What Will Happen to Media Center As We Know It?

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What Will Happen to Media Center as we know it.

Will live on forever in new versions of Windows
3
21%
Windows 8 is the last we'll see it
4
29%
It will be eventually Metro'd by Microsoft
0
No votes
Third Parties will create Metro App equivalents to the various parts of MC
4
29%
Who cares, something better will take it's place
3
21%
 
Total votes: 14

tommo

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What Will Happen to Media Center As We Know It?

#1

Post by tommo » Sun May 06, 2012 10:38 am

Seems strange that after about 10 years of use that my favorite bit of software that I thought originally would 'take over' the world is now almost a nuisance for microsoft.

I think 'Third Parties will create Metro App equivalents to the various parts of MC'. I personally think a remote friendly metro would be the ultimate media center machine.

gcoupe

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#2

Post by gcoupe » Sun May 06, 2012 4:06 pm

Windows 8 is the last we'll see of it AND Third Parties will supply a replacement.
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makryger

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#3

Post by makryger » Sun May 06, 2012 4:15 pm

I'll tell you what will happen- ten years from now we'll be just like those Windows XP users that refused to upgrade, because we're completely happy with our Windows 7 system.
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#4

Post by adam1991 » Sun May 06, 2012 6:29 pm

makryger wrote:I'll tell you what will happen- ten years from now we'll be just like those Windows XP users that refused to upgrade, because we're completely happy with our Windows 7 system.
ummmm.....current tense here, "refuse to upgrade".

Yep, still running XP for some stuff--because it works and works well.

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#5

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon May 07, 2012 6:32 pm

makryger wrote:I'll tell you what will happen- ten years from now we'll be just like those Windows XP users that refused to upgrade, because we're completely happy with our Windows 7 system.
When I first started working for my current employer in 1997, they were still running some really old Unisys systems on really old operating systems, with really old software that was developed in-house back in the 80's, using an older version of COBOL that had long since been retired. They were being forced to dump the old systems/OS/software because it would not work after 12/31/1999, and the parent company was unwilling to spend the money required to upgrade hardware and rewrite software.

They hired me because I had experience with the new systems and software that they were migrating to. That "new" system was the HP-3000 series of servers, running the MPE operating system, and software from what was one of our sister companies back then (and that company still exists, but all of the subsidiaries have now been assimilated into the mothership by the Borg... resistance is futile). Six years later, in 2003, HP announced the end of MPE and the HP-3000.

We just finished migrating our last customer off of MPE last month.

The moral of the story is that it's OK to "homestead" on old systems and software as long as you can still get hardware repairs and the OS/software will continue to run for the foreseeable future. I don't have any reason to leave Windows 7 at the present time. I hope that Microsoft will release a new version of Media Center that includes new features and some bug fixes to the minor annoyances that exist in Media Center today. If they do, then I'll consider moving to Windows 8. If not, I'm homesteading for the next 10 years too.

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#6

Post by trooper11 » Mon May 07, 2012 6:43 pm

I'm leaning towards a third party coming out with metro apps to give us the same functionality.

I think MS might do that, but Im starting to doubt that they want to put effort into one complete replacement. I would prefer that, but in the end I don't care who makes it as long as it works. If they can give me an app like that, I would upgrade my htpcs to Win 8.

I think the MediaBrowser guys are prime candidates to develop a robust Metro app to replace media center. It would be a huge undertaking, but they could do alot.

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#7

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon May 07, 2012 6:47 pm

I guess I should add something about the poll. I can't answer it. I agree with gcoupe. I think it will be both. I think it will not exist in versions after Windows 8, because too few people will buy it... AND something will be developed to replace it. I would hope that a company like Ceton, SD, or Hauppauge would buy the rights to Media Center and continue development of the existing product. I think that would be the most cost-effective approach (as long as Microsoft doesn't want too much money for the rights to Media Center), and would be the easiest transition for current users of Media Center.

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#8

Post by trooper11 » Mon May 07, 2012 7:44 pm

I forgot about another option that could have been on this poll.

I think WMC has a good chance of living on for a long time in its embedded form. I could see MS keeping that end alive for companies like Ceton that leverage it for dvrs and extenders.

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#9

Post by mark1234 » Mon May 07, 2012 9:01 pm

Just over three years since I killed off XP on my home PCs. Still have to run it, and Office 2003, on work's laptop though. It's almost painful to use compared to the Win7/Office 2010 setups I've been running at home for years. It was only last year they switched to IE8 from IE6.

I just hope the guide data lasts the ten years makryger mentions - though it sounds like you in the US won't much miss it in its current state.
Windows Media Centre - Abandoned by Microsoft

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#10

Post by mark1234 » Mon May 07, 2012 9:04 pm

trooper11 wrote:I forgot about another option that could have been on this poll.

I think WMC has a good chance of living on for a long time in its embedded form. I could see MS keeping that end alive for companies like Ceton that leverage it for dvrs and extenders.
Embedded WMC has hardly been a rip-roaring commercial success though. But if someone could pull it off, there is a chance there. MS only stopped supporting Windows 3.1 Embedded in 2008, seven years after ending support of regular Win3.1.
Windows Media Centre - Abandoned by Microsoft

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