Windows 8 Release Preview

[CWatkinsNash]

Thanks for that info CWatkins- nice to know that at least in that sense it is not Vista!

Haha, no, not in that sense. But sadly, it may be in many other ways. But since it looks like 8 is the last hurrah for MC, I suppose I should be glad that 7 will be the next XP. There's zero good reason to upgrade my desktop or primary laptops to 8, but sporadic Vista-style adoption will probably ensure an extended support life for 7.

Heck, even as much as I enjoy 8 on my Duo, I can't see myself buying it when the preview expires in January. I'm basically using it as a portable TV / media player. Putting more money into it would be silly even by my standards. I'd rather spend the money upgrading my network to make better use of what I already have.

[JazJon]

has anyone tried the linksys DMA 2100 as an extender with the release preview yet? Does it still get the black screen on start up?
I've tried to get W8 Release Preview media center to open up in a VM using Java Virtual Box but i get a black screen with that too!!! ive never had so much trouble getting a VM to work properly!

i work in the IT industry too and i showed it to a few of our power user staff and they laughed at Windows 8 asking what the hell have they done with the start button, its a mess and too complicated.
I dont think ill be upgrading our systems to Win 8. It's a shame as there was so much potential after Windows 7!

I really hope the non-Xbox extenders will be supported in Windows 8! So far non of the pre-release versions of Windows 8 seem to work. :-/

[pduncan1963]

I'v been running Windows 8 Preview build 9200 for about two weeks now and really really like it. But, for some reason, I can not find the option to add Media Center. All of the instructions that are commonly posted do not work. I have NO idea what I am doing wrong. When it comes to adding (remove) features, the only option under Media Services is Media Player, which is [checked] and laready installed. It is really weird.

Anyone have any clue what might be going on. Mybe operator head space and timing?

[gcoupe]

It sounds as though you have the RTM version of Windows 8. If so, then as far as I know, you'll have to wait until October 26th, when Microsoft will throw the switch to make it possible to add Media Center to that version.

Update: yes, the switch won't be thrown until October 26th. Here's a long thread on the issue, complete with Steven Sinofsky chiming in:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/For ... afcc0e675c

[pduncan1963]

It sounds as though you have the RTM version of Windows 8. If so, then as far as I know, you'll have to wait until October 26th, when Microsoft will throw the switch to make it possible to add Media Center to that version.

Update: yes, the switch won't be thrown until October 26th. Here's a long thread on the issue, complete with Steven Sinofsky chiming in:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/For ... afcc0e675c

Well that just blows chunks !! I guess that's what I get for free eh??

[JazJon]

It sounds as though you have the RTM version of Windows 8. If so, then as far as I know, you'll have to wait until October 26th, when Microsoft will throw the switch to make it possible to add Media Center to that version.

Update: yes, the switch won't be thrown until October 26th. Here's a long thread on the issue, complete with Steven Sinofsky chiming in:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/For ... afcc0e675c

So lame, I'm close to being ready to take the plunge now that My Channel Logos works! The last holdup is Ceton to make sure I can enable more than 4 tuners. They said they are aware of the problem and don't have a fix yet.

[SinisterEngr]

Is everyone with a cablecard tuner just planning on doing the 7 -> 8 migration with the "upgrade" path (so as to preserve any copy protected recordings)? Has anyone tried this with the release preview and verified their copy protected content still plays (or could you even do an "upgrade" with the release preview)?

I have only ever done a clean install before when changing OS versions, so I am hesitant, to say the least .

[MinistryOfMagic]

I'm planning on upgrading from 7 -> 8, but not until Ceton announces support for 8 tuners under Windows 8. I have too many copy protected recordings, I can't afford to loose. My wife won't be happy if I lost those.

[STC]

^^ I have a feeling an upgrade to Windows 8 from 7 would force the creation of new DRM keys and prevent your copy protected shows from being played again.
I'm not 100% sure but it seems logical such a process would occur.

