As Xbmc news slows a bit I thought that I would take the time to highlight some of the better scripts out there available for Xbmc. These contributions are a piece of the heart and soul that is the Xbmc community. They extend Xbmc in tons of ways and in the case of the Apple Quicktime Browser, they put content where it belongs.
AQT Browser
The Apple Quicktime Browser was one of the first impresive scripts that really showed us that great content could be pulled from the web and placed right on our televisions.The script allows you to browse 5 different ways:
- Now Playing - Lists movies currently in theaters
- Exclusive - Lists movies that are exclusive to Apple's site
- Newest - Lists some of the newest available trailers
- Distributor - Lists movies by their distributor (Dreamworks, Paramount, Disney)
- Show All - Lists every available trailer
The script is pretty solid but it does have its quirks. Every once in a while you may find that the script is unable to retrieve the link to a movie's trailer. This can be overcome by finding the trailer in another section or even waiting a few days for the Apple site to change.
Overall, if you don't have this script installed, you're missing out on a ton of great free content. As we move into the summer movie season, this is a MUST have on anyone's Xbmc.
Gametrailers Browser
Gametrailers.com has become quite a source of content over the last year. They've gone from a hacked up site with videos, to a real player with tons of traffic. It was only a matter of time before someone created a script for them.The Gametrailers script is set up a bit like the AQT Browser, except it looks a bit nicer. You are welcomed with featured content at the home screen of the script. The trailers are then broken down into sections available for browsing a bit like the AQT Browser.
The script allows you to browse 5 different ways:
- Featured - Highlighted new games
- Newest - Newest available trailers
- Coming Soon - Highlights of games soon to be released
- Most Popular - Trailers viewed the most by visitors
- List All - Lists every available trailer
Along with the different viewing options, Gametrailers Browser allows some downloading options as well. You are able to either stream the trailers or download them completely and then watch. This is for our slower bandwidth users. You are also given the option to save the trailer to watch later.
Overall, the Gametrailers script is great. The website provides some pretty good content including a currently running awards show. This is another script that is a must have on your Xbmc setup.
This is just a sample of what is currently out there. Skins for all scripts are of course available from Chokemaniac. Stay tuned for more scripts. No not that one :) The much loved XBMC can run the Python scripting language & there's some very neat scripts available.
You're first stop should be here. Download the AQTBrowser. This allows you to view all the quicktime movie trailers at apple.com. Neat. You'll need to have the right codecs though, search the XBMC forums.
That's not all, there's gamespotplus which allows you to view all the Gamespot live and video reviews. R0x0r. There is an error in the script though, see my post here for a fix.
I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to write a BBC vid streamer...
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