Is there a charge for Windows 8 Media Center?

Computer Store News Today Microsoft released a new blog post detailing that Windows 8 will include Media Center and is available at an optional extra cost. And you can be sure that Media Center is not part of the Windows "Future Entertainment" strategy. In this blog post, Microsoft begins by emphasizing that “Windows 8 will provide the top audiovisual entertainment experience”. Microsoft also announced that Windows Media Center will appear on Windows at an optional extra charge and will require the Windows 8 Pro version. This means that if you are running a low-level version of Windows 8, you will need to upgrade your system to Win8 Pro and install the Media Center Pack. Media Center includes DVD playback (Media Player will not include this feature), broadcast TV recording and playback (DBV-T/S, ISDB-S/T, DMBH, and ATSC), and VOB format playback.
Microsoft said that Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all system versions, but Media Center or third-party software is required to play DVDs. That is, you need to buy your own DVD player software, or an OEM manufacturer. The Windows 8 Media Center Pack will take the form of Windows Anytime Upgrade, an add-on feature called Windows 8. This means that it is already included in the Windows 8 installation package and needs to be unlocked. Of course, Windows 8 includes a large number of decoders, the goal is to cover all major media playback, such as Youtube, Netflix, Amazon H.264 streaming media, Hulu, Mp4, AVCHD for camcorders, Ultraviolet video and HTML5 video. . The article pointed out that Metro style apps can add their decoders, such as FLAC, MKV and OGG.


no suspected that Microsoft made this decision because of money. In particular, OEM partners want to reduce costs. For example, technologies such as Dolby decoding are included in the advanced version of Windows Media Center, while the base version of Windows requires a fee to upgrade to the advanced version to be owned, and OEMs can reduce the license fee for this part. Microsoft did not disclose price information, saying it will announce the price near the release date. However, it implies that the price of the Media Center Pack is tied to the cost of the edge. This means that Microsoft is trying to reclaim the cost of the codec, but it does not treat it as a profitable profit center. In the blog post comments, Steve Sinofshy made a more detailed supplement: “The marginal cost is very small, very honest, we just have not yet determined the final price. … Our goal is to spend only a single digit of money, but we can't control the true edge cost. ” This decision provides an opportunity for third-party software companies like CyberLink to offer DVD playback software to OEMs. For "the future entertainment strategy of Windows", it is certain that Microsoft is not talking about Media Center. Microsoft disbanded the Media Center development team last year and its members joined the Xbox and Zune projects. For Windows 8, Microsoft seems to be saying that we are retaining the legacy of Media Center. But on Windows 9, will Microsoft continue to maintain this choice? Maybe we should care a lot about Metor apps, they are the real future.