Windows 8 FAQ: DVD playback and Windows Media Center

[JoeP517]

The latest building Windows 8 blog post - FAQ - DVD playback and Windows Media Center in Windows 8.

Joe

[Tinto Tech]

I have kept a fairly open mind about Windows 8 and am waiting with interest to download the RP in a few weeks time. However, in my opinion, the news that the codecs will not be included for DVD playback in Windows 8 is bad news.

All the talk has been about Media Centre, but as far as I can see this affects Media Player too. Very few people use Media Centre, but lots of people use Media Player. Steve Sinofsky says that, in part, it's justified because "millions of PC's couldn't play DVD's due to the lack of optical drives". I find that hard to understand - the only consumer or SOHO grade machines that I have come across without optical drives are netbooks which run Win7 Starter and that does not support DVD playback anyway.

OK, I can install VLC media player in a couple of minutes, but that's not the point. The average user has become accustomed to being able to drop a DVD into the tray and have it fire up and play via Media Player. They will not like having to search out a 3rd party tool to do something that was built into Windows 7. Worse, many will not know about those applications and may feel they have to pay a large whack to upgrade to Windoes 8 Pro to get DVD playback.

Why not simply add the codec licence cost onto the Windows 8 licence and make it cost-invisible? It's only a couple of dollars.

In the end, I suspect most consumer machines that will ship with Windows 8 will be from OEM's and my guess is they will fix this omission by including 3rd party licenced software such as Roxio, VLC, Nero or others.

[mlg63]

Read the PC Magazine article about this "No DVD playback, No Problem" here-- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404028,00.asp

[Poltor]

Typical Microsoft - tells its customers what they can and cannot do!
Not only that, it makes sure you cannot do what you could do before - by removing it!
I must admit, though, that many 3rd party programs are better than Microsoft's version!

[cavehomme]

Fail.

Win 8 is turning out to be another disaster. If I were a major shareholder I would be demanding massive changes at MS and starting with the removal of Ballmer and Sinofsky. They are dangerous in my opinion. This will be just one more justification for customers to buy Apple or try out linux on their existing equipment - I have, and for most tasks and users it is easier than Windows in normal daily operation of web browsing, email, wp, spreadsheets, photos and music.

[Medico]

Have you actually even tested Win 8? If you prefer Apple or Linux then go for it. You can add to the 5 or 6 % of the world's market share those 2 OS's combined have. If you include phones, perhaps the number increases to 10%.

There is so much more than Media Center or Media Player in Win 8. I also use 3rd party apps for specialized apps and plan to continue to do so. I find 3rd party apps are more full featured in many cases than the Windows apps included with the OS. This definitely does not distract from the quality of the OS.

Win 8 is definitely not a disaster. In fact it is a very polished OS at this time in the beta testing phase. I spend 100% of my time in Win 8 CP and am able to do everything on Win 8 CP that I do with my Win 7 OS. For some things it is actually better than Win 7. My PC actually interacts with the other PC's on my home network better from Win 8 CP than from Win 7. I also like IE 10 (Desktop version) better than IE 9.

You are entitled to your opinion but at least spend the time doing the testing of Win 8 CP and shortly Win 8 RP.

[duncanphilpstate]

I agree re the average user (btw: has anyone ever met one?). For an insight into what might be coming at them, M'soft should take a look at the user reaction when Lenovo crippled the sound card in their Thinkpad range of laptops a couple of years ago - the echoes have still not quite faded. (try googling "lenovo thinkpad stereo mix")

[alan sh]

I use Media Player in Windows 7 to manage all my CDs and rip them to MP3. How do I do this in Windows 8?

[frequentbiter]

To lots of users of Windows, Media Player is like a gift of candy. Something you didn't ask for, but it sure is nice to get it. Take it away and you miss it and wonder sometimes what is was like to get an unexpected pleasure. Microsoft saves pennies on an over priced Operating System installatioin. Microsoft will later be saying "there goes my market! I must follow them for I am their leader".

[Tiktaalik]

Many businesses and other enterprises would prefer not to have DVD playback available to all their Windows users. And not including it for them is worth more money than many of us can picture. If I were Microsoft though, I would have made it a free download for users who actually want it. That would avoid wasted dollars, and buy a lot of goodwill.

[CraigSH]

It's quite obvious that everyone is missing the point about MonopolySoft removing DVD playback in Win 8 (now officially called Windows ME3).

ME3 was and is being written for tablet and phone use only. How may tablets or cell phones have built in DVD players?

MonoploySoft is trying to rid the world of power users and put everyone on the same level.

[johngaz]

More ammo to the " I am a pc" vs "I am a Mac" debate. Imagine a version of MAC that will not include DVD playback! Only MS knows how to screw up a good thing!

[calikoala]

there are lots of apps that are not installed as a default item when installing windows, why not just make WMP be one of those not installed by default options. then businesses wont have it installed and users can install it if they want it...

[Hop]

<snip> MonoploySoft is trying to rid the world of power users and put everyone on the same level.

Well, duh! Isn't doing that at the top of the New World Order agenda? Go ahead and insert another Blu-Ray disk, buy a bigger LCD flat-screen TV, sit back and ignore how the world is changing around you. Frogs never notice the pot of water is approaching boiling temperature until it is too late to jump out.

[Medico]

Alan, Win 8 will still be able to handle your CD's. What is being removed is DVD playback from media player. Media Center will be a paid add on app.

Craig, you obviously do not have a clue what you are talking about. Have you even looked at Win 8. I am using Win 8 CP right now on a laptop PC using the Desktop UI (as I am almost 100% of the time). I do not have a tablet or Windows phone, nor do I intend to acquire either, but I may very well buy Win 8 when it is released in the final version. The Desktop UI works very well in Win 8 CP. If fact it works better than Win 7 in some ways. I know many others that are using Win 8 CP on a desktop PC using the Desktop UI almost exclusively as well. Win 8 CP works equally as well whether you have a tablet, phone or conventional PC. Please get you facts correct before bad mouthing what appears to be an excellent offering from Microsoft. If you wish to use a product from someone else, by all means do so and go to their forums. I'm sure they would be glad to listen to your bad mouthing Windows as much as you like.