From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On Sat, 3/22/2025 2:58 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:   
   > On Fri, 21 Mar 2025 16:24:11 +0100, Joerg Walther wrote:   
   >   
   >> An old Windows Media Center remote worked out of the box, which came   
   >> very handy.   
   >   
   > What happened to Windows Media Center?   
   >   
   > Killed off by Linux.   
   >   
      
   Uh, not really.   
      
   when it comes to "continuity" on high tech fluff, the   
   bean counters hate "third party expense". For example,   
   even if an MPEG2 license from MPEG-LA costs a dollar   
   a node, that's a "whoa! hold on there" issue for the   
   bean counters at Microsoft. They want a counter-balancing   
   income if you do that.   
      
   Right now on Windows, it needs a HEVC license from the   
   Microsoft Store, so that HEIC can be decoded. Rather than   
   Microsoft pay that out of their own pocket, you buy the   
   item from the Microsoft Store, and that gives you the   
   CODEC needed. If they didn't do that, they'd be sued.   
      
   Linux doesn't get sued, because they are giving away   
   the software and not making money from it. the Linux   
   overhead expense is different.   
      
   As "compensation" for Media Center, for a short time,   
   on the next OS where Media Center was discontinued,   
   you were given two MPEG2 CODECS "for free". To Microsoft   
   then, that represented the "value" to them, of the   
   removed software.   
      
   Another expense for Media Center, was the Guide Data feed   
   per user. Linux doesn't have Guide Data. Professional   
   Guide Data always costs money. You can license Guide Data   
   from a TV Network, for around $50K per annum. Then,   
   you chop that up, and bill individual customers, to make   
   your $50K back. When Guide Data sources go out of business,   
   it's because they could not sell enough units at $25 per year.   
   Microsoft was paying someone else for the Guide Data, while   
   Media Center was available. I used to have Guide Data downloads   
   every day on the Test Machine (which was running Media Center   
   for a while as a demo, so I could note the missing bits   
   in USENET posts). For example, in Canada, the digital TV   
   side of Media Center, did not work, unless you got some   
   files from a private citizen in Canada, who had figured out   
   how to fix it. That's how I got mine running.   
      
   Media Center sank under its own weight. Linux had nothing   
   to do with the business decisions (overhead costs). If you   
   buy the WinTV software from Hauppauge, that's another way   
   to record TV programs. I don't know if the Guide Data for   
   that still works or not.   
      
      Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)