View source for Front Row (software)

{{Short description|Discontinued Apple media center application}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Front Row
| logo = Front Row Icon.png
| logo size = 
| screenshot = Front Row Screenshot.png
| screenshot size = 220px
| caption = Front Row v2 (Included with [[Mac OS X v10.6|Snow Leopard]])
| developer = [[Apple Inc.]]
| latest release version = 2.2.1 (314)
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2009|11|09}}
| operating system = [[Mac OS X]]
| genre = [[Home theater PC|Media Center]]
| license = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
| discontinued = yes
}}
'''Front Row''' is a discontinued [[Home theater PC|media center]] software application for [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[Macintosh]] computers and [[Apple TV]] for navigating and viewing video, photos, podcasts and music from a computer, optical disc or the Internet through a [[10-foot user interface]] (similar to [[Kodi (software)|Kodi]] and [[Windows Media Center]]). The software relies on iTunes and iPhoto and is controlled by an [[Apple Remote]] or the keyboard function keys. The first version was released in October 2005, with two major revisions since. ''Front Row'' was removed and discontinued in [[Mac OS X Lion|Mac OS X 10.7]].<ref name="AppleInsider: Mac OS X Lion drops Front Row, Java runtime, Rosetta">{{cite web |url=http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/02/26/mac_os_x_lion_drops_front_row_java_runtime_rosetta.html |title=Mac OS X Lion drops Front Row, Java runtime, Rosetta |date=February 26, 2011 |work=AppleInsider |access-date=February 27, 2011}}</ref>

==Versions==
===Introduction===
''Front Row'' was first unveiled on October 12, 2005 with the new [[iMac G5#iMac G5 .28iSight.29|iMac G5]] (along with the built-in iSight camera, the [[Apple Remote]], and [[Photo Booth]]). The software was billed as an alternative interface for playing and running [[iPhoto]], [[DVD Player (software)|DVD Player]], and [[iTunes]]<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Peter |date=December 2005 |title=The New iMac |magazine=Macworld |pages=19–20}}</ref> ([[Internet radio]] stations could play by adding the station into a playlist in iTunes).

In 2006, Front Row was added to the [[Mac Mini#Intel polycarbonate (2006–2009)|first Intel Mac Mini]], which also gained a built-in infrared sensor and Apple Remote. The model's media center features were reviewed positively by ''PC World.''<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=Chip |date=June 2006 |title=Mac Mini Gets Ready for the Living Room |magazine=PC World |page=69}}</ref> This new version of Front Row could stream media from other computers on the [[local network]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 28, 2006 |title=Apple introduces two new products |language=en |website=NBC News |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11607677 |access-date=2023-05-14}}</ref>

[[File:Front Row v1.png|right|250px|thumb|Front Row v1.3.1 running on [[Mac OS X v10.4|Tiger]] ]]

=== Apple TV ===
The next incarnation, released in the original [[Apple TV]] software in March 2007, was a complete, stand alone application that played content directly from libraries. Among the features added were more prominent [[podcasts]] and TV show menus, trailer streaming, a settings menu, streaming content from computers on the local network, and album and video art for local media. In the summer of 2007, Apple released an update adding streaming of [[YouTube]] videos.

===Version two===
Released in November 2007 with [[Mac OS X v10.5|Mac OS X v10.5 (Leopard)]],<ref>[https://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html#frontrow Apple – Mac OS X Leopard – Features – 300+ New Features<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016170507/http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/300.html |date=October 16, 2007 }}</ref> version two of ''Front Row'' included the new features introduced with the Apple TV (except for the ''YouTube'' viewer), a different opening transition, ending [[AirTunes]] functionality, and a launcher application in addition to the Command+Escape [[keyboard shortcut]].

Front Row 2 has an undocumented [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-in]] architecture, for which various third-party plugins are now available, based on reverse-engineering the Front Row environment. Because it uses [[QuickTime]] to render video, ''Front Row'' can utilize any codec installed in QuickTime, including [[DivX]], [[Xvid]] and [[Windows Media Video|WMV]], and play DVD images copied to the hard disk.  However, because ''Front Row'' does not use [[QuickTime X]], it lacks support for certain codec features like Sample Aspect Ratio.

==="Take 2"===
In January 2008, Apple announced an update branded "Apple TV Take Two" for [[Apple TV Software]]. In addition to the prominent addition of direct downloads for movies, TV episodes, and podcasts via the [[iTunes Store]], movie rentals, the ability to view online photos from ''[[Flickr]]'' or [[iCloud]] (branded [[.Mac]] at the time), and the ability to stream audio to [[AirTunes]] were added. This update did away with ''Front Row'' and introduced a new interface for the original Apple TV in which content was organized into six categories, all of which appeared in a large square box on the screen upon startup (movies, TV shows, music, ''[[YouTube]]'', podcasts and photos) and presented in the initial menu, along with a "Settings" option for configuration, including software updates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/02/12/apple.tv.gallery|title=Gallery: Apple TV Take 2 software update|date=February 12, 2008|publisher=MacNN|access-date=March 12, 2009}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1600|title=How to update Apple TV software|publisher=[[Apple Inc.|Apple]]|date=September 2, 2008|access-date=March 12, 2009}}</ref>

===Discontinuation===
''Front Row'' was discontinued with the July 2011 release of [[Mac OS X Lion]] (v 10.7). The software appeared in neither the early Developer Previews nor the final version.

While it was initially possible to reinstall ''Front Row'' by copying the frameworks and application into OS X Lion,<ref name="installfrontrowhack">{{cite web|url=http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/19/os-x-lion-kills-front-row-heres-how-to-get-it-back/|title=OS X Lion kills Front Row... here's how to get it back|work=9to5mac.com|author=9 to 5 Mac LLC|date=July 19, 2011|publisher=9 to 5 Mac LLC|access-date=July 19, 2011}}</ref> [[iTunes]] v 10.4 on 22 July 2011 broke compatibility, causing those who updated iTunes to lose access to their music through ''Front Row''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3201475?start=0&tstart=0|title=Front Row missing with Lion upgrade|publisher=Apple }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}


{{Mac OS X}}
{{Home theater PC (application software)}}

[[Category:Apple Inc. software]]
[[Category:ITunes]]
[[Category:MacOS media players]]
[[Category:MacOS-only software made by Apple Inc.]]