14 DAY TRIAL // OpenELEC, an embedded operating system built specifically to run XBMC, the open source entertainment media hub, is now at version 3.0.
The final version of OpenELEC is finally out and it's based on XBMC 12.1 Frodo. According to the developers, the new operating system now incorporates a lot more support for mediacenter hardware, and even includes dedicated OS images for the budget friendly Arctic MC001 and ultra-low-cost Raspberry Pi systems.
Moreover, the current version of OpenELEC supports the Raspberry Pi, especially because this was the first XBMC-based distribution that supported the mini-PC.
“OpenELEC’s leading position was made possible by our close working relationship with the XBMC team; helped by our many users, testers and unaffiliated developers who collaborated to create the Raspberry Pi mediacentre experience,” read the official announcement.
In addition, the OpenELEC distribution is the only one to integrate support for XVBA on AMD GPUs.
Highlights of OpenELEC 3.0:
• The AudioEngine brings improved detection of audio hardware. Users should remove /storage/.config/asound.conf from the system; • PVR support has been extended to a wide range of DVB devices and 4TheRecord, DVB Viewer, Mediaportal, MythTV, NextPVR, TVHeadend, VDR, and Njoy N7; • AMD XVBA support has been stabilized and H264 videos should run smoothly; • A dedicated ARCTIC_MC image has been created; • A number of improvements have been implemented for Apple TV users.
A complete list of changes can be found in the official announcement. The developers recommend that you install a fresh version of the distribution and skip the update, although it's supported.
“OpenELEC 3.0 is recommended for new installations, and as an upgrade to existing OpenELEC 2.0 installs. However, please note that OpenELEC 2.0 will not automatically update to 3.0. This is a deliberate move as we have observed a small number of issues with Frodo updating Eden databases,” the developers stated.
Download OpenELEC 3.0 right now from Softpedia.