Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

susansusie reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Aug 25, 2011

Do not prefer this program compared to others, although it works.

wacwogjla reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Aug 16, 2011

It's simple to use.

mariela miyuki arellano reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Feb 6, 2009

windows mwdia player

Nikkie reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 7, 2008

Vista version:

I have actually switched for the time being from winamp to this.winamp has been giving me directx errors right after i upgraded from 5.5 to 5.51.

wmp works fine and i really never noticed all the new features until now.

the toolbar feature is good.

yourmum reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Mar 18, 2007

It's pretty good, but still has a few bugs in it, and crashes randomly if you're watching very large videos, or if you have the DFX plugin, other than that, its an awesome version of media player, and it's an essential if you like listening to music. It automatically searches for your music and videos, and puts them into your library.

Definately worthe the upgrade from WMP 9 or 10.
If you want to enhance the sound of media player, use the enhancements integrated which dont seem to make much difference, or you could use DFX 8.0.

Enjoy!!

Ian C. reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Feb 20, 2007

I really love windows media player, and always have. Only reason I don't use it for everything is because I have a very old computer, and WMP is fairly resource intensive compared to apps like XMPlay and Media Player Classic.

Antichrist reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 30, 2007

Instead of using this, get the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack which will easily install Media Player Classic, along with the codecs you'll need, for video. If you want a nice separate audio program with eye candy, get WinAmp. If you purchase music through URGE (or iTunes), learn about DRM and stop supporting it. I don't want to trash Microsoft like a lot of people, this media player is alright, but people often get it thinking it's simple, and it's actually a lot more complicated than programs like Media Player Classic, but not necessarily more powerful.

Mystenes reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 19, 2007

all we really need to watch/listen = foobar + mpc

photonboy reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 18, 2007

WMP11 is a great program. I remember when earlier versions wouldn't even work properly with third party codecs.

If you have a DVD codec installed, WMP11 makes a great DVD player.

Though not really Microsoft's fault, some codecs (ffdshow?) can cause WMP to crash. The solution is to uninstall those codecs and use other ones, either a different ffdshow or Divx. This same issue can also cause Explorer (not Windows Explorer) to crash and the fix is the same.

A score of ONE?
This is NOT a site that Microsoft manages. If someone makes a mistake on the version number or jumps the gun on the release date, don't trash a pretty good program, okay?

I think it would be respectful to change your score and just give WMP11 what you think it deserves.

My scores are always adjusted by price, so consider that PowerDVD 7 Deluxe at $70 is almost the same price as OEM Win XP Home which can be purchased for as low as $85?

**For all you people that don't know about OEM purchasing, listen up. Windows can cost less than half the price and the only difference is the packaging and the inability to upgrade an existing installation of Windows 98. I recommend fresh installations anyway.

Also, certain hardware (especially hard drives) can be purchased as OEM. I just bought a 320GB Seagate SATA drive (perpendicular) for $90.

imnra reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 18, 2007

After downloading this "update" the version shows 11.0.5721.5145. That is the same version previously released. Is there a update version 5146? If so, where is it? Maybe this was a mistake. I gave this download a 1, because it does not appear to be a real upgrade/update.

oubeaver reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 18, 2007

Isn't that a screenshot of WMP version 10?

I like WMP11. Really the first time I've switched to using WMP for playing my music. Plus the black GUI is pretty sharp looking.

boooggy reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 18, 2007

it's the same as previos...they changed only the date.....

Daddy_Spank reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 18, 2007

In it still says version 11.0.5721.5145 after installing this...??

stevetures reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 17, 2007

Anyone care to comment on any possible speed increases for this release (from previous posts its sounds unlikely but I thought I'd ask)?

dim reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 17, 2007

Direct link:
http://download.microsof...1-windowsxp-x86-enu.exe

rseiler reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 17, 2007

Nothing, really. It's actually still the 5145 version, with just the setup and configuration files updated (those are the files that are 5146). Everything else is the same, and the version number of the program is unchanged.

Paul Skinner reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 17, 2007

What's the difference between this and Windows Media Player 11 Final from a month or so ago?

Dreimanis reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 17, 2007

great app, even greater library feature.

tenebrusmke79 reviewed v11.0.5721.5146 on Jan 17, 2007

Ben, how do you know this is spyware? Any intelligent person would know that they have every right to do ANYTHING they want with ANYTHING they get. You, on the other hand, have no right to tell people what to do.

Giving this a 5 to counteract the negative reviews (though right in their own way, but wrong in just doing so to lower the rating).

Also, if you don't like it, then don't get it, use it or review it.

I have not had ANY problem with this (and this or any other product that I use from Microsoft is spyware).

..::][Ben][::.. reviewed v11.0 Final on Nov 8, 2006

Whats going on at microsoft? Do they really think all pc users are idiots ?
I log everything of every new app i install for several days to ensure it´s ok.
This crap behaves like only spyware do.

If you want to be private while using your pc which has internet connection, i recommend you to use an good firewall with complete file control (knowledge to set it up rigt).
You should also use no internet explorer/outlook express/microsoft media play (except mpc), also no other product from microsoft except windows itself :) (there are many great freeware alternatives for all those programs)
Im sure experienced users already know those things.

Only positive about mp11 i can say is, it looks good, everything else is really bad.

akh154 reviewed v11.0 Final on Nov 8, 2006

I want the look of my MP 10 back. It's a shame on the interface of this new version. 2 for it. Give any advancement (if there is any as for sound and DVD playback quality) with the look and feel the older version and I will rate it 4. Otherwise I don't need anything newer than version 10 and an Intel Audio Studio to burst my speakers!

dono1216 reviewed v11.0 Final on Nov 7, 2006

The good: I got it to install (as Admin) and the program is *really* that much better than version 10.

The bad: couldn't even get it to open as a limited user. so i naturally tried to roll back to WMP 10 -- that didn't work either. So I'm stuck with WMP 11 that only works in Admin mode. Security breaches anyone?

k3of4 reviewed v11.0 Final on Nov 1, 2006

Probably not the best all around media player out there, but still I think it's miles up from previous versions. I also personally hate iTunes (understandably in the minority there), so this is a good easy alternative.

perhaps reviewed v11.0 Final on Nov 1, 2006

Again, Microsoft released only the english version of WMP 11. We portuguese users of MS, continue to wait for the IE 7 version on our language. Microsoft only have english users??? I don't think so.

simonjames reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 31, 2006

I dont like not being able to turn off the album cover art thing and maybe its just me, but opening a playlist seems much more intuitive in wmp10 then in 11. I'll stick with wmp10

morganp reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 31, 2006

Other than the music store I don't really see what this product has to offer. It has a so-so music library and poor visualizations. I still prefer using WinAmp for audio and Media Player Classic for videos. I seem to be of the same opinion as nickpowers101 :)

sarrik reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 31, 2006

Not a bad media player, I suppose.
But I'm not so sure it has to be so large, download wise.
Unless it's installing new/updated windows media codecs, then I'm not entirely sure it's not bloatware. (yeah, yeah. Love those double negatives... ya know what I mean)

Seems much better than the last beta, but is still slow in comparison to others (MPC, Alshow etc.)
Also has lost a good feature: easy access to the playlist.
Anyway, it would do in a pinch, but is nowhere near the best.

