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How to add a Boxee icon to Windows Media Center
Update: Turns out Boxee for Windows is still in private alpha. See the comments below.
I've got two good pieces of news regarding media center application Boxee. First up, it looks like the Windows version of the app has come out of private alpha and is now available for anyone to download. Second, a third party developer has come up with a nifty trick for getting Boxee to work with Windows Media Center.
Windows Vista Media Center does a great job of letting you watch and record live TV, but it kind of stinks when it comes to web video. Boxee, on the other hand, provides an awesome interface for accessing web video from Hulu, CBS, and the BBC iPlayer without a web browser. But it doesn't do live TV.
The folks at Missing Remote, along with media center developer Andrew Cherry came up with a solution: a way to use the two apps together almost seamlessly. Basically you just download and run a script and a Boxee icon will show up in Windows Media Center. By default it hangs out in the Pictures and Video area, but you can move it to the TV and Movies section if you like.
When you click the icon, Windows Media Center will be minimized and Boxee will launch. When you exit Boxee, Windows Media Center should come to the forefront. If it doesn't (as was the case several times during my test), just hit the green button on your media center remote control, assuming you have a media center remote control.
This solution isn't perfect. For starters, you have to make sure to exit Boxee when you're done, because if you don't your Boxee videos could keep playing in the background while you're using Windows Media Center. And because this is just a way to launch Boxee, not to actually make it part of Windows Media Center, it won't work with media extenders like the Xbox 360.
You can check out a video of Boxee working with Windows Media Center after the break.
[via eHomeUpgrade]
Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsRobJan 27th 2009 6:57PM
What makes you say boxee windows is public?
NowhereDanJan 27th 2009 6:58PM
I can't find where to download the PC version of Boxee on their site. I registered, confirmed the account, then went to their downloads section and all they have listed are the Mac and Linux versions. How do I get the Windows version?
VeronicaJan 27th 2009 6:58PM
I don't believe the Windows version is publicly available yet.
http://app.boxee.tv/download
Robert HJan 27th 2009 10:27PM
That's correct - a few bloggers jumped the gun on this and posted direct links to the private alpha downloads when boxee opened up their alpha to the public in general. They must have also been Windows alpha users and did not realize that only the Linux/Mac versions were public.
Brad LinderJan 27th 2009 7:04PM
That's odd. I was about to write that it was still in private alpha, but I decided to double check. Sure enough I was able to sign up and download the alpha immediately using several different email addresses. Maybe it has something to do with a browser cookie since I'm already in on the alpha.
Brad LinderJan 27th 2009 7:05PM
Scratch that. I just can't read very well. It allowed me to sign up for an account even though it detected I was a Windows user, but it only provided download links for Ubuntu and OS X.
JamesFeb 2nd 2009 8:45PM
I'v been trying to get TVcatchup.com and boxee to team up writing on their forums and, if you vote on this link you can get some developers involved:
http://getsatisfaction.com/boxee/topics/tvcatchup_com
http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?p=32323#post32323