View source for Windows Media Player

{{short description|Media player and media library application by Microsoft}}
{{about|the original version used prior to Windows 11|its successor|Windows Media Player (2022)}}
{{redirect|WMP}}
{{distinguish|Windows Media Center}}
{{Infobox software
| title = Windows Media Player Legacy
| logo = Windows Media Player 12 Logo.png
| logo_size = 64px
| screenshot = Windows-11-22H2-WMP12-Legacy.png
| screenshot_size = 300px
| caption = Windows Media Player 12 running on [[Windows 11]]
| developer = [[Microsoft]]
| replaces = [[ActiveMovie|ActiveMovie Control]], [[CD Player (Windows)|CD Player]], [[DVD Player (Windows)|DVD Player]], [[NetShow]]
| replaced_by = [[Groove Music]], [[Microsoft Movies & TV]], [[Windows Media Player (2022)]]
| included with = {{Plainlist|
* [[Windows 3.0#Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions|Windows 3.0 MM]] and [[Windows 3.1]]
* [[Windows 9x]]
* [[Windows 2000]], [[Windows ME]], [[Windows XP]], [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows 7]], [[Windows 8]], [[Windows 8.1]], [[Windows 10]], [[Windows 11]]{{efn|Except for "N" and "KN" editions of Windows, as well as [[Windows RT]]}}
* [[Windows CE]] and [[Windows Mobile]]
* [[Mac OS 8]] and [[Mac OS 9|9]]
}}
| operating system = {{hlist|[[Windows NT 4.0]]|[[System 7|Mac OS 7]]|[[macOS|Mac OS X]]|[[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]]}}
| genre = [[Media player (application software)|Media player]]
}}
'''Windows Media Player''' ('''WMP''', officially referred to as '''Windows Media Player Legacy''' to [[retronym|distinguish]] it from [[Windows Media Player (2022)|the new Windows Media Player]] introduced with [[Windows 11]]) is the first [[media player (application software)|media player]] and media library application that [[Microsoft]] developed to play [[sound reproduction|audio]] and video on personal computers. It has been a component of the [[Microsoft Windows]] [[operating system]], including [[Windows 9x]], [[Windows NT]], [[Pocket PC]], and [[Windows Mobile]]. Microsoft also released editions of Windows Media Player for [[classic Mac OS]], {{nowrap|[[macOS|Mac OS X]]}}, and [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], but has since discontinued them.
In addition to being a media player, the app can [[Ripping|rip]] audio file from [[compact disc]]s, burn [[Red Book (audio CD standard)|Audio CDs]] or [[MP3 CD]]s, synchronize content with a [[digital audio player]] or mobile devices, and stream media over the local network. Originally, it could connect to a number of [[online music store]]s, allowing its users to purchase digital music. The default file formats are [[Windows Media Video]] (WMV), [[Windows Media Audio]] (WMA), and [[Advanced Systems Format]] (ASF), and its own [[XML]] based playlist format called Windows Playlist ([[Windows Media Player Playlist|WPL]]). The player is also able to utilize a [[digital rights management]] service in the form of [[Windows Media DRM]].
