Talk:Windows Media Player/Archive 1

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Contents

Mac bit at the top?

Much as it's a part of the history of the player, why is the Mac version the first to be listed in this article? The majority of people have used the Windows version and the majority of versions are on the Windows platform. Shouldn't they be listed first? Jonmayer 22:18, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

Complete revision

I'm going to give this article a complete revision in the next few days - any comments are welcome. Nick04 19:31, 13 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Feel free to comment on the revisions Nick04 09:16, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I suspect that Mac users are far more likely to be reading the article on Windows Media Player. I found it while trying to figure out why my WMP refused to play the files that I wanted to view, and I found the consise answer near the top of the article. (Thank you for providing this information, which the Mac sites I consulted did not provide.) Historians seeking the history of previous versions are probably less common than are Mac users frustrated by a product that does not adequately describe its severe limitations. -- wilddragon@cox.net

Who is the precedent of WMP?

I wonder if Media Player or ActiveMovie or the precedent of WMP. Or are they actually the same thing? P.S. This page might help [1]. --minghong 16:49, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Both, really. ActiveMovie (the DirectShow runtime) folded in with the NetShow Player to take over the Media Player code. So if you follow it by ActiveMovie, the trail goes ActiveMovie 1 (which at one point had ActiveMovie Stream Beta 1, the first ASF client TMK), ActiveMovie 2, Windows Media Player 5.2 (part of DirectX Media... 6, if I recall correctly. --Zachdms 08:15, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Why call it Windows Media Player on other OS's?

Although it's probably the last criticism most non-Windows users would make, as a Mac user I've always been miffed that the software is called "Windows" Media Player instead of just MicroSoft Media Player. I seem to recall seeing the download page for the Mac version specify that this was not for Windows despite the name, which would have been uncessary if they had just rebranded it. Anyway, if I'm not the only Mac user on the planet who makes the criticism, perhaps it could be added to the Mac criticisms section?

If I recall correctly, the Mac version was originally called Microsoft Media Player. LeoO3 16:14, 11 January 2006 (UTC)
It plays Windows Media files. Ergo, Windows Media Player. Warrens 06:49, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

First sentence

Am I the only one that thinks it a bit strange that the first sentence describes Windows Media Player as a "proprietary freeware software media player"? The first two words contradict each other, as freeware is the exact opposite of proprietary. If it's referring to the fact that WMP is free, then it should just say free, not freeware, because freeware means that the source code is Open Source. WMP isn't open source is it? 68.158.96.34 18:38, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Freeware and Open Source are absolutely not the same thing. Read the Wikipedia article on freeware; it explicitly states that people often make the mistake of believing they are the same. Warrens 21:49, 7 April 2006 (UTC)
The Windows versions of WMP are not even freeware: you have to pay to use them, it's just that a lot of people have already paid for it by paying for a copy of Windows. Although it's possible to run WMP on many operating systems using Wine, MS forbids this unless you've paid for a copy of Windows. So WMP is not freeware at all, it's just sold as part of Windows and doesn't have an itemized purchase price. It is possible, though, that the Mac version is freeware. --Reuben 23:02, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

article ordering

The ordering in the article seems to be very haphazard. I would suggest that the two paras regd the bundling and forced removal from Windows be moved from the lead into, maybe, a Controversies section. Also the article lacks a general overwiew of the players' capabilities. So just after the lead, a Features section may be added which describes the features - such as audio/video playback along with DSP (SRS, video smoothing (which is MS' name for frame-rate upscaling) plug-ins and codec support, etc etc, followed by WMP 11, then dev history. Since the Mac OS version has been scrapped, I feel it should be given less prominence and merge into the build history (but without scrapping any content). The build history should also contain mention for PocketPC/Smartphone versions of WMP 10 Mobile. What do you guys think? --soUmyaSch 10:18, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

I finally got around to reorganizing things a bit. A features section is sorely needed, still. Warrens 07:09, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
Looks pretty neat now. --soUmyaSch 17:24, 15 May 2006 (UTC)
Added a Features section. But its still rudimentary. --soUmyaSch 19:59, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

Update article for WMP 11 Beta release

It was released today, maybe someone who knows more about it/has it could update the page. Cyp43r 13:23, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

The current update seems pretty good. These minor revisions should be incorporated: Polaris is only the codename for the XP player (the Vista player does not have a codename). The June date is an uncomfirmed and unsourced rumor. --Preppy 10:22, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Criticisms: Data CD burning

The data CD Burning function in 11 leaves a playlist that renders the CD unreadable on all devices except the computer.

