Niveus have released a beta of their Movie Library software, I think Niveus are trying to differentiate the company from other Media Center manufactures by coming up with innovative software and adding new features for Media Center and Movie Library is one example of that. From the screen shots it looks like it has a very slick interface for managing and watching movies. You can download a beta of the software but it works on Niveus hardware ONLY, so that counts me out!

NIVEUS MOVIE LIBRARY – BETA NOW AVAILABLE

The sophisticated Niveus Media Center movie interface supports content from VideoGiants, Recorded TV Movies, DVDs, and more!

Milpitas, CA – April 2, 2008 – Niveus Media, Inc., the pioneer in premium, whole-home digital entertainment solutions, is excited to announce Beta availability of the Niveus Movie Library. Designed exclusively for Niveus customers, the Niveus Movie Library is a robust movie management tool that aggregates an entire movie collection into one distinct and intelligent interface.

“Niveus’ Movie Library is a great example of what our partners can build on top of the Windows Media Center platform,” said Scott Evans, group manager in the Entertainment and Devices eHome Division, Microsoft. “We are highly encouraged by the level of innovation we are seeing from OEMs like Niveus.”

Rather than having separate catalogues for multiple movie sources, Niveus sought to create a single, artful solution to engage movie enthusiasts and viewers. The slick style of Movie Library offers an encompassing display, rich cover art, and even a recommended movie feature; when one movie is selected a “You may also like” scrollbar at the bottom of the screen is enabled, displaying similar movies within the user’s collection.

“As more and more movie formats become available in Media Center, it becomes increasingly important for our customers to be able to access them from a single interface,” states Tim Cutting, CEO and Co-Founder, Niveus Media. “With our new Movie Library customers can browse their entire movie collection by attractive poster art, regardless of the format, origin, or file location.”

Stimulating the development of Movie Library was the introduction of VideoGiants’ Collections, which include hand-selected packages of movies ranging from DVD-quality up to 1080p. Collections are delivered to Niveus customers on a hard drive and now, through a simple mapping process, the movies are seamlessly integrated into the user’s Movie Library, with all of the other movies.

“At MusicGiants, we deliver the highest quality entertainment experience possible, and partners like Niveus are key to this process,” says Scott Bahneman, CEO of MusicGiants, and its recently announced service, VideoGiants. “We are excited to work with a partner like Niveus who embraces our product and packages it in an extraordinarily convenient and attractive interface such as Movie Library.”

Supported formats include those currently enabled in Windows Vista Media Center: DVDs (in the local player or Niveus Ice Vault changer), DVR-MS, WMV, & more; movies from the Recorded TV library; and downloaded movies from VideoGiants, Vongo, Amazon Unbox, or other. Movies in the Niveus Ice Vault DVD changer or Recorded TV movies are automatically added to the Movie Library.

Niveus Movie Library (Beta) is now available for download in the Niveus Software Labs, the hub for exclusive Niveus software updates.