Microsoft pulls the plug on Media Center forum

[IT Troll]

I missed this at the time, but last month Microsoft finally pulled the plug on their Media Center support forum.

Back in the XP/Vista days there was a great community forum for Media Center called The Green Button. It built up a large and active community which caught Microsoft's attention and led them to buying it and taking over it's management in 2008. At the time Microsoft said that the site would to continue as it is with just a few changes. Notably, the site would now be ad free and would be moved to their data center where it would be safe and secure.

Then in 2011 Microsoft merged the forum along with other Windows forums into the Windows Expert Community. Thankfully all the forums were moved over intact. At the time Microsoft said;

TheGreenButton.com has been a great example of just that type of interaction I love to see with so many smart people collaborating to extend and personalize the Windows Media Center experience. But we wanted to expand those great conversations, collaboration and sharing of knowledge to all topics related to Windows and Windows Live.

The original founding members of the Green Button soon became discontented with the new provision which was buried deep inside the Windows forum and given little attention by Microsoft. So in 2012 they resurrected The Green Button once again as an independent forum. Thankfully this is still alive and well.

Last month, without any warning, Microsoft pulled the plug on the Windows Expert Community, arbitrarily deleting around 9 years of advice, tips and knowledge. Now if you try to visit any of those forums you are redirected to the Microsoft Community which a general support forum which doesn't have a Media Center section. Truly disgusting behaviour.

[Woody]

A real shame.

It's been on the cards for a while now, Media Centre is pretty well hidden as an option for Windows 8 and remains largely unchanged since Windows 7. They seem to be slowly giving up on Media Centre all together.

I think MS want the XBONE to take over this role for them, well good luck there... ....I won't be going down that route.

As mentioned in an earlier thread, another nail in the coffin is that modern smart TVs do most of what Media Centre does, but with much less configuration options.

[Oliver]

Its sad when years of helpful advice just disappear.
When I started VGX-XLpedia the idea was to organise all the excellent information for our systems from various forums all over the web. I always hated searching through page after page for the useful posts needed.
I feel VGX-XLpedia has succeeded in organising help into easy to find sections for the most common issues and questions.
VGX-XLforum started a few months later as it became clear that people wanted a place dedicated to the VGX-XL to discuss and offer more personalised advice.

I didn't/don't want this forum or VGX-XLpedia to disappear so I searched for sustainable solutions to host all this data for free because I want these sites to stay up even after I may have gone.
So I use Google Sites for VGX-XLpedia, free with no adds and I used proboards for the forum, free but with a few Ads (though anyone can pay a small fee and remove the Ads, not only for themselves but for all users) I did try Google Groups as a free forum alternative but it didn't offer all the features of a real forum like Proboards.

I'm sure this forum and XLpedia will be around for a long time to come, I just hope the aging VGX-XL systems keep going as long

We have some great members here, I'd hope the forum could develop into a more general Media Centre forum as the VGX-XL systems slowly disappear

Oliver

Sent from my phone, using Tapatalk

[sinful]

It's only a matter of time until microsoft dumps media center all together. I would bet money that the next windows doesn't even have media center as an option. Its sad that more people don't realize just how useful HTPCs really are. No way a smart tv or XBONE can hold thousands of songs and uncompressed dvds, work as a HD digital cable box and dvr, video game console and so much more all under a single organized menu. I just cant see myself ever finding a replacement that could do half of what a media center PC can do.

[Woody]

Totally agree Sinful, this is all compounded by the overall decline in PC sales in general.

[IT Troll]

Microsoft do seem determined to kill Media Center off. It looked like it was getting a shot in the arm when Ceton brought their infiniTV products to market which integrate with Media Center. Of particular interest was their Ceton Echo device which is a small low-power Media Center Extender which supports H.264 HD content (the old Linksys DMA extenders do not). Now it is a little rough around the edges but it could be fantastic with a little further development.

Then Microsoft announced that with Windows 8 no third party Media Center Extenders would be supported. It was now Xbox or nothing. Way to kill innovation and development.

[gladiateur555]

That's what Microsoft do the best => make great software, launch them, wait if it works without making lot of work and... let them die !!!

2 examples:

1) Windows Media center:

They made a great product, really! I used it since the very beginning and I can just realize that there is no more improvement since Windows Vista. Vista, Seven & 8 have all exactly the same Media Center, what a shame!
If Microsoft really trust in Media Center, they should integrate the "Windows Live for TV" project for many years inside the Media Center. Making video conference directly on the TV, just using a remote control, THAT would
have been the killing application in 2007. Now, seven years later, all the LCD manufactors include this feature inside their SmartTV and where is Microsoft? Nowhere!

2) Windows Home server:

They launched it to take a piece of cake from the new NAS market, great idea! They made a very nice software and in association with HP they launched great Home Server, the EX series. I owned 2 EX490 that I upgrade to the
maximum capabilities and I installed over it WHS 2011. Problems, the product was so good that it makes shadow to the big brother Windows Server, so they killed WHS only few years later. Well done again Microsoft !!!

glad

[IT Troll]

Apr 29, 2014 12:31:23 GMT gladiateur555 said:

Now, seven years later, all the LCD manufactors include this feature inside their SmartTV and where is Microsoft? Nowhere!

Media Center Embedded did exist for a short while. It even found it's way into a prototype TV with 6 tuners; the Delta DVR

In a different Universe all these Smart TVs are running Media Center.

[gladiateur555]

I think the project will have a short life! If Microsoft wanted to push Media Center, it would have been done a long time ago.
This embedded system is software and hardware limited. You can't tweak Media Center with tools like MCE Reset Toolbox or other
add-in like Media Browser and Co...

[Woody]

Apr 27, 2014 18:27:02 GMT Oliver said:

When I started VGX-XLpedia the idea was to organise all the excellent information for our systems from various forums all over the web. I always hated searching through page after page for the useful posts needed.
I feel VGX-XLpedia has succeeded in organising help into easy to find sections for the most common issues and questions.
VGX-XLforum started a few months later as it became clear that people wanted a place dedicated to the VGX-XL to discuss and offer more personalised advice.

Hi Oliver,

You did a great job and I (and I am sure many others) are really grateful, without this site I would have a very nice looking but somewhat slow and redundant computer sitting under my TV.. ..not the computer which not only performs well but can give some of the latest (albeit lower end) computers a run for their money!