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Over on Microsoft Answers the forum moderator has posted a known issues/faq for Windows Media Center running in Windows 8 Consumer Preview. The Windows 8 version of Media Center looks about the same as the Windows 7 version but there are some changes under the hood that can effect addins and tuners (see this tip) and I think it’s a great idea to bring all the issues together in one location.

FAQ

How do I launch Media Center?

From the Start screen, start typing Media Center. You should see Windows Media Center show up under Apps.  From there, you can launch it or choose to pin it to your Start screen.

From Windows Media Center IR remote, press the Green button.

Are extenders supported?

Xbox 360 extenders are supported.  After upgrade, you may need to re-affiliate your extender with your WMC.

Unsupported tuner configurations

Monaco(MediaRoom/IPTV), Dragonfly(Dish), Draco (DIRECTV)

Known Issues

Getting no search results when searching on WMC

Known issue on the AMD64 version of Consumer Preview w/no work around available.

Cannot Play Video message is displayed

Known issue with the Microsoft WDDM 1.1 driver for several graphics card. Updating the driver to the latest driver from the manufacturer should resolve this issue.

Playing Live TV, Recorded TV, or other video files on Extender, playback will freeze

Known issue for the Consumer Preview, and at the moment there is no work around available.

Clicking on Live TV results in crash or Tuner Not Found

Known issue with Win7 codec pack from Shark007.  Uninstall the Shark007 codec pack and install Win8 codec pack from Shark007 website.

File needed to display video are not installed or not working correctly is displayed after playback has been going for a while

Known issue for the Consumer Preview with certain hardware, and at the moment there is no work around available.

Music/Photos/Videos are not showing up in their respective libraries in extender sessions

Known issue for the Consumer Preview.  Closing and restarting the extender session should resolve this issue.

Digital Cable Advisor fails when going through setup

This is a known issue in Consumer Preview that you can work around by re-running winsat manually.

Receiving HDCP errors in Media Center

This is a known issue with some drivers in Consumer Preview. Installing the Windows 7 driver may resolve this issue.

Windows Media Center reports No tuners found when trying to complete TV setup

Known issue w/ HDHomerun Prime tuner. Here is the published workaround from the HDHomerun site.

http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhomerun/instructions/prime/

2 thoughts on “Known Issues/ FAQ for Windows Media Center in Windows 8 Consumer Preview”
  1. I did a fresh install of win8 on a laptop…. it was so bad for medai center that I had to uninstall and put back on windows7.

    I had tuner issues where it would say a tuner is in use.
    constant crashes on startup.
    the startup issue where media is hidden behind the start menu.
    sometimes the tuner would find no channels or media center would not detect it (after about 5 attempts).

  2. Why do people bother with the new wmc, seriously, waste of time? If its not broken….
    Go outside, try something new.

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