I want to switch from WMC to MC Theater View for general Live TV viewing. I think I'm finally able to articulate the
short list of relatively tiny problems that create a big barrier (especially for other family members) to doing so:
1. Guide. WMC lets me view the guide while simultaneously watching the station I'm on. MC pauses the broadcast while I
view the guide.
2. Info. When I hit the info button (the 'i' button on a Media Center Remote), WMC shows me a nice description of the
show, and often whether it's (New) or (Repeat). MC just displays the show's progress bar (it doesn't even display the
name of the show - to get this I have to hit up/down a bunch of times). Also, hitting info again doesn't make it
disappear - I have to wait for it to time out.
3. Channel changing. If I rapidly change channels in WMC, I get an immediate response with each button press and it shows
me a bunch of good information about the channel I'm about to see if I stop clicking. In MC, it gets bogged down and
shows me (way less) info from the channel 3+ button presses ago. The time required to change from one channel to another
is about the same in both programs, but WMC feels way more responsive and shows better information.
MC does all of the big things better than WMC (rendering, network drive support, etc.). It's sad that these tiny things
are keeping me from using it.