Software recommendations for BM replacement

[tmar89]

Yeah, after being pinged about my XM Radio plugin for BM, I thought about how I really wanted BM to succeed and thought about other front ends again. I've dabbled with Media Portal and just got frustrated with it. I never tried Myth or Sage. I recently saw Boxee and I'm waiting on the Windows alpha. And then I started reading more about Meedio since so many people have started to recommend it. I found that Meedio Ultimate, which comes preconfigured with plugins and settings, is VERY difficult to use OOTB. It took me a few days to even figure out how to import my Movies and TV Shows. So for the novice user that wants something as simple as what Beyond Media was to set up, Meedio is not for them. But I'm hoping that MeediOS is much easier to use. Plus, if they ever get the fan art stuff and the coverflow enhancement to work with hardware acceleration, it is going to look very appealing, eye candy wise.

[cfaslave]

Originally Posted by tmar89

I found that Meedio Ultimate, which comes preconfigured with plugins and settings, is VERY difficult to use OOTB. It took me a few days to even figure out how to import my Movies and TV Shows. So for the novice user that wants something as simple as what Beyond Media was to set up, Meedio is not for them.

Meedio is NOT easy to get set up - no doubt. I think it and Media Portal are some of the more difficult to set up imo. But yeah, it is nice once you get the hang of it. And while I always worried about the future of Meedio - after seeing how it survived the Yahoo buyout fiasco and most of the hard-core plugin developers stayed with it - I'll never doubt them again...

But I'm hoping that MeediOS is much easier to use. Plus, if they ever get the fan art stuff and the coverflow enhancement to work with hardware acceleration, it is going to look very appealing, eye candy wise.

The UI customization, skinning and fanart stuff is something I've coveted as a BM and now SageTV user for a long time. Fortunately the SageMC replacement UI I'm using is coming out with fanart (and already has all the other stuff I wanted) in the next week finalizing my UI and theme dreams for my HTPC setup