Windows Media Player is a unique component, in that since 1999, each version of Windows came with two or more versions of it side-by-side. For example, Media Player versions 5.1, 6.4, and 8 were all included in [[Windows XP]]. Each versions of Windows may bundle several other media playback apps, namely [[ActiveMovie|ActiveMovie Control]], [[CD Player (Windows)|CD Player]], [[DVD Player (Windows)|DVD Player]], [[Windows Media Center]], and [[Microsoft Movies & TV]].<!--Groove Music is mentioned separately below because it evolved into the next version of  Media Player.-->
Windows Media Player 11 is the last out-of-band version of Media Player. It was made available for [[Windows XP]] and is included in [[Windows Vista]] and [[Windows Server 2008]]. Version 12 was released in 2009 along with [[Windows 7]]{{efn|[[Windows 7 editions#Special-purpose editions|N and KN versions]] of Windows 7 do not include Windows Media Player by default.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 22, 2020|title=Microsoft Documentation Page|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/shell-experience/windows-media-feature-pack-for-windows-7|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209021156/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/shell-experience/windows-media-feature-pack-for-windows-7|archive-date=February 9, 2021|website=Microsoft Docs}}</ref>}} and has not been made available for previous versions of Windows nor has it been updated ever since.<ref>{{cite web|last=LeBlanc|first=Brandon|title=Windows 7 Has Been Released to Manufacturing|url=https://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2009/07/22/windows-7-has-been-released-to-manufacturing/|website=Blogging Windows|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|date=July 22, 2009|access-date=December 21, 2020|archive-date=September 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926033346/http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2009/07/22/windows-7-has-been-released-to-manufacturing/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/windows-media-player-12.aspx |title=Windows Media Player 12 - Windows 7 features |work=Windows |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=June 15, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922201144/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/features/windows-media-player-12.aspx |archive-date=September 22, 2009 }}</ref> [[Windows 8]] bundled Windows Media Player 12 along two other media player apps, namely [[Xbox Video]] and [[Xbox Music]]. The latter was renamed [[Groove Music]] in [[Windows 10]], and then finally [[Windows Media Player (2022)|Media Player]] in [[Windows 11]]<ref name="msstore-wmp" /> which has also been backported to Windows 10.<ref name="neowin-wmp" />
==History==
[[File:Media Player v5.0 (Microsoft).jpg|thumb|Media Player 5.0 running in Windows 2000]]
The first version of Windows Media Player appeared in October 1991, when [[Windows 3.0]] with [[Windows 3.0#Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions|Multimedia Extensions]] was released.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/32905 |title=Windows Version History |date=September 23, 2011 |work=Support |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |edition=4.0 |access-date=May 2, 2009 |archive-date=February 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226175544/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/32905 |url-status=live }}</ref> Originally called Media Player, this component was included with "Multimedia PC"-compatible machines but not available for retail sale. It was capable of playing <code>.mmm</code> animation files, and could be extended to support other formats.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://toastytech.com/guis/win3mme.html | title=Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions | work=Toasty Tech | access-date=May 2, 2009 | first=Nathan | last=Lineback | archive-date=April 15, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415145059/http://toastytech.com/guis/win3mme.html | url-status=live }}</ref> It used [[Media Control Interface|MCI]] to handle media files. Being a component of Windows, Media Player shows the same version number as that of the version Windows with which it was included.
[[File:WMP 12 on Windows 7.png|thumb|WMP running in [[Windows 7]]]]
Microsoft continually produced new programs to play media files. In November of the following year, [[Video for Windows]] was introduced with the ability to play [[digital video]] files in an [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]] [[Container format (digital)|container format]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pctechguide.com/45DigitalVideo_Video_for_Windows.htm|title=Video for Windows|access-date=May 2, 2009|publisher=PC Tech Guide|archive-date=April 10, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410061809/http://www.pctechguide.com/45DigitalVideo_Video_for_Windows.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> with codec support for [[Run-length encoding|RLE]] and [[Video1]], and support for playing uncompressed files. [[Indeo]] 3.2 was added in a later release. Video for Windows was first available as a free add-on to [[Windows 3.1]], and later integrated into [[Windows 95]] and [[Windows NT 4.0]]. In 1995, Microsoft released [[ActiveMovie]] with DirectX Media SDK. ActiveMovie incorporates a new way of dealing with media files, and adds support for streaming media (which the original Media Player could not handle). In 1996, ActiveMovie was renamed [[DirectShow]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc301631.aspx |title=DirectShow: Core Media Technology in Windows XP Empowers You to Create Custom Audio/Video Processing Components |date=July 2002 |access-date=May 1, 2009 |work=MSDN Magazine |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |first1 = Michael |last1 = Blome |first2 = Mike |last2 = Wasson |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914214002/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc301631.aspx |archive-date=September 14, 2008}}</ref> However, Media Player continued to come with Windows until Windows XP, in which it was officially renamed Windows Media Player v5.1.<ref><code>C:\Windows\system32\myplay32.exe</code>. Windows XP. Microsoft Corporation.</ref> ("v5.1" is the version number of Windows XP).
