An Open Source, Customizable, Free Alternative to Windows Media Center!

from JoeUser Forums

 

If you’ve been looking for a program to replace Windows Media Center which performs all its functions and is highly customizable, you’ve got to take a look at Media Portal.

It has Main areas: My Music, My Videos, My Pictures and my Weather. It’ll play all the file types WMC does, and do it your way via slews of plug-ins. You can create your own playlists and

  • Watch Live TV or schedule and record
  • Play videos, movies and DVDs
  • Browse EPG and upcoming programs
  • Listen to music and radio
  • Stream media, radio, TV to any connected HTPC/PC connected to your network
  • View pictures or create slideshows
  • Browse all your movies
  • Check weather, news, or information on the web and even play games

And, you can make it look the way you want with many different skins to choose from and tutorial videos. There are widescreen and non-wide galleries. You even skin the weather app.

Check out the skins here: http://www.team-mediaportal.com/extensions/widescreen

Anyway, I figured folks here would want to see it:

  

 

 

 

These are all different skins. You really should take a look at their gallery. It’s easy to navigate.

Hey! Have a happy Sunday!

Source:

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/media-portal-open-source-windows-media-center-replacement

60,512 views 27 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

thank you doc.

really nice application ... the "my weather" thing is indeed quite cool :thumbsup:

Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Glad you like, Amit...  :)

 

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I'll be checking this one out for sure. Thanx Doc.

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Welcome, Uvah. :)

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Nice. I've been messing with a very old laptop, trying to turn it into a media center that I could stream from my desktop PC. KMPlayer is what I was using. It's very nice but doesn't have the ability to customize. I'll be checking this out.

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Very interesting..... :thumbsup:

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting PoSmedley, reply 5
Nice. I've been messing with a very old laptop, trying to turn it into a media center that I could stream from my desktop PC. KMPlayer is what I was using. It's very nice but doesn't have the ability to customize. I'll be checking this out.
End of PoSmedley's quote

Well, "media portal" is a fork of "XBMC" ( http://xbmc.org/ , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XBMC )...

Media portal can only run on Windows OS with x86 and x86-64 processor...

XBMC can run on the following OS : Linux, BSD, Mac OS X ( Snow Leopard, Leopard, Tiger ), Apple TV OS, Windows, iOS, first-generation Xbox, and MeeGo ( in development )... with the following architecture : ARM, PPC (PowerPC), x86, x86-64, and MIPS architecture ( in development )... "XBMC live" is fun : a boot CD or USB memory stick for have it with you everywhere...

Not sure that "media portal" or "XBMC" will run smoothly on your old laptop... but you have plenty of XBMC fork... by example, OpenELEC ( http://www.openelec.tv/home/menu/what-is-openelec )  is more for light end computer... only a basic OS with the Media center... not other application...

For next year, a other fork is plannet to be released for light end system... it is called "iConsole" ( http://www.iconsole.vg/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iConsole-MeeGoSF.pdf )...

For the curious, two other XBMC fork :

- Plex : http://www.plexapp.com/

- Boxee : http://www.boxee.tv/ ( click the "make a boxee" )

The only problem with open source is that you have to much choice ( and bad documentation )... but if you seek something very specific, you have more chance to find it that with commercial software... pretty sure that there is somewhere a open source geek who try to find a way for play movies on the tiny LCD screen from his high end washing machine !!! 

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

I love Open Source but the documentation for it is usually horribly incomplete.  Devs make terrible instructors. If you ask a developer if he can recommend a good book his/her answer is usually something like, "Why don't you go back to college, get a degree in writing and then write your own?".

I kept looking at Myth TV (also Open source) myself (TV-DVR)but it's always been more of an art than a science setting it up properly with different hardware and I am no Linux guru.

Interesting suggestions from both of you Doc and Thoumsin.

Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Thoumsin, reply 7
Not sure that "media portal" or "XBMC" will run smoothly on your old laptop.
End of Thoumsin's quote

Me either. That's why I originally started with KMPlayer. It's lite and has an interface similar to MediaCenter.

