Viewing TV in Windows 8

marko_polo1234

Hi all,
Upgraded to Windows 8 last weekend, very impressed with it, but I just have one problem. There's no Windows Media Centre installed on my computer to view TV. I had it in my previous version of Windows ( 7 ) that worked brilliant with my tv tuner. So was just wondering if anybody has a solution for this problem. Cheers

ITS_A_BADGER

marko_polo1234 wrote: »

Hi all,
Upgraded to Windows 8 last weekend, very impressed with it, but I just have one problem. There's no Windows Media Centre installed on my computer to view TV. I had it in my previous version of Windows ( 7 ) that worked brilliant with my tv tuner. So was just wondering if anybody has a solution for this problem. Cheers

yeah man theres a free download for it for a limited time search it out on google you have to put in your email address and get a product code for it you'll be waiting about 24 hours for it, then go and download it and put in the product code and your away

Alun

It's only available for free for Windows 8 Pro though I think. For the standard Windows 8 you have to pay for it.

stephendevlin

Alun wrote: »

It's only available for free for Windows 8 Pro though I think. For the standard Windows 8 you have to pay for it.

VLC all the way then, never thought too much of WMP

Alun

stephendevlin wrote: »

VLC all the way then, never thought too much of WMP

??? WMP is still there, it's Windows Media Center we're talking about here for watching and recording Live TV from satellite or DTT broadcasts.

How about xbmc?

Torqay

Alun wrote: »

??? WMP is still there, it's Windows Media Center we're talking about here for watching and recording Live TV from satellite or DTT broadcasts.

Whether you want to watch streams or broadcasts through a TV tuner, VLC can do that too. There's a lot more to it than just playing media files.

Alun

Torqay wrote: »

Whether you want to watch streams or broadcasts through a TV tuner, VLC can do that too. There's a lot more to it than just playing media files.

You can, it's not exactly the most user-friendly solution in the world though for everyday use for watching TV, and hardly comparable to something like WMC, MediaPortal or suchlike.

Torqay

Alun wrote: »

You can, it's not exactly the most user-friendly solution in the world though

Media > Open Capture Device ... and hit the Play button. To change channels go to Playback and select your Program.

I don't consider 2 or 3 mouse clicks particularly user-unfriendly.

Alun

Depends on your definition of user friendliness I suppose and the context in which you consume your televisual experiences

While I use VLC myself on my desktop PC to preview videos I've downloaded, I wouldn't consider using it on my HTPC connected to my main TV in the living room. MCE provides a much better user experience in that regard IMO, and the increased WAF is important too. You're welcome to disagree, of course.

Torqay

Sure, streaming media over network is a different affair. Although that's really what VLC/S (video LAN client/server) was all about originally, there are better (or rather more user-friendly) solutions today.

But to watch TV on the computer, the player is just fine.

stevek93

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IE/windows-8/feature-packs