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Reader Comments (25)

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 3:52PM Andre said

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If you own a Mac and a 360, Connect360 is required. :p It's a really nice app, well worth the $20.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 3:53PM Cerixus said

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Tversity (similar app, for Windows) was updated immediately after the dashboard release. I HIGHLY recommend Tversity; especially if you're like me and extremely unhappy with the way the MCE functionality works (or doesn't).

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 3:58PM (Unverified) said

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i second that. TVersity is the shit.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 9:41AM ksiddique said

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And it's free!
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Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:23PM (Unverified) said

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It rocks!

I was disappointed when I updated the 360 that the old connect360 wasnt letting me stream, and I was afraid that Nullriver wouldnt come out with an update anytime soon, but when 3.2 popped up less then 24 hours later. I was pleasantly surprised! All of my files worked, old and new. I tested every format I had on my drive and everything streamed swimmingly!

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:08PM (Unverified) said

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Works great. MMMM... Divx.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:10PM (Unverified) said

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Just to add to this, the fact that connect360 outperforms MS's own streaming servers (Zune app, WMP11) isn't really all that shocking. Just about every other media server that works with the Xbox 360 outperforms MS's own stuff (tversity, twonkymedia, etc.) I am personally running a trial version of twonkymedia right now on my PC and it's amazing. It's much faster and it auto-organizes everything into well structured albums so you don't have to setup your own organized folder structure manually on your PC. And it's all customizable.

I notice a big improvement right away when streaming HD videos. When I was using the Zune app to stream content and tried to fast forward (or jump chapters or whatever it does) through the video, it would lock up for quite a while before starting the video again. With twonkymedia, the jump is almost instantaneous. The videos also start playing much more quickly when you start them. The buffering time is much faster.

So in summary, just don't use MS's media server apps (Zune, WMP11), they're just bad compared to the other options that are out there. I personally recommend TwonkyMedia.

Yes, I realize that connect360 is for Macs, so maybe that's your only option. I guess I was just speaking to Windows users.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:19PM (Unverified) said

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I take that back. I would personally recommend tversity for anyone needing an app for a windows PC. The only reason i'm trying out twonkymedia is because i'll be getting a QNAP TS-109 Server soon and it has twonkymedia installed on it and I wanted to be sure it was going to work. Twonkymedia can run on windows, mac, and linux and is able to be installed (and comes pre-installed) on many embedded devices, like the TS-109.

I don't even wanna try tversity because I know i'll love it, but i really want to use the TS-109 as my media server and i can't use tversity on that device so I don't want to get attached to tversity and then have to switch back to twonkymedia when i get my TS-109.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 5:14PM (Unverified) said

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Connect 360 FTW.

I've used both media connect and Connect 360, the best part about connect 360 is it doesn't re index you computer every time you turn on your computer. I've been using it for months, and I love it. It's automatically on every time I use my machine.

Adding Xvid and DIVX support is on point.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:22PM (Unverified) said

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I have tested it, and it works like a charm! Iäm even going to buy it :).

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:24PM (Unverified) said

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Connect360 works fantastic. Streams media far better than my XP box and with the update, works almost as good as my old XBMC, almost...

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:30PM (Unverified) said

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No Tversity for Macs...

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:35PM (Unverified) said

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yup if you can afford a mac and a 360 spend the $20 on Connect360. It works great and indeed they updated it within 1 day of the dash update, i was quite pleased.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 4:56PM Darayz said

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All my movies are streaming perfectly. For some reason, my music files make the app crash. Not a deal breaker, but it's too bad a feature that I paid for isn't working. Waiting for a reply from nullriver.

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 5:56PM (Unverified) said

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I love connect 360 for the Mac! My windows XP box stopped talking to my 360 a few months ago so I gave this a shot when I got my new iMac. Wonderful product and fast updates!

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 8:03PM kentl901 said

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what about Orb?

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 9:36PM (Unverified) said

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aw yeah
nullriver rocks
gettin my free upgrade now

best $15 I spent back in the day

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 9:50PM (Unverified) said

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Connect 360 is an awesome app I've had since its first version. The quick updates are wonderful, but the software (like my mac) "just works." Elegantly, simply, intuitively. Happy customer (I bought when it was only $10)

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 10:27PM (Unverified) said

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I have this image of Dr. Venkman yelling, "Apple and Windows, living together - MASS HYSTERIA!"

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 10:42PM DiamondXP said

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I have the full version and yet have been able to get Divx to work. What am I doing wrong? I only see 2 folders Movies and Itunes. Where do you have to put the divx movies to work?

Posted: Dec 6th 2007 10:41PM (Unverified) said

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This was an OK program when it streamed WMV -- but now that AVI/DIVX files are in the mix, I can sell my Mvix!

The only thing I DON'T like is that my folders disappear, leaving every single file as just its name ... so if I have 20 episode 01s on my drive, they are ALL listed as 01 files, instead of grouped with their specific folder. Irritating, to say the least.

My PC buddy has the same problem, so I'm pretty sure the fault lies with the 360 itself and not with Connect360. (Incidentally, direct connection of the same drive via USB keeps the file structure intact.)

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 1:31AM (Unverified) said

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make sure in the preferences the video folder is set to the right folder, it defaults to the movies folder but you can change it

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 3:26AM (Unverified) said

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I just installed TVersity and, after about an hour of fiddling, got it working. Before now I had used Orb and an earlier version of TVersity to stream vids to my 360, but uninstalled those programs because it didn't have the functionality I wanted (no fast forward or rewind, for example). The fall update was all the coaxing I needed to give these programs another shot.

Oh how far TVersity has come! Orb has not yet updated for the fall update (at least since last I checked) and is still slow. TVersity, on the other hand, has changed the way I view videos. Even when transcoding a video not compatible with the 360 it is fast and efficient, and my 360 can now play most of the TV shows and movies in on my hard drive without transcoding. I'm using this from now on to watch my vids on my HDTV instead of my (relatively) small monitor.

It's a little sad that tomorrow I'll be returning my 360 to Microsoft for repair (disc drive is not reading my game discs much of the time, even the brand new ones), but at least I have this to look forward to. Here's hoping that they send me a newer 360 with an HDMI port. :)

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 4:30AM DjFIL said

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love my connect360... this add-on is great. just wish it'd display subfolders, and not just it's files. i will use this all the time and no longer need to hook up my macbook or ipod to the tv.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:50PM (Unverified) said

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Connect360 is awesome, though I second the request for it to display subfolders. Hate having to scroll through a huge list of content when I want to play something.

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