Top Enna Alternatives: Discover Your Next Media Center
Enna, a media center application renowned for its simple user interface built on the Enlightenment Foundations Libraries (EFL) and GeeXboX, offers a streamlined way to enjoy your multimedia. However, like any software, users may seek an Enna alternative for various reasons, including broader platform support, advanced features, or simply a different user experience. This article explores the best alternatives to Enna, helping you find the perfect media center solution for your needs.
Best Enna Alternatives
Looking for a powerful media center that goes beyond Enna's offerings? Here's a curated list of top alternatives that provide extensive features, broad compatibility, and excellent user experiences, whether you're a casual viewer or a dedicated cinephile.
Kodi
Kodi, formerly XBMC, is a highly popular free and open-source media player and entertainment center, making it an excellent Enna alternative. It supports a vast array of platforms including Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, Raspberry Pi, and Fire TV. Kodi is feature-rich, offering media streaming, TV show metadata support, video and music libraries, subtitle support (including automatic download and built-in search), and extensibility via plugins, making it a comprehensive media solution.
Plex
Plex is a robust freemium media server and player that acts as a fantastic Enna alternative, bridging the gap between your computer and home theater with a visually appealing interface. Available on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone, and many other platforms including smart TVs and game consoles, Plex excels in media transcoding, streaming, and sharing. It offers remote media access, self-hosting capabilities, and automatic library search, providing a powerful and accessible media experience.
Emby
Emby (formerly Media Browser) is a freemium media center plugin that presents your media with a simple, intuitive, and fast interface, serving as a strong Enna alternative. It supports Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone, and extends to platforms like Apple TV, Roku, Playstation, and Xbox. Emby offers features such as media streaming, transcoding, a local server for your content, optimized mobile apps, and remote media access, making your media available anywhere.
OSMC
OSMC (Open Source Media Center) is a free and open-source media player based on Linux, established in 2014. It's a great Enna alternative for those seeking a dedicated media center operating system. OSMC is specifically designed for Apple TV and Raspberry Pi, allowing you to play media from your local network or attached storage. Its features include auto-identification of videos, a design optimized for TVs, and a built-in music player.
Splash
Splash is a free video player for Windows known for its smooth playback and high-quality video rendering, making it a viable Enna alternative if your primary need is a dedicated video player. It boasts features like support for NVIDIA CUDA and Intel Quick Sync acceleration, hardware-accelerated decoding, motion smoothing, and built-in media and video converters, enhancing your viewing experience.
Miro
Miro (formerly Democracy Player) is a free and open-source internet TV application, media library, and video player. As an Enna alternative, it stands out with its ability to subscribe to RSS feeds for content, making it a unique choice for those who consume a lot of web-based video. Available on Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD, Miro includes features like an Android sync, a built-in media converter, a torrent client, and a news aggregator, combining various media functionalities.
Infuse
Infuse is a freemium video player designed specifically for Apple's ecosystem, including iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. It's an excellent Enna alternative for Apple users, as it allows watching almost any video format without needing conversion. Infuse features vast format support, DLNA support, metadata search, and robust subtitle functionalities, providing a seamless and high-quality video experience on Apple devices.
OpenELEC
OpenELEC (Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center) is a free and open-source, small Linux-based Just Enough Operating System (JeOS). It's built from scratch to turn your computer into a media center, making it a direct Enna alternative for those looking for an OS-level solution. Available for Linux and Raspberry Pi, OpenELEC features extensibility via plugins, IPTV support, and a music player, focusing on providing a lean and efficient media experience.
MediaPortal
MediaPortal is a free and open-source software that transforms your Windows PC into a complete media solution, functioning as a comprehensive Enna alternative. It can run on basic hardware, connect directly to your TV, and display your 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 hub.
Playon
PlayOn is a commercial browser and media server for your Windows PC, enabling you to stream your favorite shows, movies, and personal media from your PC to various devices. It's a unique Enna alternative that focuses on streaming and recording. PlayOn supports Android, iPhone, Blackberry, Android Tablet, and iPad, offering features like audio recording and video recording, alongside DLNA support for broad compatibility.
Choosing the best Enna alternative depends on your specific needs, whether you prioritize platform compatibility, advanced streaming features, or open-source flexibility. Explore these options to find the media center that perfectly complements your home entertainment setup.