After building or buying a HTPC, your next question is how to organize, manage and play your media files with the HTPC applications. In this article we will have a look at the best applications that will help you to get the most out of your HTPC.
This time, we will not focus on the media center software such as XBMC, Boxee, Plex or Front Row. Instead, we will look what other applications you would need with your home theater PC.
Picasa
Google Picasa is a must have photo management application particularly for the Windows and Linux based users. It combines well both managing and sharing your favorite photos. Another nice feature is that you can use Google Picasa plugin as a screensaver. This is a great way of watching photos randomly.
iPhoto
If you use Mac OS X, you do not need to go further than the popular iLife application suite. iPhoto is an excellent photo management application to manage, edit and view your photos. If you subscribe to the Mobile Me service, you will be able to share the photos across the internet. I was considering a while between Picasa and iPhoto on Mac, but decided to go with the iPhoto due to its excellent integration to the operating system.
iTunes
iTunes continues to be one of the most popular media players. It is easy to use and it has very intuitive user interface. I watch and listen to podcasts often, so it feels natural to me to play them in the iTunes environment. Another reason for using iTunes is that I use Logitech MX Air Mouse to control my home theater computer. Remote controls do not work as well with iTunes as they do with media center softwares. Apple’s Remote App for iPhone is also a great way to control media with iTunes.
VLC
VLC is a popular free multimedia player. We use it mostly with the TV shows that requires additional text file for subtitles. While it is highly popular media player and I like it in principle, there is one issue that prevents me using the VLC full time. The issue relates to the videos that require the deinterlaced mode. The VLC supports the deinterlace mode, but you need to go to the menus to enable every time you open a new media file. The VLC, does not allow to enable deinterlaced mode by default which is very annoying for me.
Splash Media Player
Splash Player is stylish and extremely fast media player. I use it particularly for playing HD video on my older laptop PC. It is the only media player I have found that plays full HD videos smoothly without any additional codecs on my 1.8GHz laptop.
EyeTV
Recently, EyeTV Hybrid TV tuner stick for Mac & PC has been the most frequently used HTPC application in my living room. I just wonder why I did not get this EyeTV product and software earlier. EyeTV Hybrid also supports the new EyeTV app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which allows you to watch live TV directly on your iPhone.
EyeTV Hybrid setup was quick and easy. Within a few minutes I was watching all the local TV channels on my Mac Mini and my 32″ HDTV. The quality of the picture is very good compared to my older digital box. Now I can watch live TV on the Mac Mini and as an added bonus I got the Tivo like functionalities such as pausing and rewinding live TV.
Get your own EyeTV at Amazon.com.
With these software featured in this article, you do not necessarily need a media center software at all. After all, my experience has been that media center softwares do not get used by my family as frequently as the applications on the desktop.
If you still prefer having a complete media center software, continue reading our tips tips to enhance experience with Boxee on TV.
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