hook it up to Pms with plexbmc), i just have no need for it (some do), the plex out of box server client setup and multiple device support have me covered, one central cloud connected server in the closet, and a bunch of thin clients, is all I need.

The fact that Plex charges money for some functionality really rubs me the wrong way especially since they're a fork of XBMC. I too have a central cloud connected server set aside with a bunch of clients with XBMC.

 

[Kysen]

Media player app is half baked and the rest are streaming apps.

 

[supernormal]

It only applies the black crush when upscaling an image from 900p or so (so not 16:9) to 1080p, and i've only seen this in some games. It DOES NOT apply to video output and there is NO documented proof out there. If there is, show it. Again, documented proof.

I've also own one since launch and do all my video watching on it.

This is the post you're looking for.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=136529026&postcount=313

I got the same results as well, and so did most people in that thread. I don't mind much, but the crush is definitely there.

 

[Nevasleep]

360 was far better!
Now I only really use Twitch (which always crashes) YouTube, and blu-Ray.

 

[xxracerxx]

It was officially announced as coming soon, but I don't think it's out yet.

Butt....I saw this thread and went with it...didn't see the update:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=935275

 

[MCD]

No subs and only stereo in MKV is a no-no for me.

 

[MrMatt555]

MKV Support:

 

[PensOwl]

Really wish the TV tuner would come over to the US, but everything I've heard has suggested its never going to happen.

 

[GVA1987]

It does everything I would need it for as a media centre however for the advanced user maybe not so much. They do keep pushing out these updates and I have faith it can only improve from here.

 

[Lynn616]

It is seamless. Switch from games to TV to Streaming movies over my network. The suspend/resume function really comes in handy.

 

[TAJ]

No. Because half of that is irrelevant in europe and the other half is adequately covered by my tvs built in features.

Snapping youtube mixes are legitimatley useful however.

Black crush can't be reversed. And no settings on your TV will give you correct gamma with this console. They didn't just go with a different gamma curve. It's not even a curve at all. 360 had weird, not-curved gamma, too.
http://filmicgames.com/archives/14

 

[Micerider]

Still missing Spotify for me. Would also love to have HBO Go available in Europe (Belgium), but fat chance I guess. But good multimedia machine for sure.

 

[GrizzleBoy]

For people without a set top box or those waiting for certain apps to come to the bone.

Stick an android mini pc hdmi dongle in the hdmi input and the TV app/'xbox, watch TV' command becomes any app you want it to be.

You'll still get friends/broadcasting notifications and instant switching, as well as the entirety of the android store to use with your bone.

Its kind of like an "Other OS" that you can switch to at any time.