Win mediacenter help

I want to use VLC on my win7. but I wanted to know when I go into Turn win componants On and Off.

I know I can turn Win Media Player OFF because I will use VLC.

But what is Media Center what does this do?

 

Media Center is a Graphical User Interface front end, that allows you to not only use your computer as an extender to something like the Xbox-360, so if you record programs Over The Air through a tuner, or from catv, you can watch it elsewhere in the house. VLC is a Media Player, like Windows Media player.

I usually turn off media Center on Windows 7 computers, that are used as desktops. No need for it, if you do not have a tuner card in the computer, or capture card.

 

Well I am going to get a USB stick that will let me conect my Cable to it and then use VLC to watch the TV coming in.

Will I need Media Center?

 

If you want to record and watch tv programming. VLC is a media player. That means, that you can only watch videos that you have downloaded from someone, or have saved through something like download helper. You can not use VLC to watch stuff streaming through the USB dongle/tuner. Also, some of those devices are not compatible with Windows Media Center, so you have to use the software that comes with it. Also, can not watch channels through your CATV provider, if they are encrypted, and you need a DTA or cable set-top box in order to receive said programs.

VLC is just a replacement for Windows Media Player. It and Media Center are two different creatures.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/windows-media-center


Windows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player developed by Microsoft. It is an application that allows users to view and record live television, as well as organize and play music and videos. The application is included in various versions of Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate and all editions of Windows 7 except for Starter and Home Basic.
Media Center can play slideshows, videos and music from local hard drives, optical drives and network locations. Users can stream television programs and films through selected services such as Netflix. Content can be played back on computer monitors or on television sets through the use of devices called Windows Media Center Extenders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_media_center




VLC media player (also known as VLC) is a highly portable free and open-source media player and streaming media server written by the VideoLAN project. It is a cross-platform media player, with versions for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, BeOS, MorphOS, BSD, Solaris, iOS, and eComStation.[5]
VLC media player supports many audio and video compression methods and file formats, including DVD-video, video CD and streaming protocols. It is able to stream over computer network and to transcode multimedia files.[5]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_media_player