Introducing
The Slant team built an AI & it’s awesome
Find the best product instantly
Add to Chrome
Add to Edge
Add to Firefox
Add to Opera
Add to Brave
Add to Safari
Try it now
4.7 star rating
0
Utilities
Software
Multimedia
Media
What are the best media center programs?
6
Options
Considered
70
User
Recs.
Jan 13, 2024
Last
Updated
Related Questions
Activity
Have feedback or ideas?
Join our community
on Discord
Ad
6
Options
Considered
Best media center programs
Price
Platforms
Last Updated
--
Kodi
Free
Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, AndroidTV, iOS, tvOS
Oct 13, 2023
--
MythTV
Free
-
Jan 11, 2024
--
Dolphin
-
-
Jan 12, 2022
--
PleX
0-40$p.a
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
Dec 17, 2022
--
Emby
-
-
Jan 13, 2024
See Full List
--
Kodi
My Rec
ommendation
for
Kodi
My Recommendation for
Kodi
All
14
Experiences
2
Pros
6
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Can install on several devices
Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Xbox, Apple TV (jailbroken), and more.
See More
Top
Con
•••
You may have to jailbreak some devices
This is only for things like a Fire stick, but Android TV boxes etc. should be fine.
See More
Peter J. Mello's Experience
Kodi puts you squarely at the helm of your media consumption in a way that no other tool or platform has ever allowed before it. The size of the development community and the genius of the philosophy that drives its evolution make it one of the marvels of the open-source universe.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, AndroidTV, iOS, tvOS
Top
Pro
•••
Lots of plugins available
Like PlutoTV, Curiosity Stream, and YouTube. 3rd party repositories, such as the SlyGuy Repository, contain more plugins like Disney+, Paramount+, Hulu, and Netflix.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Terrible navigation
Menus over menus with dozens of submenus.
See More
RageGamer's Experience
It takes some time and effort to get it exactly the way you want it, but once you do, it's great!
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Free
See More
Top
Con
•••
Not Client/Server Capable
While most solutions provide a client/server setup the KODI developers REFUSE to adopt this approach forcing individual setups for every device.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Open source
Completely FOSS, licensed under GPL 2.0
See More
Top
Con
•••
Poorly optimized
Often not a fluid experience on low-end devices.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Great customization/multiple skins
You can change navigation flow and other aspects of Kodi with the plethora of customization options and skins.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No official AAA addons for streaming services
It does not have any official AAA addons and fully relies on the community which result in often broken packages/addons.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Can play many different file formats
It supports Blu-ray Discs, CDs, DVDs, USB Flash Drives, local Hard Disk Drives, AirPlay, network file shares, basically every video, audio, and image format available, subtitle files, and even retro game console ROMs.
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
26
6
--
MythTV
My Rec
ommendation
for
MythTV
My Recommendation for
MythTV
All
11
Experiences
3
Pros
6
Cons
2
Top
Pro
•••
Watch and record analog and/or digital TV, including HDTV
Pause, skip, and rewind live TV shows. Completely automatic commercial detection/skipping, with manual correction via an intuitive cutlist editor. Intelligently schedules recordings to avoid conflicts. Parental controls to keep your kids out of the good shows.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Complex setup
See More
WalstonTempest's Experience
Although MythTV can be a challenge to set up, it is a versatile and powerful media system.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Flexible client/server architecture
Allows multiple frontend client machines to access content served by one or more backend servers
See More
Top
Con
•••
Documentation could be better
See More
BrightKastytis's Experience
Been using MythTV since 2005. Now running the back end on a Pi 4 with a NAS for media storage. The performance is flawless. I have to admit, over the years some of the upgrades have been a bit 'tongue in cheek' but the answers are almost always somewhere on the web.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Watch and archive DVDs
See More
ExuberantNinkilim's Experience
I used WMC for years, but with MS dropping support, a new option was needed. I looked at several & eventually went with MythTV for the backend. Rock solid. Different front ends can connect to the backend for added plugin support.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Plugins can extend its capabilities.
Intergrate your home cctv system with MythZoneMinder.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Listen to your digital music collection
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Support
There is a seemingly endless supply of knowledgeable MythTV fans in the various interest groups that are ready to share their thoughts on any problems you might encounter.
See More
Hide
See All
Free
Recommend
21
1
--
Dolphin
My Rec
ommendation
for
Dolphin
My Recommendation for
Dolphin
All
1
Pros
1
Top
Pro
•••
Immenseley configurable
As with any KDE app, Dolphin, allows adding or modifying toolbar buttons and keyboard shortcuts.
See More
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
1
--
PleX
My Rec
ommendation
for
PleX
My Recommendation for
PleX
All
13
Pros
8
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
•••
Sync media between devices
This is a premium feature.
See More
Top
Con
•••
No gapless audio playback
Plex still does not support gapless playback of audio files such as mp3 or FLAC.
See More
Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
Top
Pro
•••
Transcoding included
See More
Top
Con
•••
Doesn't come with bitorrent integration
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Accessible via web browser
A modern web browser is enough to get everything Plex has to offer.
See More
Top
Con
•••
Broken ipv6 support
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Upload photos from mobile to your library
See More
Top
Con
•••
No H/W transcoding
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Added lots of media databases
Metadata for media files will automatically be updated by using media databases. This provides posters, movie trailers, descriptions, information about actors, etc.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Beautiful and simple interface
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Installs on a lot of plattforms
Player and server are available to a huge number of platforms, including AppleTV and Amazon Fire TV as well as many NAS servers. It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
DVR included
(premium feature)
See More
Hide
See All
0-40$p.a
Recommend
6
1
--
Emby
My Rec
ommendation
for
Emby
My Recommendation for
Emby
All
4
Experiences
1
Pros
3
Top
Pro
•••
Easy to use and configure
But with tons of advanced configuration options available for those that want them.
See More
CuriousPhaenon's Experience
I have been using Emby for about a year now. I used to be a die hard fan of Plex, but Emby blows it away inn every sense.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Awesome support
Active and lively support forums where the developers and other users engage to quickly resolve any issues you may experience, which will be few and far between anyway.
See More
Top
Pro
•••
Live TV and DVR functionality
Add the Premiere option for around $5.00 per month and you get a full featured DVR that will play and record Live OTA TV, IPTV, Cable or Satellite signal and a great EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
See More
Hide
See All
Get it
here
Recommend
8
--
PlayOn Media Server
My Rec
ommendation
for
PlayOn Media Server
My Recommendation for
PlayOn Media Server
Hide
Get it
here
Recommend
Don't see your favorite option? Add it.
Built By the Slant team
Find the best product instantly.
4.7 star rating
Add to Chrome
Add to Edge
Add to Firefox
Add to Opera
Add to Brave
Add to Safari
Try it now - it's free
One sec!
Are you sure that you want to abandon your hard work?
Delete Work
Continue working
{}
undefined
url next
price drop