Uncovering the Best Boxee Alternatives for Your Media Center Needs
Boxee was once a beloved media center solution, transforming your home theater PC into a central hub for both local and online media. With its user-friendly interface, remote-control compatibility, and innovative social media integrations, Boxee made discovering and enjoying content a breeze. However, as technology evolves, so do our media consumption habits, leading many to seek out robust Boxee alternative options that offer updated features, broader compatibility, and continued support.
Top Boxee Alternatives
If you're looking to replicate or even enhance your Boxee experience, a wealth of powerful media center software exists. These alternatives offer diverse functionalities, platform support, and community backing to ensure your entertainment setup remains cutting-edge.
Kodi
Kodi, formerly XBMC, is a free and open-source media player and entertainment center available across a vast array of platforms including Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, Raspberry Pi, and Fire TV. It's an excellent Boxee alternative known for its extensive features like media streaming, support for TV show metadata, a comprehensive video and music library, AirPlay support, and an extensible plugin architecture. Kodi allows for automatic subtitle downloads, includes a built-in media converter, and even functions as a DNLA server, making it a highly versatile choice for managing all your media.
Plex
Plex is a popular freemium Boxee alternative that excels at bridging the gap between your computer and home theater, offering a visually appealing user interface for instant access to your media. Available on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone, Apple TV, Roku, and more, Plex supports media transcoding, remote media access, and offline sync of media files. It features a dedicated server, local server capabilities, and DNLA server functionality, making it ideal for streaming and sharing your media collection seamlessly across devices.
Splash
Splash is a free Windows-only video player known for its exceptionally smooth playback. While not a full media center like Boxee, it's a fantastic Boxee alternative if your primary need is high-quality video playback, especially with its support for NVIDIA CUDA and Intel Quick Sync acceleration, hardware accelerated decoding, and motion smoothing features. It also includes an audio booster and a built-in media converter.
OpenELEC
OpenELEC (Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center) is a free and open-source Linux-based operating system designed to turn your computer into a dedicated media center. As a "Just Enough Operating System" (JeOS), it's lightweight and optimized for media playback, making it an excellent Boxee alternative, particularly for Raspberry Pi users. It supports IPTV, features a music player, and is extensible through plugins, providing a streamlined and efficient media experience.
MediaPortal
MediaPortal is a free and open-source Windows-based Boxee alternative that transforms your PC into a complete media solution. It's designed to connect directly to your TV and provides an interface for TV Series, Movies, Photos, and Music. Key features include DVB-T support, extensibility via plugins, internet radio, and a skinnable interface, allowing for a personalized media experience.
Squire
Squire is a commercial Boxee alternative specifically for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV users, functioning as a media center to stream movies and shows from torrents or local files. It operates as an always-running menu bar app, providing a convenient way to manage and stream your video content, especially to Apple TV.
Kantaris
Kantaris is a free and open-source media player for Windows, built upon code from VLC Media Player and the Bass audio library. As a straightforward Boxee alternative focused on playback, it's extensible by plugins and offers robust support for subtitles, making it a reliable choice for playing a wide range of media formats.
VidOn Server
VidOn Server is a free Windows-based Boxee alternative designed to smartly manage your multimedia resources. Its key strength lies in automatically transcoding videos, making them readily available for playback on your phone, tablet, and other devices. It also supports TV shows, simplifying the process of enjoying your content on the go.
Moovida
Moovida, also known as Elisa, is a free and open-source Windows media center that aims to transform how consumers experience digital entertainment. While the provided data doesn't list specific features, its open-source nature suggests potential for community-driven development and customization, making it a contender for those seeking a Boxee alternative with flexibility.
Sequential
Sequential is a free and open-source image viewer specifically for Mac OS X. While not a direct Boxee alternative for video and music, it's excellent for media management, particularly for viewing comics and image folders in order. If your media center needs include robust image organization and display, Sequential offers a specialized solution for Mac users.
The landscape of media center software is rich and varied, offering a perfect Boxee alternative for almost any need. Whether you prioritize open-source flexibility, extensive platform support, advanced streaming capabilities, or a lightweight operating system, exploring these options will undoubtedly lead you to the ideal solution for your home entertainment setup.