So, if you want DVD playback on Windows 8.x, you need Windows Media Center or a third party alternative.Īs part of the Windows 8 promotion, Microsoft has given away Windows Media Center keys for free to interested users. You may remember that it did play them on Windows 7. The program has been crippled by Microsoft as it does not play DVD movies anymore. RIP Media Center.Windows 8.1, just like Windows 8, ships with Windows Media Player by default. So, what will happen if Microsoft does abandon broadcast flag compliance? I’m betting that’s not a real question because I don’t think the company will. This will not only provide market leverage for other DTV recorder vendors that ignore the flag but will help reinforce the argument that open source products have the advantage where control and functionality are issues. I’d guess the company won’t disable broadcast flag compliance, which means the Windows Media Center product line will wither. What is intriguing is that Microsoft looks to have painted itself into a corner. The goal is to extract as much money from us as they can for each and every use of each and every media item, and Microsoft is making it clear who it is aligned with. Big Media’s plan is to absolutely control how we consume music, movies, books and any other copyrighted material, no matter how inconvenient or unfair the controls are. This is a clear case of Microsoft conspiring with Big Media to do what Big Media wants regardless of whether consumers object or not. In other words, Microsoft has sided with broadcasters to enforce the Big Media’s DRM requirements! Really? So, despite the fact that there are actually no “rules” or “regulations” to be obeyed, by law Microsoft has complied. As part of these regulations, Windows Media Center fully adheres to the flags used by broadcasters and content owners to determine how their content is distributed and consumed.” Yep, it turns out that if you try to record a DTV program using Windows Media Center and the broadcast flag is set, the system will refuse to record! Not only does this means you can’t record a flagged show, you can’t even pause it while you go make a sandwich or answer yet another call from a telemarketer.Īccording to c|net Microsoft defends Vista Media Center’s behavior thusly: “Microsoft included technologies in Windows based on rules set forth by the FCC. It turns out that with the rollout of DTV, one broadcaster, NBC, is using the broadcast flag and, one small company’s products are obeying it.
#Mediacenter for windows tv
The EFF challenged the FCC in 2005, and a court ruled that the FCC “lacked authority to regulate what happens inside your TV or computer once it has received a broadcast signal.”
How about sending it over your home network to another TV? Not unless you rip out your existing network and replace it with DRMd routers.” Want to burn that recording digitally to a DVD to save hard drive space? Sorry, the DRM lock-box won’t allow it. The Electronic Frontier Foundation ( EFF) commented: “When it comes to digital recording, it would be Hollywood’s DRM way or the highway. And the FCC, bowing deeply to pressure from Big Media, mandated that all DTV tuners monitor transmissions for the broadcast flag and block certain functions, such as the ability to record. The broadcast flag was supposed to deliver what was euphemistically called “content protection” for television (more accurately it was Digital Rights Management or DRM). You probably thought the issue of the broadcast flag, that marker that was to be included in broadcast signals to indicate that a program was not to be recorded, was dead and gone. Early adopters have discovered that nearby aircraft and other radio frequency sources cause serious reception and interference problems. The problem is that DTV isn’t flawless and, indeed, arguably it is not even on a par with traditional analog television.
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