This is incorrect. WMP11 can burn WPL as well as M3U playlists. WPL is readable by most WMA players, and M3U is read by most MP3 as well as WMA players. And the rest which don't depend on playlists, read the files directly off the filesystem and such players ignore any unrecognized files. So the presence of playlists, either WPL or M3U, is blissfully ignored by such players and cause no problem whatsoever. --soUmyaSch 03:57, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

  • I tried burning an MP3 CD by burning a Data CD, but it left a playlist that my MP3 player could not read the disc at all!

~~Firewire~~

Change playlist type to m3u. --soUmyaSch 17:40, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Add Logo

Image:WMP-LOGO.png

I have no idea how to add this logo properly into the infobox at a senslible size etc, as I am relatively new to Wikipedia. Could someone help please? (Delete this after it is done.) Thanks!

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by RaviC (talk • contribs) .

I added it in. Have a look at the change I made here. As you'll see, the infobox software template has an optional "logo" parameter which will put a logo to the left of the title. If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask! Warrens 20:19, 21 May 2006 (UTC)


Image smoothing?

Where exactly is this "image smoothing" feature mentioned? I can't find any info about it on the net, and it certainly isn't a selectable option in the player. Sasabune 14:55, 23 May 2006 (UTC)

It definitely is :- "Tools->Options->Performance->Advanced". For an explanation of what it is, dig up WMP9 documentation. I read it from there only. I will have to search WMP9 docs again. I am a bit busy now-a-days, but I will put the ref once I get time for it. --soUmyaSch 05:22, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
By the way, you were right about one thing, its Video Smoothing, not Image Smoothing. Thanks for pointing out. --soUmyaSch 05:24, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

Cons of WMP 11 Beta

Let's add things about WMP 11 we dislike and would like to have changed/removed and see what it leads to.

  • In the List Pane, there's no way to remove the Rating (*****) column. You can only hide it, but with unwanted results.
  • You can't import playlists into the Library – no Import Playlist option in the menu.
  • You can't edit ID3 tags within the Library.
  • The Library sorts your songs in groups by track number. No way to change that.

there's actually alot more but I can't recall them; feel free to add. --Shandris 16:25, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, this article is not a feature wish list, and doing such a thing without backing by reputed publications would be original research. --soUmyaSch 16:41, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
By the way, for your comments
Point 1

Are you talking of these stars? And if u r referring to previous versions, the stars weren't there.
Point 3 and 4

Files are sorted according to title, and am editing it here itself. Click on the column headers (Title, length etc) to sort by them. And once you finish editing metadata, click Tools->Apply media changes (or similar) to update the tags on the file themselves.

--soUmyaSch 16:41, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Hm... I don't know what version I have or what is wrong, but the list pane shows like this: Name of song, artist, stars; it doesn't show the stars beneath the picture, nor do I know how to hide them. --Shandris 17:46, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
Okay, drag the list pane separator to reduce its size, one by one extra columns (other than the track name) will go off. And your version number (help->about) will help. You may contact me directly. --soUmyaSch 17:50, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

The Ratings

As I've selected in this screen, there u see, and by the way, the stars are as
they should underneath the album art, though. --Shandris 19:09, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

Drag the separator of the list pane and move it right so that the pane redices its width. More than one column is displayed if enough width is there. Reduce the width and the second column (the rating column) will go away. --soUmyaSch 19:47, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
Well...I just dislike the whole idea...by the way it doesn't help, songs with longer names will be '...' in the end, and if u drag more, the stars pop up.
  • Right-clicking on different items gives you the most irrelevant context menus.
  • When you double-click on a playlist, you're not automatically taken to Now Playing.
  • Double-clicking in any of meta data colums of a song doesn't select that field to let you edit it, instead, the song is played.
  • No auto completion in meta data fields like iTunes (e.g. if you enter the first letters in a field that starts with the same letters as of an existing album, song name, artist etc. the application automatically makes suggestions for you.
  • Uses some stupid field "Album Artist" instead of just Artist, ridding some song artist-less, while they actually already have the tag.
  • On some songs, the Edit entry in the context menu is inactive; you have to use Advanced Tag Editor instead, which is totally unintuitive and excessive.

