XBMC 12 RC Improves Support for Android and Raspberry Pi

XBMC, an open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub for digital media that is available for multiple platforms, is now at version 12 RC.

XBMC 12 RC has been dubbed Frodo and brings tons of fixes, but the most important change is by far the introduction of Android Support.

Unlike previous versions in this development cycle, the latest RC only comes with a small number of updates and new features.

Moreover, the developers have announced that this is the last version to include new stuff. All changes from this point forward will exclusively include fixes for replicable bugs necessary, to reach final release.

Highlights of XBMC 12 RC:

• HD audio support, including DTS-MA and Dolby True-HD, via the new XBMC AudioEngine, has been added and it's working properly;
• Live TV and PVR support has been updated (this feature allows users to watch live TV, listen to radio, view a TV guide (EPG), schedule recordings and enables many other TV related functions);
• h.264 10bit (aka Hi10P) video software decoding for anime has been implemented;
• Improved image support has been implemented, allowing the database to accommodate numerous additional image types;
• The support for the Raspberry PI has been enhanced;
• The initial support for the Android platform added in the previous development version has been improved;
• The Airplay support has been improved across all platforms;
• The controller support has been improved in Linux;
• Advanced Filtering in the library is now available;
• Advanced UPnP sharing has been improved;
• The translations are now powered by Transifex.

Check out the official announcement for a complete list of new features, updates and changes. Don't forget to also consult the XBMC for Android compatibility list.

Download XBMC 12 RC right now from Softpedia. Remember that this is a beta version and it should NOT be installed on production machines. It is intended for testing purposes only.