As we’ve said many times before, our favourite Media Player by far is XBMC (XBox Media Center). The problem is now thought that the software has outgrown the hardware. Although the xbox can do an analog HD 720 componant output, people really want 1080 and “proper” DVI/HDMI HiDef output.
So, what’s going to replace XBMC in Automated Home Towers? Well, it may just be XBMC, OS X! The XBMC OS X project is porting the software to more modern hardware.
The first drag-and-drop installable version was realeased just a couple of days ago. V0.1 Leopard/Intel only right now and is available for download HERE.
We’ve tried it out on our MacBook, but the Mac Mini with its near silent operation, diminutive size, dual-core performance, DVI out and builtin IR remote capabilities is perfectly suited for the application.
It seems there are currently no plans create a version for the AppleTV which is a pity. That would be a much more desirable price point than a Mac mini, especailly of you are deploying several media players in rooms around your home.
After you install XBMC OS X you’ll need to right click on the icon in yor applications folder, and open the “sources.xml” file with your favourite text editor..
Add the follwing text..
<video>
<default></default>
<source>
<name>My Mac</name>
<path>/Volumes</path>
</source>
</video>
…which will allow you to see all the mouned volumes and network shares so you can try playing your media.
The basic are all pretty much there already, and reading the project leader’s (Elan Feingold) blog the developement is moving forward at quite a pace! We certainly wish the team luck and we’ll be following their project closely.
www.plexapp.com : www.9to5mac.com Interview with the team leader
www.xboxmediacenter.com – Windows and Linux ports also available
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