ConnecTV is billed as the world’s first social media center for MIPS Android-based embedded platforms. Today it provides an insight into how the digital home may evolve over the next few years as more powerful internet frameworks are rolled out.

Today I got a hands-on preview of the ConnecTV platform produced by Home Jinni. At first it looks like just another GUI for a home media center like you’d see on the AppleTV, Boxee or PopBox. However, after a while you realize this media center software is incredibly powerful and packed with potential.

The platform would be used by any TVs, media centers, cell phones and set top boxes that wanted the technology. There’s also the possibility it would be released as a standalone open-source software for compatible computers reminiscent of Boxee.

Let’s take a hands-on peak…

A Media Center for the Future

Essentially it has the potential to create a set-top-box that has everything. A couple of years ago I dreamed about the DVR of the future, now ConnecTV looks like the platform that could pull it off.

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Boxee has been available for a while now, but it’s still a work in progress. However, the Boxee beta has now been unleashed on the world, available to all who want to download and use it.

It features an overhauled interface, and new apps and content. And it’s pretty damn awesome, though not yet perfect.

Boxee Begins

Boxee seems to have been building up to its open beta status for years now. Probably because it has been doing exactly that. But the beta has now finally been unleashed, unveiled during the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.

If you haven’t yet heard or used Boxee, it’s a free, open-source piece of software that acts as a central locale for a user’s multimedia content. Films, TV shows, and photos from the Web and your local drive are brought together in one easily manageable setting.

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Boxee is forging ahead with plans not only for a beta of its improved interface, but a new set-top box from D-Link, and new content partners. Mainstream adoption should surely follow these impressive plans, at least if the content is there.

Boxee

Boxee is best described as a cross-platform, open-source media center for all. It allows computer users to manage all their media content, including video, from one central location thanks to a downloadable piece of software.

Boxee works on PC, Mac, and Linux and is designed to be used with a TV, bringing Web video into the living room. In August, Boxee secured new funding to enable it to take the service to the next level. And it’s doing just that.

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