In 1999, Windows Media Player's versioning broke away from that of Windows itself. Windows Media Player 6.4 came as an out-of-band update for [[Windows 95]]-[[Windows 98|98]] and [[Windows NT 4.0]] that co-existed with Media Player and became a built-in component of [[Windows 2000]], [[Windows Me]], and [[Windows XP]] with an ''mplayer2.exe'' stub allowing to use this built-in instead of newer versions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/224401/en-us|title=MPLAYER2.EXE Is Linked to Missing Export MSDXM.OCX|work=Support|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|date=April 25, 2006|access-date=February 13, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314210342/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/224401|archive-date=March 14, 2007}}</ref> Windows Media Player 7.0 and its successors also came in the same fashion, replacing each other but leaving Media Player and Windows Media Player 6.4 intact. [[Windows XP]] is the only operating system to have three different versions of Windows Media Player (v5.1, v6.4, and v8) side by side. All versions branded Windows Media Player (instead of simply Media Player) support DirectShow codecs. Windows Media Player version 7 was a large revamp, with a new user interface, visualizations and increased functionality. [[Windows Vista]], however, dropped older versions of Windows Media Player in favor of v11, which included the removal of the Windows Media Source Filter (DirectShow codec).
In 2004, Microsoft launched digital music store [[MSN Music]] for new Windows Media Player 10 to compete with Apple iTunes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/msn-music-to-offer-free-songs/ |title=MSN Music to offer free songs |access-date=2020-05-21 |archive-date=2020-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921074549/https://www.cnet.com/news/msn-music-to-offer-free-songs/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.microsoft.com/2004/09/01/msn-launches-preview-release-of-music-download-service/ |title=MSN Launches Preview Release of Music Download Service |date=September 2004 |access-date=2020-05-21 |archive-date=2020-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806104528/https://news.microsoft.com/2004/09/01/msn-launches-preview-release-of-music-download-service/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
However, MSN Music was discontinued already in 2006 with the launch of [[Zune]] music players.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/msn-music-shutting-down-for-zune |title=MSN Music Shutting Down for Zune |access-date=2020-05-21 |archive-date=2020-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813090050/https://www.neowin.net/news/msn-music-shutting-down-for-zune |url-status=live }}</ref>
Beginning with [[Windows Vista]], Windows Media Player supports the [[Media Foundation]] framework besides DirectShow; as such it plays certain types of media using Media Foundation as well as some types of media using DirectShow.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd562786(VS.85).aspx |title=DSP Plug-in Packaging |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |work=[[MSDN]] |access-date=2010-04-08 |archive-date=2010-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105225512/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd562786(VS.85).aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Windows Media Player 12 was released with [[Windows 7]]. It included support for more media formats and added new features. With [[Windows 8]], however, the player did not receive an upgrade.