Do I need to say more? The Library is a complete flaw. Winamp and iTunes rule WMP11 out. Sad, because I think this version has the sleekest skin out there... Shame, Microsoft. --Shandris 10:13, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

  • songs with longer names will be '...' in the end, and if u drag more, the stars pop up.
Yes, but full names are shown in tooltips.
I don't want no tooltips, it's a shortcoming...
  • Right-clicking on different items gives you the most irrelevant context menus.
As in? I never get anything irrelevant.
1. The first screenshot shows that if you select one or more files, you don't get the option to a) add them to the Library and b) edit tags in the playlist, not even speaking about that multiple tag editing is non-existent. You can't even mass rate the songs. Who wants a Move Up and Down option when you can do that manually?
2. From Now Playing, there's no way to edit the ID3 tags. What a tragedy: you open a song from somewhere on you hard drive, want to listen to it and notice that the info is incorrect, but alas, you must use another app to edit the meta tags...





3. OK...Create a new playlist from scratch or open it up from the File menu. But what if I want to transfer playlists from my other computer?
4. What if I'd like all files within the playlist to be added to the Library? Nada. Dragging the playlist to the Library icon (in the belief that it will add all the containing files to it). Nada. You're greeted by a Forbidden-icon. Accidentally dropping it over the playlist itself (as you need to release the mouse button somewhere). The computer starts to buzz off and you have to wait approx. 5 min for it to readd all the existing files in the playlist, creating duplicates, completely useless. No 'Deleted Dead Files' option. No 'Delete Duplicate Entries' option
  • When you double-click on a playlist, you're not automatically taken to Now Playing.
No it doesn't. It only starts playing, which is what should be. Why should one change views? What if you want to start playing a song before trying to do something with the library. Btw, neither playing any other file takes you to now playing, except for videos and pics, where it is logical. you don't need to see a music, generally, do you?
I just want to see the visualization =). At least add an option in the extremely minimal options of the Library/Player.
You will soon get fed up if every dbl click takes u to now playing. :-)
  • Double-clicking in any of meta data colums of a song doesn't select that field to let you edit it, instead, the song is played.
Double clicking should logically activate it. So this, I feel, is fine. By the way, use F2 to edit.
OK, thanks. Maybe some Shift+Click or something would be fine?
But shift+dbl click queues up in playlist.
  • No auto completion in meta data fields like iTunes (e.g. if you enter the first letters in a field that starts with the same letters as of an existing album, song name, artist etc. the application automatically makes suggestions for you.
Yes it is very much there.
Hmm...The player didn't give me that support last time...Hmm..I'll look up that when I have more time.
One more point to strike-out :-)
Actually not. How did you get it to work? It's virtually non-existent for me. What display mode/view/playlist/library view should I have? What tag gives the option to do so? --Shandris 07:03, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
I didn't do anything. It just works...as it should. In all fields, including adv tag editor.--soUmyaSch 11:31, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
  • Uses some stupid field "Album Artist" instead of just Artist, ridding some song artist-less, while they actually already have the tag.
I don't get you on this. How can it be artist-less if it already has the tag?
You see, MP3-files have the usual Title, Album and the Artist tag among the most common ones. But on some files (you can see this in Advanced Tag Editor, each has the fields Artist and Album Artist, a non-standard tag), the Artist tag has the name of the artist and the Album Artist is empty, so it shows that the song has Unknown Artist.
Well, see the picture. It shows the usage of the two. Red box is the album artist, green is atrist or contibuting artist. The artists for an album, such as the band name for an album by some band, is the album artist, contributing artists are the names of the person singing, which may be the singer/band/band member and/or any collaborating artists.
Confusing, how can I know who sings and not? Everyone in the band contributes in some way. Ridiculous. Artist = Contributing Artist? How am I supposed find out that?
  • On some songs, the Edit entry in the context menu is inactive; you have to use Advanced Tag Editor instead, which is totally unintuitive and excessive.
I dont think I saw it many times. This seems to be a beta quirk, as it is usually fixed, if you go to now playing and then come back to the library and retry. And you can't edit items which are not natively supported by the player, such as ogg files.
No, I only use MP3, and occassionally WMA.
As I said, this is a bug.

