Windows Media Player Set To Lose a Feature on Windows 7 (onmsft.com)

With Windows 7 reaching its end of life in less than a year, developers are likely to begin retiring features for the operating system. Kicking off the process of retiring features is Microsoft, which is retiring a feature in Windows Media Player, according to updated support documentation on its website. From a report: New metadata for music, TV shows and movies, will not be added to Windows Media Player. This means that additional information such as cover art, directors, actors, and more, will not display on Windows Media Player. This change also affects Windows Media Center on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1.

Comments

Everybody On Windows Uses MPC-HC Anyways

[dryriver]

Seriously, who watches media with Windows Media Player when free players like MPC offer a much superior experience? MPC can even run custom HLSL pixel shaders on GPU, allowing videos to be enhanced in realtime on GPU (e.g. realtime sharpening, upconversion). You can even write your own .hlsl GPU pixel shader, hit CTRL+S, and MPC applies the custom pixel shader to video immediately. Windows Media Player is not capable of any such feats.

Re:Everybody On Windows Uses MPC-HC Anyways

[TechyImmigrant]

MPC? They dropped it too..

From the MPC-HC web site...

"
v1.7.13 is released and farewell
  July 16, 2017 XhmikosR
v1.7.13, the latest, and probably the last release of our project

For quite a few months now, or even years, the number of active developers has been decreasing and has inevitably reached zero. This, unfortunately, means that the project is officially dead and this release would be the last one.

Unless some people step up that is.

So, if someone’s willing to really contribute and has C/C++ experience, let me know on IRC or via e-mail.

Otherwise, all things come to an end and life goes on. It’s been a nice journey and I’m personally pretty overwhelmed having to write this post.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed in any way all these years; Remember, MPC-HC is an 11-year old project.

Don’t forget, that our official builds, both the stable and the beta builds, are digitally signed. Be aware of scams and only get the files from our site!

Also, to report bugs, suggestions and generally provide feedback, use our Trac; reporting anything on social media or in any other place is just pointless, as the developers only follow Trac.

You can download the new version here. For the complete changes see the changelog.
"

Re:Turn off updates

[b0s0z0ku]

The issue isn't an update that removed features. The issue is Microsoft turning off a cloud server that provides this data to Windows 7/8/8.1 versions of WiMP. You'd need to patch WiMP to get the data from somewhere else if you need it.

Hey look!

[MachineShedFred]

It's probably the last time Microsoft will officially recognize Windows Media Center as existing.

But that's ok, because Cable companies will continue to encrypt every channel they legally can while renting you a CableCard, and the only software that you can get to decrypt it? Windows Media Center.

Legal lock-in for DVR rentals. And the cable companies wonder why we hate them.

Re:Who even uses this

[NicknameUnavailable]

It's not about using it, it's about getting people used to the concept of "retiring features" such that they accept it instead of talking about how Microsoft is conspiring to cripple the OS like they did with XP and the associated malicious updates that broke critical features at the end. They start with stupid things nobody uses so that when they get to the real stuff they can go "retiring features has been going on publicly for awhile and nobody cared." Call it what it is: "crippling things you don't own which customers paid for in order to force them to pay you again."