On April 16, 2012, Microsoft announced that Windows Media Player would not be included in [[Windows RT]], the line of Windows designed to run on ARM-based devices.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/04/16/announcing-the-windows-8-editions.aspx |title=Windows Announcing the Windows 8 Editions |publisher=The Windows Blog |date=April 16, 2012 |first=Brandon |last=LeBlanc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418070243/http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/04/16/announcing-the-windows-8-editions.aspx |archive-date=April 18, 2012}}</ref>
== Windows Media Player (2022) ==
{{Main|Windows Media Player (2022)}}
A different app called Media Player is the successor to [[Groove Music]] (previously Xbox Music) and Windows Media Player. Media Player started to be offered to all [[Windows 11]] users on February 15, 2022, with [[Windows 10]] users following in January 2023.'''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Media Player is available for Windows 11|date=16 November 2021|url=https://microsofters.com/180626/ya-disponible-el-nuevo-media-player-en-windows-11/}}</ref>'''
The new Windows Media Player can also play video, as part of [[Groove Music|Groove]]'s rebranding from a [[music streaming service]] to a [[Media player software|media player]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Microsoft is replacing Windows Media Player with Media Player for Windows 11|url=https://www.engadget.com/windows-media-player-windows-11-microsoft-music-video-174907728.html|access-date=2021-11-18|website=Engadget|date=17 November 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> Other changes include the album cover view being in fullscreen, and a refresh to the mini player.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Full screen album art|date=16 November 2021|url=https://microsofters.com/180626/ya-disponible-el-nuevo-media-player-en-windows-11/}}</ref> [[Accessibility]] has also been optimized, with some improved [[keyboard shortcut]]s and [[hotkey]] support for keyboard users and with other assistive technologies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Optimized accessibility|date=16 November 2021|url=https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2021/11/16/new-media-player-for-windows-11-begins-rolling-out-to-windows-insiders/}}</ref>
==Features==
===Core playback and library functions===
Windows Media Player supports playback of audio, video and pictures, along with fast forward, reverse, file markers (if present) and variable playback speed (seek & time compression/dilation introduced in WMP 9 Series). It supports local playback, streaming playback with multicast streams and progressive downloads. Items in a playlist can be skipped over temporarily at playback time without removing them from the playlist. Full keyboard-based operation is possible in the player.
Windows Media Player supports full media management, via the integrated media library introduced first in version 7, which offers cataloguing and searching of media and viewing media metadata. Media can be arranged according to album, artist, genre, date ''et al.'' Windows Media Player 9 Series introduced Quick Access Panel to browse and navigate the entire library through a menu. The Quick Access Panel was also added to the mini-mode in version 10 but was entirely removed in version 11. WMP 9 Series also introduced ratings and Auto Ratings. Windows Media Player 10 introduced support for aggregating pictures, Recorded TV shows, and other media into the library. A fully featured tag editor was featured in versions 9-11 of WMP, called the Advanced Tag Editor. However, the feature was removed in Windows Media Player 12. Since WMP 9 Series, the player features dynamically updated ''Auto Playlists'' based on criteria. Auto Playlists are updated every time users open them. WMP 9 Series and later also supports ''Auto Ratings'' which automatically assigns ratings based on the number of times a song is played. Pre-populated auto playlists are included in Windows Media Player 9 Series. Custom Auto Playlists can be created only on [[Windows XP]] and later.
In Windows Media Player 11, the ''Quick Access Panel'' was removed and replaced with an Explorer-style navigation pane on the left which can be customized for each library to show the user selected media or metadata categories, with contents appearing on the right, in a graphical manner with thumbnails featuring album art or other art depicting the item. Missing album art can be added directly to the placeholders in the Library itself (though the program re-renders all album art imported this way into 1x1 pixel ratio, 200x200 resolution [[JPEG]]s). There are separate ''Tiles'', ''Icons'', ''Details'' or ''Extended Tiles'' views for ''Music'', ''Pictures'', ''Video'' and ''Recorded TV'' which can be set individually from the navigation bar. Entries for ''Pictures'' and ''Video'' show their thumbnails. Version 11 also introduced the ability to search and display results on-the-fly as characters are being entered, without waiting for ''Enter'' key to be hit. [[Incremental search]] results are refined based on further characters that are typed. ''Stacking'' allows graphical representations of how many albums there are in a specific category or folder. The pile appears larger as the category contains more albums. The List pane includes an option to prompt the user to remove items skipped in a playlist upon save or skip them only during playback.
