Front Row (software)
 |
|
|---|---|
 Front Row v2 (Included with Snow Leopard) |
|
| Developer(s) | Apple Inc. |
| Stable release | 2.2.1 (314) / November 9, 2009 |
| Operating system | Mac OS X |
| Type | Media Center |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Apple: Front Row |
Front Row is media center software for Apple's Macintosh computers and Apple TV with a 10-foot user interface design for the living-room TV for viewing and downloading video, photos, podcasts, and music from a computer, optical disk, networks using iTunes or iPhoto, and the Internet using an Apple Remote. The software is both the interface for Apple TV and a standalone application on all shipping Macs. It is similar to Windows Media Center and iTheater. The first version was released October 2005, with two major revisions since.
Contents |
Versions
Introduction
Front Row was first unveiled on October 12, 2005 with the new iMac G5 (along with the built-in iSight camera, the Apple Remote, and Photo Booth).[1] The software was billed as an alternative interface for playing and running iPhoto, DVD Player, and iTunes (Internet radio stations could play by adding the station into a playlist in iTunes).
Apple TV
The next incarnation, released in the original Apple TV software in March 2007, was a complete, stand alone application that played content directly from libraries. Among the features added were more prominent podcasts and TV show menus, trailer streaming, a settings menu, streaming content from computers on the local network, and album and video art for local media.
In the summer of 2007, Apple released an update bringing official YouTube viewing.
Version two
Released in November 2007 with Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard),[2] version two of Front Row included the new features introduced with the Apple TV (except for the YouTube viewer), a different opening transition, ending AirTunes functionality, and a launcher application in addition to the Command+Escape keyboard shortcut.
Front Row 2 has an undocumented plug-in architecture, for which various third-party plugins are now available for based on reverse-engineering the Front Row environment. Because it uses QuickTime to render video, Front Row can utilize any codec installed in QuickTime, including DivX, Xvid, and WMV, and play DVD images copied to the hard disk.
"Take 2"
In February 2008, Apple announced a Front Row update branded "Apple TV Take Two." In addition to the prominent addition of direct downloads for movies, TV episodes, and podcasts via the iTunes Store, movie rentals, the ability for viewing online photos from Flickr or MobileMe (branded .Mac at the time), and streaming audio to AirTunes was added.
See also
- Apple TV
- Boxee
- Centerstage (no longer being developed)
- iTheater (no longer being developed)
- Plex
- SageTV
- XBMC Media Center, and popular free and open source cross-platform alternative to Front Row for Mac OS X, Apple TV, and other operating-systems.
References
- ^ "Apple Introduces the New iMac G5". Apple PR. October 12, 2005. http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/oct/12imac.html. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - 300+ New Features
stock | retire | vm
Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History