Every Xbox 360 also works as a Media Center Extender-which means you'll be able to access recorded TV (including high-definition shows) and digital movies (including high-definition films), music, video, and photos stored on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005-based PCs through any Xbox 360. What's more, you can stay connected to Xbox Live and still receive game invites and messages from your friends while watching your favourite TV shows or movies.

Xbox is quickly becoming an important living room entertainment hub, in addition to the leading next-generation video game platform. As such, customers can use Xbox 360 and other devices to access and enjoy photos, music and videos located on Windows Home Server and experience them on the TV. This functionality can be achieved through Windows Media Connect technology.

No, the Xbox 360 is not a Media Center PC. It can connect to a Windows XP Media Center PC to stream content, but it is more of a Media Center PC amplifier/extender than a Media Center PC substitute.

First, go to the Media section of your Xbox 360 dashboard. Then, at the bottom of the page, you will see an icon that says Media Center. Click on it. But make sure your computer has a version of Media Center 2005 or later.If you have a Mac, it won't work, because Windows Media Center is a Microsoft Product, and won't work on an Apple's Mac. If it's too old, it will only download Windows Media Connect.That will let you just view pictures and listen to music from your computer.

Yes it can. However some files play pretty slow, not sure why it happens (my H264 encodes work fine, 2-3 other files I tried play very slow). I'll have to do some tests to confirm what caused that. Remember that Xbox doesn't have the fastest CPU out there (Pentium 3 733MHz) so to be honest the nice playback of most H264 files impressed me.

While you can access network resources on a work network or a domain, you cannot join a Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 PC to the domain. PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 are designed specifically for home use. Windows XP Professional features, specifically Domain Join and Cached Credentials (Credentials Manager for logons) are not included.

Media Center PC and desktop monitor. With computing and entertainment functionality in one place, this setup is ideal for locations where space is at a premium. Media Center PC, desktop monitor, and TV. Use the desktop display for computing and the TV for entertainment. Media Center PC and high-resolution display.

You can purchase Media Center PCs from a variety of retailers or directly from the manufacturers. See the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 How to buy page for complete details.

Holiday units of Xbox 360 (not Xbox 360 Core System) will ship with a bonus media remote while supplies last. This remote is a non-retail smaller version of the Universal Media Remote that will be sold ongoing at retail as an accessory.

The bonus media remote promotes that the Xbox 360 platform is about more than video games - it's about gaming, movies, music, photos and more right out of the box. Also, it includes the Media Center PC button, an important feature that enables Media Center PC users instant access to their digital content stored on their PC, and promotes important digital lifestyle features of the Xbox 360 platform.

The Xbox and Xbox 360 game systems come with parental controls, called Family Settings, which are tools you can use to restrict the type of games your children can play based on a game's rating (for example, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rating in the United States). For more information, see Xbox 360 Family Settings help create a safer gaming environment and Family Settings - A guide to helping your family enjoy the Xbox experience.

Any media device which can be used on a PC as a "USB mass storage device" is compatible with the Xbox 360. This includes, but is not limited to, USB hard drives, Sony PSP, Apple Ipods, external hard drives, and USB memory sticks. It will read any compatible media formats on the device and stream it onto your system.

There will be differences in pace and balance between the versions due to the difference in controllability between the platforms. For example, computer mouse and keyboard controls are faster and more precise than the XBOX 360 controller, so the PC version will expect faster and more precise reactions. The PC version has been found to be hard to control without using a USB XBOX controller. The game seems to be designed with the XBOX 360 version in mind.

When the Vision Camera is connected, it will display whatever the camera is focused on within each blade of the dashboard. Each movement in front of the camera will cause a series of waves in the background producing a really cool wave effect. Once movement stops, the waves stop.

Due to support requirements and hardware configurations, Media Center Upgrades are made at the discretion of the PC manufacturer. Please contact your Media Center PC manufacturer regarding upgrade availability or visit Upgrading to Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 for more information on upgrading a Media Center PC to the 2005 version. Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is made available only with the purchase of a new media center PC.

Windows Media Connect can be used but is no longer supported outside of Windows Home Server. We strongly suggest people upgrade to Windows Media Player 11 or use the Zune software to receive the best experience for managing and streaming content to Xbox 360.

All existing applications that are Windows XP compatible should run on the Media Center PC. Windows XP is one of the most robust operating systems released by Microsoft, allowing even older programs to work on newer machines.

No. You must have a Media Center PC running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 to operate the Media Center Extender. TV Tuning features have additional hardware requirements on the host Media Center PC, which may vary by PC manufacturer.

Windows XP Media Center PC Edition 2005 is not only available with the purchase of a new Media Center PC or with an MSDN subscription. Subscribers to MSDN can use it for development purposes only. You can now purchase it through system builders or from some websites. Please note the requirements before purchasing. Media Center 2005 is an upgrade for existing Media Center computers. The upgrade is available through your OEM.

The Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is based on XP Pro, not XP Home. It has full Pro security, networking, etc. Its only limitation is that it's not possible to join a domain once MCE 2005 is installed. If you must join a domain, it's possible to do so only if an MC computer running a previous version is already set up to do so before doing the upgrade to MCE 2005 or if it's done during a clean install.

It has been tested on ALL Hitachi drives and ALL Samsung drives. If you have an Hitachi drive you should use the Hitachi Sata Adapter. If you do not use this you may get disc errors / boot errors. If you do not have this adapter and you have an Hitachi drive ask your stockist to supply you with one.

The Xbox 360 hard drive is a 2.5" hard drive, similar to those found in notebooks. The hard drive that you buy for your PC are 3.5". Considering that notebook parts are always more expensive than desktop PC components, it is reasonable that the Xbox 360 hard drive costs more than a desktop PC hard drive of the same size.

The Xbox 360 has a custom IBM PowerPC-based Central Processing Unit. To read the complete technical specs for the Xbox 360 CPU click here. Additionally, for an explanation of those specs, check out this editorial titled Xbox 360 Dissected.

The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsoft's original Xbox video game console. The Xbox 360 console was for the first time unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, and release on November 22, 2005 in North America, December 2 in Europe, and December 10 in Japan, and became the first console to have a simultaneous launch across the three major regions. The Xbox360 is also the first next-gen console to hit the market.