===Visualizations===
[[File:Windows Media Player 11 Mini-player - Visualization.png|thumb|right|Windows Media Player 11 running in mini-mode (in Windows XP MCE) showing the "Bars and Waves" visualization]]
While playing music, Windows Media Player can show [[music visualization|visualizations]]. The current three visualizations are '''Alchemy''', which was first introduced in version 9, '''Bars and Waves''', which has been used since version 7, and '''Battery''', introduced version 8. Versions 7 and 8 included with [[Windows Me|Me]] and [[Windows XP|XP]] respectively includes an additional visualization called "Musical Colors", which is not present in out-of-band releases of version 7 as well as version 9 onwards, but is retained if Windows Media Player was upgraded from version 7 or 8. Version 11 and above refrains from having the former "Ambience," "Particle," "Plenoptic," and "Spikes" visualizations from versions 7 to 10. The reason for their removal was that the visualizations do not support full screen controls (either the visualization gets shifted to the left while there is a thick black bar to the right side of the screen, or that there are no full screen controls). More visualizations such as "BlazingColors," "ColorCubes," "PulsingColors," "Softie the Snowman," and "Yule Log" were originally offered as optional extras in version 7 and were later made downloadable from Microsoft's official website, however the downloads have since been taken down. As of today, they can still be found on some websites such as the WMP Goodies site.
===Format support===
The player includes intrinsic support for [[Windows Media]] codecs and also WAV and MP3 media formats. On [[Windows XP]] and above with WMP 9 Series and later, the [[WMA Pro|Windows Media Audio Professional]] codec is included which supports multichannel audio at up to 24-bit 192&nbsp;kHz resolution. Windows Media Player 11 includes the Windows Media Format 11 runtime which adds low bitrate support (below 128&nbsp;kbit/s for [[WMA Pro]]), support for ripping music to ''WMA Pro 10'' and updates the original WMA to version 9.2.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
Support for any media codec and container format can be added using specific [[DirectShow]] filters or [[Media Foundation]] codecs (Media Foundation codecs only in Windows Vista and later). The player will not play MP3 files that contain compressed [[ID3]] headers ("tags"), trying to do so results in a "The input media file is invalid" error message. MP3 playback support was built-in beginning with version 6.1 and audio CD playback was natively supported with version 7.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
DVD playback features minus the necessary decoders were integrated into Windows Media Player 8 for [[Windows XP]]. The player activates DVD and Blu-ray playback functionality with support for menus, titles and chapters, parental controls and audio track language selection if compatible decoders are installed. MPEG-2 and Dolby Digital (AC-3) decoders were included beginning with Windows Media Player 11 on Windows Vista (Home Premium and Ultimate editions only) and Windows 7 (Home Premium, Ultimate, or Enterprise editions) to allow DVD playback without additional software. However, the decoders were subsequently removed in Windows 8 and Windows 10 due to licensing costs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/dvd-playback-options-for-windows-927ebe85-7837-4149-4323-f55a9e3c4e36|title=DVD playback options for Windows|website=Windows help & learning}}</ref>
Windows Media Player 12 adds native support for [[H.264]] and [[MPEG-4 Part 2]] video formats, [[Apple Lossless Audio Codec|ALAC]], [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] audio<ref name="ArsWMP12">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2008/10/hands-on-windows-media-player-12s-surprising-new-features.ars |title=Hands on: Windows Media Player 12's surprising new features |access-date=March 25, 2009 |author=Peter Bright |work=ArsTechnica |publisher=Condé Nast Digital |date=October 30, 2008 |archive-date=March 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327041159/http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2008/10/hands-on-windows-media-player-12s-surprising-new-features.ars |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[3GP]]{{clarify |post-text=got no codec available for 3GP|date=November 2015}}, [[MP4]] and [[QuickTime File Format|MOV]] container formats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/02/26/windows-7-rc-to-natively-support-to-mov-files |title=Windows 7 RC to natively support .mov files |access-date=March 25, 2009 |work=Chakkaradeep Chandran |publisher=Neowin.net |date=February 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120703025255/http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/02/26/windows-7-rc-to-natively-support-to-mov-files |archive-date=July 3, 2012 }}</ref> Windows Media Player 12 is also able to play [[AVCHD]] formats (''.