Modded X-box v Kiss DP whatever for DivX Playback

S

spamboy

Guest
I've got an HTPC, but I'm looking for a solution for playing back media files on a system in another room. I don't want to build another HTPC for cost \ noise \ space reasons and was thinking of getting either one of the kiss players (a friend has one, works nicely) or a modded xbox. Xbox looks more fun \ versatile, but looks like it could be more hassle.

I'll probably access data over wireless, most stuff I have is divx, but I also store some of my dvd's as iso images, be nice to access those too.

I'm not massively concened about DVD playback quality as I have a tosh sd220 which is fine, just the media playback. It'll be driving a sanyo z1 and maybe sometimes a 32" CRT.

What do you think, which should I go for?

Thanks,

SB
 
modded xbox all the way. it'll play just about everything you can throw at it with the added bonus of xbox games and the thousands of older games you can emulate.


It's a no-brainer mate:)
 
Well... I think they both have thier place!

I have 2 DP 508's and a chipped xbox....

The xbox is fine if you want games machine that can do some music and movies... its ugly in a rack and noisy...

The kiss is nice in the rack, sounds better for movies and music (in my opinion) and ...here it comes... is very wife and non-geek friendly.....

If you have it as the "family" dvd/cd etc etc player, the Kiss would be my take every time.

If its games you want and are not put off by the techy nature... then go buy an xbox.

Do remember that the Kiss will play all your movies (ripped dvd's or Tivo recordings.. along with your didgi cams pictures.. and all your MP3's off your "media server" with ease...

At the end of the day, its your choise... just remember the wife/non geek thing...


D
 
The kiss plays ripped dvd's? In what format? Over the network?

WAF is not an issue, but I'm also not interested in games on the xbox. Which produces better picture quality? Have you found any limitations of the kiss player? I guess that the xbox would support more formats.

What about video output, do they both deal well with 16:9 displays? I guess the xbox might be expecting 4:3.


Hmmm. The modded xbox appeals to the geek in me, but the kiss player I used did seem to work quite nicely. Maybe I should get both ;-)
 
Well... I think they both have thier place!

I have 2 DP 508's and a chipped xbox....

The xbox is fine if you want games machine that can do some music and movies... its ugly in a rack and noisy...

The kiss is nice in the rack, sounds better for movies and music (in my opinion) and ...here it comes... is very wife and non-geek friendly.....

If you have it as the "family" dvd/cd etc etc player, the Kiss would be my take every time.

If its games you want and are not put off by the techy nature... then go buy an xbox.

Do remember that the Kiss will play all your movies (ripped dvd's or Tivo recordings.. along with your didgi cams pictures.. and all your MP3's off your "media server" with ease...

At the end of the day, its your choise... just remember the wife/non geek thing...


D
 
Hi...

Yes the Kiss will stream ripped DVD's, svcds etc over the network... just set up a server at home... and keep all your digi photos, music and DVD's..

The Kiss also is a progressive player, in pal or ntsc..

You need to access the hidden menu to enable it... like the multi region fix too (you need to flash the Toshiba IDE DVD drive...)

There is a very big web following for the box... you can ftp, telnet etc etc - it runs linux!! There are loads of hack stuff out there!

The kiss plays a list of codecs... as you would expect.

do a search for gooddvdstuff and you will find a good site.

The Kiss does have its problems... for some. As you can expect in a device that is so open to hacking, those that do and no little... can expect a bit of hassle. I personally love the boxes... nice and easy and wife friendly.

Just think of all you dvd and CD music collection online - a big multimedia jukebox!!
 
Meant to say...

There are two key kiss versions - 500 and 508. Basically the same box but the 508 has a HD.

You can buy a 500 and flash the firmwware to make it a 508... then just add a HD!!

This lets you copy media to the HD and not need a server ...

D
 
I was almost convinced by the kiss... untill I read those forums. For example on my friends dp-1000 I couldn't get the component out to work (spent a good 30 mins on that). Turns out it only works on some versions of the player. Great. You have to buy a scart to component cable.

Lots of other similar issues, people having problems getting divx to play in widescreen et al. Hmmm.
 
Hi

I showed you that for a couple of reasons... pls dont be put off!!

I have had no real problems at all... and Kiss provide firmware updates for all sorts of things.

I have run the last 6 releases of firmware and apart from one ver have had zero issues at all.

I use 576p on component... I agree the scart is a hassle... but hey.. its an easy fix.

If you see the options the Kiss has re up to 1080 etc... you will be impressed... likewise picture and sound...

Have a look at Kiss EZlink as your server app rather than the crappy pc link that Kiss ship... great product and its cheap to buy the Pro version....

Many folks have bought these then fire such crap video transfers etc at them - thier PC wont play the VCD they just burnt and they expect the Kiss to?

