Multimedia center

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A multimedia center is a combination of hardware and software that is used to play, record, edit, process, archive and manage multimedia content; trigger programmed, desired actions if necessary. This clearly distinguishes it from a mere " media center " and should not be confused with it. A multimedia center should be able to handle all of these different and sometimes technically and logistically very complex tasks centrally in one place. Examples of this would be:

  • Watch TV and record it on a hard drive using a digital video recorder
  • Play recorded TV programs
  • Capture and cut analog or digital video films you have shot yourself
  • play movies stored on DVDs
  • Play music CDs
  • be creative with digital music
  • archive and manage the photo collection and, depending on the target group, put it together into an attractively designed slide show with audio
  • Display the weather data delivered free of charge via satellite dish on a screen
  • keep an eye on the images from surveillance cameras or automatically trigger an alarm via image data analysis and send messages to IP addresses , for example via the intranet or internet
  • up to subtasks of building management and building automation

In order to do all of this, you need suitable programs (software) in addition to powerful and as quiet as possible energy-saving hardware for such diverse tasks. A human-machine interface that is easy to learn, can best be grasped intuitively and is easy to use by everyone is also decisive for acceptance. Because the multimedia center should, in contrast to conventional computers, u. a. can be controlled with a functional remote control, increasingly also by speech recognition and speech evaluation. For this purpose, all these functions are integrated under a common user interface. In the market for multimedia center hardware and / or software package solutions, there are many providers that are more or less similar and mostly have comparable functionalities.

Free Software / Open Source Multimedia Center

Even with the free Linux operating system, there are now a number of multimedia centers that do not need to hide behind commercial products in terms of their scope of services and also give users a free hand as to how and with what they want to equip their hardware. They are free and you have i. d. Usually no problems with license violations. Here are just a few examples:

Freeware Multimedia Center

Examples:

  • ATI Multimedia Center
  • TVOON Media Center
ATI Multimedia Center (MMC)
Basic data

developer AMD
Current  version 9.16
(December 13, 2006)
operating system Microsoft Windows
category multimedia
License Freeware
German speaking Yes
Ati MMC

ATI M ulti m edia C enter (MMC) is an application program from the company AMD (originally ATI ) and is used to play, record, archive and manage multimedia content using ATI graphics cards or ATI graphics / TV radio combo cards (Radeon, All- in-Wonder) under Microsoft operating systems. In its current functionality, it would therefore be classified as a " media center ". Asus also offers image data processing and evaluation software for its products based on the ATI Radeon chipset, for example for automated object monitoring, person recognition or for parents who want to keep an eye on their children playing outside or sleeping inside, for example from the living room . These are the first steps in the direction of a real "multimedia center".

The ATI Multimedia Center consists of the functional parts Intelligent TV, DVD, Video CD, CDs, Media File Player and MMC library. The ATI Multimedia Center u. a. MPEG , AVI and CD / DVD audio playback ready. Tuner / capture support is also available for all-in-wonder products. Encoders and decoders for TV and / or video signals are supported with appropriately equipped graphics cards (additional "theater chip"). The ATI Multimedia Center can be used on its own or in conjunction with the ATI DVD player.

With the freeware additional package European Language Pack 1 there are u. a. also support for the German language.

  • Ati MMC plus European Lang. Pack 1 file size for free download: approx. 30 MB
  • Supported operating systems: Microsoft Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista
  • Price: Free
  • Registration: Not required

Commercial multimedia center

Examples:

See also

Web links