Doug's Mailbag: Do You Use Microsoft's Media Center? -- Redmondmag.com

Barney's Blog

Doug's Mailbag: Do You Use Microsoft's Media Center?

Readers chime in whether or not Microsoft's Media Center is worth paying for:

Media Center is the best application for one 10-ft view of music, photos and TV. I have a cable card and watch HDTV with full DVR of up to four channels. And with Windows Home Server, I can share that recorded TV content in any room of the house. I will not give up Windows 7 for 8, seeing that don't see any value in the Consumer preview.
-Larry

Personally, I use WMC every day on my home PC to record television programs and play them back using my Xbox 360 as a Media Center extender. I used it under Windows Vista and continued to use it after upgrading to Windows 7. If Microsoft doesn't offer it with Windows 8, I will not spend my hard-earned dollars on an upgrade.
-Mark

Media Center is a great product when used with a tuner that supports a cable card. Microsoft, once again, is making a mistake. It is dying a slow death. Instead, it should sell a version of Windows 8 that supports the DVD playback and Media Center for a price. I think users who love media center would pay a one-time license fee in addition to what the standard Windows cost. Maybe Apple's TV product will be all we can use.
-Joe

Let's face the facts. True WMC customers are few when compared to the total base, and it hardly justifies the millions spent in licensing fees for those users. Will it be available to those enthusiasts? Yes, but at a cost. I also have use WMC on occasion to watch TV but there are online alternatives -- and I can simply use VLC to view DVDs. Especially since Microsoft sponsored making sure it would work on Windows 8 (and it's free). While I would love to still have WMC in the Windows 8 SKU, I understand the thought and logic leading up to this decision.
-The K Man

Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).

Posted by Doug Barney on 05/11/2012 at 1:19 PM

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