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Stream Netflix “Watch Now” Movies, Manage Queue in Media Center with MyNetflix [Featured Windows Download]: ”

Windows only: Manage your Netflix Queue and stream Watch Now videos directly through Windows Media Center with freeware Media Center plug-in MyNetflix. Just install, provide it with your credentials, and voilà—you can tackle all your Netflix management from the comfort of your couch. Probably the most exciting feature of this plug-in is the integration of Watch Now movies with Media Center, meaning you can stream any Watch Now movie on demand directly through Media Center without going through your browser. Unfortunately the Watch Now feature doesn’t yet work with Media Center extenders (like your Xbox 360), but the rest of the features should. MyNetflix is freeware, Vista Media Center only. SageTV users can get similar functionality from this plug-in.

(Via Lifehacker.)

XBMC Finds a Home on Your Mac [Featured Mac Download]: “

Mac OS X only: Whether or not you’ve already transformed your old Xbox into a media center with Xbox Media Center (XBMC), chances are you’ve seen what a killer media center application XBMC is. If you’ve ever wished you could bring the same saucy media center interface to your Mac, your wishes are finally being answered with XBMC for Mac. That’s right, the Unix app for the original Xbox has been ported to Macs, and though it’s only the 0.1 version, it already performs amazingly. If you’re already a Front Row/Apple TV lover, you’re probably wondering what the point of XBMC on your Mac is. Well, the main reasons you may way to run XBMC (lifted from the 9 to 5 Mac interview) are:

• Resolutions up to, including and even surpassing 1080P (AppleTV is currently at 720P)
• DTS/AC3 passthrough (which is great for playing DVD/BluRay/HD-DVD sourced audio). This means if you have a surround receiver you can have it decode multichannel audio
• Almost unlimited video and audio format support since we can play anything ffmpeg supports
• A great virtual file system layer with support for protocols like UPnP
• There is a great looking weather item that puts very useful info in front of your eyes.
• Since it is an open platform, the sky really is the limit, things like Youtube browsers, RSS readers, visualizers, MAME/Other emulators are all being integrated seemlessly. Heck, one could even imagine running an Xbox emulator on my quad-core machine…now that would bring us full circle!

Sound compelling enough? XBMC for Mac is still in its very early stages, but if you’re excited about its potential, it’s definitely worth a download.

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(Via Lifehacker.)

Skip Commercials in Windows Media Center with DVRMSToolbox [Featured Windows Download]: “

Windows only: Freeware application DVRMSToolbox analyzes Media Center-recorded files and marks the start and end point of commercials so you can quickly skip over commercials and go straight to the content. Similar to previously mentioned Lifextender in its commercial skipping capabilities, DVRMSToolbox keeps your files in tact and marks the commercials instead of deleting them entirely (like Lifextender does) so there’s less chance of an inadvertant cut. In addition, DVRMSToolbox can convert DVR-MS files (the default recording type of Media Center) to MPEG or WMV files for portability to other devices and other useful features. For a simple guide to getting started with DVRMSToolbox’s commercial detection, check out CyberNet’s introduction. This Media Center favorite is freeware, Windows only.

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(Via Lifehacker.)