Windows 8 for Digital Music Playback

So, how good is Windows 8 for playing music? It all depends.

First of all, if you're a Windows Media Center fan, know that WMC isn't included in the basic build of Windows 8. Microsoft figured not enough people used it to warrant adding the costs for all the codecs into the basic version of Windows, and thus made WMC an optional and extra component to the Win8 Pro version. You can easily add the Media Center pack from within Win8, for a negligible cost (rumored to be in the $10-$15 range), but it's still an add-on, not part of the core operating system.

Even if you add the Media Center pack, know that you can't boot Win8 directly into WMC, as you can with all previous versions of Windows. Microsoft is so damned hell bent on forcing the Metro tiled Start screen experience on everyone that you can't bypass it, not even to go into Media Center. This is close to a deal killer for anyone using Windows in the living room; you don't want to have to mouse and click to the WMC environment, you just want Media Center to be there when you boot up and all the time after. It's a real kick in the ass for music lovers, HTPC enthusiasts, and anyone trying to use their computer as part of an audio/video system.

That said, you can reprogram your universal remote to click your way through the damned Start screen and launch Media Center. From there it's the same Media Center you're used to -- really, the exact same one, since Microsoft effectively killed all future WMC development with the Windows 7 version. If you like what you got now, that's fine.

That said, the Metro-style Music app built into Windows 8 (being rebranded as "Xbox Music" as we speak) may be a good-enough solution for many music lovers. The Win8 Music app looks and feels a lot like the Music component of WMC, and offers much of the same functionality. And, believe it or not, the touch-enabled Metro interface functions pretty well as a ten-foot interface, too. It's all those big tiles that work great on tablets; they work great at a ten-foot distance, too.

Viewing your digital music library with Windows 8's Music app.

Playing a track in Windows 8 -- looks a lot like Windows Media Center.

So, should you use Windows 8 for your digital music needs? Maybe. Try the built-in Music app to see if it fits your needs, and if it does, great. If not, you can always add Windows Media Center back into the mix, even if you can't launch directly into the WMC home screen. That said, WMC's days are obviously numbered, so some sort of ten-foot interface replacement will be needed eventually.