Going back to basics... playing DVD's, from disk or streamed, MP3's, divx and digi pictures will give you no hassles....

D
 
Hi

Meant to add a comment on the component...

1 - have not used a Dp1000, nor would you in reality...

2 - I would question what the guy was trying - as you know what the native res of a DVD is etc, why try to get your TV/proj to run it at 1080P??!??!

So many users have problems due to lack of knowledge... they certainly aint members of this forum. (uh oh... here comes the flack!!)

I would just go for a basic DP500, stick any olddrive you want in it, flash it to DP508 firmware and you will be well chuffed!

D
 
All right, I'm convinced. It's pretty cheap anyway, so it's not a huge risk. I'm sure that I could pass it on to someone if it doesn't work out for me anyway.

Where did you get the scart - component cable from? I saw superfi had them 5m at £40.
 
...I just made a quick adapter up, from scart to three phono sockets on one player... on another, I fitted three phono sockets to the rear of the player... much neater and how KISS should have done it...

I can send you the pin outs if you cannot find them... I have them somewhere....

Please do report back with your findings....

You will probably find SCAN the cheapest.. do watch thier daily specials, as they vary by about £20 in price!


D
 
Have Kiss sorted out playback of Divx 3.11 content ?? Last time I checked they had real problems with jerky playback ??
 
Hi

I am thinking about buying one of these Kiss players to archive all my CD's. It seems the ideal solution and is sooooo cheap!
Is the hard drive easy to upgrade?

Any good deals out there for the HD version at the moment?
 
I dont have any divx problems.. to be honest,its not the no 1 format I use...

Scan have the best deals... check thier daily specials...

The scart cable is easy to make up...

The HID upgrade is simple... just get a new IDE cable, and fit your drive. Flash the 500 with 508 firware of your choice. When the player first boots with the 508 firmware, it checks the drive and if blank partitions it and formats it.

If you use modified firmware, you can ftp your stuff to the drive. If std firmware, you can just use the "mark" and copy method in the Kiss manaul.

Please also checkout Kiss EZLINK - excellent 3rd party server software - dont bother at all with the supplied Kiss PCLINK - real naff in compairson. The EZLINK is free to download - pay Philipe his money and register it and get the PRO version - much more features and also supports multiple concurrent players...

At the end of the day, its a lot for the money.... and the DVD playback quality is very good... it is a Toshiba 1701 (from memeory) IDE DVD drive... easily flashable for MR plus hidden menu on player sets up region and progressive options.

Have fun...
 
ok, as requested, some feedback.

overall impression is positive, dvd playback is decent (simlilar to the sd220), that's without prog scan which I haven't tried yet.

Divx playback, just fantastic, considering the compression and how useful this is, it's well worth it. EzLink works file, it'd also be good as a media player for casual listening (kitchen, dining room or whatever)

It does crash occasionally whilst navigating menus, but not often enough to be irritating and generally only when you select a bad file.

There's only one but, which is DVD playback over the network. I've ripped some of my dvd's to disk as iso, mount them with dtools. You get no menu navigation, which I could live with, but if the video spans more than one vob, it won't play the second vob. This seems to be anything over 30 mins, which as you can imagine is pretty annoying. If they could fix this, the product would be awesome for me.
 
Hi,

I have a read that the power supply in the DP-500 is not powerful enough to run a hard drive also, not sure if this is just KISS trying to put people off doing it.

I have a DP-500 and don't need a HD in it, the stuff stored on the server is more than enough for me.

Mike
 
ive been playing around with my modded xbox. im actualy suprised as to what i can do. even more suprised when it played 720p version of kill bill fine apart from opening house fight and tokyo motorcycle bit (which were a bit stuttery) and madagascar HD Divx alos plays fine. other 720p stuff dont fare well tho.

kill%20bill%20720p%20on%20dell%202001fp%20none%20flash.JPG


not the best pic but still looks good.
 
the kiss player (from a software point of biew) runs a modified version of mplayer.

the chipped xbox (presumably you are talking about xbmc) is also a modified version of mplayer at the core.

so, doesnt matter what people say, it's much of a muchness between the two. my vote goes to xbox due to the fact that the program xbmc is updated more often as well as having open source developers actively involved.

in addition the xbmc can stream video from over a lan which is in bin format

but the kiss looks prettier.
 
Just to chip in my two bits worth, I've owned both a Kiss and still own a modded xbox.

I have found the xbox to be by far the most flexible player/ media centre, able to cope with pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. The Kiss on the other hand, while definately scoring more in WAF stakes, I found tripped over far too often for my liking.

Given that modded xboxes can be made FAR quieter just by tinkering with the dashboard/bios settings, the only reason for not getting an xbox would be down to looks!
 

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