Windows 8 no native DVD playback, But Adds Dolby Digital +

[newfiend]

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-an ... -explained

A nice little tidbit about WMC in Windows 8.. Like DVD Playback built into Windows 7? forget it in Windows 8.. I honestly could care less as I use TMT5 anyway for that.. but some of you might not be too happy. You will be able to add DVD Playback to it though by purchasing the WMC add-on to Windows 8 but DVD playback in WMP as we know it will be gone.

Want Dolby Digital Plus in Windows 8??... You Got It! http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-8-ge ... io-support
I would imagine this will also be supported in WMC 8.
newfiend~

[cjmccarthy72]

But if you check the links, there is a debate about whether DD+ is actually a gain- in a couple of meanings.

And seriously no DVD support in Windows Media Player- I hoped by now we would have Blu-Ray support. Of course we use PowerDVD, TMT5 etc, but I still have WMP as the default for DVD use by my family as it is so much easier, quicker and less bloat/strain for my PC- switching to Win7 basic desktop etc. when PowerDVD starts up. When the average Joe puts a DVD in and it does not play.....

I think there are some guys in Microsoft who seriously want Steve Ballmer fired on day 1 of Win8's release. I thought Windows 8 was starting to look like a car crash for us desktop users- now it's looking like an 8 lane motorway pile up!

I will certainly pass and stick with Win7 for the next 3 - 4 years at least.

[richard1980]

Here is the official blog post: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012 ... ows-8.aspx

This is what bothers me:

"Acquiring either the Windows 8 Media Center Pack or the Windows 8 Pro Pack gives you Media Center, including DVD playback (in Media Center, not in Media Player), broadcast TV recording and playback (DBV-T/S, ISDB-S/T, DMBH, and ATSC), and VOB file playback."

If I'm reading that correctly, W8 will not support CableCARD or NTSC tuners (NTSC tuners should still be beneficial for analog cable subscribers). Surely that's not right...doesn't the consumer preview support CableCARD tuners?


Oh, and you can forget about Microsoft ever supporting Blu-ray. First, Blu-ray requires Java, and it's doubtful Microsoft will ever get into the Java business again. Second, Microsoft said a long time ago that Blu-ray was basically just a temporary trend, and the above blog post confirms they are still in that frame of mind.

[cjmccarthy72]

"Microsoft said a long time ago that Blu-ray was basically just a temporary trend"

I take it that you are being ironic with your choice of words- I have wanted it- but know I am not about to get it- since before the launch of Vista- almost 3 operating systems ago- clearly if MS see Blu-Ray as temporary, they must see their own OS as blink and you miss it!

[makryger]

Big mistake, Microsoft. Yes, I have TMT for blurays, but DVD playback in media center is much more of a smooth experience, and it was what I used normally. Plus for people who don't use media center, they still want to be able to put DVDs into their computer and play them without extra software. Everyone keeps yelling for blu-ray support... and not only does microsoft refuse, but they make a big step backwards to the olden days of people asking for DVD and VOB support. Yeesh.

Remember that feeling we had from the get-go that Windows 7 was going to be awesome? Well, since I first started hearing about W8, I had the feeling it was going to be a a disaster, and every new piece of news keeps proving my point. I really don't see any reason to switch to Windows 8.

Microsoft is just asking to lost market-share with Windows 8. And apple is just patiently waiting to pick up the pieces.

[cjmccarthy72]

From what I can see from the press release, WMC will play DVDs- but of course the average user will never upgrade to Proplus- or whatever it is called....
It is WMP which is used by more of the public which will never play DVDs.

[STC]

Isn't it every other O/S that MS launch the best one? We've gone from Vista to good Windows 7, now for a lemon, Windows 8, then in another few years we will have a good O/S again.

[cjmccarthy72]

Isn't it every other O/S that MS launch the best one? We've gone from Vista to good Windows 7, now for a lemon, Windows 8, then in another few years we will have a good O/S again.

....like the sequence of Star Trek movies, although with the movies odd numbered is bad, even numbered is good!!

[richard1980]

"Microsoft said a long time ago that Blu-ray was basically just a temporary trend"

I take it that you are being ironic with your choice of words- I have wanted it- but know I am not about to get it- since before the launch of Vista- almost 3 operating systems ago- clearly if MS see Blu-Ray as temporary, they must see their own OS as blink and you miss it!

No, I'm not being ironic at all. Here are the exact words said by Stephen McGill of Microsoft in September 2010:

"...actually Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format. People have moved through from DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay. So, who needs Blu-ray?"

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news ... -More.html

[milli260876]

I'm going to load xbmcbuntu and for the record tomorrow I think, anyone care to join me ???

[kingwr]

If I'm reading that correctly, W8 will not support CableCARD or NTSC tuners (NTSC tuners should still be beneficial for analog cable subscribers).

Perhaps they cannot say it until W8 is CableLabs certified.

