XBMC is a way to interface with your media collection in pretty/fancy/flashy way. It scrapes media database sites such as IMDB, TVDB, etc to pull down information, synopsis, cast, posters, fan art, etc for all of your media such as your movies, tv shows, music. You want it because it makes things pretty. XBMC is like windows media center.....sort of...
Straight from the XBMC wiki:
XBMC is an award-winning free and open
source (GPL) software media player and
entertainment hub for digital media.
XBMC is available for Linux, Mac OS X
(Leopard, Tiger and Apple TV) and
Microsoft Windows, as well as the
original Xbox game console. Created in
2003 by a group of like minded
programmers, XBMC is a non-profit
project run and developed by
volunteers located around the world.
More than 50 software developers have
contributed to XBMC, and 100-plus
translators have worked to expand its
reach, making it available in more
than 30 languages.
While XBMC functions very well as a
standard media player application for
your computer, it has been designed to
be the perfect companion for your
HTPC. Supporting an almost endless
range of remote controls, and combined
with its beautiful interface and
powerful skinning engine, XBMC feels
very natural to use from the couch and
is the ideal solution for your home
theater.
Currently XBMC can be used to play
almost all popular audio and video
formats around. It was designed for
network playback, so you can stream
your multimedia from anywhere in the
house or directly from the internet
using practically any protocol
available. Use your media as-is: XBMC
can play CDs and DVDs directly from
the disk or image file, almost all
popular archive formats from your hard
drive, and even files inside ZIP and
RAR archives. It will even scan all of
your media and automatically create a
personalized library complete with box
covers, descriptions, and fan art.
There are playlist and slideshow
functions, a weather forecast feature
and many audio visualizations. Once
installed, your computer will become a
fully functional multimedia jukebox.
It is difficult to put into words all
that XBMC can do, so take the plunge
and Try XBMC Today
For a complete list a functions and
features see the supported
features/formats list
