Home » You Can Now Install Windows Media Center on Windows 10, but You Shouldn’t
HTPC

You Can Now Install Windows Media Center on Windows 10, but You Shouldn’t

Windows Media Center on Windows 10

The launch of Windows 10 was in many ways a great event for Microsoft and fans of their products. It also signaled the end of an era. With the launch of Windows 10 came the next official step in the demise of Windows Media Center. The much-beloved DVR and media collection application is not included in any version of Windows 10, and it was removed from any system that had it when upgrading to Windows 10.

Many speculated that eventually some enterprising hackers would find a way to port Windows Media Center to Windows 10. Well, they have. Last week it popped up on a well-known community forum. Once they figured out how to bring WMC back they made downloadable packages and simple instructions that anyone could follow.

Of course, as one might expect, there are a lot of issues with this hacked together release of Windows Media Center. It’s unable to get guide data. Some have had trouble getting CableCARDs to activate. There have even been issues with scheduled recordings.

Even if this attempt at getting Windows Media Center running inside of Windows 10 worked perfectly it would be impossible for us to recommend. First there are the legal issues with redistributing Microsoft software. Then there are the potential security risks that come from installing software from unknown sources. In short, this is a neat project that some people worked on, but it should not be anyone’s go-to solution for setting up a Windows Media Center machine. We’re as sad as the rest community about the loss of WMC in Windows 10, but the solution is to build a machine on Windows 7 or 8.1.

Author

  • You Can Now Install Windows Media Center on Windows 10, but You Shouldn't

    Josh has been writing software since his parents brought home their first computer. His love for gadgets and technology eventually spurred a passion for home theater technology. After starting the DMZ, he received Microsoft’s MVP award for Windows Media Center. Even though the beloved home theater PC platform is all but dead he continues to tinker with consumer entertainment technology. He’s a life-long gamer and DIY smart home enthusiast. He co-hosts the Entertainment 2.0 podcast with Richard Gunther and the DMZ’s gaming podcast, Story Players, with Joe DeStazio.

Advertisement

About the author

Josh Pollard

Josh has been writing software since his parents brought home their first computer. His love for gadgets and technology eventually spurred a passion for home theater technology. After starting the DMZ, he received Microsoft’s MVP award for Windows Media Center. Even though the beloved home theater PC platform is all but dead he continues to tinker with consumer entertainment technology. He’s a life-long gamer and DIY smart home enthusiast. He co-hosts the Entertainment 2.0 podcast with Richard Gunther and the DMZ’s gaming podcast, Story Players, with Joe DeStazio.

1 Comment

Click here to post a comment