Ever since I got my MacBook Pro, I’ve been dying to play content that I’ve recorded off of BeyondTV on my PC. Thing is, Front Row will only play MPEG4 format natively. If you want to play BeyondTV’s files, MPEG2, you have to purchase QuickTime Pro for $30 and then purchase the MPEG2 plug-in for another $20! Why do I have to pay $50 for the most common video format that Windows and even VLC play for free?

I figured there had to be a hack somewhere that would let me use someone else’s codec for Front Row. But after countless Google searches and forum reading, I found none. Front Row is tied in really tightly with QuickTime. “Oh well, I’ll just use VLC then,” I pouted. That was until I did one more search and found MediaCentral.

MediaCentral is a godsend from equinux. It not only replicates Front Rows look-and-feel and ease of use, but takes it a step further and adds TV viewing to it! Further adding to the already great multimedia experience of Front Row, MediaCentral will also play VOB files in addition to DVD discs. No need to tell MediaCentral where those files are either, it’ll find them. Also added to the mix is a large selection of streamed movie trailers. Better iPhoto integration as well as iTunes is on tap, too. Heck, equinux even improved the remote control part. Not only can you use the Apple Remote, but you can also use ATI’s Remote Wonder and the Remote Wonder II along with any other remote. You can even use your Bluetooth phone!

But what about the MPEG2, you ask? Well dah, that’s what led me to the find. Yes, it supports MPEG2 in addition to AVI, DivX, DV Files, Xvid, MP3, AC3 codecs, MPEG1, and Apple’s beloved MPEG4. Did you catch Xvid and AVI? Crazy cool support, huh? It’s also cool to watch raw DV files sitting in your Movies folder that still haven’t been edited into an iMovie yet. Oh ya, if have SRT (subtitles) files, MediaCentral will display those, too.

I could go on and on about how great MediaCentral is, but I have other things to do…like watch movies. Unlike Front Row, this will run on any PowerPC and Intel Mac (yes, it’s Universal).

Now I was willing to pay up to the $50 Apple wanted for it’s cheap band-aid fix since this does so much more, but I was floored to find that equinux doesn’t want a single penny! Dude, download this now before these guys wise up to what they’ve got and start charging for it!

5 Responses to “Why Pay Apple $50 to Play MPEG2 in Front Row When You Can Do It Free?”

1. Christiaan Says:
   May 10th, 2006 at 11:39

   It’s this sort of thing that’s driven me to setup my machine to dual boot GNU/Linux (Ubuntu). I want to learn how to use Linux so I can jump ship if Apple increasingly continues on this path of restriction (which is more than likely the bigger market share they get).

2. Matthew Smith Says:
   May 10th, 2006 at 12:35

   Your comment about Linux makes very little sense. Software like this is available for Mac OS X. Apple is not restricting people from making any kind of software they want. The thing is, Apple has to pay a MPEG2 licensing fee if they want to sell you something that plays MPEG2. The freeware stuff that plays MPEG2 isn’t officially licensed to do so; I think it’s legal, but not if you are making money from it, like Apple would be if they sold it as part of their OS.

3. regulus6633 Says:
   May 10th, 2006 at 14:17

   I like Media Central a lot too. It’s not as slick looking as front row but it’s faster, and as you mentioned it plays everything. The only downside, when compared to front row, is it can’t play iPhoto slide shows and there’s no ken burn’s effect either. It just displays the slideshows as individual pictures.

4. Poopmaster Says:
   May 11th, 2006 at 5:58

   The only danger in Apple getting bigger is that the trolls/flamers/slackers will be throwing their uneducated two cents in on Apple topics more and more often.

5. adam miller Says:
   August 22nd, 2006 at 9:37

   it is cool as a demo but when i acitvated it all the online content stoped working