- Windows Media Center is the most widely used software available for use with the Prime, and the only one with Digital Rights Management (DRM) to view and record premium cable channels like HBO. Many other software options are available; please see the list in this Wiki and the Silicondust website for details.
- Plex Media Server is an amazing media center for Mac OS that really has great features that enables seamless streaming of media files on your home network. Additionally, the tool is also compatible with other front-end players like Kodi. Plex Media Server helps you to find all your favorite media without any hassle.
Want to convert your Mac computer into an an amazing home theatre device? Looking for a feature-rich, highly customizable media center? There are only few options available in the market and you need to search them hard. Well, not this time as we have worked on the list and brought to you the 8 best media centers for Mac. Here are our tried and tested apps for an amazing home theatre experience. Many of them are free!
1. PLEX MEdia Server
CTiVo is a free Mac application to download shows from your TiVo and convert them to many popular formats and devices. Its goal is to be extremely simple to set up and use, taking full advantage of the MacOS, but very flexible. CTiVo provides complete hands-off operation: once you choose or subscribe to your shows, everything else is automated.
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Plex Media Server is an amazing media center for Mac OS that really has great features that enables seamless streaming of media files on your home network. Additionally, the tool is also compatible with other front-end players like Kodi.
Plex Media Server helps you to find all your favorite media without any hassle. It is capable of transcoding TV recordings on basis of the device and network you’re using. Therefore, media will play effortlessly on your device. You can continue watching same videos on different devices using Plex. For instance, if watch a video on your home theatre and you continue watching it on another device like iPAD.
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Plex media Server has a DVR server and a inbuilt live TV. You can record live TV and watch it later on Plex.
2. Kodi Media Center (earlier known as XBMC)
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Kodi media Center is probably one of the best media centers in the list. Though, it’s bit complex to install the software, Kodi Media Center has got some amazing features.
Kodi was created as a media interface for Xbox console. further, it came out as a powerful media center for Mac OS X, Android, Windows and Linux. The software can majorly run all media file formats. The user interface of Kodi looks beautiful without any adjustments. Nevertheless, you can download different skins online that can be used modify the player according to your preference. Last but not the least, you can find several add-ons for Kodi media center which makes Kodi a must try software for users.
3. JRiver Media Center
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JRiver Media Center is a great media player that provides a ‘Jukebox’ style interface (iTunes). The application generally occupies the entire screen and is appropriate for HDTV. The software supports every codec, even the most recent one, and plays music with amazing sound quality. JRiver Media Center comes with YouTube, Hulu and Netflix services integrated. Hence, it is perfect for watching online videos. The software can be greta pick for you if you love playing formats like WAV, WM, ALAC, APE and FLAC files. You can use the trial version for free. JRiver Media Center for Mac costs $49.98.
4. Emby
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Emby is an amazing media center that centrally manages media files and allows you to play them using a front-end application. The software organizes your files in such way that you just few clicks to search and play them. Additionally, you organize media libraries for each family member. They can play and pause the videos according to their convenience from multiple devices. As Plex media Server, Emby also has an inbuilt live TV where you can record live TV and watch it later. Again, you can get the Emby add-on for Kodi player.
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5. SageTV
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SageTV is another great software that has been created to enhance the television viewing experience. It’s now acquired by Google.
SageTV is an cutting-edge software that enables you to manage your media center from various devices. However, the team-up with Google has exposed them to a much larger audience worldwide. The tool is reaching more devices and different platforms. We are sure that SageTV is going to make it large in the world of online entertainment in near future.
6. Freevo
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Though Freevo was designed primarily for Linux, it runs smoothly on Mac OS X. it’s an media center tool that integrates PVR/DVR functionality with music, home automation, gaming, video etc. The tool is created in Python language (a powerful programming language) and embeds powerful players like vlc, xine, and mplayer.
Freevo is a cross-platform software that watches & record TV simultaneously, supports multi-tuners, and play and copy DVDs. It plays all formats supported by xine, vlc and mplayer. You can watch movie trailers, fetch video info., backup audio CDs, and play audio formats like mp3, Wav, Ogg and even Flac. With Freevo, you can listen to internet radio, read news, play games and even control your home equipments like sockets, lights etc.
You can also import and look at photos from a digital camera through Freevo. Freevo is undoubtedly a perfect HTPC software for Mac computers.
7. Myth TV
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We have another amazing open-source software in the list which is called MythTV. It is a free DVR and media center that manages music collections, videos, and image files and also updates you about weather through its user interface. MythTV can be converted into a HTPC suite with the help of its plugin.
MythTV can watch and record TV like any other media center. It can pause, resume, rewind and skip live TV shows and entirely automate commercial detection or skipping. It cleverly schedules records to avoid collision in operations. MythTV has the ‘parental control’ feature that keeps away kids from the shows for grown ups. You can tune in to your favorite music collection and watch DVDs. You can control many operations remotely with the help of your web browser.
