The free download XBMC turns your PC into a Media Center, which makes the playback of songs, videos and photos fun on the TV. The extremely flexible, configurable free software can be controlled remotely and is also useful as a TV receiver.
Excellent cataloging
The XBMC tool is available as a free download for Windows, OSX and Linux. Also on the Minirechner Raspberry Pi, on Apple TVs with Jailbreak and under Android it performs its service.
Wide media selection including TV and Internet TV
What distinguishes XBMC from an ordinary media player like iTunes is the user interface, which can be read and controlled well from a distance of three to five meters - that is, the distance between the couch and the television. Therefore, it is best to install XBMC on a computer connected to the flatscreen and tell the software where your songs, videos and photos are stored. This can be the local disk, but also a network share, such as a Network Attached Storage (NAS).
Tough initial configuration
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Conclusion
XBMC cataloises the found files and downloads additional information from the Internet, such as cover graphics, content, and ratings. For this to work, the files for XBMC must be named correctly. You must also store movies and TV series in separate folders. Then assign scrapers to the folders. These are Web services from which XBMC refers to the data for the videos in the respective folder. XBMC offers a wide range of scrapers to choose from, both international and German-language information. Alternatively, you can embed these metadata directly into your files using software like Ember Media Manager.
However, XBMC is not limited to locally stored files. Using the PVR (Personal Video Recorder) function, you can "marry" various TV software with XBMC, including MythTV, NextPVR and VDR. This makes XBMC the interface within which you can watch live TV and recorded broadcasts. The media counters of public service broadcasters, Youtube, Vimeo and numerous other online video platforms can be integrated by downloading add-ons in XBMC. The program also plays video DVDs.
There are numerous solutions for remote control of XBMC. In the simplest case, use a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Handy on the sofa but not. Similarly remotely set up are remote control apps, which you can find under the keyword "XBMC" in the app stores of Apple, Google & Co. If you prefer pressing real buttons rather than touching a touch screen, you can also use a classic infrared remote control. In addition to an infrared receiver on the PC, this also requires a higher configuration effort depending on the model.
Speaking of configuration costs: Before XBMC runs so properly, a few hours already go into the country. Some of this could be the developers through more meaningful presets. The fact that XBMC also speaks English first on a German-language Windows and needs to be reconfigured is cumbersome. Also in the selection of scrapers, we would want clear recommendations instead of "trial and error". In addition, scrapers are pre-set in English and therefore fail to recognize German-language film and television titles. Even the automatic check of the media library folders for new files at the program start is active by default.
What XBMC also lacks is a central database from which several in-house XBMC installations can operate. This means that every XBMC computer needs to search for new files even when it is started. In addition, you can not stop a program on a PC and resume it on another PC - simply because the two XBMCs do not exchange the interruption time.
Who appreciates extensive configuration and extensibility, is well served with XBMC. Plex is also set up, which also has a central server that updates its database.
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