One of the common themes that comes up on this board is how people are using various additional programs to set up working home entertainment/music systems with MC9 (or MC10).
Some of these programs are key to providing basic functionality, some are extensions. Perhaps we could build and maintain a list, and a simple guide for newbies on what things they should get and why?
In terms of basic functionality:
1) Any DVD player for DVD playback(MC does not provide its own codec) - perhaps WinDVD is preferred?
2) Girder - for remote control
In terms of useful extensions:
1) my HTPC - for home theatre integration
2) Powerstrip - for interfacing with big screen TVs
3) DVDIdle - for multi-region DVD playback and caching
4) NetRemote
5) File synchronization software - has been mentioned a few times
6) LAME encoder - if you want more than the built-in
The world of plugins is another one, I'd say the following are pretty essential:
1) DirectX Host plugin
2) High Frequency Stimulator
3) Cover Art Grabber
4) Playing Now