XBOX 360 as a DVD player

[n.s.]

I used my old Xbox and my PS2 as a DVD player, and it killed both of them. The DVD drive is the mostly likely part of the hardware to die (since it's the only moving part other than the hard-drive), so you really don't want to stress it too much (unless you've got a really good replacement plan). Considering that you can get a good DVD player for <$100, I think it's worth it just to prolong the life of your $400 console.