Windows XP Media Center Edition SDK Supported Media Types for the Media Center Extender 

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Supported Media Types for the Media Center Extender

The following media types are supported on the Media Center Extender (Xbox 360, Media Center Extender set-top boxes, and Media Center Extender for Xbox):

Xbox 360

Video

  • Microsoft Windows Media Video (WMV) 7, 8, & 9
    • Maximum resolution of 1280x720 (720p) at 30 frames per second
    • Windows Media digital rights management (DRM) support up to level 2000
  • WMV Image 1 & 2
    • Maximum resolution of 800x600
  • MPEG-1
    • MPEG-1 layer I and II audio
  • MPEG-2
    • Maximum resolution of 1920x1080 (1080i)
    • MPEG-1 layer I and II or AC-3 audio

Audio

  • Windows Media Audio (WMA) 7, 8, and 9, WMA Professional
    • Windows Media DRM support up to Level 2000
  • WMA Lossless
    • Windows Media DRM-protected WMA Lossless is not supported
  • MP3
  • Any other format that has a DirectShow decoder installed on the host computer that outputs pulse code modulation (PCM)

Media Center Extender set-top box and Media Center Extender for Xbox

Video

  • WMV 9 Series
    • Maximum resolution of 720x480
    • Maximum bit rate of 4 Mbps. Variable bit rate (VBR) encoding is supported; however, high peaks in the video bit rate (higher than 4 Mbps) may cause video glitches
    • Main profile
    • Video width and height should equal the aspect ratio specified in the file
    • Windows Media DRM support up to level 2000
  • MPEG-1 and MPEG-2
    • Standard definition
    • MPEG-1 layer I and II audio
    • Maximum bit rate of 6.5 Mbps

Audio

  • WMA 7, 8, & 9
    • Windows Media DRM support up to level 2000
  • WMA Professional and WMA Lossless
    • Windows Media DRM-protected WMA Professional and WMA Lossless is not supported
  • MP3
  • Any other format that has a DirectShow decoder installed on the host computer that outputs PCM.

Note   Media Center Extenders do not support the use of Windows Media server-side playlists for content streamed from the Internet.

If your application provides content that is not playable on a Media Center Extender, the application should inform the user that the content can be played back only on the host computer. The application can inform the user by displaying a message when the user starts a downloading or streaming operation from a Media Center Extender session, or by providing UI tags for each content file. To detect whether the user is in a Media Center Extender session or on the host computer, see Detecting a Media Center Extender Session.

See Also

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