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[[Image:Xbmc.JPG|right|thumb|350px|Default XBMC main menu (Project Mayhem 3 [[skin (computing)|skin]])]]
==The XboxMediaCenter Project==
[[Image:Xbmc666.jpg|right|thumb|350px|[[XLink Kai]], a free [[online gaming]] game-console tunneling service, is integrated into XBMC (MC360 skin)]]
[[Image:Xbmc2.JPG|right|thumb|350px|XBMC displaying a music collection (MC360 [[skin (computing)|skin]])]]
'''Xbox Media Center (XBMC)''' is a feature-rich [[open source]] [[media player]] for the [[Xbox]] -- a [[Computer program|software program]] which plays video, music and displays pictures/images from the Xbox DVD-ROM drive, built-in harddisk drive, [[Local area network|local-area-network]] or the Internet.


XBMC is the successor to [[Xbox Media Player|Xbox Media Player (XBMP)]]. XBMC is a complete rewrite of XBMP by the same developer-team. XBMC was publicly announced in October [[2003]].
XBMC (XBox Media Center) is a [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html free open source (GPL)] multimedia-player for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox Xbox™ from Microsoft]. Currently XBMC can be used to play/view most popular video/audio/picture formats such as DVD-Video, VCD/SVCD, MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, XviD, MP3, AAC, JPG, GIF, PNG, and most other popular multimedia formats (plus many more less known formats) directly from a CD/DVD in the Xbox DVD-ROM drive or from the Xbox built-in harddrive, XBMC can also play multimedia-files from a computer over a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_area_network local-network] and even stream media-streams directly from the internet. XBMC can parse DVD-Video movies (with and without menus) from ISO/IMG-images and even ZIP/RAR-archives. XBMC has playlist and slideshow functions, a weather forecast feature and many audio visualizations. XBMC can in addition use python-scripts written for XBMC as plugin widgets. All these features enable the Xbox™ running XBMC to fully function as a multimedia-jukebox. XBMC has a simple and user-friendly user-interface, it's easy to use, it's convenient, flexible and offers a great price/performance ratio. (This, The XboxMediaCenter Project is also known as "XBox Media Center" or simply "XBMC").


==Features==
*Notes!
XBMC can play media from CD/DVD media using the Xbox's built-in DVD-ROM drive. It can also play media from the Xbox's built-in harddisk-drive, or stream it over an [[Server Message Block|SMB/SAMBA/CIFS]] share (Windows File-Sharing), [[Universal Plug and Play|Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)]] share, XBMSP (XBox Media Stream Protocol) share, or stream [[iTunes]]-shares via [[Digital Audio Access Protocol|DAAP]]. XBMC can also take advantage of the Xbox's Ethernet network port and a broadband Internet connection if available, using the [[Internet Movie Database|IMDb]] to obtain [[thumbnails]] and reviews on movies, [[CDDB]] (via [[FreeDB]]) for Audio-CD track-listings), and album-[[thumbnails]] via [[All Music Guide|AMG]], it can stream Internet-video-streams, and play Internet-radio-stations (such as [[SHOUTcast]]). XBMC also includes the option to submit music usage statistics to [[Audioscrobbler]] and [[Last.fm]], and a weather-forecast (via [[Weather.com]]). It also has music/video-playlist features, picture/image-[[slideshow]] functions, an MP3+CDG [[karaoke]] function and many audio-visualizations and screensavers. XBMC can upconvert all 480p/576p [[SDTV|standard-resolution]] videos and output them to [[HDTV|720p or 1080i HDTV]]-resolutions. In addition, XBMC has an integrated front-end for an [[Xbox Live]] alternative (called "[[XLink Kai]]"), enabling you to both control the Kai engine and play system-link/LAN-enabled Xbox games online, without connecting to the Xbox Live service, straight from your console.
**XBMC is a non-profit hobby project that is only developed by volunteers in their spare-time for free.
**XBMC does require a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox#Modding_the_Xbox modded Xbox] to run on or it will not function), (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modchip modchip] or [http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox-tutorials.php?p=151|#151 software exploit/hack]).
**For a complete list a functions and features see the [[Supported_File_Formats| supported features/formats list here]].


==Awards==
==1.0.0 Point Release==
XBMC won two categories [[SourceForge]] 2006 Community Choice Awards, for [http://sourceforge.net/awards/cca/ Best Multimedia Project and Best Game Project]. Winners were announced at the [[Slashdot]] Lounge at LinuxWorld Expo, Boston, April 5, 2006.


