Media player (Windows or Linux) that's easy to control with a gamepad?

Question

I have a Logitech Wireless Gamepad F710 that I'd like to be able to use as a remote control for a media player on my PC. I currently map the gamepad to certain hot-keys for use with VLC, but I can't say it's ideal.
Is there a media player out there that's easy to control with a gamepad and supports a wide range of file types?
Bonus points if it has an internal video library.

Answer 1

XBMC appears to have all the functionality I need.

• Works on Windows and Linux (among others)
• Gamepad support built in
• Video and music library
• Reads media directly from my Windows Shares

The only thing I needed to do to make this specific gamepad work with it on Windows, was:

1. Copy %ProgramFiles%\XBMC\system\keymaps\joystick.Logitech.RumblePad.2.xml to
   %AppData%\XBMC\userdata\keymaps\Wireless Gamepad F710.xml.
2. Change all occurrences of Logitech Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2 to
   Logitech Cordless RumblePad 2 USB.
3. Make sure the gamepad is set to DirectInput mode when XBMC is launched.¹

^{1. If you don't, the gamepad will get detected as Wireless Gamepad F710 (Controller) and will not work with the RumblePad 2 profile.}

Answer 2

Use XPadder & here's a tutorial to use it to control your desktop.