[wilko]

Those of you who have an xbox 360 probably already know that you can extend your "Media Centre" PC onto the XBOX360 and stream movies in glorious hi-def - but only if its in WMV format.

It looks like we will have native DIVX/XVID support on the xbox very shortly. Hopefully.

http://www.news4gamers.com/xbox360/News-11931.aspx

[homerpovey]

At last, I'll finally be able to stream my DivX files to my TV. I was looking to find a way of doing this before but now my 360 will soon be here I'll no longer have to worry.


Now for the big advice request.

I want to make my network wireless and haven't got that much of an idea how to do it or how much it'll cost.

My phone line enters the house downstairs.

I want my computer upstairs and my xbox 360 downstairs.

Is there anyway of making the 360 wireless on the cheap? The official wireless adaptor is £50+


Thanks in advance for any help or links.

[smashed]

I dont think there is a "cheap" way :(

[homerpovey]

Originally Posted by smashed

I dont think there is a "cheap" way :(

That's not good news, smashed. :(

[wilko]

If the phone line enters the house downstairs and the xbox is downstairs, why do you need it to be wireless?

If you buy a wireless router, they usually have a number of RJ45 sockets for standard network cables. So you would set up your wireless router, have the PC connectimg wirelessly but the xbox connected by a cable.

It works for me. And you will find that the connection speed using a cable is generally quicker. A wireless network will probably only be either 54Mbit or 108Mbit, whereas your wired network will generally be 100mbit/1gig (depending on your hardware). Not that it makes a huge amount of difference on the xbox.

[Reckless]

Originally Posted by homerpovey

Is there anyway of making the 360 wireless on the cheap? The official wireless adaptor is £50+


Thanks in advance for any help or links.

If you're looking at making use of the media center extender facilities of the Xbox, I'd recommend against going wireless. Most wireless solutions are not exactly reliable at high speed. Pumping a HD (assuming you're going to) movie across a bad link will just show the limitations of the technology. A friend of mine did the same and ended up cabling the connections.

[homerpovey]

Originally Posted by wilko_uk

If the phone line enters the house downstairs and the xbox is downstairs, why do you need it to be wireless?

If you buy a wireless router, they usually have a number of RJ45 sockets for standard network cables. So you would set up your wireless router, have the PC connectimg wirelessly but the xbox connected by a cable.

It works for me. And you will find that the connection speed using a cable is generally quicker. A wireless network will probably only be either 54Mbit or 108Mbit, whereas your wired network will generally be 100mbit/1gig (depending on your hardware). Not that it makes a huge amount of difference on the xbox.

Cheers Wilko. Sounds good. Not knowing much about wireless technology I wasn't sure how you connect everything. If I can hardwire the 360 to ruter that'll do me.

Any recommendations on a decent router?

[homerpovey]

Originally Posted by Reckless

If you're looking at making use of the media center extender facilities of the Xbox, I'd recommend against going wireless. Most wireless solutions are not exactly reliable at high speed. Pumping a HD (assuming you're going to) movie across a bad link will just show the limitations of the technology. A friend of mine did the same and ended up cabling the connections.

Thanks for the advice Reckless.

[wilko]

Originally Posted by homerpovey

Cheers Wilko. Sounds good. Not knowing much about wireless technology I wasn't sure how you connect everything. If I can hardwire the 360 to ruter that'll do me.

Any recommendations on a decent router?

Not really, other than stick with the top brands (netgear, 3com, d-link, belkin etc) rather than being tempted by cheap chinese rubbish. And go for a combined modem/router rather than a standalone wireless router - its more convenient in the long run. And try and get a 108mbit router rather than a 54mbit. And make sure you get one that supports over 4mbit ADSL, because some of them (like mine) only support up to 2mbit ADSL.

[homerpovey]

What's your views on these:

Solwise HomePlug Ethernet PL-85PE

These homeplug jobbies have got some decent reviews and appear more secure. But what do I know?