Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player application that was first introduced in 2002 with the release of Windows XP Media Center Edition. It was later included by default in all editions of Windows Vista, and by extension all applicable editions of Windows 7. The application would later be made available as an optional paid upgrade for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. The application was ultimately deprecated and later removed with the release of Windows 10.

Windows XP (2002)
Windows Media Center was originally planned as a successor to the canceled Activity Centers for the Neptune and Windows Me operating systems. The earliest available build of Windows XP Media Center Edition contained a near-finalized variation of the interface, along with its original working title Windows Remote View. Not much else is known about the planning or overall development of the initial Media Center Edition release.

The operating system shipping with Media Center was codenamed "Freestyle". It was released as Windows XP Media Center Edition in 2002 only in English.

Longhorn
Development continued initially on the codebase of Windows Longhorn, Microsoft's project for the successor of Windows XP. The Media Center components needed to be installed manually through the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel applet. As the WIM installation method has been introduced in build 4001, it was no longer possible to install these components, so development shifted in December 2002 back to the codebase of Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Windows XP (2004, 2005)
In 2003, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 was released with a design overhaul for the Media Center user interface, along with support for a Media Center Extender (codenamed BobSled). It is the first version to be made available internationally with support for a wide range of localizations unlike previous versions, which were only localized and released for the North American, French, German and Japanese markets. It also introduced support for broadcast teletext for European localizations and makes better use of widescreens compared to version 2002.

In 2004, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 was released, again with UI changes for the Media Center, including the switch of the default font from Trebuchet MS to Segoe UI, making it the first version of Windows with the Segoe font family to be released. This version also introduced support for HDTV.

Windows Vista
Development shifted in 2005 to the Windows Vista codebase after the Longhorn development was reset. The first build with Media Center was build 5212, which introduced a similar interface found in later versions of the program. As development progressed, the look and feel of Windows Media Center changed drastically with updated branding and UI elements in build 5270, and redesigned music and window controls in build 5310. The UI would be refined further in later builds with a new launch animation and updated sounds.

Windows 7
In early builds of Windows 7, Windows Media Center looked identical to its Vista version. However, later builds would receive a minor UI revamp with a new launch animation and sounds. The final sounds were implemented in build 7055.

Windows 8 and onwards
Microsoft ceased active development of Windows Media Center after Windows 7 shipped in 2009 and as a result, Microsoft deprecated Windows Media Center in Windows 8/8.1 when it no longer became bundled with any of the editions of the OS by default and instead, Windows Media Center was offered as an paid add-on for these versions until 30 October 2015 via the Add Features to Windows 8 service and the Windows 8 Feature Packs web site. As a result, it remained very similar to the Windows 7 version.

In May 2015, Microsoft announced that Windows Media Center would not be available for Windows 10 due to decreased usage. As a result, anyone who upgraded to Windows 10 from a previous version of Windows that had Windows Media Center would lose access to the application. However, people who did upgrade from a previous version of Windows that did include Windows Media Center would receive the paid Windows DVD Player app for free instead of having to pay $14.99 for the app.

However, it is possible to unofficially reinstall Windows Media Center on Windows 10 and later using a series of Command Prompt commands.

In January 2020, Microsoft discontinued support for the Electronic Program Guide service on all versions of Windows Media Center as free support for Windows 7 ended.