Earlier today Equinux added new movie trailers to their media center application, MediaCentral. Movie Trailers is just one of the latest additions to MediaCentrals ever growing list of bonus features including: IPTV, SkypeIntegration, LiveTV, Internet Radio, YouTube, and even games. Of course features such as DVD, movies, tv shows, music, and pictures are already there.

For those without MediaCentral, you may download a demo version of it and purchase the full version later.

Equinux has released the latest version of the Macintosh HTPC software MediaCentral. Version 2.8 bring new features and improvements to the popular software.

According to Equinux:

The premier media center solution for your Mac, MediaCentral, and The Tube are growing together. MediaCentral 2.8 includes a completely overhauled TV engine that offers noticeably better picture quality, faster channel switching and direct access to recordings made with The Tube.

The overhauled TV engine is also known as The Tube 2.7. Prior to this release MediaCentral utilized the older version of TheTube software (2.6) This release also supports TubeStick hybrid, the recently announced TV tuner which will receive both analog and digital signals. Closed Captioning has also been improved and of course the typical bug fixes and performance improvments have been included.

As always the latest version of MediaCentral is free to download for existing MediaCentral users. New users may download a demo and later purchase the software for $29.95

Equinux has released MediaCentral 2.7. The popular Home Theater software for the mac is now powered by The Tube 2.5 and TubeStick TV interface. The latest update improves the picture quality, faster channel selection, and full access to recording made by the Tube Software. The update has also improved its interaction with iPhoto '08 libraries.

MediaCentral remains the most complete HTPC software for the Mac. Its control of the DVD Player, digital movies, pictures, music, games, skype, IP TV, internet radio, and now full PVR capabilities are unmatched by other competitors.

MediaCentral costs $29.95, and is currently available for download from Equinix's website. MediaCentral requires a G4/1GHz or faster and Mac OS X v10.4.11 or later, and is localized in several languages.

Equinux released The Tube 2.5, which includes the new TubeToGo service for remote viewing of your favorite programs. TubeToGo enables users to view recorded programs online, as well as the ability to schedule recordings.

The service works something like this. After a recording has been made, the TubeToGo service will upload your video to an FTP site or even your .Mac service.

This system lets users employ the internet to have constant access to the TV recordings on their Macs at home. Shows can be accessed by a web-connected iPhone, iPod touch or using Safari. TubeToGo also includes an electronic program guide which can be used to schedule TV recordings.

After a recording has been completed, The Tube automatically syncs with TubeToGo, which can either store videos using .Mac or a user's own FTP server. From your iPhone, iPod Touch or from another computer you can navigate to the TubeToGo.tv website where you recordings will be available. The url will look something like this: http://tubetogo.tv/equinuxID/Entertainmac . From here you can access your recordings, schedule recordings, and have complete access to your The Tube Library.

Those of you who already utilize The Tube software can download the latest version for free.

During MacWorld this year, Equinux announced the release of their TubeStick hybrid. The small USB stick will allow you to watch digital and standard cable television on your mac. The TubeStick Hybrid unlike its predecessor was designed to work specifically in the United States. Prior to this only Euripeans and Australians were able to take advantage of the device.

The TubeStick hybrid includes the poplular, The Tube software, which boasts features such as timeshift, scheduled recordings, and pause and rewind live tv. The software all has some social network qualities with TubeTalk, allowing users to discuss the programs they are watching, and surf their buddies channels. They are also introduciing TubeToGo, an automated web upload service so you can view your recording anywhere with an internet connection. Not to shabby.

More information regarding the TubeStick hybrid is available at Equinux. Its currently not available for purchase, but is anticipated in February. If interested you an complete the interest form and get the latest on when its available.

Equinux has always been quick to update and improve their software line. Yesterday they released The Tube 2.0.1, featuring increased stability and new enhancements. As you may recall, earlier this month Equinux release The Tube 2.0 which features Tube Talk. These issues fix a few bugs that have been reported by The Tube users and take steps to improve your Tube experience. Here's a brief run down of the update.

• Log-In Process is a lot faster
• Chat logs are saved when surfing from channel to channel.
• Improved Spotliht Results
• Australian ORF Channel Support
• Incorrect Password Endless-Loop is resolved.
• External drive prefered over internal for recording.
• Sidebar issues resolved.
• Flexible iTunes locations when exporting.

The lastest version of The Tube can be downloaded for free. Enjoy...and happy holidays!

