More bad news for Windows 8...

[cropcircles]

Wow I never use it, when you have so many more less intrusive and bloated and controlling playback options.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

I wont lose any sleep over it, Ill just install my PowerDVD deluxe for DVD/blu-ray playback like Ive always done in the past........sorted!

agreed, PowerDVD is the best dvd/blue-ray playback software I've personally found to date and has worked great for me when i've used it

[Growled Member]

A lot of people will stay with Windows 7 based on this one fact alone.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

A lot of people will stay with Windows 7 based on this one fact alone.

... why? I guarentee you that most people won't even notice that WMP can no longer play DVDs as most computers have a 3rd party DVD/Blue-ray player installed and set as default by OEMs

[Dot Matrix]

Ed Bott is at it again, detailing why Microsoft is doing this, if you know, you wanna quit bitching over Windows 8 and go read it.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/how-much-do-dvd-and-digital-media-playback-features-really-cost/4977

[+LogicalApex MVC]

... why? I guarentee you that most people won't even notice that WMP can no longer play DVDs as most computers have a 3rd party DVD/Blue-ray player installed and set as default by OEMs

How many will notice? Who knows at this point. There may be many users who uninstall the OEM mess, but it isn't easy to get a handle around these numbers.

The reality is, as I have eluded to in previous posts, that this move is only beneficial to Microsoft. There is no cost savings that is to be passed on to users. Windows will be priced as it has always been (at the highest price Microsoft feels that get extract out of the marketplace).

Like I said previously, Microsoft isn't removing MP3 encoding/decoding support from Windows when the majority of users have iTunes which will do all of this work for them. I'm sure the engineering effort to remove the codecs, test the code path changes, and etc. are substantial enough as well... This isn't a move for cost savings...

It is purely a market segmentation play. Microsoft is removing Windows from the living room and pushing the XBOX harder into that space. The licensing excuse is just a convenient angle to play...

As I mentioned in my previous post... The Windows 7 was cheaper than Windows Vista WITH the codecs (obviously more than just codecs affect the cost of Windows, but the estimate $4 a license copy is smaller than the discount levied on 7 when compared to Vista)...

[Growled Member]

... why? I guarentee you that most people won't even notice that WMP can no longer play DVDs as most computers have a 3rd party DVD/Blue-ray player installed and set as default by OEMs

You'd be surprised what gets around about new products. Remember Vista?

[paxa]

xmbc, media portal for substitutes of media center, they both do the same thing, serve the same purpose.

media player classic or vlc also. for me it's a thing that should have been done for quite some time. wmc and media center are bloatware.

[ToneKnee]

VLC > Codecs.

[MorganX]

How many will notice? Who knows at this point. There may be many users who uninstall the OEM mess, but it isn't easy to get a handle around these numbers.

The reality is, as I have eluded to in previous posts, that this move is only beneficial to Microsoft. There is no cost savings that is to be passed on to users. Windows will be priced as it has always been (at the highest price Microsoft feels that get extract out of the marketplace).

Like I said previously, Microsoft isn't removing MP3 encoding/decoding support from Windows when the majority of users have iTunes which will do all of this work for them. I'm sure the engineering effort to remove the codecs, test the code path changes, and etc. are substantial enough as well... This isn't a move for cost savings...

It is purely a market segmentation play. Microsoft is removing Windows from the living room and pushing the XBOX harder into that space. The licensing excuse is just a convenient angle to play...

As I mentioned in my previous post... The Windows 7 was cheaper than Windows Vista WITH the codecs (obviously more than just codecs affect the cost of Windows, but the estimate $4 a license copy is smaller than the discount levied on 7 when compared to Vista)...

Few points:

-I don't think Windows ever really made it to the living room. Just didn't happen.

-They're not removing MP3 encoding because that is one thing even illiterate computer users figure out how to do.

-Pricing remains to be seen. I do believe Windows 8 will be cheaper and MS is dropping as many additional costs as it can to make up the loss. So I suppose we agree MS is doing it to benefit their bottom line and not necessarily the end user.

-I guess I'm one of the few that do use WMC. It's better and cleaner than the alternatives witht he exception of the file format, though HD quality is great. I do not however use it to play DVD movies. I'm still unclear as to why it is being removed, it's been a while, I can't remember if early versions of WMC could play back TV without a DVD codec pack.

Blu-ray is not an issue as you can't play it now without third party software. No way MS pays Sony license fees on every copies of Windows. My issue is PowerDVD is the best BD playback software but has become bloatware with some minor privacy issues. I remember when Cyberlink made codec packs only availalbe but they decided to go for the player sales. I currently use Arcsoft Total Media Theatre which is the least bloated BD player that I like.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Few points:

-I don't think Windows ever really made it to the living room. Just didn't happen.

-They're not removing MP3 encoding because that is one thing even illiterate computer users figure out how to do.

-Pricing remains to be seen. I do believe Windows 8 will be cheaper and MS is dropping as many additional costs as it can to make up the loss. So I suppose we agree MS is doing it to benefit their bottom line and not necessarily the end user.

-I guess I'm one of the few that do use WMC. It's better and cleaner than the alternatives witht he exception of the file format, though HD quality is great. I do not however use it to play DVD movies. I'm still unclear as to why it is being removed, it's been a while, I can't remember if early versions of WMC could play back TV without a DVD codec pack.