[[M2TS]]'' and ''[[.mts]]'').<ref name="Win7CameraSupport">{{cite web|url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/E/6/5E66B27B-988B-4F50-AF3A-C2FF1E62180F/GRA-T538_WH08.pptx|title=Windows 7 next generation camera support|format=PPTX|work=Download Center|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227083315/http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/E/6/5E66B27B-988B-4F50-AF3A-C2FF1E62180F/GRA-T538_WH08.pptx|archive-date=December 27, 2008}}</ref>
As of [[Windows 10]], Windows Media Player 12 can play [[FLAC]], [[HEVC]], and [[SubRip]] subtitle, and [[Matroska]] container formats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2014/11/native-mkv-flac-and-hevc-support-in-windows-10/|title=Native MKV, FLAC And HEVC Support In Windows 10|website=Lifehacker Australia|date=29 November 2014 }}</ref> Although the [[WebM]] file type is not officially associated with Windows Media Player 12 (the default player is [[Microsoft Movies & TV]]), playback of [[VP9]] video in [[WebM]] container is possible on Windows 10 version 1809 and later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vacuumbreather.com/index.php/blog/item/81-windows-10-1809-built-in-apps-what-to-keep|title=Windows 10 1809 Built-In Apps: What to Keep|website=Vacuum Breather}}</ref>
====Windows Media Player Mobile====
Windows Media Player Mobile 10 on [[Windows Mobile]] 6.5 supports [[MP3]], [[Advanced Systems Format|ASF]], [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]], and [[Windows Media Video|WMV]] using WMV or [[MPEG-4]] codecs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc907938.aspx |title=Formats supported by Windows Media Player Mobile |work=[[MSDN]] |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |date=April 8, 2010 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=November 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121118154735/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc907938.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Disc burning, ripping, and playback===
Windows Media Player features integrated [[Audio CD]]-burning support since version 7 as well as data CD burning support since Windows Media Player 9 Series on [[Windows XP]] and later. Data CDs can have any of the media formats supported by the player. While burning Data CDs, the media can, optionally, be transcoded into WMA format and playlists can be added to the CD as well. Starting with WMP 9 Series, audio CDs can be burnt with volume leveling.
Audio CDs can be ripped as WMA or WMA 10 Pro (WMA 10 Pro in WMP 11 and later) at 48, 64, 96, 128, 160, and 192 [[Kilobit per second|kbit/s]], [[Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless|WMA lossless]] (470 to 940&nbsp;kbit/s) (9 Series on XP and later), WMA [[variable bitrate]] (from 40 to 75&nbsp;kbit/s up to 240-355&nbsp;kbit/s), MP3 at 128, 192, 256, and 320&nbsp;kbit/s, or uncompressed [[WAV]] (WAV ripping in WMP 11 and later). Since WMP 9 Series, 20 bit high-resolution CDs ([[High Definition Compatible Digital|HDCDs]]) are also supported, if capable audio hardware is present. Audio can be ripped using error correction and ripped audio can be protected with [[Windows Media DRM]]. Ripping to MP3 is supported only in Windows Media Player 8 for [[Windows XP]] and later if a compatible MP3 encoder is installed. Windows Media Player 10 included the Fraunhofer MP3 Professional encoder. Information on CDs such as album name, artist and track listings can optionally be automatically downloaded from the online Windows Media database when the CD is inserted. Version 11 added support for ripping audio CDs to [[WAV]] and [[WMA Pro|WMA 10 Pro]] formats. With their 2015 implementation in Windows 10, Version 12 also added lossless [[FLAC]] and [[Apple Lossless Audio Codec|ALAC]] formats for ripping and playback. For burning, version 11 shows a graphical bar indicating how much space will be used on the disc and introduced ''Disc spanning'' which splits a burn list onto multiple discs in case the content does not fit on one disc.
