Leaderboard

I have been searching for something to replace the aging WMC, as it runs on the Windows-7 platform that is not supported any more. To put it in a nutshell: After extensive search and trials, I have NOT found it. To be honest, Emby came closest, but it is still no solid alternative to WMC. I have tested MANY apps. To name a few: Kodi: an incomprehensible mess, nothing more but bloatware. Plex: Another bloatware and full of bugs. MediaPortal (both 1 and 2): is advertised to the best replacement for WMC, it does not even come close, and does not work properly with HDHomerun hardware. The HDHomerun app itself: VERY limited and primitive user-interface not suitable for a TV screen. Hacked WMC for Windows 10: Crashes and lots of install- and stability issues. Granted; Emby is the only one that actually works with stability, and the server I liked. It can run as a portable app, which is a good job. Also: Emby is easy to install (compare that to Kodi; a DISASTER!) But: The Emby client app (“Emby theater”) is a big disappointment. VERY cumbersome. Here a few of my observations: Why is it so hard to block channels in the program guide that you don’t want to display? That is a breeze in WMC. Why does skipping forward on live TV go BEYOND the real-time point so that nothing plays any more until the real-time broadcast catches up? Why is it possible to skip beyond the real-time point in the first place? Who came up with THAT “great” idea? Why does my WMC remote not work properly with the Emby client? Channel browsing does not work, amongst many other things. If you want to browse channels on live TV, you can do this ONLY by going back to the channel list or guide. Simple advancing or back-stepping is impossible. A real pain. Turning on (or off) closed-captioning is IMPOSSIBLE. With WMC, this is a simple keystroke on either the remote or keyboard. This blunder alone is enough to make the Emby client worthless. In general, it is a mystery to me why NO-ONE (be it Emby or all the others) have had the imagination to come up with a client that EXACTLY emulates the WMC user interface. If you, as a software engineer, SO desperately want to over-engineer something, then at least add a mode where one can emulate an exact WMC experience. I consider myself to be a computer nerd. But if I want to install something on my home theater that ALL house members can use, Emby is not doing that for me. Awkward controls, missing features and a steep learning curve for people who are used to WMC, that means a no-no for Amby in my household, sorry. I will have to stick with WMC for the foreseeable future it seems. It is almost unbelievable that 18 years after the introduction of WMC, NO-ONE can come up with something that actually beats it. Maybe those Microsoft engineers weren’t so bad after all.