Blu-ray is not an issue as you can't play it now without third party software. No way MS pays Sony license fees on every copies of Windows. My issue is PowerDVD is the best BD playback software but has become bloatware with some minor privacy issues. I remember when Cyberlink made codec packs only availalbe but they decided to go for the player sales. I currently use Arcsoft Total Media Theatre which is the least bloated BD player that I like.

That is my point though... I highly doubt the average user is using Windows Media Player to play and encode MP3s now. They are using iTunes which has this functionality built in. The majority of users don't use Windows Media player they use another third party player (the same argument being made here about DVDs), yet no one is questioning the decision to remove DVD playback without removing any of the other codecs that users aren't really using...

I'm sure the average user probably has no clue what Windows Media Player is since they are all using iTunes...

[Princess Katie Pixie]

I won't miss DVD playback on Windows 8 since you can find your movies/tv shows and videos from the web like netflix/youtube even though it's better off for people to own discs.

So stop complaining since it won't be a big deal.

[Dot Matrix]

You guys are forgetting that Apple started this. Where's the outrage at Apple?

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/20/a-compact-death/

[MorganX]

That is my point though... I highly doubt the average user is using Windows Media Player to play and encode MP3s now. They are using iTunes which has this functionality built in. The majority of users don't use Windows Media player they use another third party player (the same argument being made here about DVDs), yet no one is questioning the decision to remove DVD playback without removing any of the other codecs that users aren't really using...

I'm sure the average user probably has no clue what Windows Media Player is since they are all using iTunes...

You've got a point but despite iPhone's dominance, there are far more windows pc users without itunes than with. There's a lot of cheap Pcs in the hands of folks that can't afford an iPhone and the associated data plan. Let's face it, two of the PCs primary uses is downloading music (not purchasing from itunes) and ripping CDs. People just double-click on an mp3 and listen to it. they don't necessarily think, Windows Media Player. I think there would be an outcry if Windows dropped MP3 codecs. I also don't know that there is the same cost associated.

MS actually makes significantly more from Office, significantly, licensing, including volume licensing, than it does from Windows licensing. I understand the DVD move. I just don't think DVD movie playback on PCs happens that much. It would be nice if the cost savings is passed on to users, but like you, I doubt that happens.

[encarta]

You guys are forgetting that Apple started this. Where's the outrage at Apple?

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/20/a-compact-death/

Shhh... That's Apple you're talking about. Everything they do is just magical. :rolleyes:

[moloko]

So does this mean that Win 8 will be much more cheaper with things like this removed?

[Knife Party]

good, i'm happy they are cutting back on licensing fees to reduce the price of the final product

[benthebear]

Shhh... That's Apple you're talking about. Everything they do is just magical. :rolleyes:

It's not that. It's just the discussion is about Microsoft removing native DVD playback from Windows. Last I checked, OS X still had DVD playback, and will still have it come 10.8. What's linking to a fanboy rant on TechCrunch have to do with this? Why would a Windows user be outraged by what Apple does with the Mac and OS X?

The only thing Apple started was shipping their OS on a thumb drive instead of a DVD, pushing the download model, and remove the optical drive from two of their products. Yes, some companies are phasing out optical media in favor for downloads, but from what I read, that's not Microsoft's reason.

Wait, will Windows 8 be able to read a data DVD? I'll look into it later.

[Dot Matrix]

Wait, will Windows 8 be able to read a data DVD? I'll look into it later.

This is only about video DVD playback. Movies.

You'll still be able to R/W Data DVD disks, and you'll still be able to install via DVD.

When most people today are subscribed to a digital services for movies, or purchasing Blu Rays, why continue to pay royalties for a dying media?

[Rickkins]

So does this mean that Win 8 will be much more cheaper with things like this removed?

Er, no, of course not.

[Southern Patriot]

60,000,000 are not using it... they only launched it. Real stats are:

"only one quarter (25% of 6%) of these people used it for more than 10 minutes per session (individual averages), and in 59% of Media Center sessions (by these 6% of users) we see almost no activity (less than a minute or two of usage).?

OK, so 1/4 of 60,000,000 is still 15,000,000 people. That's more than the population of many countries (and by many, I mean well over 100).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population

[Southern Patriot]

When most people today are subscribed to a digital services for movies, or purchasing Blu Rays, why continue to pay royalties for a dying media?

Oh, maybe because most people have a large number of DVDs that they have already purchased?

[guitmz]

meh.. i wont buy it anyway, so i dont care "yo-ho-ho" :shiftyninja:

[HawkMan]

OK, so 1/4 of 60,000,000 is still 15,000,000 people. That's more than the population of many countries (and by many, I mean well over 100).

http://en.wikipedia....s_by_population

So ? That's still hundreds and hundreds of millions of licenses that don't need it. makes more sense to sell the addon to the relatively few people who do use it than to sell it to the 98+% users who don't use it

[Brandon H Supervisor]

OK, so 1/4 of 60,000,000 is still 15,000,000 people. That's more than the population of many countries (and by many, I mean well over 100).

http://en.wikipedia....s_by_population

So ? That's still hundreds and hundreds of millions of licenses that don't need it. makes more sense to sell the addon to the relatively few people who do use it than to sell it to the 98+% users who don't use it

honestly the only thing I ever found WMC useful for was the nice TV guide and recording

I never used it for anything else and don't even use it for that anymore, my tv tuner is sitting gathering dust now because I watch most of my shows online in one place or another now