TheGreenButton - Windows Media Center Forums

I have been trying to upgrade my MCE computer with 10Gbe networking. Not for MCE but a general project in my house. Having some issues with compatibility and drivers and the like. Know Windows 8.1 would be easier to work with, like or dislike the OS. Is it fair to say that using Windows 8.1, a Ceton PCI-E tuner with Cable Card, not concerned about DRM, would be easier to configure and maintain going forward then Windows 10 and injecting MCE into it? Know already they changed things so that I guess cable cards won't work in them anymore with Windows 10 so then was like why not Windows 8.1? It's at least newer than Windows 7.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

JR

It's harder to get MCE activated in Windows 8.1 than Windows 7.

Besides cable card tuners, last I checked Extenders didn't work either

Quick update, maybe? I got a new SSD even though the speed in an old machine is limited but better anyway at loading. Install Windows 8.1. Couldn't get PlayReady installed. Found it manually and installed it manually. Then the installer skipped over it during the install as apparently even if I didn't care about protected content it wouldn't skip the install. Knock on wood, everything is working well on Windows 8.1 and the computer is super more compatible with newer hardware and drivers than Windows 7.

What I'm curious about as a still supported platform is MCE on Windows 8.1 still actually maintained physically? Know after Windows 7 stopped being updated like the TV shows switched to MP4 broadcasts or something and Microsoft added in one update for it and stopped. Think because of that in Windows 7 with the extenders jumping thru video locks up from time to time.

MCE is not maintained. If you are lucky it may possibly be checked that it still works when other (maintained) parts of 8.1 get updates. Microsoft long ago disbanded their Media Center group.

jriker1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 27, 2022 3:25 pm...
Know after Windows 7 stopped being updated like the TV shows switched to MP4 broadcasts or something and Microsoft added in one update for it and stopped.

While I'm not familiar with the entire history of WMC, I do know that MPEG4 (H.264) stream broadcasts were supported by WMC before they stopped supporting Windows 7 and before they stopped supporting WMC. Although there were not many service providers using MPEG4 at the time, so I'm guessing that's why there are still bugs that were never resolved (although for the most part it seems to work).

I'm not sure, but I think that MPEG4 support came with the WTV file format (before that WMC used DVR-MS format), and this format was first used by Windows 7 WMC, and they even had a "TV Pack" that you could install to upgrade Vista Media Center to work with the WTV format (and record MPEG4 streams).

EDIT: According to this link, it looks list the "TV Pack" did not add H.264 support to Vista WMC, but it did add the WTV file format, and support for recording and storing other video formats.