Windows Media Center Electronic Program Guide Alternatives

Anonymous
2019-10-02T00:29:35+00:00

I've recently received a popup on my Windows Media Center home screen stating that the Electronic Program Guide will not be available after January 2020.  I've long expected this day.  The popup gives you a click option for alternatives to the EPG, but the link it takes you to is a nothing link for generic guide troubleshooting (I got the same popup on my Windows Media Center Extender.  Clicking on it rebooted the extender).

Are any 3rd party EPG alternatives even in the works?  I am trying to figure what my next DVR setup will be and need to get on it.  Am thinking of getting an Amazon Recast box, but kind of want to see if they have a second generation (with larger HDDs) in the works.  Thinking about SiliconDust's HDHomeRun stuff, or perhaps rolling my own with Plex or something.  Again, having an EPG is paramount.  

For what it's worth - I've bought into WMC since the beginning - I was the lead factory escalation engineer for a vendor's line of Media Center products - it will be like saying goodbye to an old friend, and even though it was pretty much abandoned in place for the past ten plus years, there was someone there to make sure it still was working.  Just a thank you to the Windows Home team...

-Dale

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Music, photos, and video

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Anonymous
2019-10-28T00:53:58+00:00

Hi,

For what its worth I am also a long time WMC user and hate to see it go. However, in anticipation I've set up a Plex server and have been running it in parallel with WMC the last couple of months just to see how it would work as a DVR. You had to buy a one time DVR license from Plex which I think was around $80 (it's normally more than that but they were running a special over the summer). The one time fee was another reason that I decided to try Plex versus some of the other options that had recurring fees.  Anyway, I've been using Plex with my OTA antenna and an amazon firestick and it seems to be working fine without any EPG issues like the ones that always seemed to be popping up with WMC. As an added plus I can also stream from my server to my phone which comes in handy at the gym. 

Regards.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-12-14T17:17:30+00:00

    After being a 10 year WMC user on 3 media center PCs, I purchased a Tivo Bolt OTA and it is amazing.  I didn't know what I was missing out on with sticking with WMC for so long.  They have a deal going on until the end of the day (12/14/19) where you can save on your purchase. 

    I got it Wednesday and love the commercial skip feature, the ability to stream my recordings anywhere in and out of the house with no router setup, copying recordings to my mobile device with a couple clicks in the app, and moving over to Plex for watching my NAS videos.  I'm glad I switched and I would recommend everyone take a look at their options to see if it checks all the boxes you need for your media center.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-12-14T20:41:35+00:00

    Ziggy,

    Does it provide any network access to the recorded files themselves?  One of my big requirements is to save/store off the recorded .WTV files for a particular show I am a member of a fan community of.   I often snag frames or upcoming show previews for the group.  Love that WMC stores them off in full MPEG2 quality as broadcast, not losing quality, so I can get quality captures.

    -Dale

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-12-15T02:00:51+00:00

    Currently I have only accessed my recordings via online.tivo.com which displays the video through my browser window.  A quick Google search shows there are ways to transfer the files to your PC over the local network using Tivo Desktop but I haven't tried it.  There is also something called TivoToGo which "is a service which allows you to extract television recordings from your networked stand-alone TiVo device to your Windows PC for personal, noncommercial use."  It appears that you will be able to accomplish what you need but it may be a couple extra steps.  They offer a 30 day return so it may be worth a try.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-12-16T13:00:53+00:00

    the same thing is happening to me.

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