RIP. windows media center

In the recently concluded BUILD 2015 we learned about many useful new features and changes that will come along with Windows 10 But with all these new features coming in, there are some that have to come out. That will be the case of Windows Media Center, Microsoft's interface/application for multimedia PCs, which will no longer be available from the next version of Windows, not even as a paid add-on (which is how it was offered in Windows 8/8.1).

Windows Media Center was released in 2002 as a special edition of Windows XP, designed for computers with reception/ TV and DVD recording, which were accompanied by a remote control with the classic green Windows icon.With the advent of Vista, Media Center went from being offered as a separate edition of Windows to being a feature included in the premium consumer editions: Home Premium and Ultimate

Finally, in 2009 what would be the last stable version of Windows Media Center was released, included in the Home Premium, Pro, and Ultimate versions of Windows 7. At this point, Media Center already offered integration with Netflix and other online services through add-ons, integration with Xbox 360, and other interesting features.

However, due to the low use by users (infinitesimal, according to Microsoft), and the cost for the company to license the codecs necessary for the operation of Media Center, in Windows 8 it was decided to stop including it, becoming offered as a paid add-on, available for 9.99 dollars for users of the Pro edition, and for 99.99 dollars for users of the standard edition.

That's why while none of the Windows 10 builds released so far came with Media Center integrated, fans of this feature were hoping that could still be installed as a paid extension This hope is dashed after Redmond confirmed in a private meeting at BUILD 2015 in San Francisco that will not release no add-ons that restore Media Center functionality in Windows 10

This is not so unexpected when we consider that Windows Media Center development has been h alted for 6 years, after the team at His charge was dissolved in 2009, moving to the Xbox and Windows divisions. In addition, the cord-cutting trend in the United States and the rest of the world (abandoning cable TV in favor of streaming video services) made the TV recording functionality, one of the strengths of Media Center, out of the question. increasingly irrelevant.

Alternatives for Media Center Orphans

According to Microsoft's own telemetry data, the majority of those who used Media Center did so to play DVDs If this is our case , the market is full of free and paid applications that can perform the same task, such as CyberLink PowerDVD, VLC or AllPlayer.

For those who use Media Center to play and record television, MediaPortal may be useful, a free and very complete equivalent that includes DVR functionality, and also has an interesting ecosystem of extensions to your surroundings. Same goes for XBMC (now called Kodi).

Another idea is to buy a Xbox One, a console that today is capable of completely replacing Windows Media Center in its functions multimedia and TV playback (even offering to stream this content to mobile phones and tablets inside the house).

And for those who, despite all this, want to continue using Media Center, the only solution left is to refuse the free upgrade to Windows 10 and continue using Windows 7(or Windows 8.1 with the Media Center Pack). This is not such a bad idea considering that both operating systems will have extended support until 2020 and 2023, respectively.

Via | ZDnet