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Microsoft recently announced that it will not support DVD playback in Windows 8 right out of the box, sparking some cries from techenthusiasts that the OS will be crippled in a fundamental way. Isthis really a big deal? I think the impact on both casual Windowsusers and enthusiasts will be minimal. In fact, I think this moveis a no-brainer for Microsoft. First, I should give a little detail into what exactly is going on.In Windows 8, Windows Media Player will no longer play DVDs.Windows Media Center will not be included at all. In order to getDVD playback, one must either play them in some other program like PowerDVD or VLC , or purchase the Windows Media Center pack. Buy that pack and DVDswill play back in Media Center, but still not in Windows MediaPlayer. The Building Windows 8 blog describes how this will work in detail, but that s the basic gistof it. It's a matter of money What it boils down to is this: DVD playback in commercial software(like Windows) costs money. You have to license MPEG-2 and DolbyDigital decoders and keys for the Content Scrambling System (CSS)copy protection on DVDs. It s tricky to estimate how much this allcosts, but Microsoft claims in a FAQ on the matter that it s hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Add Blu-rayplayback, which is increasingly important, and the costs go way up.So including DVD playback in Windows is probably a few bucks foreach copy sold, and a few bucks more for Blu-ray. Microsoft hasn t yet said how much it s going to charge forWindows 8, nor for the Media Center upgrade, so speculation aboutthe impact of these costs is premature. The optimist in me hopesit s a sign that Windows 8 licensing costs will be lower thanWindows 7, as it may need to be to compete in the tablet market.Regardless of the cost to Microsoft or passed on to the customers,I don t think it really matters. First, realize that the vast majority of Windows owners do not buyan upgrade. Well over 90 percent of Windows copies sold arelicensed for inclusion on a new PC, not sold as upgrades toexisting PC owners. If you have third-party DVD playback softwaretoday, like VLC or PowerDVD, it will likely work with Windows 8 andyour upgrade will continue to play DVDs using that software. The impact is minimal New PCs, if they have a DVD drive, already ship with some sort ofthird-party DVD playback software in almost all cases. If it s gota Blu-ray drive, it always includes playback software, becauseWindows 7 does not play back Blu-ray discs without it. This meansWindows 8 will, for the vast majority of casual users, play backDVDs just as Windows 7 does today. The manufacturer will bundlePowerDVD or something like it, and the user will use that to playmovies. What about enthusiasts, users like me who build their own PCs andbuy upgrades to the latest OS? Frankly, I don t think most of uswatch a lot of DVD discs on our PCs. The growth of streaming Webvideo, and disappearance of optical drives on thin-and-lightlaptops, makes it clear that playing movies from an optical disc ison the way out. I don t know any enthusiast who is committed toplaying DVD movies in Windows Media Player. They re either usingVLC or some other application, and most of the time they reinvested in Blu-ray (which will need a third-party player inWindows 8 just as it has done in every version of Windows). The real impact of cutting DVD playback from Windows 8 seems to bea fraction of a fraction of a percent: it s the small percentageof users who don t get Windows 8 with a new PC, who won t useMedia Center, who are committed to DVDs instead of Blu-ray, andhaven t just moved on to streaming Web video. That fraction of afraction of a percent will have to download VLC or something. I think Microsoft made the right call here. Windows 8 isn t evenout yet, and DVD playback on PCs is already dropping rapidly infavor of online streaming services. The cost of built-in DVD movieplayback support completely outweighs the benefits. By the timeWindows 8 ships later this year, most users won t even noticeit s gone. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China Volkswagen Condenser , China Mazda AC Condenser for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Honda Evaporator.
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