Honestly, the 360 is a perfect extender because of what it can do and the price it costs. Unless your extender is the primary way you watch TV, investing the amount of money an extender costs was probably too much for most people (leading to decreased sales). Because nothing is stored locally on the 360, even a bargin-bin $130 refurb 360 with no HD would play just fine.
This is one market that Microsoft has done really well with compared to other extenders. Now if only Media Center had more market penetration with general Windows Vista users, it would get a lot more resources during development time!
Except the 360 is noisy, doesn't ship with wireless, can't even get a official 802.11n solution, uses more power, takes up more space, and has consistently faulty hardware.
I bought an XBox360 to try as an extender and took it back because it was absurdly loud and ran way too hot. I ended up getting 2100s for the rest of the house and they are fantastic (I only watch shows I've recorded - no bittorrent).
I don't know what Microsoft is thinking. If they expect the Media Center to make it as a viable whole-house alternative to the garbage cable companies are offering, they CANNOT expect consumers to go putting today's models of XBox360s in their bedrooms, kitchen, home offices, etc.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dagamer43 @ May 16th 2009 10:05PM
Honestly, the 360 is a perfect extender because of what it can do and the price it costs. Unless your extender is the primary way you watch TV, investing the amount of money an extender costs was probably too much for most people (leading to decreased sales). Because nothing is stored locally on the 360, even a bargin-bin $130 refurb 360 with no HD would play just fine.
This is one market that Microsoft has done really well with compared to other extenders. Now if only Media Center had more market penetration with general Windows Vista users, it would get a lot more resources during development time!
Aaron @ May 17th 2009 1:16AM
Except the 360 is noisy, doesn't ship with wireless, can't even get a official 802.11n solution, uses more power, takes up more space, and has consistently faulty hardware.
NorthCranky @ May 17th 2009 12:15PM
Yeah, that's one thing I hate about the 360&PS3 noise. The loudest sound will come from them and it can get LOUD. Crappy things to use as extenders.
Dana @ May 17th 2009 10:58PM
I bought an XBox360 to try as an extender and took it back because it was absurdly loud and ran way too hot. I ended up getting 2100s for the rest of the house and they are fantastic (I only watch shows I've recorded - no bittorrent).
I don't know what Microsoft is thinking. If they expect the Media Center to make it as a viable whole-house alternative to the garbage cable companies are offering, they CANNOT expect consumers to go putting today's models of XBox360s in their bedrooms, kitchen, home offices, etc.