Windows Media Center to make a return on Windows 10 ? Any updates ?

[Plantje]

I live in the Netherlands and I think WMC still has a lot of features that "alternatives" don't have.

Simple stuff as just playing a random slide show of your pictures while displaying some basic picture information....haven't found that anywhere!

But also the way of handling DVD's: just copy and paste the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders and it will look like you have a huge DVD jukebox!

And last but not least: playing and recording live TV. The whole DVR functionality. I have a box from our cable provider...if I record a series it just records on the same time every day! It doesn't even read the EPG! And that is a box that I got last year! It is not even old!
Only replacement that is being worked on that is coming near this is the following: DVBLinkMCE app for Windows in the Windows Store

 

[djohnson1149]

First, thanks to IcarusPony for all the info that you provided.I too hope it returns to Windows 10 as it is with 8/8.1. I just upgraded to the latest Build 10074. I utilize a Ceton InfiniTV 6 Ethernet Cable Tuner with cable card connected to Comcast Cable. I've been using Ceton since the came out with their InfiniTV 4 PCi about 10 years ago. I have 4 HTPCs/Monitors/Surface Pro/ASUS laptop all able to connect to cable via their Ethernet sharing of 6 tuners. Obviously if WMC is not supported, I would have to keep the necessary units at 8.1 but I'd still retrieve my free copies of Windows 10 and Dual-Boot or just save them. Hopefully Ceton is working hard to maintain the configuration or an alternate solution. They were unable to provide any status pertaining to Windows 10 as that info is not theirs to share regarding Microsoft's non-released software.

 

[Kevin Rush]

Thank you IcarusPony, for great information and insight, and all the optimistic posters. Great information and good to know there are others to count as supporters/promoters.

Keep a good thought.
Best Wishes

 

[DavidinCT]

To be fair, that still doesn't definitively answer the question about WMC. The first line of the wiki article says that this applies to Windows Insider Program and Windows 10 Technical Preview.

Support of WMC in Windows 8 wasn't announced and made available in previews until one of the later builds. If Microsoft truly wants universal adaptation of the new operating system, I think it's silly that they would just write off a group of loyal customer like this and force them to either abandon a very useful feature or remain locked into an older OS to keep the feature intact.

Also the fact that was FAQ written by a MVP. I was or still am a Windows Media Center MVP from Microsoft (last was 2010 and 2011 but, still follow it).

MVPs do not work for Microsoft, they have limited information and they DO NOT KNOW the plans that Microsoft has. They do get a tidbit more info than most of us get but, when it comes to plans like this, no they don't.

That page was a FAQ based on the most common questions on the Preview Program and have not been updated to what the RTM product will be.

And I 100% agree with you, they should not abandon their loyal customers, they should make WMC an option on Windows 10 and even put a plugin on the Xbox one, to make their customers happy.

Love or hate or don't use Windows Media Center, it IS one of the best programs Microsoft has ever created and it IS the reference standard that every other home theater PC piece of software is compared to.

I created an account here just to say thanks to IcarusPony for all the great info! I've talked to you or someone in your group a couple of times when I first started with cable cards.

You confirmed my biggest concern with the future of WMC/CableCard being the guide data. Once MS decides to stop providing that the game is over and I'll be looking for another solution. I do not like Tivo's subscription model nor cable box rentals, so I'll be looking for something else or just cut the cord on cable TV. Hopefully by then there will be some better options with live sports from ESPN without a cable subscription.

Welcome to the fourms. Spend some time at thegreenbutton.tv. There is 3rd party options to "hack" in guide data from other sources. Some people found that the guide data that WMC gets is not always accurate, so they went around hacking it to get it work.

WMC will have support for at least another 5 years on this aspect, so I honestly hope someone creates a better option or continues where WMC left off (by MS selling WMC to a 3rd party)...

 

[SymoClod]

According to ZDNET, MS have now confirmed that Media Centre is dead and will not be available at all on Windows 10.

