But not the DVD playback, which has to be licensed additionally. Being the person who also legally bought the DVDs (all of them are DRMd nowadays) it really hurts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_Scramble_System

To which I already replied in the same thread - use VLC which decodes CSS on the fly, unless you live in a country that doesn't believe in your freedom to play legally purchased content and prohibits doing that(United States of America).

Of course, it would be nice if Windows 10 just included that and saved everyone the trouble.

It's not only the US, see the post from the user noinsight here.

If you upgrade from a version that supported DVD playback rather than do a fresh install, the DVD playback will still be there.

Why can't I just play my media (which I paid for) on my hardware (which I paid for) in "normal" software (which... I thought I paid for). Instead I have to have the Xbox brand shoved in my face at every opportunity?

I don't find it very different from having the "Windows" brand shoved in my face with Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows Internet Explorer (formerly) etc. or the "Microsoft" brand shoved in my face with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer (formerly)... the OS is made by Microsoft, I expect to see mentions to Microsoft's properties and trademarks.

It would be like that if you were running these apps on an Xbox. But when you are running a PC, it doesn't make sense to brand them with Xbox branding unless they are services specifically related to the Xbox (e.g., Xbox Live account management or something). Otherwise it sounds like a weak attempt at cross-branding.

> Instead I have to have the Xbox brand shoved in my face at every opportunity?

I know this isn't your point, but you might be happy to learn that Xbox Music and Xbox Video have been renamed in Windows 10 to "Groove Music" and "Video", respectively. According to Microsoft, most users thought "I don't have an Xbox, why would I want to use Xbox Music?" — so they rebranded those apps.

Nobody is forcing you to upgrade. If you bought Windows 7 and have it on disc you can keep using it, even without installing any updates, ever! Then you can continue enjoying IE7, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Centre - all of which you paid for. But if you want to upgrade to a new version which doesn't have those "features" - then it's your choice. It's not mandatory, nobody is shoving anything in your face.

Windows 7 comes with IE8 by default, IIRC, and you can upgrade it to 11.

WMP was never a great player, but at least it would ship the necessary DVD-reading machinery as well as a license for using it legally.