XBMC is a multimedia player par excellence. We’ve already talked several times here about its features and flexibility, whether you’re using it on a PC, an Android device, or a Raspberri Pi. Recently XBMC has launched its new version 13.0, which includes important performance fixes (especially for Android and RasPI), support for 3D films, improved subtitle searches, and new UPnP features for streaming via remote connection.
Because it’s a multiplatform tool, XBMC is ideal for setting up your home entertainment center from almost any device, whether by connecting your smartphone or even using micro-computers like the aforementioned Raspberri Pi. With its inclusion of hardware decoding, this new version of the player allows you to play hi-res videos on almost any device with Android 4.0 or higher, whether using its ARM or x86 version.
These are some of the new features:
- Support for 3D films in SBS, TAB, anaglyph (binoculars), and related formats.
- Gesture navigation for touchscreen devices.
- Improvements to the Universal Plug and Play streaming system, with the ability to play video remotely on other devices with XBMC installed.
- New layout for the settings menu on several levels, with the advanced options differentiated from the most common ones to aid novice users.
- Improved search and automatic subtitle download from different web libraries, to yield an almost instant process.
- Import and export of custom film libraries. By being able to make your own packs (a complete saga packaged into subdirectories), now you can save your hard cataloguing work.
