I believe my problem can best be described as a freeze, but it’s more like a delay.  I recently got a new Elite 360 to replace a broken launch Pro 360.  The new 360 is connected to my Samsung ln46a950 via HDMI, while the old console was connected via component.  The prior configuration worked fine with Media Center Extender, but the current configuration doesn’t.  When I select the Media Center option on the 360, it shows the “contacting” screen briefly.  In the prior configuration, the Media Center UI would almost instantly appear on the screen.  Now, the Media Center UI eventually shows up, but usually after a few minutes of a blank screen (about 3 min.).  The Xbox also now has issues streaming 1080p content through Media Center, despite the fact that the 360 does fine with that within the NXE UI.

I’ve run the Network Performance Monitor on both the PC and the 360.  On the 360, I’m told that I have “marginal” performance, with the occasional "acceptible" mixed in there .  The bar graph shows green in the HDTV “range.”  The PC, on the other hand, says that I have “poor” performance, with only red bars showing on the graph.  How can they have such different readings?

Here is the other hardware/software I’m using:

1.       Dell XPS 420 desktop (Quad Core, 3GB RAM)

2.       Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router

a.       Connected to the computer directly.

b.      Every other device, including the 360, is wirelessly connected.

3.       Windows Vista Home Premium

4.       Windows Firewall is enabled

5.       Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 14 Personal Firewall is enabled (Home mode is being used—less secure, and thus, restrictive)

6.       The 360 is positioned in the router’s DMZ to improve Xbox Live connectivity (“Open” NAT).

7.       Under “Network and Sharing Center” I have the following settings enables:

a.       Network discovery: ON

b.      File Sharing: ON

c.       Public folder sharing: ON

d.      Printer sharing: OFF

e.      Password protected sharing: OFF

f.        Media sharing: ON

It seems as though the “Media Sharing” option being switched on was the issue before, but turning that off hasn’t helped this time.  Also, having the firewall settings described above worked before as well.  I’ve noticed this time, too, that being logged into XBL when I attempt to start Media Center makes it take longer for the UI to show up. 

Thanks in advance for your help.