R.I.P., Windows Media Center | ZDNet


Sad news - I use an old laptop connected to a TV tuner just to record live TV on to a NAS with MC. Will probably not upgrade that device if it means losing MC. Have recently experimented with Media Portal in anticipation of this news and it is not too bad - bit of a nightmare to set up but once you figure it out it does the basics of recording and timeshifting quite well.

 

[Greywolf1967]

This was also talked about on the last Windows Weekly...the after build show. Windows Media Center is no longer being worked on.
Xbox One is where Windows TV software went. As you may have noticed when first released the Xbox One only worked with Cable TV and now an Over the air TV Tuner is available as an add on.
Europe has an Official Xbox TV tuner, where as here in North America most use Homeworx HW-150PVR

 

[DavidinCT]

Maybe Ceton should buy windows media center... ?

https://twitter.com/TheCoolDave/status/594885851643019264

Or maybe a 3rd party could jump in buy the license rights to WMC and continue it's support. With Playready 3.0 coming to support 4K, Media Center's cablecard support is based off Playready, I hope they will at least make it work with it...

Hope...

 

[Plantje]

So I was thinking...
The Xbox One has an option to connect one or more tuners to it, right?
The Xbox One has an app to watch live tv, right?
The Xbox One will move to Windows 10, right?
That would entail the app for watching live tv will be a universal app in due time, right?
Then, wouldn't it be possible to use that app or the objects used in that app to watch live tv on any Windows 10 device with a tv tuner connected?

Just my two eurocents...

 

[Razzle0]

I've used WMC to DVR or even just watch live OTA & satellite TV shows on WinXP for years, and now am using it on Win7, and love it. So for those of us who don't have access to super-high-speed Internet (which means no ability to live-stream anything from online sources), what other options will be available for watching & recording TV from cable or satellite on the computer (without having to pay extra subscription fees, etc.)?

Thanks,

-Razzle0

 

[DavidinCT]

Now that Microsoft has officially abandoned their loyal #WIndowsMediaCenter users for Windows 10 (WMC users are about 6% of Windows users, so if they did the same to WP users, we'd be screwed), a few of us want to see if there is a way to hack Media Center INTO Windows 10... This was one of the best applications Microsoft has ever made and it should be continued on Windows 10, if Microsoft supports it OR not.

If you didn't know, the current build 10074, has the eHome /Media Center files in the WIndows\Winsxs folder (go in there and do a search for "ehome" and you'll see them.) and they are also on the ISO as well.

If you modify the disc you can get Windows Media Center to load, here is a image of it running on build 10074, and I tested this in a VM and it does work with a few issues...



So, if your a media center fan and would like to help this project visit over at the TGB and post up some ideas, maybe you can help ! And if you want to try it, the information is there as well.

Any thoughts would be helpful !
View topic - Possible to port WMC from Win10 Preview builds to Final?

 

[net voyager]

windows media center NO they dropped it out of 10 a few weeks back

 

[Plantje]

windows media center NO they dropped it out of 10 a few weeks back

I'm having quite a hard time understanding your response...

 

[DavidinCT]

Come on Microsoft, Don't abandon your loyal Windows Media Center fans, Please make it an option in Windows 10. You want everyone to move to Windows 10 but, it might be 5-6% of Windows users that use WMC but, that is still a lot.

Give us what we want, not what you THINK we all want.

 

[Plantje]

I'm not sure if no WMC is what Microsoft thinks we want. I really cannot understand the reasoning behind it. I would really say it is just a Win32 app. Should be a matter of running an executable or an .msi right?

 

[BIG BAMBOO]

I really hope MS rethinks and includes windows media center in windows 10. I personally won't be baited into taking the free upgrade to my windows 8.1 machine (which is properly licensed by the way). I have come to really love windows media center's ability to integrate with my xbox 360 as an extender for viewing free over the air television (OTA), using it to DVR those shows, and also use the integrated guide information. The alternative is really going to a non-microsoft solution such as one of the following: 1. Silicon Dust's HD Home Run viewer and (soon) DVR which is in development. 2. Using my plex server to stream the TV programming to a cheap $35 google chromecast device (I lose DVR functionality with this solution, though). 3. Plex app for xbox 360 which works (kind of) but there seems to be a loss of image quality because it requires Plex to transcode. 4. Go back to running coaxial cable to each TV and using each TV's built in tuner. I hate running Coax. There's so much that can go wrong. A simple HD Home Run network attached tuner sitting right next to my TV antenna is a way better solution than running coax everywhere.