You get basic functionality hidden behind ten tons of flash.

Daddy_Spank reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 31, 2006

I like this actually...

But Betanews, cant you post a picture of the correct release? The pic is from WMP 10...

horsecharles reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

Bloat & repressive DRM are double deal-killers....& activation/validation's getting to be too irritating.

nickpowers101 reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

It's fast and has a cool user interface, but I won't be using it as my default media player. I find iTunes to be significantly easier to use with respect to music playback and organization. For video playback, I prefer Windows Media Player Classic because of it's simplicity, ease of use and speed. WMP11 is okay I guess, but it definitely won't be my primary media player.

Sabz reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

it looks ok, but i think Winamp looks much better an yet again it minizes to the system tray

Shadow7 reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

It is does use a fair amount of resources to run. I'm sure it could be cut down but then again itunes uses just as much if not more. WMP has always been a stable player for me and i use it every once and a while. Love the new interface but I do still prefer winamp.

photonboy reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

Works almost perfect.
Regarding format support. Perhaps WMP could auto install codecs but I doubt people would want that. Anyone using divx/xvid for example tend to be picky about the codec installed.

As long as you install the correct codec there's very few (if any) media files WMP11 will not play.

Any complaint I have would be trivial. I can't choose between multiple DVD audio or video codecs but then the audio and video does sound fine.

Most other recommendations I'd have are implemented into the Media Player.

I don't use WMP11 for audio that much as I find it a pain for setting up a quick playlist. I prefer MusicMatch for this.

xrayspex reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

Fast and sleek

dejavu reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

Excellent in my XP! But I think it's made for Windows Vista!

Floske Tuf reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

I am very sorry.
It is the first time that I turn down an MS software.
1. It is very slow.
2. The user interface is depressive (it looks like a coffin, a mortuary) it is simply black and ugly.
3. The standard menu-bar has been left out by default (see also IE7).
4. And then there is that DRM smell !

It will never come on my machine !

BoNeLeSS reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

So what's good about WMP 11? Hard to say. It's slow and the format support it's poor. Has been said already: Winamp is lighter and has excellent format support and a powerful media library. VLC or MPC on the other hand are quite a lot more faster and flexible for playing video. Well... At least is a free upgrade.

constust reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

Bloat. People, all you need is WinAmp for music and VLC or WMP 6.4 for videos. What is the point of this monstrosity?

mjm01010101 reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

Crashed on first use after double clicking a song that was playing.

gate1975mlm reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

To DudeBoyz

Use Mmm to remove any items in the right click context menu! http://www.hace.us-inc.com/mmm.shtml

As for WMP 11 Final its about time :)

DudeBoyz reviewed v11.0 Final on Oct 30, 2006

I can't seem to get it to NOT put all that extra stuff on the right-click menu when I highlight an MP3 file. Is there any way to turn this off? It just seems so invasive.

Compared to WMP 9, this thing just feels kind of like it just wants to take over. Plus, it seems to be getting bigger and slower, maybe because it does so much now compared to before.

As with IE 7, I'm just having trouble reconciling the changes with previous versions. I'm not sure this app is going in the right direction.

hugh750 reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 11, 2006

I downloaded windows media player 11 beta 2 today and i've been using it and so far no problems at all, when i was using beta 1 i did get some lockups, keep up the good work microsoft!

lane32x reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 4, 2006

generally the ability to play a video on an external display is determined by the drivers and software of your video card (even in laptops). Check your display settings and see if you have any Video Overlay things you can tweak.
I'll rate it a 4 b/c it looks cool and they are fixing bugs, even if the progress isn't what I would hope. Meanwhile I'll stick to Q Media Player.

shicaca reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 3, 2006

I don't know if it will let me put no Rating, but does anybody know if the uninstallation of this program will actually work this time? I use CrapCleaner, and come to find out the WMP uninstall directory is cleaned out by accident. With the dir gone, you can't revert back to the older version. The thing I didn't like about Beta 1 was the fact that you had to have the player screen maximized to have full screen output on an external display (laptop --> TV). With the media player replacement program (it's on fileforum), you can have a non-max'ed screen while watching, externally, the movie of your choice. You can even minimize the movie and still have it full screen externally. Great if you need to do some computer work while half-paying attention to a missed episode of your fav TV program...

photonboy reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 2, 2006

File types:
This isn't a review of WMP11 b2 which I thinks works great, but rather a discussion of different file types.

Different video files such as Divx/Xvid (usually in AVI) work fine as long as the appropriate audio and video codecs are installed such as Ffdshow and AC3filter. Go to www.free-codecs.com

WMP never used to play these external codecs but does so now very well. WMP is not likely to create internal codecs for these apps when very good ones have already been developed.

If your file is unplayable, first try playing it with VLC (media player). If you still want it to play with WMP, Google for the appropriate codec. With Ffdshow and AC3filter and VLC there's almost no codec you'd likely need that is not covered.

Removing:
I uninstalled by doing a rollback via System Restore (due to an unrelated problem) however, many new Windows apps don't appear until "Show Updates" in Add/Remove program is checked.

jsc315 reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 2, 2006

had a little trouble installing this but wasn't to much of an issue. Also was a bit slow at first when it first loaded but after than ran smoother than ever.

Alex T. reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 1, 2006

Can someone update the old screenshot with the latest build?

pdail reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 1, 2006

Was not sure, if I could write a review, or not. After, I downloaded this, my computer, has slowed, way down. Raw Read rate error, went from 56 to 55, as I type this. Very buggy, on install. It all starts, with the check sharing media box. But it soon straightened itself out. I hope! When is the next shot, over the Bow, coming?

spongy-poo reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Sep 1, 2006

Lack of file type support makes it useless. Hopefully the final version will improve.

utomo reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

More stability please
Reduce the memory used
Play the MP4 please
and others

siryak reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

I love this Windows Media Player. It looks great and works great too!!!