==Running XBMC==
The 1.0.0 Point Release of XBMC was released 29th June 2004.
XBMC requires a [[modchip]] or software exploit/hack to run, as it is not an authorized (a.k.a. "signed") [[Microsoft]] product. XBMC can be run as an application, or a dashboard that appears directly when the [[Xbox]] is turned on, it takes approximately ten seconds to fully load. XBMC also includes support for many different languages (if your language is not available then you can easily make your translation by editing an [[XML]]-file, which can be submitted to the project's database for use by others). In addition, because XBMC is an open source software program, it constantly undergoes minor to major changes on a daily basis (sometimes noted by the tags "[[Concurrent Versions System|CVS]]").


XBMC supports [[Python programming language|Python scripts]] as [[Widget]] [[plugins]], so users can add new functionality to XBMC (using the [[Python programming language]]) without an illegal copy of the [[XDK]] and without knowledge of the C/C++ programming language. Current scripts include functions like Internet-TV and movie-trailer browsers, cinema and weather guides, e-mail clients, messaging, train-timetables, scripts to front-end control [[Personal video recorder|PVR]] software and hardware (like: [[MediaPortal]], [[MythTV]], [[TiVo]], [[ReplayTV]], [[Dreambox]]), Internet-radio-station browsers (example [[SHOUTcast]], [[Xm radio]], [[Sirius Satellite Radio]]), [[Peer-to-peer|P2P]] file-sharing downloaders ([[BitTorrent]]), [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]], and mini-games such as [[Space Invaders]] and [[Sudoku]], and much more.


At present, XBMC is in a "feature freeze" cycle, which means that the developers are concentrating on fixing bugs and only adding features that concern them. The result will be a stable point release, 2.0.0.
==1.1.0 Point Release==


==Format support==
The [[1.1.0 Point Release]] of XBMC was released 18th October 2004.
XBMC can be used to play/view all common [[multimedia]] formats 'straight out of the box'. It can decode these in software and optionaly pass-through AC3/DTS audio from video to S/PDIF output to an external audio-receiver/amplifier. For a detailed up-to-date list see the "Supported Formats" list in XBMC online-manual [http://www.xbmc.xbox-scene.com/wiki/index.php?title=Supported_File_Formats here]. Currently the supported formats/codecs include:
* '''[[Container format]]s''': [[AVI]], [[MPEG]]/[[MPG]], [[WMV]], [[Advanced Streaming Format|ASF]], [[FLV]], [[Matroska|MKV]], [[QuickTime|MOV]], [[MP4]], M4A, AAC, [[NUT Container|NUT]], [[OGG]], [[OGM]], [[RealMedia|RealMedia RAM/RM/RV/RA/RMVB]], [[3gp]], VIVO, PVA, NUV, NSV, NSA, FLI, FLC
*'''[[Video codec]]s''': [[MPEG-1]], [[MPEG-2]], [[MPEG-4]], [[DivX]], [[XviD]], [[3ivx]], [[DV]], [[H.263]], [[H.264/MPEG-4 AVC]], [[HuffYUV]], [[Indeo]], [[MJPEG]], [[RealVideo]], [[QuickTime]], [[Sorenson codec|Sorenson]], [[Theora]], [[WMV]], [[Cinepak]],
*'''[[Audio codec]]s''': [[WAV|WAV/WAVE]], [[MP2]], [[MP3]], [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]], [[Advanced Audio Coding|AACplus]], [[WMA]], [[AC3]], [[DTS]], [[ALAC]], [[Adaptive Multi-Rate|AMR]], [[FLAC]], APE (Monkey's Audio), [[RealAudio]], [[Shorten|SHN]], WavPack, MPC (Musepack, a.k.a. Mpeg+), [[Speex]], [[Vorbis]] and [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]].
* '''Picture/image formats''': [[BMP]], [[JPEG|JPEG/JPG]], [[GIF]], [[PNG]], [[TIFF|TIF/TIFF]], [[MNG]], [[ICO]], [[PCX]] and [[TGA|Targa/TGA]]


'''XBMC uses two different multimedia player cores for video playback:'''


The first is a ported version of the [[open source]] [[cross-platform]] player, [[MPlayer]], which is known for playing [[proprietary]] media-formats without having to pay license fees.
==Upcoming 2.0.0 Point Release==
XBMC handles all codecs and containers normally supported by MPlayer (all [[FFmpeg]] supported [[codecs]] and also several external ones with the help of [[proprietary]] [[Dynamic Link Library|DLL]]-files: RealMedia, QuickTime, WMV9/WMA9, VP4/5/6), and the sources are synced at regular intervals.


