Post-WMC solutions
Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 2:39 pm
I'll just cut to the chase: in January of 2020, Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 7 and the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for Windows Media Center. The former means the machine could present unpatched security vulnerabilities after Jan. The latter means WMC probably won't do anything for me except play my ripped DVDs. Unless I find a 3rd party EPG source. That is possible. I haven't looked.
Without doing any research at all, I just pulled the trigger on what I guess the replacement hardware is. Imagine that. After 10 full years with this machine, there is finally a well-priced off the shelf solution which provides equivalent functionality.
Amazon has a 500GB 2 tuner and 1TB 4 tuner DVR. They are both $100 off right now. I couldn't resist. I bought the 1TB one for $180.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074J1GPB8/re ... 9Db7ERDB50
That connects to your network, and antenna. So I guess it will live in my great room.
For each client you use Fire TV sticks. They have a new 4K variant of the stick that has more processing power and seems to resolve issues I've read about on the initial stick. That is also on sale for $35.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079QHML21/re ... 9Db9DT2EYC
I got a 3 ft HDMI extension cable since the 3 ports on my TV look to be close together, so I can relocate within 3 feet of that crowded area. They do have an ethernet adapter but we'll see how it does on wifi first. I have a gigabit ethernet switch right below the TV so it's a simple matter if necessary.
Anyway, this all came together just because I happened to look at the Amazon app on my phone. Hope it works out. My Panasonic TV stopped supporting the Amazon app anyway and Youtube finally broke, too. So if the Fire Stick 4K works well enough the only thing I'd use my HTPC for is playing my ripped DVD movies (I have quite a collection). There's nothing else it would do for me. Sniff.
Without doing any research at all, I just pulled the trigger on what I guess the replacement hardware is. Imagine that. After 10 full years with this machine, there is finally a well-priced off the shelf solution which provides equivalent functionality.
Amazon has a 500GB 2 tuner and 1TB 4 tuner DVR. They are both $100 off right now. I couldn't resist. I bought the 1TB one for $180.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074J1GPB8/re ... 9Db7ERDB50
That connects to your network, and antenna. So I guess it will live in my great room.
For each client you use Fire TV sticks. They have a new 4K variant of the stick that has more processing power and seems to resolve issues I've read about on the initial stick. That is also on sale for $35.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079QHML21/re ... 9Db9DT2EYC
I got a 3 ft HDMI extension cable since the 3 ports on my TV look to be close together, so I can relocate within 3 feet of that crowded area. They do have an ethernet adapter but we'll see how it does on wifi first. I have a gigabit ethernet switch right below the TV so it's a simple matter if necessary.
Anyway, this all came together just because I happened to look at the Amazon app on my phone. Hope it works out. My Panasonic TV stopped supporting the Amazon app anyway and Youtube finally broke, too. So if the Fire Stick 4K works well enough the only thing I'd use my HTPC for is playing my ripped DVD movies (I have quite a collection). There's nothing else it would do for me. Sniff.