Browser12 reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

Like IE 7 beta before it, This streamlining of buttons and main view window is a major step back. But i tried it anyway, and wasn't impressed at all and it was a bit slow and locked up on my last attempt to view a video using this version. WMP 10 is good. Why not add to that player instead of this major negative overhall. I can see that Microsoft has jumped the shark. And its ashame...

pjb reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

Initial instalation went ok.
After the initial windows explorer crashed.
No problems after restart.

To 'drumcat' I initially had them same problem. The fix as far as I can see was to check 'Sharing' is allowed in Media Sharing, which is located under the libary tab. Check what it has named you as.. Do a new scan for pc's from your 360. You should now see it listed there. Once you chose that it works. Don#t ask why it didn't keep whatever your pc was called before.. Enjoy.

h2so4 reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

A great improvement from WMP11 Beta 1. The library is instantly accessible, no 30 second pause when scrolling around. A few graphical changes, but nothing major in this revision.

It still doesn't remember what was playing last, like WMP10 did, which is a shame.

Todd 13 reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

Not as good as WMP 10, and also...why don't they update the screenshot? It's not even from the current version!

drumcat reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

Breaks Xbox Streaming.

djtf reviewed v11.0.5705.5043 Beta 2 on Aug 31, 2006

This is the 1st milestone! Major improvement in stability and features are made! Highly recommend it! Way better then previous versions!

meat popsicle reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on Aug 16, 2006

Overall v11 is definitely an improvement over v10. Except that when encoding mp3s at high bitrates, the l3codecp.acm included with this version uses joint-stereo.

Mirrebex reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on Aug 14, 2006

nice performance improvements but i think there should be a way of choosing the new library look: MWP10 or the new style.

Way to go microsoft.. ,)

pwned32 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on Jun 12, 2006

i agree it is much quicker than wmp and all around lighter. the one thing i dont like are the new library views. i have a large library, (13,000 songs) and i find it very easier to navigate and find songs in the traditional interface. i wish they could let you switch back to the old view in this app, that would fit everyones needs then. i must say that the new views are very original andi can see others soon following, until i get my old library back, im staying with wmp10

minimarko reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 25, 2006

In one word: Excellent

This is a vast improvement over all previous versions. The interface is excellent, but is a little less simple to use. I prefered the one button click for the "Show Enhancements" screen, but oh well.

Sound quality is steller as well as the options. All the free features for video playback and such work great. Unfortunately WMP has a really bad codec system so I still use K-Lite Codec Pack.

The program starts up fast and works really well even with numerous other applications running.

I would still recommend VCL player for previewing video files while downloading them however.

Install was a breez without any problems, a bit slow though.

Overall, all the functioning is great, even the new option to view your iPod is great.

barcrest reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 22, 2006

Hmm maybe i missed it on here, but just to let you know you need SP2 installed to install this. I didn't have this at work and so i couldn't install it however it runs like a dream at home :D

With this and all the cool live tools windows really has been spoilt lately.

ModderXManiac reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 19, 2006

This is in no way bloated, wouldn't go higher than 20 megs with every vid I threw at it, I must say I actually prefer the library view in MP10 a little better, just a simple quick list, but this beats the hell oughtta iTunes, and believe it or not, is faster and more stable than Media Player Classic.

This, amazingly, does start faster than WMP10, even after restart with the new interface. Possibility they put in hardware acceleration from the gfx card like they will do with all apps on Vista to help with interface speed? Software rendering is too slow, but even on my 750mhz slower XP benchmark test bed, the interface is too freakin fast for just plain software rendering.

The only thing I can gripe about is that they don't have a Windows XP theme to match it, which would look REALLY awesome, and it wouldn't be hard with the filesize of the download...meh, i'm on highspeed, not much to complain.

sn1p34 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 18, 2006

Huge improvement over 10, I love the new library is very intuitive and So easy to find the song you want. Very nice!

photonboy reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 18, 2006

Awesome. does everything v10 did and more. I especially like the audio "album->songs" interface. (library->Music->view by "songs")

I believe that WMP11 will be part of a larger Multimedia interface in Vista that is still being worked on. However, WMP11 for XP is here to stay.

hugh750 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 18, 2006

I just downloaded and installed media player 11 and it works great!!!
And so far no crashes.

nRadeo reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 18, 2006

WMP 11 rocks, i never though that MS makes a good Player, but ... WMP11 shows me the reality. Its great, nice Design and a fantastic Libary.

Better than iTunes!

Kubla_Khan reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 18, 2006

Finally an update to Windows Media Player! And Microsoft has done it right! The highlight for me is the drag and drop interface that allows you to drag music you want synced (or playlists) unto any device you stick into your computer (usb, pocketpc, sd card, etc.)

Good thing I can dualboot on my MacBook Pro...

My only problem is it won't find .ogg files that are on my computer (even after directshow plugin is installed) - hence the 4 stars out of 5 since OGG is better than any other format.
Speaking of formats - I'd like a 11.5 release in which microsoft supports the h.246 codec officially - so that I won't have to watch stuff in horrible quality ever again on the net.

wizard68sc3 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

A very promising version. I love it.

captainahab reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Looks great, works great.
The best gets better!

kda reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

WOW, Microsoft got this one right! So much easier to use (intuitive), fast and attractive too.

midfingr reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Very cool! The library tab caught my attention with pictures, music, recorded tv, and video. Each category has a 'round robin' type of view, ala Win98, which I hope makes it's return in Vista.

pjb reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Really good. Nice look. Faster loading than V10. Impressed.

siryak reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

It works great and I love the new interface....If you wanna see what it looks like here is an image I uploaded ---> http://img181.imageshack...mg181/8286/wmp116za.jpg

BK553 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

I like it. Nice interface, much more intuitively laid out than the previous 10 versions, plays without delays, well integrated into the music store. I hope some good skins are produced later, that's one of my grips about itunes right now, it's ugly. Too bad this will never work with my ipod.

alanpalmer reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Nice. I quite like the UI. The screenshot looks to be WMP 10, not 11. I've only tried it for half a day, but it all seems to work fine!

statm1 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

I do like it but the layout is alittle annoying in my opinion.. But not enough not to give it a 5...

