Media Centres have been a huge part of using a computer ever since Microsoft released its ever-so-famous Media Centre. Ever since, other companies have been trying to compete and more projects have been forming. However, the Mac has very little Media Centre apps available. I interviewed Ed Wolf, the lead developer for iTheater, an upcoming Mac Media Centre app, about what they’re about and where they’re going.

Alec: What inspired you to make a Mac based Media Centre app?

Ed: The Mac Mini gave us the idea that we could extend the Mac onto the PC
very easily and in a low impact way…thats how the project was born.

Alec: How many people are on your development team?

Ed: About 8 or so.

Alec: How long did it take to code the first beta (RC1) of iTheater?

Ed: iTheater was around for a while in SVN builds, but from the start we
decided we were not going to release anything until we had a product
that was both functional and stable. It took us a year to get to .1,
but the end result was a stable product that beat the competition.

Alec: You have many competing Media Centre apps (ie: CenterStage,
MediaCentral, Front Row). How do you think you are compared to them?

Ed: I think each project brings its own unique aspects to the media center
realm. CenterStage has a good user base, but the system itself is
slow, buggy and (at times un functional). But it works.

Front Row is okay, but its a hackjob of a media center. All it is
is a glorified UI for iPhoto, iTunes and browsing folders. There’s not
much you can’t do with Front Row, but it lacks many features that we
are trying to build into our open source projects.

MediaCentral is a commercial product that people are paid to make. I
wont comment on this product because I feel that an open source media
center allows collective collaboration.

Alec: What advantages does/will iTheater have over these apps?

Ed: iTheater is a great project, and combines ease of use and
functionality seamlessy. The software runs well and is stable on G3
macs running back to 10.3 . iTheater is still in development, like all
other project, but we are making headway to add more and more
features.

Alec: What can we expect from iTheater in the future? (ie: next beta
release, release date, new features, etc.)

Ed: 0.1.3 is in the works right now. We’re working on some enhancements to
choosing file locations and also enhancing the GUI experience some
more.

Alec: Can we except compatibility with EyeTV etc?

Ed: We are working on VLC…EyeTV is on the backburner for the moment
until the core functionality is completed.

Alec: How did you guys react when Apple released Front Row?

Ed: We knew it was coming, so we were not suprised.

Alec: Thanks a bunch, Ed!