===Portable device sync===
Windows Media Player allows the user to connect, share and sync data with portable handheld devices and [[game console]]s since version 7. Media can be optionally transcoded to a format better suited for the target device, automatically, when synchronizing. When deleting playlists from devices, Windows Media Player can automatically remove their contents. Devices can be formatted using Windows Media Player 9 Series and later. Version 10 and later support the [[Media Transfer Protocol]] and Auto Sync. Auto Sync allows users to specify criteria such as recently added music or highest rated songs, by which media will be automatically synchronized with the portable device and other advanced features like setting the clock on the portable device automatically, communicating with the device to retrieve the user's preferences. Windows Media Player 10 also introduced the [[User-Mode Driver Framework|UMDF]]-based ''Windows Portable Devices'' API.
Version 11 has improved synchronization features for loading content onto [[PlaysForSure]]-compatible portable players. WMP 11 supports reverse-synchronization, by which media present on the portable device can be replicated back to the PC. ''Shuffle Sync'' can be used to randomize content synced with the portable device, ''Multi PC Sync'' to synchronize portable device content across multiple PCs and ''Guest Sync'' to synchronize different content from multiple PCs with the portable device. Portable devices appear in the navigation pane of the library where their content can be browsed and searched.
Windows Media Player's 'Sync' function has options that allow it to be set to automatically down-convert (transcode) high bit-rate song files to a lower bit-rate. This down-conversion function is switched on by default. This is useful for providing low bit-rate files to those portable devices that need them, and to save space on portable devices with smaller storage capacities. For high bit-rate capable devices with sufficient storage capabilities, the down conversion process can be omitted.
In versions 11 (2006) and 12 (2009), the Quality settings that the user has selected in the Windows Media Player settings for Sync, for that specific portable device, are used to control the quality (bit-rate) of files that are copied to the portable device. Leaving the Quality settings to Automatic will often result in 192kbs files being copied to the portable device. Manual settings can also be made. 192kbs is the highest quality down-conversion bit-rate that can be manually selected when the Sync function's down-conversion function is turned on. Lower bit-rates can also be selected.
For portable devices that can handle high bit-rate files, the best quality files are obtained by leaving the down-conversion process switched off (unchecked) for that specific device. In Windows Media Player Version 11, switching off the down-conversion function is done in the Quality tab of the Advanced Options of the Sync settings for the device. In Windows Media Player Version 12, switching off the down-conversion function is done in the Quality tab of the Properties for the device in the Select Settings for the device in the Sync Options menu.
When set up in such a way, Windows Media Player's 'Sync' function can be used to sync unchanged high bit-rate song files to suitable portable devices (i.e. those capable of using file formats such as WMA Lossless, mp3-360kbs, etc.). For example, some users have created large song libraries on their PCs containing .wma formatted song files using the high bit-rate WMA Lossless (WMA-LL) protocol, or using other high bit-rate song file formats. The WMA-LL protocol is selectable in Windows Media Player as an option when ripping songs from CDs. The resulting bit-rates seen on ripped WMA-LL files are often 3 to 6 times higher than 192kbs, and can typically fall anywhere in the range of 600kbs to 1200kbs, depending on the quality of the source file that was present on the CD in the first place. The sound quality is much improved over the default rate, although the file size is larger.
At the time that Versions 11 and 12 were released, the capabilities and capacities of portable devices typically required down-conversion of the bit-rates of the files placed on the portable devices. Thus, Sync down-conversion was turned on by default. This was to ensure playability of the files and to ensure that the file sizes were small enough to efficiently fit a reasonably large selection of songs on the portable device.
