Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
Charlie asked: “I use a TV tuner card on a Windows 7 PC with Windows Media Center. Windows 10 FAQ says they will be deleting Windows Media Center. Are there any alternatives to Windows Media Center that work with Windows 10?”
Charlie, there are some alternatives to Windows Media Center, none is completely like it, but they may still fit your needs.
Kodi, formerly known as XMBC, is a fan favorite. It’s an open source media manager that can be extended with plugins to support features like recording and live streams. Kodi is free and multiplatform and it does work with Windows 10.
Plex is also very popular, it can organize your media collection and play it, but it has the added advantage of also being able to act as a server. That means that you’d be able to play your videos on mobile devices and some SmartTVs.
MediaPortal is a little rougher around the edges, but it can record live TV. Not many people have a tuner card these days, since you do, that’s a feature you probably want.
We should mention that you can still technically jump through a few hoops and install Windows Media Center, but since Microsoft is no longer supporting it, it’s probably smart to just try out a few replacements and see if any fits your needs.