Mac Media Center - Part 2 - Plex - Preview

A bit sooner than expected, but this week I couldn't wait to show you PLEX, a stunning media centre application for Intel based Macs running OSX Leopard.

This follows on from the recent Mac mini Media Centre episode, where I started the process of using the newly upgraded Mac mini as a full blown media centre. PLEX is based on the original code for the XBMC (XBox Media Centre) but has forked into a separate development specifically for Intel based Macs running OSX Leopard.

Now that the Mac mini supports full High Definition playback, PLEX allows you to manage your Movies and TV shows with a beautiful high resolution interface. With some sophisticated ""scraping"" technology, PLEX seamlessly integrates with a host of Internet based services to add rich textual and graphical metadata to your media automatically with full support for DVD artwork, ratings and even Fan artwork. With a multitude of selectable views, browsing your media collection has never been such a joy.

With the introduction of the PLEX Media Server, PLEX now integrates with your local iTunes and iPhoto libraries, giving you access to your music and photos without any additional configuration, it just works.

Rounding off and already impressive suite of functionality, PLEX also has a plugin architecture allowing third party developers to create plugins or applications to access external web based video and photo services directly from PLEX.

Available and installable from within PLEX itself, within minutes you can have direct access to such services as HULU, BBC iPlayer, 4OD, Ted Talks, The Daily Show and many other streaming video services (geographic limitations may apply for some services).

The full show covers:

• Sharing Media Files on a Network
• Installing & Configuring Plex
• Calibrating Plex for Overscan TVs
• Audio Setup
• Adding & Watching Movies
• Adding & Watching TV Shows
• Music & Pictures
• iTunes & iPhoto Integration
• Selecting & Installing Applications