Microsoft Windows Media Center was first introduced in 2001 as a separate Windows XP version, but the software giant stopped updating it in 2009. The company is now reportedly planning to kill off the Media Center in Windows 10, which means that PCs which are upgraded from previous Windows version will not have this feature, and there will be no way to get it back.
In conversation with ZDNet at the Build developers’ conference in San Francisco, a Microsoft executive confirmed that there will be no update to the company’s Media Center software for Windows 10. If a user tries to install the most recent build of Windows 10 on a PC running Media Center, they will get a message which states, “Uninstall this app now because it isn’t compatible with Windows 10.”
Windows Media Center’s basic functionality included ‘file media player, broadcast TV recording and playback, DVD playback control, CD playback, photo display, media sharing and controlling the channels for TV watching through an attached TV tuner card’, elaborated Venture Beat. It came pre-installed in Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate editions, and all Windows 7 editions. Later, it was also available on Windows 8 Pro and Windows 8.1 Pro.
Users who do not upgrade their PCs to Windows 10 will still be able to run it on their Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 Pro. The company says these users will get support through 2020 and 2023 respectively.
