Getting started with XBMC
XBMC is a free and open source software media player for various OS platforms especially mobile. This is very useful to convert your TV dongles e.g. Android PC or Apple TV or Raspberry PI to a media center in your TV. This can not only organize and play your local media but also can stream movies and TV series. I downloaded the Android APK and installed my RocketChip MK806 Android TV.
To begin with I scanned all my mp3 and videos in my SD card using XBMC and all of them were ready to play. I found couple of plugins which listed almost all recent movies and TV series very well organized by season and episodes. As of now I have installed
- Mash Up ( Installation Steps )
- 1 Channel ( Installation Steps )
Making it Full screen : However you can notice that the android navigation bar at the bottom always appears (Even during movie play). This is sometimes distracting. So I found an app Fullscreen which can help you get rid of this navigation bar.
Start on Boot : Also If XBMC is the only app you are going to use every time you boot your android TV then it makes sense to have it launched automatically every time you boot your device. I found this app Android Startup Manager. In fact you could disable all the user and system app which you think is not of your use in the android. For me the only app I want android to run is XMBC because all other app I use in my phone.
Remote Control : Having a remote control app in your mobile for XMBC is very important, because some of the feature does not work from a wireless mouse. The official remote app is good but I use the app Yaste because it has a feature of seek bar of current video being played. However I am unable to make it auto discover the IP of the XBMC device yet.