And before anyone gets turned off because of the screenshot. The UI is totally different it no longer looks how it does in the screenshot. So please try it out..

stevetures reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

my mini-review:
**Installation went well, as much seemed to be carried over from wmp9 and wmp10. Many of the settings and config questions were the same.
**I decided to go with URGE, M$'s stab at ITMS. It plugs in nicely with wmp11. Searching for 'death cab' yielded 12 albums, and I was able to click on the search match and see a listen of songs for easy playback. The preview playback sounded like a 56kbps wma9 file, which I find passable for preview purposes. The playback is as quick as ITMS
**The Library responded quickly. The music is arranged intuitively, based on browse/search criteria.
**This release, as much is carried over from previous versions, appears to be quite stable. Hasn't crashed once. The first URGE and library accesses are met with much disk activity and a 5-10 second pause. This has since moved to a more passable 1 second pause for most actions.
**Pros - wmp11 is a shot across the iTunes music store. People should be able to get their fauxPods working and buying music in no time (insert RIAA salivation here). The burn functionality has been beefed up a little bit with ease-of-use and a new settings page for burning data mp3 cds (seems silly, but lots of users can't do that well, and many people have mp3-aware car decks and stereos (think 'road trip' elizabethtown style, this could have saved Kirsten Dunst and Cameron Crowe a lot of music tapes). The default skin is an improvement, and the icons are 'pretty'.
**Cons. Still missing AAC/M4A playback. Not native and not availible via searching wmplugins.com. They can't persuade me away from itunes if I can't bring my ripped CDs with me. (maybe if they were as gutsy as Real, they could write a program like jhymn into wmp11, but I'm sure they don't want their pants sued off by Apple) Perhaps they could find away to integrate the 'rip' tab as well as they did with all of the other options.
-steve

JonathanDoe reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Floske Tuf, If you look at the download page here: http://www.microsoft.com.../download/download.aspx you'll see that it notes
"Please Note If you use Windows Media Player to access a favorite online store, some are not available for this beta release. The following stores are available in the Windows Media Player 11 beta release: Audible, FYE, Live365, Movielink, MSN Music, Napster, Passalong, Puretracks, URGE, Wal-Mart, and XM Radio."

As far as WMP11 goes, I think it's excellent.

riceboy reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

It's a beta, so there are bound to be bugs. Other than that, I like the new design and layout. For some reason I can now play Oog files...

mjm01010101 reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Interface still suffers from slowness and strange GUI design. All these curved lines, borders, transitions, in the default GUI make me a sad panda.

Better than itunes/quicktime, but that isn't saying much. I'll never likely own an ipod unless it's donated to me and forced down my throat. I won one once, and gave it to my girlfriend.

I prefer WMP for playing large quantities of music.

Media Player Classic gets all my associations, however.

Floske Tuf reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

@JonathanDoe

Hey Jonathan, if you would have read my review completely before to answer to it, then you would have noticed that I have a subscription with MSN Music.
It's one of the online stores in your list isn't it ?
So it should work, doen't it ?
And it doesn't - hence my rating of 3
Thanks for your help anyway :-))

I like it ! for all kkinds of reasons !
That is why i'd love to give it a 5.

But :
I tells me that there are no "online stores" for my region, while I have a subscription to msn.music

Maybe somebody can enlighten me ?

kazoom reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Sexy looking and very stable here.

nicobarengo reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

Read the fullreview at: http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/wmp11.asp

iamtux reviewed v11.0.5358.4827 Beta on May 17, 2006

First of all, update the screenshot guys!

I've been looking forward to this release for a while. I downloaded it a few hours ago and was pleasantly surprised by it. I love the new UI, thought they did a really good job with it. Also, its memory footprint is surprisingly low as well. It barely passed the 18mb point and seemed to slowly decrease over time. This is a beta but its really stable, so far I've had no problems with it. Keep it up guys!

jeck reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Jan 9, 2006

I had no intention of writing a review for WMP until I downloaded this supposed update, and found out that the file I downloaded was the same version that I already had installed, which is 3802, not 3923. I researched this including an exhaustive read of the reviews here, and I must agree with all the reviews I have read. I was interested to learn that some reviewers claim to have a version 3803, and that the only way to update to 3923 is through a patch, as offered by other reviewers. It used to be simple to update WMP, and it used to do two simple tasks; play audio & video files. I would give WMP a five for those two functions, but as time has gone on I have to agree that WMP has become more, and more bloated, wanting to handle more, and more functions; functions that I don't need or want. It was Orville Redenbacher that said, "Do one thing, and do it better than anyone else." Microsoft should take heed to that, as well as many fast foods chains I could name. Thank God the fast food chains can't force me to eat at their establishments, Microsoft however more, and more has done their best to force me to make WMP the default for every little task that it supports, whether of not it does it better than anyone else. I'm to the point with WMP, as well as Real, and QT that I'm about to uninstall them all in favor of the alternatives. Real, and QT are no better than WMP as they have also become bloated, and also want to take over every multi-media task on my computer. I'm tired of programs coming onto my computer, and telling me what they are going to do instead of me telling them what I want them to do, and having them trying to erradicate any competition that it finds.

It is a catch 22 situation if you use any of these media players to watch content on the net. Anywhere you go on the net it states must have the most current version installed of this or that to view this file. For instance, I use Real of Track Pass, and I'm betting the alternative will not work for Track Pass, so in some cases you have to bite the bullet to received certain content. In any case.......

WMP, Real, and QT all lose points with me for their invasiveness.

imanino reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Dec 26, 2005

Sorry again. Media Player classic was excellent. Why? Because it just wanted to play the media you gave it. It didn't care if it had rivals, it was just happy to be on your machine. Then came Media Player 7 and so on. Suddenly, it wants to be your full Media Center and viciously destroy all competitors' associations. In fact, it even wanted to be your disk burner, seizing that function, even though burning media-related disks might be only a part of your burning regimen. Like a monster, it swallowed a set of DLL's from Roxio, and worse, DLLs that were not completely compatible with Roxio's whole burning suite much less competitors (who needs competitors..all hail the Microsoft gods!). To ice things, it seized DVD codecs from other DVD playing software and refused to give them back. By version 10, you can't even remove the monster as its embedded in the OS..notice how WMP 9 is "disappearing." I say get it if you really want a WMP that you can ever hope to stop. If you really need MP, get MPC. If you must have WMP, stop at 9. One day, Microsoft will realize..hey Bill, we actually don't make very good multimedia software...why don't we work on getting the bugs out of our OSs and leave that stuff to Winamp and others? The world will breathe a sigh of relief. Either that, or media player 55 will eat grandma, mistaking her for a recalcitrant .MP3.

brotherS reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Oct 14, 2005

poor features... I miss lots of the great Winamp features and plugins!

Kramy reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 27, 2005

Oh how funny - the checksum on the WMP10 installer hasn't changed in...well...ever. I've got an installer from 2004 that's identical to this one. O_o

But oh well, I use Media Player Classic (GNU).

bbfc reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 23, 2005

I agree with most others here. WMP is the best media player.

Tried Winamp and RealPlayer - didn't like them and don't really want to pay to use features that WMP already has!

Updated and still says .3802. Strange.

