Microsoft Media Center Drops Stations Making Early Transition to Digital

By Doug Lung
published

Some users of pre-TV Pack Windows Media Center software lost guide data for stations that recently shut off their analog channels. Stations that ceased analog broadcasting showed up as "no data available" in the channel guide. Microsoft said this was because in Windows Vista, the guide data was obtained from two sources—FCC data and a third-party company that provided analog broadcasting data. In the pre-TV Pack versions of Windows Media Center, Microsoft mapped ATSC channels to stations' corresponding analog channel. When the analog channel was shut down, this guide data was disappeared.

Microsoft should have resolved the issue by now. For additional information, see Microsoft restores guide data for ATSC channels in Media Center on EngadgetHD.com and this forum thread from thegreenbutton.com.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.