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

DavidinCT

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I know. But with so many free MediaCenter alternatives available and especially considering how cheap NAS devices have become by now, there's sort of no need for Microsoft to provide and maintain their own solution. I used the MediaCenter <-> Xbox 360 extender solution myself for a long time, but I eventually ditched it in favor of a Linux server running miniDLNA.

Are you for real ? Windows Media Center is the ONLY DVR PC based software that supports Protected DRM channels. No other product on the market has cable card certification. NO OTHER PRODUCT, NOT ONE.

So, no free or other option COULD replace Windows Media Center.... Sure, movies and some streaming content, there is other options but, something that can do EVERYTHING with cablecard support, nope, no other options.
 

kayakertim

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I use WMC with a Silicon Dust Homerunner setup and love it. I would be very disappointed if I cannot use it in Windows 10. Everyone interested should request it from Microsoft. The more feedback they get the better.
 

oldpueblo

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We use WMC for hours every day. One PC streams live TV/recordings/ripped videos to three different Xbox 360s on our three TVs. I would love to leave it behind with the lack of support, but as has been stated, there is no other product on the market to replace it. Which blows my mind. I'm seriously going to be sad when it's finally gone and I'll have to start renting cable boxes/DVRs from the cable company, for each TV.
 

iteese

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Unfortunately, I don't have an answer, but I too would love to see WMC reborn in Win10.
We use WMC on Win8.1 everyday, watching movies, recording TV stations (with a quad tuner card), watching recorded TV. We previously used it on Vista and Windows 7 and were disappointed by the lack of updates to this product. It really has been left behind.
XBMC(Kodi) is really beautiful by comparison and much more fully featured, except for the lack of native TV support. I guess I'll start looking at this further now
 

toph36

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WMC didn't come standard with W8 Pro. They gave away free product codes in the beginning, but you would have to pay $10 if you wanted it now. You had to be running W8 Pro to install WMC. I think if you upgraded from Windows 8 to Windows 8 Pro, maybe they included WMC. I upgraded a Vista machine and a Windows 7 machine to WMC directly to W8 Pro. I had one free WMC product code and I had to pay for the other.
 

dgr_874

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I am going to run my 5 Xbox 360 with PC media center until it dies. I works so great for me and after spending the upfront cost (Xboxes, tv tuner card , etc.) I get all my home media in one box. Media center for TV (integrated guide ftw!) with my own DVD rips and music collection. Netflix and Hulu on the Xbox homes screen for anything I'm missing. I even bought an extra Xbox 360 and left it in the box for when one of the others dies.

Heck, I'm right in the middle of ripping my Aliens box set to Media Center so all my family can watch this weekend!
 

Yazen

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I am going to run my 5 Xbox 360 with PC media center until it dies. I works so great for me and after spending the upfront cost (Xboxes, tv tuner card , etc.) I get all my home media in one box. Media center for TV (integrated guide ftw!) with my own DVD rips and music collection. Netflix and Hulu on the Xbox homes screen for anything I'm missing. I even bought an extra Xbox 360 and left it in the box for when one of the others dies.

Heck, I'm right in the middle of ripping my Aliens box set to Media Center so all my family can watch this weekend!

Xbox 360s XD
I doubt there are any WMC Extenders still in production (besides the 360 that is)...

Something like this might be good too haha ;)
Linksys DMA2200 Digital HD Media Center Streamer Extender 4260039346777 | eBay

Dropping WMC would surely break costly investments for HTPC users. I have been thinking about biting the bullet and getting a quality network tuner that supports cable card. Would be awesome to open a port and stream channels remotely ;)
 

JamesPTao

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Keep in mind it might only have the name. In windows 10 there will be two music players. One for streaming and one for local music. This should allow them to take care of many of the gripes people have had with Xbox music (for those using local collections).
 

oldpueblo

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Xbox 360s XD
I doubt there are any WMC Extenders still in production (besides the 360 that is)...

Something like this might be good too haha ;)
Linksys DMA2200 Digital HD Media Center Streamer Extender 4260039346777 | eBay

Dropping WMC would surely break costly investments for HTPC users. I have been thinking about biting the bullet and getting a quality network tuner that supports cable card. Would be awesome to open a port and stream channels remotely ;)

I've been using it since Windows XP so my investments have been minimal over time and I've easily recouped any costs when compared to the costs of renting multiple cable boxes, etc. :) My existing media center is an AMD E-450 with a 1TB drive that I picked up for $200 refurb, and it handles two HD streams without a problem. And I bought it yeeearrss ago.

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

How would it be remotely more convenient than DLNA?

You can't get live tv over DLNA, I don't think you "get" media center based upon your post. One PC records/stores everything, and any Xbox 360 can tap into that source for free. There is no other product on the market that does everything it does combined and in such an ORGANIZED way. I'll stick to renting a cable card for $2 a month instead of multiple DVRs for much more money, thanks.
 

Yazen

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I've been using it since Windows XP so my investments have been minimal over time and I've easily recouped any costs when compared to the costs of renting multiple cable boxes, etc. :) My existing media center is an AMD E-450 with a 1TB drive that I picked up for $200 refurb, and it handles two HD streams without a problem. And I bought it yeeearrss ago.



You can't get live tv over DLNA, I don't think you "get" media center based upon your post. One PC records/stores everything, and any Xbox 360 can tap into that source for free. There is no other product on the market that does everything it does combined and in such an ORGANIZED way. I'll stick to renting a cable card for $2 a month instead of multiple DVRs for much more money, thanks.

