Windows 8 dropping the ability to play DVDs

Windows 8 dropping the ability to play DVDs

Yahoo Y-Tech ^ | Fri, May 4, 2012 | Tecca

Posted on Sunday, May 06, 2012 6:10:12 PM by CedarDave

The upcoming Windows 8 operating system (which you can download and preview now) is dropping the ability to play DVD content.

According to Windows engineering team member Steven Sinofsky (emphasis his), “Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray.” In other words: If you want to watch that Bridesmaids DVD on your next plane trip, you’re going to have to pay extra for software that will let you play it, even if your laptop already has a DVD drive. And don’t think getting Blu-ray is an option — you can’t play that straight from the box, either.

If you’re left scratching your heads, the rationale behind dropping DVD support is simple: It’s about the bottom line. Says Sinofsky, “traditional media playback scenarios, optical media, and broadcast TV, require a specialized set of decoders (and hardware) that cost a significant amount in royalties.” Windows 8 will allow customers the option to install a Windows Media Center upgrade to allow DVD playback at extra cost, though Microsoft is not saying exactly how high that cost will be.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com …

via Windows 8 dropping the ability to play DVDs.

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• DVD playback won’t be readily available on Windows 8 (technologytell.com)
• Microsoft Dropping DVD Playback Support in Windows 8 (pcmag.com)
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• Media Center for Windows 8: An Add-on At A Nominal Price (anandtech.com)
• DVD, Blu-ray playback won’t be built in to Windows 8 (chron.com)
• Windows 8 Will Not Support DVD Playback Natively, A Paid Upgrade Will Be Required To Do So (redmondpie.com)
• No DVD Playback or Windows Media Center in Windows 8? No problem! (pcmag.com)

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