The second is a in-house developed DVD-player for DVD-Video movies, including the support of DVD-menus, (based on the open source libraries libcss and libdvdnav). This core support all the [[FFmpeg]] [[codecs]], and in addition the [[MPEG-2]] [[video codec]], and the [[audio codecs]] [[DTS]] and [[AC3]] (based on the open source libraries, libmpeg2, libdca, and liba52 respectivly). One relativly unusual feature of this DVD-player core is the capability to parse and play DVD-Video movies that are stored in [[ISO image|ISO and IMG]] DVD-images, and [[DVD-Video]] movies that are stored as [[DVD-Video]] files (IFO/VOB) on a harddrive or network-share, and also images in [[RAR]] and [[ZIP (file format)|ZIP]] archives. In addition the DVD-player core can upconvert all [[DVD-Video]] movies and output them to [[HDTV|720p or 1080i HDTV]] resolutions in better quality than most (if not all) HDTV's native function to upconvert video.
The upcoming 2.0.0 Point Release of XBMC has not as of yet been released, but is coming soon.


For audio playback, XBMC includes its own in-house developed audio-player: PAPlayer (Psycho-acoustic Audio Player). Some of this cores most notable features are [[resampling]] to the Xbox's native audio frequency (48 kHz), [[gapless playback]], [[Fade (audio engineering)|crossfading]], [[Replay Gain]], [[cue sheet]] and [[Ogg]] Chapter support.
It handles a very large variety of sound files: [[MP2 (format)|MP2]], [[MP3]], [[Vorbis]], [[MPC]], [[Advanced Audio Coding|LC-AAC]], [[HE-AAC|AAC+]], [[APE]], [[FLAC]], [[WavPack]], [[Shorten]], [[WAV]], [[DTS]], [[Dolby Digital|AC3]], [[CDDA]], [[WMA]], [[IT]], [[ScreamTracker|S3M]], MOD (Amiga Module), XM, NSF ([[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] Sound Format), [[SPC700 sound format|SPC]] ([[SNES]]), GYM ([[Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis|Genesis]]), SID ([[Commodore 64]]), [[Adlib]], YM ([[Atari ST]]), ADPCM ([[Nintendo GameCube|GameCube]]). It also supports many different tagging standards: APEv1, [[APEv2 tag|APEv2]], [[ID3|ID3v1]], ID3v2, ID666 and [[Vorbis comment]]s.


XBMC handles digital picture/image formats with the options of [[Ken burns effect|panning/zooming]] and slideshows, with the use of [http://www.codeproject.com/bitmap/cximage.asp CxImage]. XBMC can also handle CBZ (ZIP) and CBR (RAR) comic book archive files, this feature lets you view/read, browse and zoom the pictures these contain without uncompressing them first.
==CVS tree (and daily CVS builds)==


