XBMC was originally developed as a media center for the Xbox. Cracking the Xbox allowed this software to be installed, turning this device into a media center. The software proved to be a great success and was soon developed for more platforms.
In version twelve of this free software, the compatibility has been expanded even further, so that the Rasberry Pi (the mini computer the size of a bank card) and Android devices are now also supported. In this review, we'll take a closer look at the version for Windows.
System requirements
Although XBMC is widely used to convert old computers into media centers, there are conditions for playing HD material. XBMC can be installed on a Pentium-4 computer, but playback of Full HD video material requires at least a system with a dual-core processor. We have tested the software on a modern system with Windows 7 and Windows 8 to make the most of the software.
The program plays blu-ray iso's effortlessly during the test.
The program comes as if it were over the operating system (just like Windows Media Center). The program can be controlled using the mouse, keyboard, or (if available) a Windows Media Center remote control. The options are in the center of the screen and you can navigate through the image from left to right. Default options are: again, Pictures, videos, music, programs and system. Each component can be extended with additional functions by installing add-ons. For example, a browser can be added, there is an add-on to download subtitles and a torrent client can even be installed.
The default skin offers a simple interface with a number of options.
Add-ons
If something in the program is not yet possible, the function can often be added by means of an add-on. After the installation it is already possible to play various video formats by default. For example, the program effortlessly played blu-ray iso, divx and mkv files, without the need for additional software to be installed. If you have a TV tuner card, you can even watch and record live television with XBMC 12.1.
If you do not like the appearance of the media center, a skin can simply adjust the whole. Skins can be downloaded and installed directly from XBMC.
The appearance can be changed by installing a different skin.
Conclusion
XBMC is amazingly good media center software. It really has everything you could possibly need. Because it is open source and a lot of developers are working on it, there are a lot of expansion options. If you now use Windows Media Center, then it is definitely recommended to try XBMC.
XBMC 12.1 Frodo
Language Dutch
OS Windows XP/Vista/7/8
Pros
A lot is already possible as standard
Watch live television
Expand with add-ons
Negatives
Some high system requirements for HD playback
SCORE 10/10
Safety
None of the approximately 30 virus scanners saw anything suspicious in the installation file. To the best of our knowledge at the time of publication, the installation file is safe to download. See the full VirusTotal.com detection report for more details. If a new version of the software is now available, you can always rescan the file yourself via VirusTotal.com.
