Windows Media Center Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Windows Media Center for Windows and since it's discontinued a lot of people are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is Kodi, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Windows Media Center and 18 are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to Windows Media Center are Plex, Emby, Universal Media Server and MediaPortal.

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Alternatives list

  1. Kodi icon
     1550 likes

    Open-source media player compatible with Linux, Mac, Windows, Xbox, and iOS, designed for home theater PCs. Customizable with themes, supports 4K, audio and video formats, streaming, privacy-focused operations, and extensible with plugins.

    82 Kodi alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Fire TV
     
  2. Plex icon
     891 likes

    A multimedia tool for streaming movies, TV shows, sports, and music while facilitating personal media organization with versatile libraries and metadata retrieval.

    92 Plex alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
    • Windows Phone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Snapcraft
    • Android Auto
    • Apple TV
    • Flathub
    • Daydream
    • Kindle Fire
    • Android TV
    • Amazon Alexa
    • Kodi
    • Google TV
    • Playstation
    • Docker
    • Fire TV
    • Roku
    • Chromecast
    • Xbox
    • Docker Hub
     
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  3. Emby icon
     174 likes

    Emby, formerly Media Browser, is a media aggregator plugin for Media Center that takes your recorded, digital, or ripped media and presents it in a simple, easy to use interface. Emby prides itself on delivering a fast, intuitive, media rich experience for the whole family.

    51 Emby alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • BSD
    • Windows Phone
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Apple TV
    • Kindle Fire
    • Cloudron
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
     
  4. Universal Media Server is a media server capable of serving videos, audio and images to any DLNA-capable device. It supports any device capable of DLNA and runs on all major operating systems: Windows, OS X and Linux.

    49 Universal Media Server alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  5. MediaPortal icon
     53 likes

    MediaPortal transforms your PC into a complete media solution. It runs on basic hardware, connects directly to your TV and displays your TV Series, Movies, Photos and Music in a much more dynamic way.

    27 MediaPortal alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  6. nextPVR icon
     11 likes

    NextPVR. NextPVR is a popular free personal video recorder application for Microsoft Windows, making it easy to watch or record Live TV.

    19 nextPVR alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • Docker
     
  7. Serviio icon
     54 likes

    Serviio is a free media server. It allows you to stream your media files (music, video or images) to any DLNA-certified renderer device (e.g. a TV set, Bluray player, games console) on your home network.

    50 Serviio alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  8. DVBViewer icon
     10 likes

    DVBViewer allows you to experience Digital TV on your PC. With a proper DVB card you can enter the world of digital entertainment and experience high quality, incredibly sharp TV pictures and near CD quality radio!

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  9. Playon icon
     14 likes

    PlayOn is both browser and media server for your Windows PC which lets you magically stream your favorite shows, movies, even your personal media from your PC to your TV, smartphone or tablet. To display videos on your TV, PlayOn relies on a friend such as a game console like...

    29 Playon alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
  10. MythTV icon
     83 likes

    MythTV is a free, open source media center and digital video recorder (DVR) distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL. With its plugin architecture, MythTV can be transformed into a home media center suite, capable of managing your personal photo, video, and music collections...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  11. Watch, record, organize, and curate your favorite shows and movies with Channels. From your living room, second home, hotel room, or even on your commute, Channels lets you watch your personal media your way.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Android
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Apple TV
    • Fire TV
    • Android TV
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Docker
     
12 of 18 Windows Media Center alternatives