==Limitations==
The XBMC project developers uses a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_Versions_System CVS] ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revision_control version control system]) provided by [http://sourceforge.net/cvs/?group_id=87054 SourceForge.net] to keep track of the XBMC [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_code source code] and changes in those source code files. This allows our developers to be located anywhere in the world and work on the same source code tree, which means that our CVS tree gets updated (with bug-fixes, new features, etc.) by our different developers almost on a daily basis. Anyone can anonymously download the latest CVS source code tree and compile it to try out the current and very latest XBMC build, (there are also individuals and groups on the internet which specialize in releasing such pre-compiled CVS builds so that people who don't have the tools to compile XBMC themselves can download and test/use the latest XBMC). Note! [http://www.xbmc.xbox-scene.com/wiki/index.php?title=Team_XBMC_and_Others Team-XBMC] only release source code and do not release pre-compiled builds of XBMC, nor are [http://www.xbmc.xbox-scene.com/wiki/index.php?title=Team_XBMC_and_Others Team-XBMC] affiliated with any individuals or groups that release pre-compiled builds of XBMC. In addition understand that CVS build can be unstable and buggy so don't complain if they hang/lock or otherwise act in an unsatisfactory way, however feel free to report any bugs you find in the very latest CVS.
*XBMC can currently not play any audio/video files protected/encrypted with [[Digital Rights Management|DRM (Digital Rights Management)]], such as music purchased from [[ITunes Music Store]], [[MSN Music]] or [[Audible.com]]. Workaround: First remove any DRM protection/encryption from the song or video with a [[Third-party developer|third-party]] program before you try to play it, e.g: [[JHymn|hymn]], [[FreeMe]], [[Unfuck]], [[FairUse4WM]], [[DRM2WMV]] or [[DRMDBG]]).
*[[Universal Disk Format|UDF (Universal Disk Format)]] file-system limitation: XBMC only support UDF version 1.02 (designed for [[DVD-Video]] media), which has a maximum file-size of 1GB (meaning if you burn a DVD-media in a newer UDF version with a video that is larger than 1GB, XBMC will not be able to play that file), same goes for UDF/ISO hybrid formats (a.k.a. UDF Bridge format). Workaround: Burn all your CD/DVD-media in [[ISO 9660]] format, which is the most common standard for recording CD/DVDs. Unfortunately [[ISO 9660]] has a 2GB file-size limitation, which cannot be bypassed.
*The Xbox built-in harddrive is formated in [[FATX]] which has a 4GB file-size limitation, and only supports file/folder-names up to 42 characters, a maximum of 255 in total file-structure character-depth and a maximum number of 4096 files/folders in a single subfolder, plus in the root of each partition the maximum number of files/folders is 256. [[FAT]] does not either support all ACSII characters in file/folder names (like for example < > = ? : ; " * + , / \ | ¤ &). XBMC will automatically rename any files/folders you transfer to the Xbox by these limitations. (None of these are XBMC issues that can be fixed as the limitation is in the [[Xbox]] itself). Workaround: Store your files/folders on your computer or a [[Network-attached storage|Network-Attached Storage (NAS)]] device/box and share them over a [[Local area network|local-area-network]] instead.
*With its 733Mhz [[Intel Pentium III]] and 64MB [[shared memory]], the [[Xbox]] does not have enough hardware-resources (not fast enough [[CPU]] nor large enough [[Random access memory|RAM-memory]]) to play 720p/1080i resolution-native [[HDTV]] video (at 1280x720 and 1920x1080 pixels), (like [[WMVHD|WMV HD]]). XBMC can however upconvert all 480p/576p [[SDTV|standard-resolution]] movies and output them to [[HDTV|720p or 1080i HDTV]] resolutions in better quality than most (if not all) HDTV's native function to upconvert video.
* Again with its 733Mhz [[Intel Pentium III]] and 64MB [[shared memory]], the [[Xbox]] does not have enough hardware-resources (not fast enough [[CPU]] nor large enough [[Random access memory|RAM-memory]]) to play [[H264|MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)]] encoded videos with [[H.264#Profiles|Cabac and Deblocking]] if the video-resolution is higher than 352x288 pixels. Workaround: If you encode your [[H264|MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)]] videos without [[H.264#Profiles|Cabac and Deblocking]] then the [[Xbox]] hardware can handle up to 480x576 pixels video-resolution. It is best to encode your videos to [[MPEG-4|MPEG-4 ASP]] (like [[DivX]] or [[XviD]]) instead. The video's native-resolution can be anything up to 960x540 pixels (a.k.a. [[Half Resolution High Definition|HRHD]] resolution), when encoded like this.
* Xbox games must be stored on the the HDD, or on a DVD, in order to run. You cannot play a game stored on a networked computer.
 
==Legality==
Although XBMC is licensed under the [[GNU General Public License|GNU General Public License (GPL)]], it is written for use with [[Xbox Development Kit|Microsoft's XDK]] and so is not legally available as an executable program to non-official Microsoft game-publishers. Users are encouraged to compile their own [[Executable|binaries]] from the public CVS repository using the [[Xbox Development Kit|XDK]], rather than downloading a questionable illegally released [[Compiler|executable]]. XBMC's full [[source code]] is however legal 'as is' and is available on [[SourceForge]].
 
