Windows Media Center

The living-room PC that arrived before streaming

Shut down
19902026

Windows Media Center turned a PC into a TV recorder and media hub, shipping with Windows XP Media Center Edition in 2002 and becoming a beloved fixture of home theatre setups. Streaming made it unnecessary, and Microsoft removed it from Windows 10 on 29 July 2015.

Timeline [edit]

  1. 2002
  2. 29 October 2002 Launch
    Windows XP Media Center Edition ships

    A remote-controlled TV and media interface for the living room.

  3. 2005
  4. 22 November 2005 Feature
    Xbox 360 becomes a Media Center Extender

    The console streams recorded TV to other rooms.

  5. 2009
  6. 22 October 2009 Peak
    Included in Windows 7

    Home theatre PCs reach their high-water mark.

  7. 2010
  8. 2010 Decline
    The development team is disbanded

    Media Center stops evolving.

  9. 2012
  10. 26 October 2012 Decline
    Windows 8 makes it a paid add-on

    The bundled era ends.

  11. 2015
  12. 4 May 2015 Shutdown announced
    Not in Windows 10

    Microsoft cites decreased usage.

  13. 29 July 2015 Shutdown
    Removed with the Windows 10 upgrade

    Windows 7 versions run on until January 2020.

The site through time

Browse microsoft.com as it was, via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine:

2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2015 Full archive →

Ownership [edit]

Microsoft 2002–2015 Founded Removed in Windows 10

Why it shut down [edit]

Official line: Microsoft confirmed in May 2015 that Windows Media Center would not be part of Windows 10 "due to decreased usage", and it was removed on upgrade when Windows 10 shipped on 29 July 2015.

Our analysis: Media Center was built for a world of TV tuners, DVDs and recorded broadcasts, and it was genuinely good at it. Netflix, YouTube and cheap streaming boxes removed the reason to put a full PC under the television, and Microsoft had stopped developing it years before it admitted so.

History [edit]

Ten-foot interface

Windows XP Media Center Edition arrived on 29 October 2002 with a full-screen, remote-controlled interface designed to be used from a sofa: live and recorded television via a tuner card, DVD playback, music, photos and, later, an Xbox 360 acting as a Media Center Extender in another room. For a decade it was the best DVR software most people could get without renting a box from their cable company.

It peaked with Windows 7, where Media Center was included in Home Premium and above, and a substantial enthusiast community built home theatre PCs around it, complete with CableCARD tuners and rack-mounted cases.

Nobody records television any more

Microsoft disbanded the development team shortly after Windows 7 shipped, and Media Center never meaningfully changed again. Windows 8 made it a paid add-on. By then Netflix, YouTube and $35 streaming sticks had replaced both the recording and the hardware; a full Windows PC in the living room made no sense any more.

In May 2015 Microsoft confirmed that Media Center would not be in Windows 10, citing decreased usage, and that upgrading would remove it, with a free Windows DVD Player app as compensation for lost DVD playback. Windows 10 shipped on 29 July 2015 and took Media Center with it. Windows 7's version kept running under extended support until January 2020, and the enthusiasts moved to Plex, Kodi and Emby.

Similar projects

Winamp It really whips the llama's ass 1997–2013 RealPlayer Buffering… buffering… 1995–now Google Play Music Your music locker, repossessed 2011–2020 Grooveshark All the music, none of the licences 2007–2015 Rdio The prettiest streaming service that ever lost 2010–2015 Adobe Flash The plugin that animated the web 1996–2020

Sources [edit]

  1. Windows Media Center not in Windows 10 The Register 5 May 2015 [archived]
  2. Windows 10 is going to kill off Media Center, Microsoft confirms TechRadar 5 May 2015 [archived]

Last verified: 11 August 2026. Spotted an error? Suggest an edit (corrections with sources are reviewed and applied).