In a nutshell, MythTV is loaded with many features that you will love for sure.
8. Boxee
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Boxee like Kodi media center, is a XBMC based media center which is developed by D-Link. It was designed for Boxee Box. Boxee has many features like an inbuilt browser, basic architecture and high quality video streaming.
One of the best (may be annoying for few users) is that it will buffer the video until the software knows that the user can watch the video without interruption. Hence, you can watch videos without any hiccups even with slow internet connection. Boxee has apps like Navi-X Remix, YouTube and Netflix. With these amazing apps, you can watch almost any video on the Internet. You can also browse the Xtreme Media Portal by Navi which contains a vast quantity of user-provided video content.
Boxee can smoothly integrate with social network like YouTube Facebook and Twitter. You can find feeds on the left side of Boxee’s panel. Short and sweet, Boxee provides an elegant social experience.
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Therefore, you can choose any media center software from the list provided above. Your selection should be based on your requirements. Hope you choose the right software and enjoy the experience.
Responses
In this article I am will make you through the strides of building a Mac Media Center. Since Apple announced the Mac Mini each one has been looking at building a Mac Media Center and utilizing a Mac Mini to do it with. Which Mac Should You Get? There are some of Mac’s available. And you have to consider who you will utilize your Mac Media Center keeping in mind the end goal to settle on which Mac will suit your necessities the best.
The Mac Mini
The Mac Mini appears the conspicuous answer for a Mac Media Center. Its little outline and low commotion and warmth make it an incredible possibility to fit in with your current blend of up-to-date sound equipment. The Mini is an extraordinary little gadget, it has a pleasant processor, a DVD drive, some hard drive space and enough ports to connect it to all the extra hardware you need. The last thing you require is a major terrible pinnacle case, with uproarious fans to sit by your TV and devastate whatever sound devotion you are attempting to appreciate. Furthermore, the Mac Mini has some sex claim as well.
The iMac
The iMac is likewise a decent possibility for a Mac Media Center, in spite of the fact that its allure is marginally not quite the same as that of the Mac Mini. In a restricted space condition the iMac would the server be able to a double reason. It can be utilized as a desktop machine by day, and be changed to a Mac Media Center by night. The iMac comes in different sizes, from 17″ to 24″ so relying upon the space you have available, and where you need to put it you have a couple of alternatives. The iMac comes standard with pretty much all that you should utilize it as a Mac Media Center.
Mac Media Center
The Mac Pro, iBook, and Mac Book Pro aren’t generally as versatile as the Mac Mini and iMac, however, would none be able to the less be utilized as a Mac Media Center. The 17″ Mac Book Pro would make a decent versatile excitement framework, yet not a devoted media center. Using a Mac Pro as a Mac Media Center is crazy. It’s similar to utilizing a crowbar to open a jar of beans. You’ll require some equipment to run with the Mac Media Center For the reasons for whatever is left of the article I will utilize a Mac Mini for instance.
I have a Mac Mini and have manufactured a media focus with it, so utilizing my direct experience will ideally be somewhat more exact than guessing on what is conceivable in the event that you have x…y…z…There are two or three things you should get your Mac Mini up and run as a Mac Media Center. Some of these gadgets are Apple gadgets and some are nonexclusive gadgets. Some function admirably and some are only a catastrophe.
Remote Control
Remotes for your Mac Media Center the first gadget you should start chasing for is remote. After all, what great is a Mac Media Center without a remote that the family can battle about? There is the notorious Apple remote which accompanies most Mac minis and iMacs. It’s a little remote, yet functions admirably. It comes in typical mac style. It’s little, does all that you require it to do and has no favor highlights. All things considered, it just has 6 catches that enable you to control the whole Mac Media Center.
There are likewise various non-specific remotes accessible. Logitech has a bundle of remotes, some of which function admirably with Mac, and some that are PC only. I have a Microsoft console and remote and have been not able to make them go on the Mac. I would exhort utilizing the Mac remotely. It little, and with half twelve catches is quite simple to use. My DVD player’s remote, for example, has 47 catches, the vast majority of which I have never utilized and I don’t have the scarcest slant to discover how they work.
Accessories
You’ll additionally require a console for your Mac Media Center Edition, Of course, there are those circumstances you have to enter a few information into the screen, as in iTunes for example, you may need to punch in your secret key when obtaining content. No one needs to continue hopping off the love seat to press a catch, I mean we scarcely muster the nerve to get up for another lager.
Apple has a decent Bluetooth console that you can use from your love seat. It would appear that an ordinary Apple console, yet it has no links and just fits a few batteries at the back. This is an absolute necessity for your media focus. Every once in a while you NEED a console and crawling out from under a warm cover amidst winter can ruin the mood. Of course, Logitech and a couple of other have consoles that would work similarly also. Be that as it may, matching an apple Bluetooth console with the implicit blue tooth in a Mac Mini is less demanding than making toast. Add some stockpiling to your Mac Media Center If you have ever addressed anybody about a media place for advanced media, the word stockpiling would have popped up various times.