So far it's been a bust. It's a very old laptop. I've tried lubuntu on it and went back to xp but it's just terribly slow. I put eBoost on it and it helps a little. Trying to go through and tweak some stuff to see If I can speed it up. It has a good graphics card and for what I want, which is basically to stream movies off my home network, it would be good. Biggest problem I am having is getting to work with my wireless router.

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Have it installed but setting it up is a pain in the rear. I'm trying for the TV part and so far nothing.

Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Uvah, reply 10
Have it installed but setting it up is a pain in the rear. I'm trying for the TV part and so far nothing.
End of Uvah's quote
If no Plug n play then a No Go for me.... Working, painting, skinning + learning to skin Sysmetrix & Xion proper AND be the most wonderful superheroinne-sidekick.... well, you get it ;)

Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I thought this looked like XMBC.  anyone get the weather to work?  I added 3 cities and every one says "invalid license key" when I select it in the app.

Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top

Awesome find again Doc.  :thumbsup:

Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I like the skins, and the software itself is pretty good. I don't like the loss of my cursor, with and without CFX.

Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top

I've had this installed for a few hours now and have managed to set up pretty much everything that's relevant to me.  So far I'm impressed and like the way it handles music, video and photos.  Windows Media Center spat the dummy [pacifier] when I asked it to handle my music collection, which is quite extensice.  Yeah, damned thing froze and wouldn't do a damned thing... had to use Task Manager to exit it and I never went back. 

That was not the case with Media Portal, however.  It mapped my music and video drive without a hiccup and I'm pleased with its handing of everything so far.  I have yet to view TV through it, but I know that it works as the setup went without a hitch, so all should be honky dory there

Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top

:)

Glad you're happy, old friend.

Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Yeah, thanks for the tip, Doc, it's a fine piece of software and I appreciate your posting the heads up.

I haven't gotten around to customising it as yet, but I will, not that it's a bad looking app to begin with.

'Ere, and enuff of the "old", OLD matey.  Arrrrrggghhh. ;P

Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top

For some odd reason ("OLD") I feel this twitch developing in my Ps trigger finger....

Reply #20 from Stardock Forums Top

Dealbreaker question: Does the music library recognize the 'Album Artist' and 'Track Artist' ID3 tags as being two different things, and which does it organize with?

Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting starkers, reply 16
That was not the case with Media Portal, however. It mapped my music and video drive without a hiccup and I'm pleased with its handing of everything so far. I have yet to view TV through it, but I know that it works as the setup went without a hitch, so all should be honky dory there
End of starkers's quote

I had it installed but couldn't get it to work right. No matter now as I'm being picky about what I re-install.

Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Uvah, reply 21
No matter now as I'm being picky about what I re-install.
End of Uvah's quote

You just made yrag's day....;)

Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Rosco_P, reply 20
Dealbreaker question: Does the music library recognize the 'Album Artist' and 'Track Artist' ID3 tags as being two different things, and which does it organize with?
End of Rosco_P's quote

This has become a dealbreaker for me as well. AFter screwing around with several media players (SOngbird, Winamp, KPLayer,..) and several music managers I've finally settled on MediaMonkey. It handles the tagging, artwork, and all the ID stuff very well and it's easy to use. 

Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Well I spoke too soon... Media Portal does not handle my music library.  No matter how I adjust/manipulate the settings it will not save my library to memory.  I thought it had but turns out it only kept stuff saved in C/starkers/My Music, not D/Music.

I've been to the FAQ and forums for answers but none as yet have resolved the issue.... but here's hoping.

Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Rosco_P, reply 20
Dealbreaker question: Does the music library recognize the 'Album Artist' and 'Track Artist' ID3 tags as being two different things, and which does it organize with?
End of Rosco_P's quote

Also for Po' and starkers... maybe you just need a plug-in?

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/team-blog/while-you-were-sleeping-plugins-2

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/team-blog/mediaportal-2-progress-report : Documents changes through June 2010... ID3 tagging looks like it's being done (per Media Library paragraph).

Po' -

There's a new MediaMonkey version out - http://www.neowin.net/news/mediamonkey-4031476