Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center
	Windows Media Center on Windows 8.1
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Operating system	Included with: Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows Vista (Home Premium and Ultimate editions); Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise editions); Also available for: Windows 8 (Pro with Media Center only); Windows 8.1 (Pro with Media Center only);
Predecessor	DVD Player (Windows)
Successor	Windows DVD Player (Windows 10)
Type	Digital video recorder and media player
Website	Last archive.org copy of defunct full site; Current support.microsoft.com article;

Windows Media Center (WMC) is a digital video recorder and media player created by Microsoft. Media Center was first introduced to Windows in 2002 on Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE). It was included in Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista, as well as all editions of Windows 7 except Starter and Home Basic. It was also available on Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8.1 Pro as a paid add-on. It was discontinued as of Windows 10 and the operating system also removes all of Windows Media Center during an upgrade from previous versions of Windows, although it can reportedly be unofficially reinstalled using a series of Command Prompt commands.^[1]^[2]^{[better source needed]}

Media Center can play slideshows, videos and music from local hard drives, optical drives and network locations. Users can stream television programs and films through selected services such as Netflix. Content can be played back on computer monitors or on television sets through the use of devices called Windows Media Center Extenders. It is also possible to watch and pause live TV. Up to six TV tuners on a tuner card are supported simultaneously. Both standard- and high-definition unencrypted video are supported through DVB-T and ATSC standards. It is possible to view encrypted cable television channels by using an internal or external tuner that supported CableCARD.

Shortly after Windows 7's 2009 release, Microsoft disbanded the Media Center development team, thus abandoning any further software developments. Consequently, the Media Center interface remained unchanged for Windows 8 and 8.1 users. In May 2015, Microsoft announced that Windows Media Center would be discontinued on Windows 10, and that it would be removed when upgrading; but stated that those upgrading from a version of Windows that included the Media Center application would receive the paid Windows DVD Player app for free to maintain DVD playback functionality.^[3]

^ "Possible to port WMC from Win10 Preview builds to Final?". www.thegreenbutton.tv. December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
^ "[DISCUSSION] Patch WMC to run on Windows 10 final & possible alternatives". forums.mydigitallife.net. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
^ Paul, Ian (July 29, 2015). "How to play DVDs in Windows 10 for free". PCWorld. IDG.

[1] "Possible to port WMC from Win10 Preview builds to Final?". www.thegreenbutton.tv. December 30, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2020.

[2] "[DISCUSSION] Patch WMC to run on Windows 10 final & possible alternatives". forums.mydigitallife.net. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.

[pcw-dvdplayer-3] Paul, Ian (July 29, 2015). "How to play DVDs in Windows 10 for free". PCWorld. IDG.

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