GUI:
- Improved XBMC GUI Skinning Framework making it even more flexible and powerful
- Powerbutton follows “shutdown function” in settings/system/power saving
- Updated translations for most languages (help is always wanted with translation)
- Skinnable Weather Plugin API enabling third-party Weather Plugins (Python Scripts)
- Edit button for RSS feeds in settings, (needs RssTicker script installed, see SCRIPTS section below)
- New screensaver option to turn off the screen (using VESA DPMS)
- Always On Top option to advancedsettings.xml when XBMC runs in Windowed Mode
- Better support for multi-monitor setups
- Settings have been re-organized and cleaned up to sync with new features

Playback:
- High Definition, Surround Sound, and Subtitle Flagging and Filtering in Video Library
- Added support for SingStar and UltraStar Karaoke Lyrics Format
- Updated FFmpeg (libavformat and libavcodec) audio/video codec and demux library
- Speed up RAW image loading and handle more file extension
- Implemented better WAV/PCM handling on 64-bit operating-systems
- Added support for additional tags in CUE sheets (Genre/Year)
- Added support for MPL2 (Blu-ray) subtitles format
- Added support forVPlayer subtitles format (which unfortunately is still in use)
- Added support for RTMP (Flash) live video streams, plus skip, pause, and resume feature
- Added proper MMS/MMSH streaming client (libmms) support
- Added audio and subtitle delay pop-up to the GUI (similar to volume control)
- Improved Commercial Skipping, EDL (Edit Decision List), and SceneMarker support
- Options for smoother video playback (syncing the video to the refresh rate of the display)
- Smart Playlists support for video resolution, aspect-ratio, codec, audio, and subtitles
- Extension of ExternalPlayer enabling multiple external players based on file-extension
- Added overlay renderer for dvd/vobsub/xsub

Library:
- Performance improvements to SQLite (database) queries
- Support for movie sets and a sortorder tag in the Video Library
- UPnP MediaServer compliant with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) standards
- Ability to view pictures over UPnP in XBMC, also loads of fixes to the UPnP library
- Added scan for new content command to HTTP API, extended XBMC.updatelibrary call
- Reorganized MythTV directory structure to separate TV Shows from Movies
- Support importing MythTV movies into the Movies Library (including scraping)
- Added support local actor thumbnails (store as actor_name.tbn under .actors directory)
- Scrape studio info for TV Show/Season/Episode, info is available via studio field item
- Changed handling in Scrapers and NFO replacing «thumbs» with multiple «thumb»
- Added library update on resume if we are coming from suspend/hibernate
- Ability to scrape and scan TV Shows into the video library by air-date via TheTVDB.com

Scrapers:
- TheMovieDB.org (TMDB) movie scraper upgraded to version 2.1
- Added Movie Trailer scraping from dtrailer.com to TheMovieDB.org scraper
- TheTVDB.com TV Shows scraper scraper improvements and enhancements
- MTV (Music Videos) scraper improvements and enhancements
- New freebase music scraper (with Artist FanArt support via htbackdrops.com)
- New Polish music scraper combining allmusic.com,merlin.pl, and lastfm.pl
- New mymovies.dk (Multilanguage) movie scraper (*commercial)
- New fdb.pl (Polish) movie scraper
- New cinefacts.de (German) movie scraper
- New filmdelta.se (Swedish) movie scraper
- New world-art.ru (Russian) movie scraper
- Updated imdb.cn (Chinese) movie scraper
- New cine-passion (French/English) movie scraper
- Fixes and additions for the mymovies.xml scraper

Skins:
- Confluence is the new default
- PM3.HD set to secondary
- Removed legacy PM III (farewell old friend)

Windows-Specific:
- Changed from Open GL to DirectX for GUI and video rendering.
- Added Crash Dump for Windows
- Support Milkdrop visualizations

Linux-Specific:
- Added support for Debian building and packaging to the XBMC SVN
- External libraries options when compiling XBMC for Linux making it more distro agnostic
- Support for PPC (PowerPC) processors in XBMC for Linux (OpenGL support required)
- Avahi Zeroconf (Zero Configuration Networking) for XBMC webserver
- Added DeviceKit.Disks integration
- Added DeviceKit.Power and ConsoleKit.Manager integration

OS X Specific:
- Logitech Harmony Universal Remote support
- Added support for CoreAudio API and removed the PortAudio API code
- AC3 and DTS digital audio pass-through to SP/DIF on Apple TV (thanks to CoreAudio)
- Support for running external Applescripts
- Support for command-tab application switching
- support for OS X Spaces (virtual desktops)

Live-Specific:
- New installer with disk partitioning support, network setup and language selection
- Uses Beatzeps08’s variation of duduke’s great “spinner black” usplash theme!
- Based on Ubuntu Karmic
- NVIDIA drivers: 190.53 (VDPAU included on supported GPUs)
- ATI/AMD drivers: Catalyst 9.11
- Includes the magic tvheadend package, which brings live TV in XBMCLive
- The plugin “SVN Repo Installer” is also included, thus installing new scripts/plugins/skins will be easier