XBMC Media Center

Although advanced media players can be used to manage both video and audio files, most of them seem to be more effective only with one of these file types. XBMC Media Center offers a complete solution for any type of media and it allows you to work in a comfortable and elegant environment. You can manage music, videos and pictures, as well as various programs.

XBMC Media Center can not be installed as fast as other applications. It takes a few minutes to download the setup file and complete the installation process, but you will not encounter any kind of difficulties along the way. Furthermore, the program is absolutely free and it is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms.

The user interface is displayed in full screen mode and it looks and feels like a small operating system, which is focused on media files. All options and buttons are large and very easy to spot, so you will not get stuck or lost in the program's menus. When launched, XBMC Media Center will present a home screen, from which you can access your pictures, music, videos and programs, view a weather forecast, system information, access the general settings menu and more.

The pictures, videos, music and programs sections have similar layouts. They are, in fact, file managers, in which you have to add your media folders. You can bring up a series of options, while visiting one of these sections, by touching the left edge of the screen with the mouse cursor. The options can be used to change the view mode to list, detailed list or thumbnails, sort the listed files, filter them and more. You may also right click a file to reveal more options, on a small window. The software allows you to edit a media file's information, queue it, add it to a favorites list and more. If you add media files to the favorites list, you will be able to select and play them faster, on the home screen.

Besides adding media files and programs to your database, you can also install various add-ons. You can find different lists of add-ons in individual media sections. For example, image related add-ons, like Google, Picasa, iPhoto and others, are listed in the Pictures sections. Music related add-ons are listed in the Music section and so on. You can hover with the mouse cursor over an add-on, to see a short description and it takes a single click to install it.