Blackhole8746 reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 19, 2005

The best media player out there... Lots of features, adorable media player that accompanied my multimedia needs throughout the years, but its media library and online CD information is very faulty and lousy... Stays better than other Media Players like Winamp for example

jonstone reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 17, 2005

you need to install these two patchs for it to become that version.

http://download.microsof...8656-x86-global-enu.exe

http://www.microsoft.com...7cd8&displaylang=en

squirrel83 reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Dont know about you but after install I had serrious issues with windows explorer but I think thats my fault, still should have never had the issue to begin with. . .

"The procdure entrey point EnterCriticalSetimn could not be located in the dynamic link lybrary kernel32.dll." Errrr that pissed me off but after re-install everything was fine. Still think Itunes and Winamp have better audio quality.

coover reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Hmmh...

After installing Build 3923, About indicates that I have Build 3802, which was the build I started with. Has MS pulled the new Build?

Still, all in all, WiMP is the best software for many Audio and Video events. It really is a 5.

GoodThings2Life reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Indeed, this appears to be 3802... That being said, I prefer MS WMP over others because... at least the "bloat" doesn't involve spyware, privacy violations, and 3rd party stuff I don't want, and it integrates/plays well with other apps, and it is capable of playing all the formats I actually care about.

Never tried the "Alternative" versions... I'm happy with what I have... but my philosophy has always been--- if you like it, use it... if you don't--- find something better. I don't see a need to bash other products just because I don't like them.

freestylegreek reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Where are you getting 3803. It installs 3802 for me and i did it directly on this site.

twanj reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

this installs 10.00.00.3803 for me.

johnk119 reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Looks pretty, however, it requires a large amount of processing power to preform a simple task. If you compare it to winamp or media player classic, you'll realize it's faults.

minimarko reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Alright, I'm gonna get some rap for giving WMP 10 a 5 rating, but let me explain.

First off I've never had a single problem with the program ever. The audio quality is great, and the video quality is great. It plays any filed I throw at it, and any audio file.

The interface is simple (in my opinion) unlike winamp, which is a bit squished together. It is bloated I'll give you that, I'll never use any of the burning stuff, or Library, or Radio, or anything like that, but it's a small price to pay. You gotta keep in mind that Microsoft makes the player with all this stuff because different people want different features. It would be nice to be able to select what you want installed.

Overall good, never had a problem. Maybe it's just my own personal experiences?

Adrian79 reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

thanks zulith for the tips.

and ofcourse we have to thank our "bloatware" cry babies..without u kids whining about bloat ..the rest of us would have nobody to laugh @ ;-)

ttrimble reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

I'm running 3546 and when I run Update from within Media Player, it tells me that I already have the latest version. Also, I started using this for playing my mp3's since it runs more efficiently when I have my java development environment running. But, I noticed that the audio quality is very poor compared to iTunes. So, I'm back to using iTunes until something comes along that has both efficient processing and good audio quality.

sn0wflake reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Miserable peice of bloatware. Can't get it started without a thousand questions, hard to configure, can't stream the station I listen to without downloading a plugin on a Microsoft webpage with broken links, updating is a pain in the ass, etc. WMP is for people that think pretty must be great. Oh, and since Microsoft made it it has to be great *duuuh*

Zulithe reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Install version 10.00.00.3802 (which is currently the full version MS serves from their site) and then install the patch here http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=888656
Now you have 10.00.00.3923. There is no known full-install containing this version yet

Jose reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Changelog
*Consume more memory
*Hide all the good options somewhere where only 1% will find
*Make filesize bigger
*just kidding

davygiven reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

What on earth is going on with this???
I even tried WMP's own updater. It said a new version was available, downloaded it and then said I have a newer version already installed and it canceled the installation.

arossetti reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Yup. Still 3802 all right...

rauski82 reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

Crap! The file isn't version 3923, it's the old 3802!!! DO NOT DOWNLOAD!

randal2k reviewed v10.00.00.3923 on Aug 16, 2005

this is worse then about 5 players i could list that have nothing to do with DRM or Microsoft.

gobrian89 reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Apr 2, 2005

Windows Media Player 10 is the best media player out there in my opinion. That is the only media I have used and will ever use. I tried Musicmatch but it hassels you to upgrade to plus, upgrade to plus, and to upgrade to plus. It is alot faster loading then musicmatch to. No little intro thing. And the searching capabilities and the ability to send songs to the now playing list while listening to it is awesome. I think Microsoft has made this program grow even more since the Windows classic.

kise reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Mar 11, 2005

I agree with the restrictions in WMP10, and I hate DRM but the autorating system is so *ucking good makes me wanna uninstall iTunes.

petgamer reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 17, 2005

I don't know what it is about WMP but I very much enjoy it. You can do a lot with this program. I've never really liked winamp.. I guess it's because the skins I used are too blocky.. and the ones that seemed more streamline I couldn't read.. I could never find a decent skin for Winamp that I wanted but Windows Media Player left it with a lot to work with plus there's more skins you can try out. I love using windows media player for playing my music and watching the cool visualizations with them (winamp isn't great on visualizations in my opinion) and using it for video. I don't see why people hate Microsoft so much. Use the software.. honestly (keyword there) tell how you liked it.. people are such idiots now. "Oh microsoft is stupid.. so this is stupid" Use want you want.. but I like this... so I'll continue using it unless I find something more enjoyable.

jon8rfc reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

Great video player, I prefer this over all others for video files.

cPingN reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

I'm with Qlib on this one. You forgot to mention you can't (or can you in 10 now?) reassign hotkeys and it's a pain in the a** to use without the mouse.
As for Domingo, why not just use winamp? What do people have against winamp? I can't figure it out. Don't like how it looks? There's a million skins for it. So don't give me that BS. Great library and playlist management. Low CPU usage. Though MPC definitely is way beyond all of them as far as video goes. It's the only thing I use to watch movies on my HTPC now. If only it had the library functionality of winamp and maybe few GUI additions and I'd stick to MPC for everything.

zridling reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

What Domingo said.

Domingo reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

You know, I don't mind the program's interface...in fact I kind of like it. The problem is the whole idea of the "library" function and trying manage songs/movies without being bogged down with playlists and whatnot.

In a way, what I'd really like to see is a version of media player classic that LOOKS like WMP10, but still holds the normal functionality of MPC...and maybe a WinAmp style playlist :) Ah...only in a perfect world I guess.

Mike162005 reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

I like it. It's very nice.

Qlib reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

only a microsoft employee could possibly like this..its slow.. bloated..very system invasive,, insists on going online all the time.. doesnt work with tons of formats and is a digital restrictive pain in the arze, its a shame betanews doesnt support rating in negative numbers.. it would be a clear -5.0 from me then but as it stands..

junk.. avoid at any cost

keir reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

seems fine - but what's actually different?