==External links==
* [http://www.xboxmediacenter.com XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) official website]
* [http://www.xboxmediacenter.de/ XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) official mirror-site]
* [http://forum.xboxmediacenter.com XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) official community forum] (for posting help/support requests, bugs and development disucssions)
* [http://manual.xboxmediacenter.com XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 'new' official  online-manual] (wiki-based user-guide, uses the same Wiki-engine as Wikipedia)
* [http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/wacko/ XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 'old' official  online-manual (wiki-based)]
* [irc://irc.efnet.net/xbmc XBMC official IRC chat room (on EFnet)] (use a [[IRC]] client like [[mIRC]] to join the #xbmc channel)
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc/ XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) official SourceForge.net project] (CVS/source-code/patches//tools/bug-tracker/feature-requests)
* [http://freshmeat.net/projects/xbmc/ freshmeat.net: Project details for The XboxMediaCenter Project]
* [http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?s=64c7fed999e317cc99e26926433d74c0&showforum=62 XBMC community forums @ xbox-scene.com (unofficial but affilated by shared moderators)]
* [http://www.xbmcscripts.com/ XBMC Widget Plug-in Scripts] (Python plugins which adds additional features and functionality to XBMC)
* [http://www.xbox-skins.net XBMC skin download site]
* [http://www.allxboxskins.com another XBMC skin download site]
* [http://www6.tomshardware.com/consumer/20040511/ Review on Tom's Hardware Guide (tomshardware.com) "Modding The Xbox Into The Ultimate Multimedia Center"]
* [http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/c635c6f39986c010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html?s_prop18=how2 Review and HOW-TO on Popular Science (popsci.com)]
* [http://www.tvharmony.com/blog/archives/2004/09/xboxmediacenter.html Review on tvharmony.com]
* [http://www.o-sd.com/hardcoregamermag/publicPDF/HGM_Aug.pdf Review in Hardcore Gamer Magazine (Volume 1, Issue 3, August 2005)]
* [http://www.surrealroad.com/digital/archives/2005/xbox-media-center/ Review by Digital Intermediates (surrealroad.com)]
* [http://www.powerpage.org/archives/2005/10/why_your_next_i_1.html O'Grady's PowerPage Article: Why Your Next iMac may be an Xbox]
* [http://www.productwiki.com/microsoft_xbox/article/how_to_go_from_xbox_to_xbox_media_center_in_30_minutes.html Transform an Xbox into the ultimate media center in in 30-minutes] [[ProductWiki]] step-by-step guide on HOW-TO softmod your Xbox
* [http://slackerpedia.com/xbmc-mac/ HOW-TO use a Mac to install/setup XBMC]
 
[[Category:Free media players]]
[[Category:SourceForge projects]]
[[Category:Xbox]]
[[Category:Free video software]]
 
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Revision as of 07:01, 31 August 2006

The XboxMediaCenter Project

XBMC (XBox Media Center) is a free open source (GPL) multimedia-player for the Xbox™ from Microsoft. Currently XBMC can be used to play/view most popular video/audio/picture formats such as DVD-Video, VCD/SVCD, MPEG-1/2/4, DivX, XviD, MP3, AAC, JPG, GIF, PNG, and most other popular multimedia formats (plus many more less known formats) directly from a CD/DVD in the Xbox DVD-ROM drive or from the Xbox built-in harddrive, XBMC can also play multimedia-files from a computer over a local-network and even stream media-streams directly from the internet. XBMC can parse DVD-Video movies (with and without menus) from ISO/IMG-images and even ZIP/RAR-archives. XBMC has playlist and slideshow functions, a weather forecast feature and many audio visualizations. XBMC can in addition use python-scripts written for XBMC as plugin widgets. All these features enable the Xbox™ running XBMC to fully function as a multimedia-jukebox. XBMC has a simple and user-friendly user-interface, it's easy to use, it's convenient, flexible and offers a great price/performance ratio. (This, The XboxMediaCenter Project is also known as "XBox Media Center" or simply "XBMC").

1.0.0 Point Release

The 1.0.0 Point Release of XBMC was released 29th June 2004.


1.1.0 Point Release

The 1.1.0 Point Release of XBMC was released 18th October 2004.


Upcoming 2.0.0 Point Release

The upcoming 2.0.0 Point Release of XBMC has not as of yet been released, but is coming soon.


CVS tree (and daily CVS builds)

The XBMC project developers uses a CVS (version control system) provided by SourceForge.net to keep track of the XBMC source code and changes in those source code files. This allows our developers to be located anywhere in the world and work on the same source code tree, which means that our CVS tree gets updated (with bug-fixes, new features, etc.) by our different developers almost on a daily basis. Anyone can anonymously download the latest CVS source code tree and compile it to try out the current and very latest XBMC build, (there are also individuals and groups on the internet which specialize in releasing such pre-compiled CVS builds so that people who don't have the tools to compile XBMC themselves can download and test/use the latest XBMC). Note! Team-XBMC only release source code and do not release pre-compiled builds of XBMC, nor are Team-XBMC affiliated with any individuals or groups that release pre-compiled builds of XBMC. In addition understand that CVS build can be unstable and buggy so don't complain if they hang/lock or otherwise act in an unsatisfactory way, however feel free to report any bugs you find in the very latest CVS.

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