If you are looking for an alternative to VLC, Windows Media Player/Center, you should give this media player and entertainment hub a try.
Download XBMC for Windows 7, Apple TV, Linux, Mac OS X
XBMC works on many platforms including Apple TV. Source code is available for programmers. It was previously known as Xbox Media Center
Preview Some Skins/Themes Of XBMC
This player really looks awesome:
Some of the themes are of extremely high quality and make iTunes look like a program from the 80’s. Some built-in web scrapers can download cover art from the web and there are many useful plugins like Internet-TV or weather forecasts.
All in all, this a nice alternative to VLC or Windows Media Center and might be especially an option for Linux users. I’ll probably install this on one of my Ubuntu machines, but could imagine that this is a good fit for a HTPC as well. If you are working on setting up your own HTPC (home theater PC), I suggest you give this a try.