Windows Media Center was always one of the coolest pieces of software that Microsoft put out. Kinect support makes it 20 percent cooler.
Thanks to the release of Kinect for Windows, a developer has added in support for the hardware for the PC version of Windows Media Center. This allows users to control Windows Media Center with gestures and their voice. It seems like a good, natural extension of both the hardware and software.
The hand gestures and voice commands will run all of Windows Media Center as well as any add-ons that are currently running in the program such as Netflix, Media Browser and Heatwave.
Like any good Kinect app, it allows the user to tweak the settings such as the dominant hand for all you lefties out there. It also allows users to invert the horizontal, vertical and pinch/zoom actions.
Unfortunately, Kinect for Xbox 360 nor Windows Media Center for Xbox 360 are not supported. This is a Windows only deal.
You can visit the developer’s site for all the software features. The requirements are also pretty easy on computers only requiring a PC with a dual-core 2.66 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM, although 4GB are recommended.
Interested users can go here for the download. It only costs $6.99 which isn’t much if you want to bring Kinect functionality to your PC-powered media center.
Here’s a video demo of Kinect for Windows Media Center in action: