As many of us have noticed, Apple has been cutting down on optical media over the years. From their portable devices using internal memory, to their MacBook Air dropping the optical drive entirely, to offering their newer operating systems as downloads or data on a flash drive, Apple has been trying to cut out the use of optical media. Now, it seems Microsoft will halfheartedly join the party, as Windows 8 will be dropping DVD playback. If you really, really need DVD playback on your Windows 8 machine, however, there are a few simple alternatives.

From the Windows Blog:

Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray.

There are a few easy ways to get DVD playback back on your Windows 8 Machine, including paying for Windows Media Center via DLC, or downloading one of the many third party solutions available, some of which are free, and you should have on you computer anyway, like VLC.

If you’re wondering specifically why Microsoft has decided to move away offering DVD playback upfront, they have cited both the “sharp decline” of DVD as a medium, as well as having to pay a “significant amount” of royalties. Luckily for us, we’d be using VLC regardless of what comes or doesn’t come packed into Windows 8 — or any operating system for that matter.

(Windows Blog via The Verge)

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