Solid alternative to Front Row

If you have one of the larger Mac displays, there’s no better way to use it than by enjoying your media in full-screen mode. The application of choice built by Apple just for this is Front Row. However MediaCentral proves to be a more powerful alternative.

With a very similar interface as that of Front Row, MediaCentral lets you browse all your videos, music and images in full screen. The application goes a bit further too. You can connect to hundreds of streaming radio channels and IP TV. Beware that the quality of video clips in full screen from the likes of YouTube isn’t always fantastic in MediaCentral.

As to image viewing, MediaCentral allows you to browse your own digital albums but also connect to and view any feed from Flickr.

I was a little disappointed by the sparse games section, which only has four options available for now: Ping, Snake, Astroblast and Space Invaders.

It was nice to see Skype support, although you’ll have to make sure the VoIP client is installed on your Mac and running when you launch MediaCentral.

MediaCentral proves to be a notch higher than Apple’s very own Front Row. A great way to enjoy your media full-screen.