DiGiTaLFX reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

Can't use this as a media library for audio etc. Just isn't well organised. But great for playing my videos. But my version 3646 reports that its up to date when i check for updates. confused about that!

pyridox reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

Nice, but personally I don't need to watch hypnotic video display while listening to my mp3's. I just need a player that sounds well, plays all formats, loads quick, & isn't a resource hog. This program keeps gering more & more bloated with every release. Because of this, I've been using Winamp for the past couple of years now.

cool_guy reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

Simply the best player out there, best sound quality

eddie reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

jon8rfc: Installer is 3802 for me... and the file size is even different from the last 3646 release.

Milo Kabuki reviewed v10.00.00.3802 on Feb 16, 2005

There is no denying this is a great all round Media Player, only thing a miss that was available in Winamp is the ability to right click on a folder and "Play In Winamp" - really love that option

gobrian89 reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Jan 29, 2005

I love this Version of Media Player. It is the best around. I don't understand why everyone likes Winamp. I used it and hated it. This version of Windows Media Player is 10 times better than the other players out there. The interface is awsome and all the features do work now. I haven't found a bug yet. The minimize feature for XP is the best of all.

petgamer reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Dec 5, 2004

Windows Media Player 10 is an amazing program. It can play audio, video, burn/rip CDs, great visualizations. I'm amazed at all the features this program has. It can also play DVDs which I recently found out...and best of all it's free. Dramatic improvement from earlier versions.

Zeeshaan reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Dec 4, 2004

Big improvement from v8.0 and v9.0. Love it!

Sephirstein reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 16, 2004

Garbage. Use WinAmp for audio and Media Player Classic for video.

LEss intrusive, less buggy, more respectful of your privacy rights.

cfirtat reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 4, 2004

STAY AWAY!!!! This piece of crap looks like it's in beta stage. I tested it on two systems and it's pretty unfinished: there is a 4th, useless icon on the toolbar, an optional visualization plugin from M$ web site doesn't always resize with the main window, but it gets even worse with the "supported" Creative Nomad IIc MP3 player: if you try to format it, you have to close MediaPlayer with TaskManager, and it refuses to copy files to the device. Wait 'til v10.1 comes out!

wat0114 reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

Beeeeeea-utiful! And as for all you adolescent, paranoid, still-stuck-in-the-eighties DOS loving twits who, no doubt, are still using your antiquated Win 95 bargain-basement machines, get with it! Upgrade your computers and, if you're really afraid of Uncle Bill, install a firewall and configure it so that nothing WMP10 related gets in/out of your Internet connection.

Melone reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

It's a great piece of sofware. One of the new options I like is the sync option, it works perfect! The low cpu usage is also a big welcome.

Good work MS!

hte123 reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

To fat, to ugly and have you really read the license agreement?

No, there a much better alternatives out there which respect your privacy.

mcm reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

Much better laid out than WM9. I've noticed they've finally come to senses and have mp3 ripping included now instead of by a $10 download. Now if only they will do the same for DVD playback. Below is a really cool visual they've released with the player as a serparate download. 500k try it out.

MP10_EnergyBlissViz.EXE

Pursuit reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

I agree, mate if you even NEED to use the word 'bloatware' its obvious that your system is in baaaaaad need of an upgrade,,,,are you aware they have actually made another windows since windows 95?! SHOCK!

Current programs are designed, and run perfectly on even the most average current day system which makes me think maybe youve overlooked the last 9 years of technology and it 'may' be time for you to call the nearest computer shop for an upgrade.

I know there are alot of you out there that just feel the 'need' to be different and 'alternative' apparently but dont put things down just because you feel its 'cool' to be anti-microsoft.

Without microsoft this world would basically stop. who cares about the monopoly they have. they are a great company that have brought technology to more things than you could think of.

anyway,,,,Media Player 10,,,,,Well done! Looks good, fast, and shouldve only taken about 3 or 4 minutes to install on even the standard of systems.

blackcherry reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

I think thie program is excellent. It looks great and runs fast, plus has pretty much all the features you will need in a media player, including the new MSN Music Store.
To the people who are saying 6.4 is way better, it's called innovation. Can you imagine what it would be like if nothing new had been added since 6.4? it doesn't even support playlists!!!
And to the 10 year old "Dapple" who wrote the review below this one, i wouldn't call this "bloatware" at all - a lot of people use skins and visual effects. And nobody is "forcing" you to use it either. Get your facts straight and stop trying to make the product sound bad just because you have a crap PC.

Dapple reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

Nope it is still slugish , thank god for media player classic. Microsoft had a great player in the shape of 6.4 , why bloat it with all this crap 9 skins and visual effects ect.they should have just streamlined it more, offer that stuff as addons.Dont force bloatware on people.

Neoprimal reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

Excellent product. Faster than previous versions and has a miraculously small memory footprint. Mem leak issue and the Nero plugin issue have been completely resolved. Haven't found a problem yet, haven't had a crash with it since it's been installed (haven't had to wipe it out in task manager either). I'd recommend the upgrade to everyone. Rating system vastly improved (it saves them on it's own now).

JEdwardP reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 3, 2004

It's still bloated, and now features a default interface much worse than that of prior versions.

I admit to being biased against all-in-one type apps., and acknowledge that this thing could certainly be even worse (as QuickTime, iTunes, RealPlayer, and Radlight all are), but as it is, it's so far from being a desirable product that I don't really think of it when I think of media players, and haven't since version 6.4.

GhoS reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

Its one thing I cannot understand is why MS software takes so friggin long to install. My machine isn't the fastest, but it isn't a slacker either and it took about a 1/2 hour to install (and that was on a clean reboot).
Aside from that its a nice update even though for most media I use other programs. The big surprise as mentione by others is that WMP now does mp3 in higher bitrates. Its a welcome addition and might get me to at least give it a chance to be my everyday player.

virtorio reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

Microsoft has outdone themselves with Windows Media Player 10. It’s fast, stable and much more organized (in terms of layout) than its predecessor (WMP 9 series). It’s like a good version iTunes with far more functionality. It also now includes a mp3 encoder (where previous versions didn't, you had to add a third party encoder).

BK553 reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

I like it. Better, more intuitive UI, much more stable than 9, and faster too. Syncs perfectly with my MP3 player and Pocket PC, burns discs quickly and easily. Everything I need in one easy to use program. 5 Stars.

mb reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

A trouble free upgrade. Hasn't crashed in 8 hours. Faster than version 9, though not sure if I prefer the new GUI yet... No horizontal scroll bar on the left pane of the library is a bizarre oversight. Also the help window is stuck behind the player when "Stay On Top" is selected - shouldn't help always be the topmost window??