Not trying to knock on you but Echo is right, there are network tuners can actually broadcast live TV over DLNA. However, the frontend experience is not as seamless as WMC.
EDIT: There are models that support cable card ;)

That device that is listed on eBay does exactly what your Xbox 360 would do. Most standalone extenders worked better than the 360, so maybe if you need to add another one in the future... WMC Armageddon!
 

Cleavitt76

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Not trying to knock on you but Echo is right, there are network tuners can actually broadcast live TV over DLNA. However, the frontend experience is not as seamless as WMC.
EDIT: There are models that support cable card ;)

That device that is listed on eBay does exactly what your Xbox 360 would do. Most standalone extenders worked better than the 360, so maybe if you need to add another one in the future... WMC Armageddon!

Ok, but do those DLNA cablecard devices allow you to record shows like a DVR? If not, then they don't replace WMC for my needs. This isn't 2005 and I'm not trying to watch TV shows as they air or sit through commercials.

Also, WMC is far from "unworkable." It is actually quite elegant. I have people come over to my house and use my TV quite often. They have no idea that they are watching TV on a PC. As far as they know it is a normal TiVo/DVR dedicated device. Even my mom can use my TV without getting lost and without me explaining anything (which is amazing).
 

dgr_874

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Not trying to knock on you but Echo is right, there are network tuners can actually broadcast live TV over DLNA. However, the frontend experience is not as seamless as WMC.
EDIT: There are models that support cable card ;)

That device that is listed on eBay does exactly what your Xbox 360 would do. Most standalone extenders worked better than the 360, so maybe if you need to add another one in the future... WMC Armageddon!

Those Linksys extenders are not manufactured anymore and are not supported. They also do not work in WMC in Windows 8.0 or higher. The Xbox 360 is still made and have full WMC support in addition to the gaming they can do.

Certainly things like streaming TV using DLNA will become more popular quickly. But, nothing has the ability to do as much as WMC does right now or in the near future.
 

Yazen

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Those Linksys extenders are not manufactured anymore and are not supported. They also do not work in WMC in Windows 8.0 or higher. The Xbox 360 is still made and have full WMC support in addition to the gaming they can do.

Certainly things like streaming TV using DLNA will become more popular quickly. But, nothing has the ability to do as much as WMC does right now or in the near future.

My bad. Still on WMC/W7
Used extenders are cheaper than a used 360 so idk... Go figure ;)

Depends on how much configuration your back end needs.

Kodi+TVGuide+HDhomeRun actually can do more than WMC
Kodi (formerly XBMC) is more adopted, highly extensible, and uses popular methods.

Older hardware is almost pinned to WMC.. Could use MythTV as a backend? idk
 

Cleavitt76

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...
Kodi+TVGuide+HDhomeRun actually can do more than WMC
Kodi (formerly XBMC) is more adopted, highly extensible, and uses popular methods.

Older hardware is almost pinned to WMC.. Could use MythTV as a backend? idk

What you are missing is that WMC is the only software solution in existence that is HDCP compliant. MS is able to get WMC certified by the industry because they are such a large company. While there are plenty of other third party media center software programs, none of them will work (i.e. record) copy protected content. If you have a cable provider that sets the copy once flags on their subscription channels (many do) then all of these "better" alternatives you mention are worthless.
 

link68759

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What you are missing is that WMC is the only software solution in existence that is HDCP compliant. MS is able to get WMC certified by the industry because they are such a large company. While there are plenty of other third party media center software programs, none of them will work (i.e. record) copy protected content. If you have a cable provider that sets the copy once flags on their subscription channels (many do) then all of these "better" alternatives you mention are worthless.


Not worthless if you can find yourself an HDCP stripper.
 

Maaz Mansori

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I've had a dedicated system running WMC for around 5 years now with a Ceton CableCard tuner. Those who think that WMC is a mess or redundant are mistaken. As others have said, WMC is the only option for HDCP compliance. Outside of renting a DVR from your cable company or paying a monthly subscription fee to use TiVO or something similar, WMC is the only (legal) way to DVR shows on channels such as HBO. Also, WMC is/was a good reliable piece of software. The reason why it didn't take off is because cable companies won't officially support it and they push to rent out their own DVRs instead. In addition, most consumers either don't want to hook a computer up to the their TV or they don't have enough technical knowledge to be comfortable setting up WMC even though it is relatively easy to set up.
If anything, WMC will continue to be available with Windows 10 in its current form. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they did away with it due to such a low volume of users. That said, I'm considering doing away with it myself because I know the product is likely on its way out and I don't watch enough TV to care about the DVR capability and there are new streaming options such as Sling TV and HBO GO (or something similar) without a cable subscription coming, and I can use something like an XBox One combined with Plex on my computer or a NAS to stream my movies and all.
 

oldpueblo

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Not worthless if you can find yourself an HDCP stripper.

That's a lot of manual nerd-work just to watch TV. The beauty of media center is that it just works all together when you pick up your remote, and you can extend it to other TVs very easily. Sure there are hacks and multiple products you can cobble together that provide "similar" functionality. But for me I say "Xbox On" and it switches on my Xbone which in turn auto-flips on my TV and 360, and it takes me straight to media center and live TV or recorded shows or ripped videos, no messing around with anything. It just works.

(And before anyone asks, we still play 360 games a lot so no we aren't being forced to keep the 360. We actively use both systems for gaming as well.)

Knowing it's days are numbered I've also been tempted to replace it with something else, but as stated before there is nothing that equals it that doesn't require me to buy more stuff and hack/cobble **** together for LESS functionality. That homerun box looks close, but not quite there.
 

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