Windows Media Center XP and the Xbox 360

[skuz440]

Hi there,

I have a Sony VGN-N130G Vaio laptop preloaded with Windows Media Center XP and have already synced it to my Xbox 360 using the console's extender fuction.

I am using TvTonic (a podcast client) through the laptop which works through WMC. The software translates nicely on the Xbox (minus the frequent bugs and crashes) but quite a few video fomats will NOT play on the Xbox extender, namely MPEG 4 (Quicktime) files. I was initially going to use the extender as the centerpiece of my entertainment at home but realised that many of the online channels you can watch through TvTonic just cannot be watched on the Xbox.

I have already tried Transcode 360 and a few other codecs to enable TvTonics vast array of online channels to play on the extender seamlessly but all they seem to do is crash either the Xbox or the laptop forcing me to reboot. I had to uninstall them and try again. I can use Transcode 360 if I go into My Videos in WMC but I would like it to work through TvTonic, otherwise it's a matter of finding the folder and manually recoding them to watch them which is pretty crappy and which I could do without WMC on my laptop anyway. The Xbox extender, when it works, especially through TvTonic turns your flatscreen TV into a real entertainment powerhouse (especially the HD channels) but unfortunately after contacting TvTonic, and Xbox (Microsoft) I was just given the shrug. How can I play Quicktime files using this set up??? Can I??

I understand this is a pretty unique set up and you may not have the answers but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Edited June 15, 2008 by skuz440