Windows Media Center by SiliconDust?

[StarfishPrime]

I have been using Windows Media Center (WMC) for almost 20 years, mostly with SiliconDust TV tuners. First the official version from MS on the Windows7 platform. When that went away I got the unofficial WMC versions from "the green button" user group that run on Win10 and Win11.

MS recently released the 24H2 update for Windows 11. Unfortunately , that Windows update does not work well with the unofficial WMC; sound problems, startup problems and channel scan problems.
Why am I still using WMC? Because I can not find any app replacements that works as nice and intuitively as WMC. Just google "WMC alternatives" and they all show up - and they ALL suck. Including - you guessed it - the HDHomerun app. Sorry, SiliconDust guys, but your app just isn't the same as WMC. The HDHomerun app is a huge step down from the WMC app. Clunky in the user interface at best - unusable at worst.

Let there be no mistake; I have been using SiliconDust tuners for years in combination with WMC. Nothing but praise there; your network tuners work perfect. Great product. No doubt.
So my question is - Why doesn't SiliconDust buy the rights from Microsoft for the Windows Media Center app (shouldn't be too expensive, MS is clearly done with it) and turn it into a HDHomerun app with the same user interface and same functionality as what WMC has been?
Complete with a SiliconDust supplied EPG subscription for those who want it? How hard can such an app strategy be for such a tech-savvy company that SiliconDust clearly is?
I think that sales strategy would be a huge additional selling point for all the excellent SiliconDust hardware. And you would do your customers/subscribers a huge service with such a product strategy!

Windows Media Center - for more than 20 years the ONLY available user-friendly app for OTA / cord cutter users! Jump into that market hole, SiliconDust!

[nickk]

Hmmm, that might be a fun phone call.

HDHomeRun app - is there a specific action or feature on the top of your list that WMC does better?

Nick

[pixelstuff]

I don't know about StarfishPrime, but when I switched over to Plex years ago one of the things I felt was a downgrade was the interface and lack of a full featured remote. I liked the animated transitions and overall atheistic of Windows Media Center. Even going back and looking at videos on Youtube, WMC still looks more futuristic to me than anything else a decade later. Aside from the shiny design style and animations between screens I think part of the appeal might be how WMC strips out the clutter and forces each screen to be focused on just a few options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7P8gKRdrIg&t=40s

Of course the biggest downside to WMC, and the reason I moved to Plex, is it wasn't very network friendly to the trend of cheap streaming boxes.

[Billycar11]

Hmmm, that might be a fun phone call.

HDHomeRun app - is there a specific action or feature on the top of your list that WMC does better?

Nick

DRM recording

[3ton]

Hmmm, that might be a fun phone call.

HDHomeRun app - is there a specific action or feature on the top of your list that WMC does better?

Nick

Fast Forward, adjustable skip, guide, what to record (when, extra time, etc), copying on one machine to another. ETC.

[nickk]

[...] guide [...]

The HDHomeRun app has full grid guide like WMC, plus slice guide and discover-now which WMC does not.

Is there a feature in WMC grid guide you would like to see in the HDHomeRun grid guide?

[...] what to record (when, extra time, etc) [...]

With the HDHomeRun app you can tell it to record any specific airing including up to 1 hour of padding before and up to 3 hours of extra time. Click on the airing you want to record, select Record This Airing.

[...] copying on one machine to another [...]

WMC couldn't do that but the HDHomeRun DVR can... just copy/move the recorded files. And unlike WMC the HDHomeRun app will find and play any recording for any location, not just the local machine.

[3ton]

Is there a feature in WMC grid guide you would like to see in the HDHomeRun grid guide?

I guess my biggest complaint is the speed of it. I sit down once and week and set the record schedule. It should be said that I have not used the hdhomerun dvr in over a year.

The last time I used it, sports was a huge mess. I only have some many tuners and you can not tell it to record all college football games, so setting it to record individual games with an hour over time did not work so good.

[...] copying on one machine to another [...]

WMC couldn't do that but the HDHomeRun DVR can... just copy/move the recorded files. And unlike WMC the HDHomeRun app will find and play any recording for any location, not just the local machine.
[/quote]
I tried to backup the servio and getting the files off the drive was so slow, I just gave up.

[Fin74501]

One thing that initially confused me between the two was with HDs app you have to click on the station instead of the program you want to view.

If you click on the program on a grid guide, it triggers a recording ask.

I would like on my apple TV if I want to record the currently airing program, I can hold down the selection button and be given those additional options.

Also, kind of outside of the two, when you're in the discover section of the DVR and you're in the current time, I would love to be able to hit play and go to that program that's currently airing.

And the multiple search boxes that do different things in each category It's kind of confusing.

I would love a unified search.

[Jay]

As a former WMC fan (very familiar with The Green Button even before MS bought it and then killed it off and it converted to the TV domain), I am a huge fan of Channels DVR. Some things are still not where I want them to be, but the flexibility of the platform and the things you can do far exceed WMC.

Annual subscription fee of $82 I believe (or $8 annually), but a well worth it. The Devs are very active and very responsive to issues. I keep trying to move over to Plex or JellyFin, but I keep coming back to CDVR.

Jay

https://getchannels.com/dvr-server/