Plex began its life more than a decade ago as media center software for folks that wanted to plug their PC or Mac into a TV. Since then, Plex has evolved into tool that you can use to organize and play your personal media or online video whether you’re using a computer, smartphone, tablet, game […]
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Plex Media Player is a brand new home theater app from Plex
The folks at Plex offer a series of media tools that let you stream your local media library your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or TV thanks to a series of apps for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, Roku, and other platforms. But Plex has also long offered a media player that you can install on a […]
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How to install Windows Media Center on Windows 10 (unofficially)
Remember when Microsoft said Windows 10 wouldn’t support Windows Media Center? Well, that’s only kind of true. While the latest version of Windows doesn’t ship with the software, it turns out you can install it… unofficially. The process for doing this isn’t officially supported by Microsoft, so there’s no way to know if it will work indefinitely. […]
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Alternatives to Windows Media Center (Make your own Home Theater PC)
Want to turn your PC into a digital video recorder and media center box? For more than a decade Microsoft has made that by offering Windows Media Center. But when Windows 10 ships in the summer of 2015 it won’t include Media Center. The good news is that there are still some good options available […]
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Mele PCG03 Windows mini PC review
Chinese device maker Mele first caught my attention nearly 3 years ago when the company launched a TV box that could serve double duty as a little Linux PC. The company continues to offer a range of products including TV boxes with ARM chips and Android software. But they’ve also branched out into true PC […]
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3 Comments on SageTV to go open source (four years after Google acquired the media center/DVR software)
SageTV to go open source (four years after Google acquired the media center/DVR software)
3 Comments on SageTV to go open source (four years after Google acquired the media center/DVR software)SageTV was a cross-platform media center application and digital video recorder tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. I say “was” because Google acquired the company in 2011 and used the technology for its Google Fiber TV service. But Google also stopped selling SageTV as a standalone product. Now SageTV could be making a comeback: […]
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TiVo Roamio OTA DVR is the company’s cheapest DVR to date (for cord-cutters only)
Once upon a time the TiVo name was pretty much synonymous with the digital video recorder. But in recent years most cable, satellite, or fiber optic TV providers have offered customers their own DVR alternatives, often at lower prices. So TiVo is taking things old-school with its new model. The TiVo Roamio OTA DVR is […]
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Shuttle DS437T is a fanless, barebones mini-PC
Earlier this year Shuttle launched a small form-factor, fanless desktop computer called the Shuttle DS437. But that little PC wasn’t really designed for home use — the RS-232 ports on the front were a pretty good sign that the computer was meant for digital signage and other business uses. Now Shuttle is offering a new […]
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XBMC 13 beta 1 media center brings better Android, Raspberry Pi support
The makers of the popular XBMC media center app are getting ready to launch version 13. Major new features include support for hardware video decoding on Android devices, improved performance on low-power devices like the Raspberry Pi, support for touchscreen gesture-based controls during media playback, and more. XBMC 13 beta 1 is now available for […]
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Lilbits (2-18-2014): Pack your media PC in a lunchbox
A home theater PC is, by definition, a computer designed to hang out near your TV so you can send videos, music, or photos to the big screen. But just because the natural habitat of an HTPC is the living room doesn’t mean you can’t move it from place to place. Hackaday found one hacker […]
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Gigabyte BRIX GB-XM1 is a mini-desktop with a micro projector
Gigabyte’s BRIX computer is a tiny desktop computer that’s just a little wider than a standard CD case. Under the hood it packs an Intel or AMD processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and a solid state drive for storage. The small size make the BRIX an obvious choice for use as a home theater […]
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DIY media center PC features a Core i5 CPU, fanless design
There are a few things that can make a computer noisy. The fans that keep the CPU and other components cool can generate some noise. A hard drive has moving parts which can click and whir. And optical disc drives make noise as the spin discs. So if you want to build a silent PC […]