 

[DavidinCT]

I'm not sure if no WMC is what Microsoft thinks we want. I really cannot understand the reasoning behind it. I would really say it is just a Win32 app. Should be a matter of running an executable or an .msi right?

I wish it was that easy, It's a imbedded program that does checks against the kernel to see if it can run. It's a lot more complex than just installing a MSI file. I wish it was that easy, trust me...

 

[Save_WMC_and_our_freedom]

I wonder?
What if we could use Microsoft_Visual_Studio(newest verion) (*or other coding software) to create a true multi platform(xbox win10 win10phone), open souce (or even close source subscription service) plugin/program that functions just like WMC In that it would handle all the necessary CableCard tunner device driver setup, guide setup, DVR functionality, and PlayReady DRM content protection and be able to get the appropriate FCC approvals needed?

That Could endup being a very lucrative project with the right marketing strategies. Assuming the patents did cost an astronomical amount and we some how avoided an copyright infringement Lawsuits.

If I was a millionaire scratch that a BILLIONAIRE ; Or if I knew the right company or bank to finance that kind of endeavor I would take on the challenge of R&D and make that a reality.

We could even sell an android / iphone app that allows WakeOnWan and remote access to the guide, & lets you configure DVR recordings when your away from your home systems via any 4G Mobile Celullar network.

The app would probably just need to be synced over WiFI with the users Mac_Address and external IP_Address one time prior to remote use, Kinda similar to utorrent remote or the way that chrome sync or firefox sync codes work.

(Nothing like giving away billion dollar industry ideas for breakfast!) Just saying MICROSOFT.

(Grow a pair Microsoft. Nobody's going to get upset if you actually give people what they want. You don't have to make it harder to get there just so you can charge a fee.........!)

I understand that you want back in the mobile device game; so think of a way to combine devices we want with services we want; then mass produce the damb things so that they get cheaper, that way I'll be able to afford to buy my son one someday.

Seriously, Better yet ; just have it made here in the US.

Or
(Go Obama style... with cheap illegal immigrant labor. That way everyone wins. I'll get to use your device to watch the news about the plight of Microsoft. That greedy company that bankrupted the US & everyone eles they did business with. [Stinking 2016 bailouts] lol)

{Enough, stop reading this rambling post and start R&D on a better future}

 

[zlandar]

1. If you don't watch DRM-protected cable programming with a cablecard you have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to WMC.

2. Cablecard is the cable industry's method of pushing people toward cable boxes for the revenue IMO. HD Prime took forever to be released because of Cablecard foot dragging to approve the box. Few companies have the money or time to jump through all the hoops that the cable companies require to support cablecard.

3, If MS doesn't support WMC in Win 10 I won't upgrade from Win 7. Period.

 

[poit57]

@Save_WMC_and_our_freedom,

It sounds like your ideas are very similar to the HDHomeRun DVR project. The biggest issue I have with the Silicon Dust project is that in addition to the 3 tuners inside the HDHomeRun Prime, I also have 2 ATSC and 2 ClearQAM tuners inside my HTPC, but their DVR is only going to support their specific product lines in the HDHomeRun family.

Silicon Dust has also responded to requests for a universal Windows app by stating that the current API's for the universal apps don't support a way to play the MPEG-2 format that most TV is broadcast in. Unless I misunderstood their statement or Silicon Dust itself is misinformed, it doesn't sound like a universal app for TV is going to be possible until/unless something changes.

 

[some 1]

Media center was an awful, unworkable mess. I hope it gets buried forever.

How would it be remotely more convenient than DLNA?

There is NO OTHER alternative to WMC if you use cable cards and want to record HBO/Cinimax and the like. I have been using WMC since the XP days and have never had any issues with it. SImple to use, runs smoothly, hell even my grandparents were able to use it when the visited.