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anyone use Connect 360?

djsound

djsound

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 4, 2006
791
17
Im tying to stream a video from my computer to my tv using xbox...can anyone recommend Connect 360? Id like to know if it is any good before buying it....it says I would have to use itunes but itunes only plays .m4 videos......some of mine are .avi's (divx). thanks
 
I use connect 360 to stream all my divx videos from my mac to my tv. I think it is a great program and definitely worth the twenty bucks. None of my videos are in iTunes btw
 
Connect360 works well. The Xbox 360 doesn't. I bought Connect360 last year intending to use my 360 to play back iTunes and stuff in my Movies folder. While it works, the noise of the 360 is very intrusive and the user interface is awful.

I bought an AppleTV last week. Much better.
 
well I download and bought connect360 to run with xbox. Im having problems with it freezing after about 3 minutes of playing. Im using an airport express, is there something else that Im not doing right or change a setting somehow. I emailed nullriver and their response was it was a shoddy router. I dont think so because I never lose a connection with anything else.
 
I am using it. It works pretty well, especially after the last firmware update. I have to agree w/GreatDrok, the 360 is the damn noisiest piece of electronics I have ever owned, bar none.

It is a pretty good, cheap solution until I get my flatscreen and Apple TV.
 
I used Connect 360 for ages. Apart from dumping all your videos (films and TV) into one massive list, plus the odd connection issue, it worked quite well.

Apparently there is an alternative called Rivet that gives a better listed representation of your media. Might be worth a look.

I've since bought an AppleTV, however, and could not go back. Unless the Xbox finds its way into the bedroom... hmm...
 
AppleTV & Connect360

I use both. My iMac serves up all my content. AppleTV picks up everything in iTunes, like my DVD library that I have handbraked. The Xbox 360 picks up DivX files which I use to watch TV shows that we get from torrents. My wife and I have a rule that we only download torrents for TV shows that are on the free networks, since we don't subscribe to cable. We certainly are entertained and it works well. I've only had a few hiccups with Connect360, but overall it works pretty well for what we use it for. The interface, however, is awful. But that's okay.
 
Does anyone know how to get my Cover art (all added through metax) to show up in the xBox 360 video section, while streaming over Connect 360?
 
Cover art would be a great idea, but it is not currently supported by Connect 360. Perhaps a complaint/request campaign on their website????
 
TJRiver said:
Cover art would be a great idea, but it is not currently supported by Connect 360. Perhaps a complaint/request campaign on their website????
Click to expand...

Awww, seriously? Bummer. I just sort of assumed/expected it to work.

Does cover art work properly with a USB drive directly connected to the xbox?
 
Maybe someone can help me out here...I'm using my Fonera as a client bridge to my wireless network. Connect360 detects the 360 properly but I don't know what menu to go to on the actual Xbox to access my media?? I can't go to "Computer" or "Connect to Media Center"...is there something I'm missing (other than proper documentation for this software??)
 
I've not tried it, but you may want to consider checking out an alternative to Connect 360 called Rivet. Please post your thoughts if you do end up trying it!
 
petercockroach said:
Maybe someone can help me out here...I'm using my Fonera as a client bridge to my wireless network. Connect360 detects the 360 properly but I don't know what menu to go to on the actual Xbox to access my media?? I can't go to "Computer" or "Connect to Media Center"...is there something I'm missing (other than proper documentation for this software??)
Click to expand...

You go to 'my video' and the options are 'On my xbox, attached to my xbox, network, and Connect360 - or something similar.
 
Yes... I consider myself a power user.

3314443302_2f4c342502.jpg
 
Is there anyway to get Connect360/xbox 360 to recognize folder structure, so you don't just have one ginormous list of movies?
 
akm3 said:
Is there anyway to get Connect360/xbox 360 to recognize folder structure, so you don't just have one ginormous list of movies?
Click to expand...

It doesn't recognize a folder structure, it only recognizes the folders that contain files.
 
I use connect 360 and like it a lot. I don't know why you guys are complaining about the noise from the 360. Mine isn't loud at all. Are you guys playing your videos on silent? :p

My only complaints are these:

--Groups all videos together. TV shows, Movies, Video pod casts in one list.

--No artwork support. BUT....Before i re-did my collection, one piece of artwork for a movie did show up. I was shocked. Not sure how it happened. Maybe the fileformat...But i've ripped them all with either appletv, or xbox360 presets on handbreak.

--Maybe once a week, or once a month i will have to restart my xbox because it wont read the computer. Just sits and spins. But its a easy fix. Kinda annoying tho.
 
cantthinkofone said:
I use connect 360 and like it a lot. I don't know why you guys are complaining about the noise from the 360. Mine isn't loud at all. Are you guys playing your videos on silent? :p
Click to expand...

My 360 is a pretty early example and it sounds like a jet engine much of the time. If I don't turn the sound up pretty high it really sucks.

My only complaints are these:

--Groups all videos together. TV shows, Movies, Video pod casts in one list.
Click to expand...
Yep, that is a pretty big downside in my book. It really got to be a chore to find stuff once I got a big enough selection. This is especially a problem with episodic TV shows which get jumbled up with the movies.

Worse though is the file format limits. No file over 4GB and no 5.1 surround with any file other than WMV for instance. Just plain stupid limitations for no good reason.

All in all, the ATV makes much more sense as a media player than the Xbox. My wife would never touch the Xbox to watch anything but the ATV is a doddle for her. Connect 360 worked well for me until I got the ATV but now I wouldn't go back.
 
I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with the xbox 360 using Connect 360 as an alternative to my Mac Mini doing the same service.

Can the xbox 360 show artwork and folders if it is coming from a Windows PC instead? Maybe I should make a little Windows server to do this from. Or maybe I should just get an Apple TV, or another Mac Mini.

-Allen
 
Personally I love it...the only thing I do not like is it can only see movies in your 'movies' folder...(besides the itunes option because I am not using that). It should be able to see any folder you want it to since I keep all my movies on an external drive.....I dont want to have to move it to 'movies' so I can watch it..
 
djsound said:
Personally I love it...the only thing I do not like is it can only see movies in your 'movies' folder...(besides the itunes option because I am not using that). It should be able to see any folder you want it to since I keep all my movies on an external drive.....I dont want to have to move it to 'movies' so I can watch it..
Click to expand...

Make an alias to your external drive in movies, does that let it pick up those too?
 
so i guess id make an alias in my external drivers folder? pointing to 'movies' on the main drive?
 
The alias would be made of your external drive Movies folder, and be placed in your Mac's Movies folder.

I use Rivet myself. It allows you to add multiple folders. I have my Mac's movies folder as well as my external movies folder. I think Rivet also allows better organization of how the lists are displayed. (subfolders on the xbox). For me, Rivet also streams to my PS3 so it serves a dual purpose for me.

I'd recommend looking into Rivet, though from my experience both are good programs.
 
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