If you rate this 1/5 then how would you rate QuickTime or Real Player?

Licensing pays the wages of the people who make the music, perfectly reasonable as far as I'm concerned.

chickenlump reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

Bleh, errors and crashes for no reason other than "I wanted it to play a song". >_<
More bloat indeed, so many useless 'features'. I know it's supposed to be geared toward a different kind of audience, an audience that wants everything in one place, but if this is what's going to be shipped with future OS's, then they need to work out the bugs (so many bugs and crashes already....dear lord), almost a total rewrite is needed. The only thing I like so far is the new default skin. Microsoft is getting better in the visuals department lately. Cut out the 80 useless features, make it use less memory, make it not crash when I look at it wrong, and I'll use it. It's a good thing it's free.

FailedCRC reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

why must software become more bloated with every release?

VikingBlade reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

Stable as a rock for me. Much better streamlined than 9.

yokozuna reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

What, the hell, is this? It crashed several times without any clear reason :-(. The stability of the app is not acceptable. I cannot write anything positive about the player. Is it an early beta or something?

Qlib reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

wasnt this thing supposed to be an improvement?

Its just more bloated garbage... and the gui is awful, its slow and has already crashed 4 times in the last half hour.. thats just not acceptable..

mjm01010101 reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

Interface is geared towards the purchase of music, ripping, external sync, not the *playback* of music. The default skin is a mess for when you just want to playback a few songs/videos. I will never use WMP for ripping anything, nor syncing anything, nor managing a "license" of any kind. (fair use is incompatible with corporate goals!)

I've yet to find a player that plays back everything... either WMP plays it, or Media player classic (better interface) does, but there isn't a player out there that is perfect. 4 stars.

jkamenetz reviewed v10.00.00.3646 on Sep 2, 2004

Very Good.

ved reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jul 20, 2004

Disappointed with lack of FIND ALBUM feature. No major development/ improvement.

I have reverted to version 9.

distinguished reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jun 10, 2004

good for a microsoft product. Not enough changes - should be a 9.x

jrepin reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jun 7, 2004

This is one of the worst media players ever. Version 6.4 was the last onr that was good. This is still very bloated, has bad decoding quality and doesn't support formats like Ogg Vorbis or FLAC. It could also look a lot better. I'm back to using foobar2000 for music and Zoom Player for movies.

razorhasyou reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jun 6, 2004

Why M$?!
Can't you keep working with Longhorn and let go the media player programs and internet explorer?!
Media player classic + foobar2000 is way better than this s***.

jastonas reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jun 6, 2004

bad design... (9 has way better).
a bit disfunctional... maybe because its a beta version. bottom line... stick to 9 until final release.

Zankur reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jun 6, 2004

Good decent update!Good new GUI,good stability,improved sound quality!

Dezekiel reviewed v10 Technical Beta on Jun 6, 2004

Got to love the GUI, similar to Jade theme in Longhorn. Love it, yes i do.

I want multiple colour styles :D PINK!

mukerjee reviewed v9.0.0.3008 on Jun 26, 2003

Just to correct , Yes it is way way faster and stabler than WMP 7 or 8

pjb reviewed v9.0.0.3008 on Jun 26, 2003

A smooth update. Good to see Microsoft maintaining security on their products. WMP9 in my opinion a very good media player.

franzj reviewed v9.0.0.3008 on Jun 25, 2003

My opinion of this program now supercedes that of Winamp2 and Winamp3. Winamp2 is still a great program! WMP9 is still better, because it has tons of music-related, and movie-related features I like. WMP9 is also very stable; it never seems to crash or perform slowly. Keep up the good work Microsoft.

Alex T. reviewed v9.0.0.3008 on Jun 25, 2003

Yes it is 3008. For once, a patch without having to reboot.

IGx89 reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

I've been testing WMP9 out on a 400mhz K6-III Win98 SE computer, and it loads and runs pretty fast, especially compared to RealPlayer software and WMP7. A newer version of a Microsoft product that actually runs BETTER on an old computer? Miracles do happen ;)

eL MaesTro reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

just to correct:
"people, cover pictures , and "
And for those with persecution complex (yes MS and the evil Dr. Mengele will get you) : Get a life and shake your paranoia.

DarthVeda reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

Cool program, I love it for the media management it offers. they should improve the search option though, it should be similiar to winamp.
Automatically retrieve media info is good.

ricsal reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

Very nice, and yes it suports subtitles for divx.
you just nead to install nimo's codec from http://www.btinternet.com/~nimosiro/ :)

Damador reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

average - faster than 8 but still doesnt support subtitles for divx

xippon reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

Version wmp 9 really look great and have SRS WOW. I like it.

havvk reviewed v9.0 on Jan 8, 2003

IGx89 - WMP8 had auto disappearing bars in fullscreen mode but they were even better: more compact, more information, and if you left your most on top of one of them, the bars would still disappear. With WMP9, if for some reason I leave my mouse on top of one of the bars (and since they take up so much room there is a good chance of that), the bars stay on the screen indefinitely and the video I am watching stays in its smaller fullscreen mode. The resizing depending on whether the bars are there is really annoying. Don't get me wrong, I fiddled with WMP9 long enough to know it made some good improvements, but I really use it mainly to watch videos fullscreen and I NEED decent fullscreen controls which WMP8 has. As far as Winamp bashers go, Winamp3 is the best music player out there, hands down, although it does have some wrinkles that need to be ironed out. Winamp3 for music and WMP8 for videos. 'Nuff said.

improvelence reviewed v9.0 on Jan 7, 2003

This program takes winamp and smacks it around like the aol owned pile of junk it has become. Im no big fan of MS but im sorry this new wmp rocks, it is all i need and their is an ogg filter that works with it too for that guy who said it needed that. I say down with anything aol gets its grubby hands on because everyone knows even MS is less evil than aol (the new owners of winamp).

psychoactive1 reviewed v9.0 on Jan 7, 2003

The program jams. It works as advertised, no bugs, runs in the background without so much as a hiccough with Office XP running in the foreground, works great with my Hip Zip player. I run it through a SB Live 5.1 card and a biamplified Dolby Digital AC-3 system.

As for the people complaining with low scores, half of you downgrade it because it's Microsoft. To you, I say "Get a grip". And to the other half complaining it's too big or uses up too many resources, to you I say "Go out and get a real computer instead of the '70's vintage pocket calculator on your desk. And this time, pick the one which DOESN'T come with a free toaster".

There. I feel much better now.

