The Xbox’s user interface for playing AVIs etc., is reasonably intuitive and includes basic play, pause, fast forward controls.īeing able to watch various video formats on a decent sized screen with the audio going through my AV receiver is a significant improvement over trying to watch them on a 15″ laptop screen with “tinny” audio. Of course, if you can’t view the file using something like VLC on your Mac, then trying to get the Xbox to open it is probably futile. Passing them through Avidemux seemed to resolve a lot of the problems. In terms of supported formats, the Xbox seems to support most of the common ones that you’re likely to encounter, though some AVI files I threw at it wouldn’t open. The one possible downside is that the Xbox itself will display absolutely all the directories and subdirectories of the source, so you could end up doing quite a bit of scrolling to find the file you want to watch. The only other setting that I tweaked was the location and scan frequency for “movies”: I currently don’t have iPhoto installed, but it recognised both the Xbox and the various multimedia files on the hard drive of the Mac. The Xbox does have support for video and audio, but the problem is getting the files onto it or to it.įortunately there are solutions available.Ĭonnect360, which costs $20, is a simple, yet powerful, bit of software that can help turn your Apple Mac into a media source for your Xbox.ĭownload the installer, run it and then tweak the settings a small bit and off you go. So that leaves me with my MacBook Pro and an Xbox360, which I got a few months ago from Microsoft Ireland. I don’t use Windows that much and I currently don’t have a functioning desktop PC at home (hard drive death). I had initially been interested in setting up some way of streaming all my audio CDs, but more recently I was interested in doing something similar with AVIs and DivX. Stay tuned for more details.I’ve been toying with the idea of getting some form of media server solution setup for quite some time. We are planning our next Medical Association “Couch Conversation” and hope you will be able to participate. A medical association with an at-risk population sends out weekly mailings to their patients as well as a video series which has gotten a great response with millions of hits and an increase in YouTube subscribers. This generates more media interest and increases the need for more patient education. One organization pointed out the CDC guidelines are changing regularly due to COVID. Patient Communication: Due to their patient conditions, many associations have found themselves pivoting quickly to ensure the most updated information is provided. This led to publishing approximately 50 blog articles to assist their members, plus it helped him have a first-hand look into what their members are experiencing.

One association invited their members to exchange ideas through blog articles to help others during these challenging times. Others are trying new mediums such as podcasts and more video engagement. These communications have not replaced their “general” newsletter and other regular emails. Several associations have created separate COVID newsletters with one organization showing the latest, most updated information via a scrolling feature on their home page. Member Communication: “Communication fatigue” is a problem for many members, contributing to feeling overwhelmed. And yet another association is learning how to produce these virtual events in-house to save money while others are considering a hybrid approach for their future meetings and exploring ways to have better networking and exhibitor engagement. Another said they are helping members submit better quality videos by providing tips such as the best way to hold the camera. With everyone looking for new strategies to improve the events, one association said they are fielding self-recorded clips and using it for promotions before the meeting as well as during. They have also shown to provide more opportunities to engage with members. For example, without the expense of travelling, associations are reporting not only spikes in virtual event participation, but more interest from reporters to cover the event since they can do so from their home base. Virtual Events: While it can be expensive to produce virtual meetings, they have many benefits. The open forum is simply an idea exchange where medical associations can learn from peers facing the same difficulties during the pandemic. Last week Connect360 hosted a “Couch Conversation” virtual roundtable for medical associations.

Connect360 idea