Finally, there are playlist and slideshow functions, a weather forecast feature and many audio visualizations. If you want it to detect what you have, XBMC will scan all of your media and automatically create a personalized library complete with box covers, descriptions, and fanart. For example, XBMC can play CDs and DVDs directly from the disk or image file, most popular video formats on your hard drive, and even files inside ZIP and RAR archives. You can stream your multimedia from anywhere in the house or directly from the internet using practically any protocol available. XBMC can be used as a standalone player or to stream videos over a network. XBMC supports a huge range of r emote controls and keyboard shortcuts, and it feels like a real entertainment center. XBMC functions very well as a standard media player although it's far better if you use as a complete home hub for your entertainment needs. Some of them are absolutely stunning and blow Front Row out of the water. Confluence is used by default, so this is what will greet you upon install but you may wish to change it to something else using some of the free skins here. XBMC has a highly “skinnable” interface meaning that it can look radically different based on which skin is used.
