Media Center Softwares and Apps

Kodi is a powerful, free, and open-source media player software designed to transform your device into a comprehensive home theater PC. It provides a stunning interface optimized for large screens, allowing you to manage and play virtually all popular types of digital media.

Plex is a comprehensive media server software that organizes your personal media libraries (movies, TV shows, music, photos) and streams them to virtually any device. It combines a powerful server backend with user-friendly client applications, making it easy to access your entertainment wherever you are, both online and offline.

Universal Media Server (UMS) is a free UPnP and DLNA media server that allows you to stream your media files to various devices on your network. It's a powerful tool for accessing your movies, music, and pictures on smart TVs, game consoles, and other DLNA-compatible devices without needing to copy files.

Emby is a powerful, open-source media server that revolutionizes how you access and enjoy your personal media collection. It organizes your movies, TV shows, music, and photos into a visually stunning and easily navigable interface, streaming them seamlessly to practically any device, anywhere.

Windows Media Center was Microsoft's integrated digital media player and manager, providing a centralized interface for enjoying music, photos, videos, and live and recorded television on Windows.

MythTV is a free and open-source digital video recorder (DVR) software designed to transform a Linux-based computer into a complete home media center. It allows users to watch, record, and play live television, manage their video library, listen to music, and more.

PS3 Media Server is a discontinued, yet highly functional, UPnP/DLNA media server designed initially for the PlayStation 3 but compatible with a wide range of rendering devices. It allows users to stream and transcode various media formats from their computer to network-connected devices.

Stremio is a modern media center application that aggregates video content from various sources, allowing users to discover, organize, and watch movies, series, live TV, and more in a unified interface. It streamlines the process of finding and enjoying video entertainment across different platforms and devices with its add-on system.

OSMC (Open Source Media Center) is a free and open-source Linux-based operating system designed for media playback. It transforms small, low-cost devices like the Raspberry Pi into powerful media centers, offering a user-friendly interface for enjoying movies, TV shows, music, and other media on your TV.

OpenELEC is a small, fast booting embedded operating system built specifically to turn your computer into a Kodi (XBMC) media center. It focuses on simplicity and minimal configuration for a plug-and-play home theatre experience.

MediaPortal is a versatile, open-source media center software transforming your PC into a complete home theater solution. It enables watching and recording TV, playing videos, music, and DVDs, managing photos, and even accessing online services, all through a user-friendly interface on your TV screen.

jetAudio is a comprehensive multimedia software suite for Windows and Android, excelling as a media player with extensive format support, advanced audio processing tools, and integrated utilities for audio conversion, CD ripping, and burning, offering a versatile solution for managing and enjoying various media types.

TVersity Media Server is a powerful and versatile software allowing effortless streaming of your digital media collection to a wide range of devices including game consoles, smart TVs, and mobile devices. It handles transcoding on the fly, ensuring compatibility with virtually any device.

JRiver Media Center is a comprehensive, all-in-one multimedia solution for organizing, playing, and managing your digital media collection across various platforms.

Infuse is a premium media player for Apple devices, offering extensive format support, seamless streaming from various sources, and powerful metadata management for a superior video watching experience.

Zoom Player is a highly customizable and powerful media player and media center for Windows PCs. It offers extensive format support, advanced playback controls, and a flexible interface, making it suitable for both casual users and multimedia enthusiasts.

Moovida, formerly Elisa, was an open-source, cross-platform media center designed to offer a visually appealing and intuitive interface for managing and playing multimedia content. Providing support for various media formats and streaming capabilities, it aimed to be a central hub for digital entertainment.

tinyMediaManager is a free, open-source tool designed for effortless management of your vast movie and TV show collections. It automates the process of gathering metadata, artwork, and other details from online sources, ensuring your media library is organized and easily navigable for seamless integration with media center software like Kodi.

nessMediaCenter is a robust media center application for macOS, designed as a comprehensive replacement for the discontinued Front Row. It provides an integrated platform for managing and enjoying various media types including videos, music, photos, and even PDFs. A key capability is its unique support for playing DRM-protected content purchased from iTunes.

xPud is an extremely lightweight and fast LiveCD/LiveUSB distribution based on Ubuntu Linux. Designed for minimal resource usage and rapid boot times, it provides a portable and web-centric computing environment ideal for older hardware, kiosks, and users prioritizing speed and simplicity. Its small size makes it an excellent choice for quick web browsing, multimedia playback, and basic computing tasks directly from removable media.

Ember Media Manager is a robust, open-source media management tool for Windows, designed to seamlessly integrate with media centers like Kodi (formerly XBMC). It excels at organizing, cataloging, and renaming movie and TV show libraries, automatically fetching metadata, artwork, and subtitles to create a richly detailed media experience.

Front Row was a media center application developed by Apple Inc. designed to provide users with a full-screen interface to access and manage media content like music, photos, videos, and DVDs. It offered a centralized hub for entertainment consumption on Apple computers.

Squire is a versatile media player and streaming solution designed for enjoying movies, TV shows, and local media. It supports torrent streaming, acts as a media server, and offers seamless integration with devices like Apple TV and Chromecast.

HomeNet Local Media Server is a streamlined, open-source alternative for streaming your local media collection (videos, music, photos) across your home network. It functions as a lightweight media server, offering playback on various devices including smart TVs, mobile devices, and game consoles, with support for casting technologies like Chromecast and AirPlay.

Raspbmc was a popular open-source media center distribution designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi. Based on Debian and the XBMC (now Kodi) media center software, it transformed the low-cost single-board computer into a powerful and easy-to-use home theater PC. It provided a user-friendly interface for playing videos, music, browsing photos, and streaming content.

PlayOn is a versatile media server software that allows users to record and stream online video content from popular streaming services directly to their devices for offline viewing. It acts as a personal DVR for the streaming era, enabling seamless access to your favorite shows and movies anytime, anywhere.

Pith is a versatile media server designed to be the central hub for your digital content. It seamlessly connects your local storage, media devices, and mobile devices, allowing you to control playback and stream content across your home network using DLNA and AirPlay protocols.

BlockTech Alexandria is a decentralized, blockchain-based content publishing platform that empowers users to share and discover video, music, and other media peer-to-peer. It prioritizes user privacy, freedom of speech, and offers an ad-free experience.

NessViewer is a comprehensive media management suite designed for organizing, viewing, editing, and streaming various media types, including images, audio, and video. It functions as an all-in-one solution for personal media libraries.

Windows Media Center was Microsoft's integrated digital media player and manager, providing a centralized interface for enjoying music, photos, videos, and live and recorded television on Windows.

NessViewer is a comprehensive media management suite designed for organizing, viewing, editing, and streaming various media types, including images, audio, and video. It functions as an all-in-one solution for personal media libraries.

Pith is a versatile media server designed to be the central hub for your digital content. It seamlessly connects your local storage, media devices, and mobile devices, allowing you to control playback and stream content across your home network using DLNA and AirPlay protocols.

BlockTech Alexandria is a decentralized, blockchain-based content publishing platform that empowers users to share and discover video, music, and other media peer-to-peer. It prioritizes user privacy, freedom of speech, and offers an ad-free experience.

PlayOn is a versatile media server software that allows users to record and stream online video content from popular streaming services directly to their devices for offline viewing. It acts as a personal DVR for the streaming era, enabling seamless access to your favorite shows and movies anytime, anywhere.

Raspbmc was a popular open-source media center distribution designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi. Based on Debian and the XBMC (now Kodi) media center software, it transformed the low-cost single-board computer into a powerful and easy-to-use home theater PC. It provided a user-friendly interface for playing videos, music, browsing photos, and streaming content.