[JazJon]

I've been a windows media center fan since the day it came out ages ago. I'm happy to hear Windows 8 will continue to support my cablecard tuner and my movies integration. This is all good news to me. Sure there is speculation of what will happen by the time Windows 9 comes around, but at least we are guaranteed a future for now. I only see good news here

[nxsfan]

I'm going to load xbmcbuntu and for the record tomorrow I think, anyone care to join me ???

I'm pretty bummed about how this has all worked out but will begin investigating other options soon. What is "for the record"? I've seen there is a MythTV client for windows - has anyone tried this out?

[cjmccarthy72]

"Microsoft said a long time ago that Blu-ray was basically just a temporary trend"

I take it that you are being ironic with your choice of words- I have wanted it- but know I am not about to get it- since before the launch of Vista- almost 3 operating systems ago- clearly if MS see Blu-Ray as temporary, they must see their own OS as blink and you miss it!

No, I'm not being ironic at all. Here are the exact words said by Stephen McGill of Microsoft in September 2010:

"...actually Blu-ray is going to be passed by as a format. People have moved through from DVDs to digital downloads and digital streaming, so we offer full HD 1080p Blu-ray quality streaming instantly, no download, no delay. So, who needs Blu-ray?"

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news ... -More.html

I wanted native Blu-Ray in 2007 when I got a Sony XL202 HTPC and I still want it in May 2012 now I own an ASRock 3d Vision HTPC. Yes I use streaming (Blinkbox- Netflix for the UK) but I also prefer 1080p blu-rays and no buffering (we get at least 3 blu-rays a week via Lovefilm postal service and so use my bluray on my PC almost every night). Yes Blu-Ray will disappear in the future but this temporary medium will probably outlast individual Microsoft OS to the power of 5. I know we will never get it, Java etc, but it still annoys. My wife is fine with all aspects of MCE but she is always thrown by the 3rd party blu-ray apps needed- TunerFreeMCE by Milliesoft/Martin Millmore is much better intergrated she finds!

[cjmccarthy72]

I've been a windows media center fan since the day it came out ages ago. I'm happy to hear Windows 8 will continue to support my cablecard tuner and my movies integration. This is all good news to me. Sure there is speculation of what will happen by the time Windows 9 comes around, but at least we are guaranteed a future for now. I only see good news here

Or just save your money if there are no major improvements in WMC in Windows 8- and stick with Windows 7?

[mark1234]

This is further proof that MS sees no future in Media Centre. The post is littered with comments signalling that it is being made available for Win8, but forget about it for Win9. I agree with makryger that Win8 has just never had any good vibes around it, in stark contrast to Win7. I think I'll be sticking with Win7 on my machines (certainly on my Media Centre machine).

continue to support Media Center for another product lifecycle

But not beyond?

telemetry data and user research shows us that the vast majority of video consumption on the PC and other mobile devices is coming from online sources

This was obvious even before Win7 was released, so why is Media Centre so poor in this regard?

DVD & broadcast TV consumption, which are in sharp decline

Watching broadcast TV on PCs ... has also declined steadily

require a specialized set of decoders (and hardware) that cost a significant amount in royalties

some indication of Media Center Pack pricing, it will be in line with marginal costs

So I guess we'll get to see how "significant" those royalties are.

[milli260876]

I'm going to load xbmcbuntu and for the record tomorrow I think, anyone care to join me ???

I'm pretty bummed about how this has all worked out but will begin investigating other options soon. What is "for the record"? I've seen there is a MythTV client for windows - has anyone tried this out?

For the record is the tv client for xbmc..

[richard1980]

I'm going to load xbmcbuntu and for the record tomorrow I think, anyone care to join me ???

I'm pretty bummed about how this has all worked out but will begin investigating other options soon. What is "for the record"? I've seen there is a MythTV client for windows - has anyone tried this out?

Why would you want to run MythTV on Windows when Linux is free?

[bobbob]

this is reading the same as the thread on the old tgb, which i religiously avoided after the first few pages. i know technology fans love to pontificate but perhaps you could wait for it to be released in its final format before we all write it off and sart suggesting ridiculous things such as xmbc and the like

[trooper11]

I really have to wonder how many windows users really use it to playback dvds through windows media player. I know some of you seem to think that this is such a huge deal and that it would send consumers to apple in droves, but I really don't think that is true.

Just as the mce community is rather small, I would bet that those using wmp to play dvds is as small or smaller.

Of course I don't like to see features taken away in a new OS, but since I wasn't using the feature myself, I can't say I'm broken up about it. I'm way more interested in finding out how much the media pack will cost in order to get WMC (which will play dvds). If the royalty costs for the codec support are high enough, then MS may have done this in order to hit very low price points selling to oems, especially tablet manufacturers. I can't blame there, even if I wish there was enough demand for them to more aggressively support this stuff.

I'm on the fence about Win8 in general right now. for my media center needs, I will probably stick with 7 until we see some real improvements to 8MC or Metro apps to replace media center functionality (i.e. if the mediabrowser team embraces Metro and puts out an app, i'll be buying day one to support them). For my general use pcs, I'll likely be upgrading thanks to the improvements to the desktop. Metro could be useful on the desktop if the apps are good, otherwise itll be just a start screen for me. Of course it will be alot better on a tablet.