Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows Vista's Media Center have DVR capabilities built in. Media centers are computers adapted for playing music, watching movies and pictures stored on a local hard drive or on a network drive, and watching DVD movies. Typically, media centers provide DVR functionality for watching and recording television broadcasts as well. Most media centers also include Internet client software for checking email, surfing the web and reading RSS feeds.

Media centers - sometimes also called HTPC's for "Home Theater PC" - are usually operated using a remote control and can be connected to a television set for video output. A media center can be purpose-built, or you can build one yourself by adding media center software to a PC or some other computer or gaming console like the Xbox.

Media center PCs are often built smaller than usual computers and/or made to look similar to other A/V components such as a receiver so they fit nicely into your entertainment center. In addition, they have special hardware not seen in most personal computers such as a receiver for remote controls and television tuner cards.