--soUmyaSch 10:58, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

One thing I miss is the list pane in library view. Cause i am used to dragging items onto the pane to make a playlist. Also, maybe a black background. I have reported this to MS though. --soUmyaSch 11:03, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
The List Pane is so uncomfortable, who got the idea that you should Edit the Playlist in List Pane, lol...I don't know what they are thinking... --Shandris 11:48, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
I dont use static predetermined playlists, only the autplaylists and temporary ones by queueing up things in list pane. So editing list pane playlist, IMO, is a wonderful idea. But since the list pane is not in library view (as it was in wmp10), i cant arrange it by dragging and dropping files, and yes it makes it a little awkward this time. --soUmyaSch 11:59, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

My responses to your concerns:

1.

Multiple editing is present. So is en masse rating.

2. Okay, you have a point. Editing is not there in now playing. not even opening tag editor. Please take it up with ms. (btw, this was possible in wmp 9 and 10).

MS? What e-mail?
Beta newsgroups and beta feedback tools.
Under WMP's Help menu you have a Troubleshooting Online option which leads to the beta support methods. Preppy 17:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

3. In wmp10, adding the playlist file to Shared Music\Playlists folder worked. I dont what if it still works.

4. Dragging the playlist file to the library icon adds all files. Alternatively playling the playlist will also add. By the way, do u user folder monitoring?

It was added only after a hard drive scan (monitoring?). But it gave me the Forbidden-icon when dragging file from Windows Explorer to Library icon. Sorry.
It works for me. I get the forbidden icon only if there is nothing in the playlist. In double-checked on that just now.

5. As for the tags, just bcoz u dont use it doesn't mean it shouldn't be there. by the way, i almost never have to fill it up myself. it is automatically filled up by the software. And dont fill it up, it wont be shown.

In the image, the album (Enrique) is by Enrique Iglesias, but the 7 track also features Whitney Houston. But u would definitely look under e.ig for this album. So how can this be captured by just artist field, beause then the album will be split up into two - one for e.ig which will show the full album, and for whitney houston the album will be shown with just one track.

--soUmyaSch 06:07, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

--Shandris 07:03, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Install WMP11 Beta failed

I have 2 computers, now I have a serious problem, install on the second one failed, it said: The setup was not completed. Click button below to get Web Help. But the help isn't there, it's just an irrelevant FAQ. It says you should get an error code, but I don't get any...Hmm...More trouble... duh...my iTunes on this second computer fails to communicate with my iPod, oh..nothing seems to work! --Shandris 21:06, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

It's a beta. There is no direct Web Help for setup in the beta. I cover how to diagnose v11 beta setup errors here. I would suggest that you take beta issues (which seem to be product support requests and not product discussion) to more appropriate forums, such as the microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player newsgroup. Preppy 02:46, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
Well u may look up system log for the error. And why dont u contact Microsoft or visit their newsgroups. --soUmyaSch 06:10, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
E-mail address for Beta issues? Please? --Shandris 06:59, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
E-mail support systems are fairly non-viable for software distributed as widely as Windows Media Player, but if you absolutely insist, you can get e-mail support as detailed here among other places. I could not encourage you more strongly to use the microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player newsgroup, though, as some members of the player team are tracking user issues/requests there. Preppy 20:05, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Infobox Picture: WMP 10 or WMP 11?

