team-mediaportal.com

This means that there are millions of people in the States who rely on media centers for entertainment. A lot has changed in the past ten years, with the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, but unfortunately for many people, their cable or satellite provider still dominates their viewing habits. ninety percent of Americans watch TV through an centralized media center rather than through streaming services, so it's definitely worth checking out some open-source players if you're looking to get more out of your television experience! If you're into Home Theatre PCs or multimedia exhibitions, make sure to check out the MediaPortal open-source project. People all over the world use it to consume media in different ways--from watching DVDs and photo slideshows to recording and watching programs at the same time. It might seem a little outdated compared to modern media consumption methods, but I'm sure a lot of people still use it that way.

What is MediaPortal?

MediaPortal is an open source media player and digital content recorder that provides a good media experience with typical functionalities such as playing, pausing, and recording live TV. Other than those tasks, you can also play DVDs, music, videos, pictures, and use it for other purposes. Similar to JRiver, MediaPortal is compatible with online video and music platforms such as Last.fm which means you can consume content from that particular network. Fun fact: Did you know that Media Portal's source code was inspired by Kodi's earlier version known as XBMC? Nonetheless, the code has been rewritten and the platform has been returned to work specifically for Microsoft Windows. Unlike Kodi and MythTV which are popular for their cross-platform functionalities, MediaPortal is quite close-ended because of its commitment to Microsoft Windows.

Why should you use MediaPortal?

Some of the appealing elements of MediaPortal are that it has a lot of content, is easy to use, and has a great community. Today, I'm going to highlight some points which make it a cool service.

Complete Media Management

MediaPortal is not a basic software that offers an ordinary experience. It is open-source software that allows users to tweak settings as per their preference. It is much more dynamic in its media management. You can connect it directly to your TV or any other displays. You can watch photos, listen to music or watch movies on a wide range of devices. You can watch, record, and schedule live TV using Mediaportal. You can play videos, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, stream radio, media, and TV connected to your network using Mediaportal. You can control the HTPC using a remote using Mediaportal. All in all, Mediaportal transforms your PC into a comprehensive media solution.

Language Preference

With MediaPortal, you get access to the platform in over 30 languages. You don't have to install a third-party plugin or any additional software to choose your preferred language. This feature is one of the standout features helping you connect with the service right away. Just choose your preferred language and you're good to go!

Plugins & Skins

Though MediaPortal is just designed for Windows, it has a vast plugin library that allows you to alter your media center in countless ways. For me, skins are more than just themes and wallpapers. They help personalize the entire experience - from how your display looks to the user interface. MediaPortal has over forty skins for you to choose from, each of which integrates smoothly and can be updated using extensions.

TV & PVR Support

With MediaPortal, you can amplify your TV viewing experience through the most popular TV engine and personal video recorder. Although PVR has been effectively replaced by DVR in this day and age, you can still make the most of this service. Using the TV cards, you can go to everything that you would normally do with TIVO, for free.

How to access MediaPortal?

Accessing and downloading MediaPortal is very easy. You can search for the term ?MediaPortal? on the search engine and you?d likely find the software on the first page of your search result. Alternatively, you can also use the link on the left, to access the website directly. In order to download the software, all you have to do is visit the website. Click on the download section and choose the software you want. The actual software is about 141 MB in size so it wouldn’t take more than 20-25 minutes to access it.

Design

The MediaPortal design approach is better than what we saw on JRiver. Though the approach may be outdated, it still feels leagues ahead of JRiver. The light blue, violet combination with white text looks quite cool.

Header

The header section has a logo on the left and seven options on the right. These include "Home," "Products," "Contribute," "Download," "Documentation," and "Forum." Above these options, you can find a search bar. You can use this to find skins, plugins directly. Above the search bar, you have the Register/Login panel alongside language preferences. All these options are exactly what you would find on modern streaming and DVR websites. It's just the 3D logo on the left which makes it appear a little outdated.

Hero Section

Eight different banners make up the hero section on the website. I really like this particular section as it offers a lot of information about this service, just by looking at the banners. The first section gives you a preview of the interface, so you already know what to expect from the 141 MB package that you'll be installing later. This is way better than what I saw on JRiver. Towards the right, there are various sections such as "Latest News & Blogs" and "Updated Plugins & Skins."

Body

You can find a GDN banner, as well as a Featured Screenshot and MediaPortal on Web section towards the right of the website's body. The user experience is enhanced by an explanatory video under the summary to help you get started with the service. I'm kidding, it's just a video ad which seems so tempting that you'd end up clicking it. As of writing this review, Google was pushing Adobe on the network. I'm sure it will keep changing from time to time.

I don't find the price tag of MediaPortal too outrageous because it's free.

Footer

The footer section of the website is divided into three sections: the ?About? section in the left, the ?Quick Navigation? section in the center, and the ?Support MediaPortal? section on the right. The ?About? section has a link to PayPal where you can contribute towards this project.

Inner Pages

You can access the inner pages by clicking on any option on the homepage. My favorite inner page is the Download page. Here you'll find MediaPortal 1 and MediaPortal 2. This section will provide you in-depth information about each software. This is a helpful page where you'll find a lot of useful resources along with the download link. And if we were to judge this by heat map, this page would certainly be a hotspot.

Hardware & Network

MediaPortal is designed to be used with various Windows configurations. You just need to connect the software to your TV and sound system, and you won't need any fancy or expensive device to be able to open MediaPortal. The functionality is quite similar to any other software that you'd usually use on your laptop or PC. You can even set up a separate Home Theatre PC (HTPC) if you feel like it. For all you media lovers out there, MediaPortal is compatible with a wide range of remotes. Not only can you use your own, but you can configure it to fit your liking with keybindings and actions based on your preferences. The IR Server Suite in MediaPortal (IRSS) makes it compatible with 28 different remotes, from Wii to Mac Mini and iMON. So whether you're a fan of one platform or another, there's a remote out there that will work with MediaPortal.

MediaPortal Interface

Customizing your media center is great fun. You can choose from different skins and plugins, and make the most of the software. On the home screen, you can choose between Home and Basic Home. You can customize it however you want, with plenty of flexibility in terms of layout and style. You can add other useful features like weather forecasts, RSS feeds to the home screen.