In October I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that Windows Media Player 11 isn't supported on any version of Microsoft's own HTPC platform, Windows Media Center Edition, prior to the 2005 version. That means if you own a Windows MCE 2002, 2003, or 2004 edition computer you can't watch video from sites that use it for DRM purposes. Until recently that hasn't been a problem for me as most sites only require WMP 10. As of last week, however, it's a big problem since Netflix now requires it for their Watch Instantly service.

 For anyone not familiar with the Netflix service, it allows subscribers to their DVD rental plans to stream video from their website, and even offers very good (standard definition) quality with a fast enough internet connection. When I upgraded from 1.5Mbps to 3 Mbps I was able to watch Heroes (a day after it aired) in better quality than I would get from satellite TV.

However, in October I had my first run-in with MCE 2004's lack of WMP 11 support when Netflix temporarily required it for streaming. Although I've never received a reply to the customer support email I sent them about the problem, it went away within a week and I started using the service again. Unfortunately it appears they were just testing for future deployment as they have apparently made a permanent change now. When I spoke to someone at customer service today I found that they knew nothing of the potential issue, so apparently Netflix isn't concerned. They also haven't responded to a request for information I made nearly a week ago.

I could easily solve the problem by spending $200 to upgrade to MCE 2005, but why should I pay Microsoft to fix a problem they created? That sounds a lot like a protection racket to me. Especially since WMP is the backbone of the Media Center application and WMP 11 came out less than 2 years after MCE 2004 and less than a year after vendors switched to MCE 2005.

I'm relatively fortunate because I have a copy of Windows XP Pro I can load on the computer, meaning I could switch to a program like BeyondTV for   less than it would cost me to upgrade MCE.   I'm just glad I bought the computer second hand. If I had paid what it cost new at the end of 2004 I'd be a lot unhappier than I am now.

If you're affected by this issue make sure to let Microsoft and Netflix know how you feel.