Almost a year ago, I suggested that if Microsoft would add support for Hulu to Windows Media Center, it would launch a whole new way for people to watch TV. Web video today is designed for people to watch while sitting hunched over a laptop. But Microsoft and other companies have been putting out media center applications for years that are designed to let you enjoy the media on your computer and from the web from the comfort of your couch.

Now that you can stream full length television episodes from web sites like Hulu, it only seems natural that you should be able to access them using a media center application. Or maybe I just say that because I prefer web video and an HDTV antenna to paying for cable.

Microsoft has yet to add support for Hulu, even though you can watch Hulu videos at the MSN Video site. But the developers behind the open source media center applicaton Boxee have done it. The latest version of Boxee was released today and it adds support for streaming video from CNN, Hulu, CBS, YouTube, and Comedy Central.

Boxee is still in Alpha, and you need to request an invite to install it. The software runs on Mac and Linux, and today's update brings support for the AppleTV. A Windows version is expected soon.

You can see a video of Boxee in action after the break.

[via eHomeUpgrade]

There are plenty of media center suites designed to let you access photos, videos, and music stored on your PC or the web using a TV screen and remote control. But Boxee, which launches in private alpha on Monday is a bit different from Windows Media Center, MythTV, or other media center suites. That's because Boxee doesn't just let you access your media, it lets you share media and recommendations with other users. Eventually, the company plans to add Facebook integration so you can access your social networking data on a TV screen.

Boxee is based on the open source XBMC project. That means anyone can develop add-ons for the media center suite. Currently the software runs on Linux or Mac, with a Windows version coming later this year. Down the road, the company is hoping to bundle the software with set top boxes so you won't need to plug your PC into your TV to use Boxee.

The software supports a wide array of video formats and resolutions, including 1080p HDTV. But it does not support DRM, which means you won't be able to watch videos purchased from stores like iTunes or Amazon Unbox.

Boxee launches in private alpha on Monday, but you can sign up for an invitation on the company web site today.

[via NewTeeVee]

XBMC is a media center suite that was originally designed for the original Xbox. But over the last few years XBMC has taken on a life of its own and has been ported to run on OS X and Linux. And if you don't happen to have a PC running either operating system or an Xbox lying around, now you can check XBMC out by creating a bootable flash disk version of the media center.

Theoretically, you should be able to boot XBMC on any PC no matter what operating system you're running. In practice, you'll need a PC that can boot from a flash disk and a supported graphics card (or some Linux hacking skills). NVIDIA drivers should be supported out of the box, but ATI and other graphics cards, not so much. The LiveUSB is based on Ubuntu Hardy Heron, so if you're up to the challenge, you might be able to add support on your own.

Creating the bootable media using Windows takes just a few moments. Just download the LiveXBMC image and builder files, unzip them to the same directory, insert a 1GB or larger USB flash drive (which will be reformatted), and click the LiveUSBBuilder.exe file to get started. A few moments later you should have a bootable version of XBMC. Or a flash drive that will start to load the media center suite and then crap out about halfway through the process. But definitely one or the other.

[via Lifehacker]

Microsoft may have added "Internet TV" to Vista Media Center last year, but all you get right now are selected clips from MSN Video. If you want to watch YouTube, MSN Soapbox, and DailyMotion videos on your Windows Media Center system, you might want to check out Yougle, a third party plugin for Vista Media Center.

Yougle lets you search the sites we mentioned, plus Flickr, Yahoo! Music, and several other online audio, video, and image sources. The latest beta version of Yougle includes a number of improvements to the program interface, better parental controls, and an option to enable adult content.

[via Ian Dixon]

Developer Lauri Taimila is working on an intriguing new Linux media center application called Entertainer that right now looks a lot like Apple's Front row but could eventually take on MythTV and Windows Media Center.

Right now there are two major limitations to Entertainer:

1. It does not support recording television programs
2. It's not actually available for download yet.

The second problem will probably be tackled before the first, which is why Entertainer is a bit more comparable to Front Row than Windows Media Center. The application presents an attractive interface for accessing downloaded movies, TV shows, music, images, and RSS feeds. But if the preview video above is anything to go by, once TV support is added, Entertainer could give full-featured Linux media center application MythTV a run for its money.