I'm guessing If you go Windows 8, you will have to start again with any copy protected material.

[Venom51]

Don't do it...it's simply not worth the hassle.

I do like a lot of the changes on the server side though. It's not that I hate 8 at all it's just counter productive to move to it at this point.

[adam1991]

Is everyone with a cablecard tuner just planning on doing the 7 -> 8 migration

No.

I built a DVR. It works. I have no reason to "fix" it.

I did *not* build a box to fiddle with. WAF is an issue.

Absolute best case, I build a whole new one, get it all configured, then move the tuner over and tweak everything.

Then I leave *that* alone.

[barnabas1969]

I don't see a benefit in moving to Win8 at this point in time. It doesn't seem to offer anything new in the HTPC arena, and several people have been unable to get extenders to work with it. We will need to wait until the final release to see if extenders will work correctly. Even then, if it doesn't add anything new, why bother?

[Ack]

Is everyone with a cablecard tuner just planning on doing the 7 -> 8 migration

No.

I built a DVR. It works. I have no reason to "fix" it.

I did *not* build a box to fiddle with. WAF is an issue.

Absolute best case, I build a whole new one, get it all configured, then move the tuner over and tweak everything.

Then I leave *that* alone.

I totally agree here. I've been using Windows 8 at work and am trying out the 90 eval at home. I'm learning to like it (admittedly though I'm looking towards a full Windows tablet in the future so that may be causing me to be biased). However, I won't touch my two perfectly functioning HTPC's at home until I absolutely have to.

[richard1980]

I didn't build a box to just leave alone, and I'm not upgrading to Windows 8. No change in WMC = no reason to change the underlying OS.

[foxwood]

My 7MC box is working fine, and I don't need to upgrade it - yet.

But it's possible that in a years time, or when Windows 8 SP1 comes out, it might be a more compelling solution. But at that point, Windows 8 Pro, will probably cost $200 again.

I'm wondering if I can buy the $39.99 upgrade that will only be available for 3 months, and just not use it for a year (or 2)? Or will I have to have to make an image backup of my current system, install the upgrade and install Media Center, make an image of that and then re-install the Windows 7 image? Then in 2014, when 8MC is more compelling, I can just pop the new image on the system. Or will the upgrade de-activate my Win7 key?

[Ack]

My 7MC box is working fine, and I don't need to upgrade it - yet.

But it's possible that in a years time, or when Windows 8 SP1 comes out, it might be a more compelling solution. But at that point, Windows 8 Pro, will probably cost $200 again.

I'm wondering if I can buy the $39.99 upgrade that will only be available for 3 months, and just not use it for a year (or 2)? Or will I have to have to make an image backup of my current system, install the upgrade and install Media Center, make an image of that and then re-install the Windows 7 image? Then in 2014, when 8MC is more compelling, I can just pop the new image on the system. Or will the upgrade de-activate my Win7 key?

Those are some of the questions I wonder too. I'm hoping I can buy and just use it when I want.

[bobbob]

just buy the licence from the MS Store then download it when you're ready. i imagine thats how i'll do it

[foxwood]

just buy the licence from the MS Store then download it when you're ready. i imagine thats how i'll do it

That might work for the Win8 Pro upgrade, but I understand that the Media Center upgrade is an additional addon, and that addon will be free at first, but because it won't be available until the 26th, it's not still clear to me whether it will be possible to "bank" the Media Center add-on for future use, or whether it'll be necessary to purchase it seperately from jan 31st 2013 on.

It's looking more and more like I'll be sticking with 7MC until I ditch cable altogether, and switch over to network streaming from Netflix/Amazon. At which point it's not clear that I'll even need a HTPC - a Roku might be sufficient.

[Venom51]

Data de-duplication may be the feature that sways me. I built a VM copy of my file server and upgraded it to Server 2012 and de-duped the volume that I store our files on and that show a 25% reduction in the space used on the disk to store the same amount of files. That's going to be a very nice feature to have.