Psychoactive1
chiefgeek & lab rat @ theasylum

freedomfighter reviewed v9.0 on Jan 7, 2003

Sorry, it stinks... STILL does not cover all media formats, its bulky, its slow, and has flaws. Sorry the medal goes to " Zoom Player" this is freeware, smaller download, plays all (except mov) file formats. Microsof... back to the world dom drawing board

djdanska reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

Big, bulky, slower than winamp 2.x and wmp 6.4. Doesn't do anything more i want wmp 6.4 to do. I will stick with 6.4.

Aikouka reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

Windows Media Player yet again still does everything that Microsoft said it would. Burns CDs, Rips CDs (but it does make a digital license which "stops" you from using them on another computer), Plays Music, Plays Video files. The software also loads fairly fast and is very easy to use. But I would not recommend this software on a lower-end machine (P2/K6 Sub-600Mhz). The only reason this software didn't give a 5 is because it didn't meet the last requirement which is my own personal satisfaction. I don't like bulky software and I prefer to use Roxio or Nero for my burning needs and CDex for ripping music (and putting it in the format that I WANT.) And you people that don't like the new Winamp do realize that it works off of modules and if you don't want to play videos, then don't install the capability for it.

linux_email2000 reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

MS has done it again. They go into a app market that they very little share in and build a superior product (after a couple of bad version of course) ;) This is much faster than RealOne and WinAMP. I believe both RealOne and Winamp took a step backword with their last major releases. Therefore making this look even better because it is a huge improvement. 4 stars

MadEx2k2 reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

I wouldn't go as far as saying it kicks WinAMP's ass, but WMP is getting better and better. For playing movies it's great, and I do use it if I don't have Winamp installed. I'm much of a eye-candy person, so I love the Winamp skinning engine. Still I give this 4 stars. The RC is fast, runs everything, and the installer has been nicely redone. Great work microsoft, keep it up.

Qlib reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

I really dont like this invasion of privacy this thing imposes, not to mention that even tho its several googols faster than WMP8.. its still big bulky and slow!

I dont like this.. maybe the final.. but not this..

GeneralLeoFF reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

Media 9 is definitly kicking WA3's butt right now. But the interface is still a little bloted for my needs. Someone make a WinAMP3 style skin for MP9 or tell me where to get a skinning engine for MP9 so I can do it :)

desaul17 reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

This thing just keeps getting better. I hate to admit it but WinAmp has met its match and then some. Turn of all the reporting and enjoy, I doubt if the MS police will be breaking down your door anytime soon (or maybe you should just lay off the tweak)!

dayle reviewed v9.0 RC1 on Nov 1, 2002

kickass player....takes wa3 head on.

m0nde reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2800 on Sep 28, 2002

Nice program. This could put WinAmp out of business! The only complaint I have is that it reorganized my MP3 files. But, it did let me view DIV/X movies properly.

MikeDiack reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2800 on Sep 25, 2002

Forgive my posting of confusing comments, here are the facts:
- Microsoft have released an updated build (2800) for XP
- BUT they've not updated the Windows 9x/2000 build from 2799.

Banquo reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 6, 2002

Runs much better than version 8, and the taskbar player is really nice. It also looks much better, and very stable. Not bad at all considering it is still beta.

jonrebel, what are you babbling about? You can turn off the digital rights management with one click. As for Microsoft knowing what music I listen to, big whoop. They don't care what I listen to and I don't care if they know. Just review the player and stop spreading conspiracy theories.

jonrebel reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

think about this before you sign your life away to MSFT. DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT. You people have no idea what you are subjecting yourself to when you use Microsoft programs, particularly auto updating services and this media player. I implore you all to evaluate the EULA, make sure your encoded media will play on other system that may not have your UID. Be very careful, Microsoft has had totalitarian problems in the past, I let as little of thier software run on my computer as a measure of self defense. IE, Win2k and OfficeXP(corp) with KPF/kerio, no automatic updates, media player 6.4 ONLY (NO 7+) and this in the hosts file: # Windows and MSFT # 0.0.0.0 ie.search.msn.com 0.0.0.0 se.windows.com 0.0.0.0 wustat.windows.com 0.0.0.0 wutrack.windows.com 0.0.0.0 sa.windows.com See that? "track" yes microsoft knows what you do, what you search for, what media you play. BE CAREFUL.

dhigu reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

My build of Windows Media Player is actually 2848 (Don't ask me where I got it, 'cause I can't tell), and its better than the earlier beta I had which was MUCH earlier than the one posted here (it had the Windows Media Player 8 look-and-feel). That one installed AND worked fine on my system, the only thing that it did that was not expected by me was it added a cute little right-aligned text message on the bottom right of my wallpaper saying: (In Bold) 'Microsoft Windows XP' (New line, non-bold) 'For Testing purposes only. Build 2600'. The 2600 is the build number of Windows XP, so I don't get it.

Anyways, that early beta also had a 'Copy Video ' tab which disappeared in the one I have currently. :(

The deskband (the thing you get on your taskbar when you minimize WMP9) was present, but used to hang the app when you tried to pop the mini-visualisation window. They fixed that AND added more functionality in the current deskband, like the cute volume control and the Now playing selector menu.

On the whole, I think (if it just had that little bit more) it could definitely become an "all-other-player" killer, when released. At least for me. :)

Some things I would like to see in the player are: A jump window (like winamp 2). They changed that in Winamp 3 also. :(

Better shortcut keys: Pressig the Spacebar SHOULD PAUSE playback in ANY player, . The had/have *that* feature in mplayer2, so ...... go figure!

AdRt reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

Not bad. Nice interface and pretty good improvement overall. I'd prefer having that pop up seek bar whenever you have a movie on full-screen mode though.

FunkyFreddy3k reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

very nice. huge HUGE improvement over WMP8. Privacy questions were a nice surprise at the end of the setup - nice clear options which it makes you aware of unlike winamp3. Interface seems to have made a huge leap forward. Now if they would just supply a few more pleasant skins - or allow people to create them easily, it'd seriously rival winamp3.

mazzilla reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

It installed and it works OK. But at the end of the install it says "Setup has failed" even though it works. Strange

franzj reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

So far so good; everything's working. Even if that was untrue, I would still understand since it's a beta, and either not vote or give it a 4.

Francis

cyberia reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

Uh, let's see. No sound and I get "The operation cannot be performed because the pins are not connected." when I try to play a .avi file.

Oh, yeah! And no way to uninstall!

car2fan reviewed v9.0 Beta Build 2799 on Sep 5, 2002

DVD playback is choppy as well as the sound.Streaming video seems to play and look better.Still needs work in those departments but overall for a Beta I give it a four.

R.D.Burke
car2fan@charter.net