Entertainer uses large fonts and would probably look good on a TV screen assuming you've got a PC plugged into yours. The software is designed to work on Linux computers running the Gnome or Xfce desktop environments.

[via Digg]

You probably know by now that Ubuntu comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There's the stripped down Xubuntu for slower-performing systems, Edubuntu for kids and teachers, and Kubuntu with the more Windows-like interface.

But there are also community supported projects like Ubuntu Studio and Mythbuntu. These projects aren't sponsored by Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu. But they build on Ubuntu Code. While Ubuntu Studio features a slew of packages for creating and editing audio, video, and images, Mythbuntu is more of a Windows Media Center/TiVo alternative.

At its core, Mythbuntu is Ubuntu without all of those useless packages like OpenOffice.org, Evolution, or desktop effects. Don't expect any productivity software here (although you can install it if you like). Mythbuntu is dedicated to media. The application ships with the XFCE4 lightweight desktop, because you'll probably rarely ever see the desktop,

Mythbuntu includes everything you need to set up a MythTV frontend and/or backend. That means you can watch and record live TV (with the help of a TV tuner), watch videos, listen to music, or browse pictures -- all while using a 10-foot user interface. In other words, the graphics are all designed to look good from ten feet away. You could just add the MythTV packages to your current Ubuntu system, but Mythbuntu works right out of the box.

Because Mythbuntu comes works as a LiveCD, you can test out hardware compatibility before installing any software. The LiveCD works as a MythTV frontend, letting you mount shared network drives to play audio or video.

We first took a look at Mythbuntu this summer when it was in alpha. Mythbuntu 7.10 is the first full release, and the team plans to follow the Ubuntu development schedule. That means there should be a new version out every six months.

[via Digg]

So we were standing in line at the Microsoft booth at Digital Life because we wanted to get a good look at the Internet TV platform coming to Windows Vista Media Center tomorrow. And we overheard someone asking the guy manning the booth a bunch of questions about Media Center and how to get it, and it occurred to us that a lot of people still don't know what Windows Media Center is.

So here you go: It's an interface for interacting with media on your PC from 10 feet away. And it's built into Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. It's also included in Windows XP Media Center Edition.

The reason a lot of people don't know they already have Media Center is because while it's built into the software, they don't have the hardware to connect their PC to a television. Or if they do, they don't have the hardware to watch and record live TV using their PC. For the record, you can perform these tasks with a video-out graphics card, a media center extender, and a TV tuner card. Prices for these different devices range from $30 to $500.

Microsoft is rolling out the public beta of Internet TV for Windows Vista Media Center tomorrow. If you've got a machine running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, a new option should pop up inside of your media center interface, cleverly titled "Internet TV."

At launch, there will be 100 hours of programming available from MSN Video. The service is free, but ad-supported, meaning you'll have to put up with some 15 and 30 second spots here and there. YuMe is responsible for the ad.

But is there anything you'll want to watch? Here's some of the content available:

• Full length episodes of TV shows including Arrested Development
• Full length concerts by artists including Chris Cornell, Snoop Dogg, Elton John, Pink, John Mayer, and the Pussycat Dolls
• Movie trailers
• MSNBC news clips
• FOX Sports clips

Internet TV will be available from Windows Vista machines with Windows Media Center, and from Xbox 360 consoles.

Waveexpress is releasing an updated version of TVTonic for Windows Vista. The big news is that the upgrade adds support for native QuickTime video playback using Windows Vista's Media Center interface.

TVTonic is an application that works in conjunction with Windows Media Center to download and stream internet video using a 10-foot interface. In other words, you can watch video podcasts like RocketBoom in your living room.

You can download and watch pretty much anything that has an RSS feed, but TVTonic also has an index of 358 video channels. And almost all of them use the QuickTime format, which means if you're using Windows Vista Media Center, up until now you could access only a limited number of channels. Not only does the new version of the software support QuickTime playback using the TVTonic application, but you'll be able to watch QuickTime movies stored in your "My Videos" directories.