Home Media Center Software For Mac
The Mac Mini, best case scenario will just have an 80GB hard drive, and when you are downloading motion pictures, TV appears, music, including your own particular CD’s and dumping you computerized pictures you can eat up circle space rather rapidly. So before you know it, you’ll be chasing for a capacity gadget of sorts. Now you have two or three choices to the extent stockpiling is concerned.
You can either interface something straightforwardly to your Mac Media Center, similar to a USB or Firewire drive, or you can associate a Network Attached Storage Device. The distinction truly comes in, when you consider what it is you need to do with your capacity. On the off chance that you need stockpiling only for media substance and need it to be accessible just to the Mac Media Center, at that point a USB or Firewire drive is an incredible option. But on the off chance that you have more than one PC on your system, as most households today appear to have, you should need to consider a network connected capacity gadget, likewise known as a NAS.
Software you will need Once you have settled on which Mac you need to utilize, a Mac Mini for my situation, and you have your remote, and console prepared, and you have some thought of where you are running with some additional capacity in the not too inaccessible future, you have to take a seat and consider what programming you need to use with your Mac Media Center.
Alternatives
You have an around twelve alternatives, I’ve taken a gander at a cluster of them, and I’ve limited it down to 3 that I figure you should consider. An ideal approach to choose which media focus application you need to utilize is to introduce each of the 3, utilize them for up to 14 days and afterward make your decision. My Mac Mini accompanied front line, and that is the thing that I chose to use. But here is a separation of the 3 I suggest: Front Row Front push is a Mac application, and goes ahead most Mac Mini’s. It’s a basic interface, looks a great deal like an iPod’s interface and has that glass impact. It’s an extremely cool interface and influences your TV to resemble it’s in a class of its own.
Center Stage Center Stage is an open source application for a Mac Media Center. It’s a decent plan and there’s progressing backing and advancement for it. Center Stage is significantly more customizable than the front column and enables various skins to be introduced. Middle of everyone’s attention additionally has additional modules to influence your Mac Media to focus do more. Just a neighborly cautioning when utilizing non-Apple programming on an Apple machine, particularly when it’s open source. Ensure you run the steady form. Running a beta rendition could cause undesirable interruptions amid your sentimental film which will bring about a night on the couch.
Interface
Free Software Mac
It expects to take a shot at pretty much every Mac ever. Well, perhaps not ever, but rather in any event in the last couple of years. It heater additionally has the best (UI) out of the 3. It coordinates an entire pack of different highlights and can likewise show the weather. Add-ons once you have your Mac scaled down, you remote, console, stockpiling and UI arranged you have to think of some as additional items to influence the entire media to focus thing somewhat more enjoyable. VI-HDMI Connector To upgrade your photo seeing quality, and if your TV bolsters it, get a DVI to HDMI converter. The Mac Mini has an advanced yield, and on the off chance that you can keep your yield computerized, straight into the TV then you will profit from the video quality.
While HDMI underpins sound, DVI does not. So utilizing a DVI to HDMI converter will drop your sound, yet it will keep up your video. You can simply utilize the sound minijack yield from your Mac Mini to get sound to the TV. Your TV isn’t generally an extra, I can’t envision you having a media focus without the TV. Like an auto without a motor (I had one of those for some time and it’s not all that great).When picking your TV, ensure your TV has some vital parts to oblige a Mac Media Center. The most imperative is your info.
You have to, in any event, have a VGA input. HDMI is preferable however VGA is a minimum. Having sound in is another prerequisite. While you can escape with not having a sound contribution to your TV it’ll just make your life somewhat more complicated. Audio out would be the last bit of an extremely pleasant confuse. Having the capacity to associate your TV straightforwardly to your sound framework will empower you to control the sound volume on your Mac Mini from once focal place. I’ll be posting an article on HDTV soon.
iTunes
I’ve been utilizing Front Row, and it incorporates pleasantly into iTunes. So when I flip through the menus, it resembles flipping through iTunes on an iPod interface. Using iTunes implies that you can download motion pictures TV shows and music from the iTunes store. Once the media has been downloaded, you can get to it and watch it with the snap of a button. This is a simple combination and is naturally improved the situation you.
Using iTunes to add your CD library to your PC is another incredible component. Furthermore, from your media focus, you can basically tap the remote and play your whole music collection. Alternatives For those of you who are hostile to mac, and need to profit by the Mac frame factor, yet need to run Myth TV or Vista Ultimate, you can do that. Simply download boot camp from Apple, stack your most loved OS, the setup you’re Media Center and off you go. The Mac Mini truly offers you the better of the two universes. You can run Mac OSX, Windows, or Linux, and setup you Media Center the way you need.
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