In case you didn't notice – or didn't join the growing digital mob that's scratching their pitchforks against Microsoft's official blog — the company announced this past Thursday that it's stripping Windows Media Center out of the shipped versions of Windows 8. Additionally, DVD playback is completely gone from Windows Media Player. Those looking to get their hands on either feature will have to purchase the Windows 8 Media Center or Pro upgrade packs.
But that's not so bad, right? The writing's on the wall for DVDs anyway: Analysts predict that users will stream 3.4 billion movies in 2012 versus watching 2.4 billion on all physical media combined.
That said, rentals of movies from local kiosks are on the up and physical movies still bring in a boatload of cash compared to their streamed counterparts – $11.1 billion versus $1.7 billion. Perhaps DVDs still have a bit of life left in them. Or, at least, the studios aren't likely to wave the white flag on physical media just yet.
So what can you do if you want to watch these aging relics on your Windows 8 machine? Easy: Don't give Microsoft a dime. There's really no reason to when there are plenty of outstanding freeware applications on the Web that can help you watch DVDs and give you a better viewing experience for all of your media than Windows Media Player.
We're speaking, of course, about apps like VLC Media Player – a free, open-source program that can effortlessly play your DVDs thanks to the fact that costly patent licenses don't apply to French developers. In other words, VLC Media Player doesn't have to pony up for MPEG-2 licensing fees. Not that it would, anyway. Technically, VLC Media Player decrypts discs using the open-source software libraries libdvdcss and libaacs, whose legality, "is authorized by a French law decision," says VLC's website.
So, no, you are not putting yourself into legal trouble should you fire up VLC Media Player to watch your DVDs. But you also aren't going to be able to do everything you want with VLC Media Player, either.
First off, the app doesn't play Blu-ray discs; Just files that have been ripped from Blu-ray discs. Additionally, VLC Media Player is just that – a media player. For a more full-fledged media experience analogous to the no-longer-free Windows Media Center, you'll have to investigate other, similarly free (and similarly named) apps like Xbox Media Center. Or, if you're just looking for a way to stream content between your home desktop and other devices around your house, an app like Tversity is your big ticket.
For more tech tidbits from David Murphy, follow him on Facebook or Twitter (@thedavidmurphy).