Its been a busy day for HTPC software. Equinux joined the happening and introduced The Tube 2.0, the popular HTPC software with a lot of new bonus features. Version 2.0 features a TubeTalk feature allowing users to chat about the current program, or checkout what other customers are viewing with BuddySurfing. In addition to TubeTalk and BuddySurfing, Tube 2.0 improves and simplifies the recording process.

New Feature List:

• TubeTalk: Chat with other viewers, create buddy lists, and with viewer profiles utilizing your Equinix ID.
  
• BuddySurfing: Checkout what your buddies are watch, and even let them change the channel.
  
• Recording: Autostop when a program ends and tags from the EPG. Wake from sleep to record, and back to sleep.
  
• Find Recording: Search by date or name, or even spotlight recordings.
  

If your an existing registered user, you can download The Tube 2.0 for free, or utilize the update feature. If you still need to purchase The Tube, it can be purchased from the Equinux Store for € 19.95, or The Tube can be purchased with the DVB-T (DTT) USB receiver TubeStick for € 39.95.

Miglia's New TVMini² is the smallest avaliable digital TV available, and from what we can see it is. The slim design allows for neighboring USB port access. This DVB-T tuner is USB 2.0 powered and features a high performance tuner and demodulator able to capture HD resolutions (requires dual g5 or intel processors).

The Tuner and Demodulator technology was borrowed fro m the in-car entertainment market, translating to a much stronger signal, then the previous model. The TVMini² captures video in MPEG-2 digital quality, allowing for easy editing and video management.

Included with the TVMini² is the latest version of Equinox's The Tube software, which now includes Timed Recording, EPG, and open XMLTV standards, which we have covered before.

Unfortunately the TVMini² will do us Americans little good with limited DVB-T broadcasts, but Europe can take full advantage of this innovative product. The TVMini² sells for £59.99 or €78.99, and includes a 2 year manufactures warranty.

While America is watching the football games, and preparing Thanksgiving dinner, the folks at Equinux have released an update to The Tube. This latest release, version 1.5.5, of their TV Tuner software features improved search features and EPG listings. So when you search for your favorite programs they are now displayed properly in the EPG listing. In addition to the EPG the OSD controls have improved and the update feature has also been improved to support OS X 10.5 Leopard.

The Tube 1.5.5 requires a 1.0 GHz G4 or faster, 512MB of Ram and 2GB of spare hard drive space. The update is free for registered users and is available for download today.

With Leopard being rumored to hit the shelves this month, its encouraging to see some developers out there taking the early initiative to have their product ready for the new operating system. Equinux, the makers of The Tube and Media Central have all of their applications 10.5 ready. Utilizing the developer builds and Cocoa, their software has ben tested to be compatible.

"equinux stands for innovative products, that are both simple and intuitive. That's why it only makes sense that all of our consumer products are compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 from day one. This foundation gives us a greater scope of possibilities for future product development," says Till Schadde, CEO of equinux.

Thumbs up to Equinuix for being on the ball...

We at Entertainmac applaud Equinux's efforts to produce bug-free software. In doing so, The Tube 1.5.2 contains an improved crash reporter. This will allow their developers to identify problems so they can be fixed and improved upon in an efficient manner. The addition of this, is not in reaction to errors being reported but as a proactive solution.

We hope this allows Equinux to realize their goal of bug free software and one day world peace.

The Tube 1.5.2 is ready for download.

MediaCentral 2.6.3 has been released, by Equinux. The .3 version includes 25 new IP TV feeds, raising their channel listing for over 350! Some of the new additions include ABC, CBS, Discovery Channel, MTV, and Comedy Central.

This is not bad considering your local cable company would ding your $50+/mo. for the same. MediaCentral is still available for $29.95 For those current users you can download the update, and for those on the fence download the full-feature demo.

Other improvements with the software include your typical performance and stability improvements, weeding out the bugs from the previous version. The update also improves compatibility with the latest iTunes and iPhoto release.

Equinux, the creators of MediaCentral, have a public beta of its The Tube software available for download. The 1.5 version offers new and improved features such as, timed recording, electronic program guide and several user interface improvements.



Timed recordings allow you to record television shows, specials, and movies automatically. This can be achieved by entering a start and stop time, or selecting a program through the program guide. The Tube will also warn you if two scheduled programs overlap, so you don't miss them both!

The Electronic Program Guide, is exactly what you would expect. A complete listing of upcoming Television shows. The quick search allows you to locate your programs, and ignore the rest. One major step forward is the use of XMLTV, an open source project taht collects tv schedules from different countries and provides them in an open format. The Tube imports these and allows you to assign them to specific channels.

This latest version, 1.5 Public Beta, is available for download now. So head on over to the Equinux website and check it out!