XBMC, formerly Xbox Media Center, has for years been a consummate and performant audio, photo and video player for a variety of platforms. While it initially ran on Linux, it has since expanded to Windows, OS X and, of course, Android, on which the company has heavily focused in its latest release, ‘Gotham’.
From the addition of hardware acceleration for most Android devices, to a significant increase in speed and an overhaul of the interface, the new version will take care of most content streaming.
The app is now offered for x86 and ARM-based processors in two separate builds, so Intel-based hardware, like the Galaxy Tab 3 series, can now use XBMC. The new build also offers better touchscreen support — as you may know, previous versions for Android were only slightly altered from their mouse-based counterparts, and didn’t respond very well to taps.
Finally, there are significant audio processing improvements; the team ripped apart and rebuilt its processing engine, and it is now able to upmix stereo to 5.1 through optical output.
The Android version is now available in beta, and looks to be a great addition to any Android device used as a home theater PC.
[source]XBMC[/source]