I personally belive that because WMP 11 has been widely released on the Microsoft website, shouldn't a WMP11 picture take pride of place in the infobox? I know that the fact that the version 11 is BETA but it doesn't have any real bugs as I can see (Besides the ability to remove the star ratings from the list pane!). What is everyones views on this? I can even supply a new picture of it if needed (Running on Windows XP SP2) Lakeyboy 07:48, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

WMP11 shot was once put on the infobox, but users voiced there concerns on it. I say lets wait till it is released. Plus there are quite a few screenshots already in WMP11 section. --soumসৌমোyasch 07:51, 6 June 2006 (UTC)
And star rating thingy doesn;t seem like a bug to me - its more like a design decision. --soumসৌমোyasch 07:54, 6 June 2006 (UTC)

Windows XP N

Hmm...interesting: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_n.asp

but what does "N" stand for? "No WMP"? --Shandris 17:51, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
You are right. Its does not . Dont know why though. You can download it from the microsoft website though can you? --Philip1992 16:51, 31 July 2006 (UTC)Philip1992
No - it's a full SKU and thus is a purchasable OS install and not available for download. Preppy 20:18, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
The article on Windows XP covers the N SKU and is a good starting point for inquiry. Preppy 20:18, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Instability : WMP 11 Beta album sort order

Have had WMP11 on my NB for a fortnight. It seems ideal. I want not just an MP3 player with text. I want some graphics and this one gives you album covers too. Nice to be able to browse through your album collection graphically. Same goes for photos and movies. So I am at last impressed by a MS tool (last time was WMM). Nothing else is available for free d/l that's like this - WA and MM are way behind (if I am wrong please correct me).

Now for the drawbacks. I expected some because it is a beta release. Maybe someone else has experienced these quirks and can help. Maybe someone at MS will read it and take note.

Firstly, I think it is very 'album oriented'. Seems to work OK for when you rip them to the NB when you are online - it pulls the info off the net CDDB etc. It is not so compliant when you add tracks of your own such as from vinyl etc. But maybe you can work round this and I have not worked it out yet.

But what has me all miserable after my excitement (sad man) is my glitches. I added a couple of albums I had ripped a while ago and were on my EHD. I thought you could transfer and it would update. It did but instead of making one 'album' it picks one or two tracks and makes a spearate album without cover art. I have fiddled about with the thing copying etc looking at the tags etc but to no avail. It could be that these were ripped with my fave ripper Audiograbber (?). Any clues please? Maybe I will have to wait for updates / patches etc.

I don't mind spending the time building up a CD collection on my PC but I want it to be stable and not change itself behind my back when I reboot etc.

The default sort method in the player relies on Album Artist - set that field and you should appreciate the sort order more. There are some sort issues outstanding in the public beta that should be addressed post-beta. Preppy 17:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)
Thanks - not the fault of WMP, more likely finger trouble at the CDDB, first two tracks had a hypen in the title of Easy Dub all Stars, others had no hyphen. Another useful forum I found was the Green Button covering all aspects of MCE. Roy.
If an album has blank album art, you can copy the album cover image from the web or Windows Explorer, right click on the blank album art and click "Paste Album Art". This will paste it in for you. Harryboyles 22:25, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

Synthesizers..

Back in Windows 98, there was a Media Player and Windows Media Player.

In Media Player, there were 2 synthesizer, RipTide, and Yamaha. Changing synthesizers in Media Player was easy. But, I couldn't find a way to change the synthesizer in Windows Media Player. Whatever synthesizer I changed to in Media Player, would be the default for Windows Media Player.

Then, in Windows 2000 and XP, there was no Media Player, only Windows Media Player. And now I can't find a way to change the synthesizers. Then, a new laptop for XP I believe only has 1 synthesizer. How do I change the synthesizers in Windows Media Player, and. where can I download RipTide and Yamaha again...? Thanks. Neal 00:25, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

The classic Media Player is still included in 2000 & XP. Click Start, then Run. Type "mplayer2.exe" (without the quotes) into the dialog bok and click OK. Harryboyles 06:25, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
Eh, sorry, there doesn't seem to be any options on selecting synthesizers. Neal 19:00, 20 November 2006 (UTC)
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