In recent years (circa 2012), portable devices became available that could natively play these Windows Media Player produced high bit-rate WMA-LL files (and others), and that have storage capacities suitable for large collections of high bit-rate song files. This made it much more practicable and desirable to use software programs such as Windows Media Player to synchronize previously PC-bound libraries of high bit-rate songs to these new portable devices.
===Enhanced playback features===
Windows Media Player features universal brightness, contrast, saturation and hue adjustments and [[pixel aspect ratio]] for supported video formats. It also includes a 10-band graphic equalizer with presets and [[SRS Labs|SRS WOW]] audio post-processing system. Windows Media Player can also have attached audio and video [[digital signal processing|DSP]] plug-ins which process the output audio or video data. ''Video Smoothing'' was introduced in WMP 9 Series ([[Windows XP|Windows&nbsp;XP]] and later only) which upscales frame-rate by interpolating added frames, in effect giving a smoother playback on low-framerate videos. The player supports subtitles and closed-captioning for local media, video on demand streaming or live streaming scenarios. Typically Windows Media captions support the [[SAMI]] file format but can also carry embedded closed caption data.
The player can use video [[hardware overlay|overlays]] or [[DirectShow filter|VMR]] (Video Mixing Renderer) surfaces, if the video card supports them. In [[Windows XP]], it uses VMR7 by default, but can also be made to use the more advanced [[Y'UV|YUV]] mixing mode by enabling the "Use high quality mode" option in Advanced Performance settings. This turns on deinterlacing, scaling and improved color accuracy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/b/8/0b89049d-dc57-4571-aa69-cf592743a241/WMPlayer.doc |title=Windows Media Player manual |work=Download Center |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |format=DOC |date=September 1, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050607011331/http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/b/8/0b89049d-dc57-4571-aa69-cf592743a241/WMPlayer.doc |archive-date=June 7, 2005}}</ref> WMP 9 Series introduced native playback for deinterlacing for TV output. Version 9 introduced DXVA accelerated playback. Version 11 introduced improved support for DirectX accelerated decoding of WMV video ([[DirectX Video Acceleration|DXVA]] decoding). Up to version 11, it supported static lyrics and "Synchronized Lyrics,” by which different lines of lyrics can be time-stamped, so that they display only at those times. Synchronized Lyrics also were accessible through the Advanced Tag Editor which was removed in version 12.
Since Windows Media Player 9 Series, the player supports crossfading, audio dynamic range (Quiet Mode) for WMA Pro and WMA Lossless, and auto volume leveling for certain media which includes volume level/gain information such as MP3 or Windows Media. The player also supports extensive configurable privacy and security settings.
===Shell integration===
The player has [[Windows Explorer]] shell integration to add files and playlist to the ''Now Playing'' pane and other playlists can be controlled from the Windows Explorer shell itself, via right-click menu. The My Music folder also includes a separate ''My Playlists'' folder where playlists are maintained. When the player is closed and reopened, simply clicking the play button restores the last playlist even if it was not saved. Starting with Windows Media Player 10, the playlist pane is also visible from the Library view. [[AutoPlay]] handlers in Windows expose various Windows Media Player tasks.
[[File:Windows Media Player 11 Mini-player - Song details.png|thumb|left|Windows Media Player 11 running in mini-mode in Windows Vista and Windows XP respectively (notice the difference in the logo)]]
Up to version 11, it featured a taskbar-mounted ''Mini-mode'' in which the most common media control buttons are presented as a toolbar on the Windows [[taskbar]]. Flyout windows can display media information, the active visualization or the video being played back. Mini-mode was introduced as a shell player powertoy for Windows Media Player 8 in [[Windows XP]] and integrated later into WMP 9 Series. Mini-mode has been removed in Windows Media Player 12 in favor of controls in the taskbar's interactive thumbnail preview which lacks volume control, a progress bar and information displayed whenever a new song is played. Despite this, however, Mini-mode can be restored in Windows Media Player 12 by registering the wmpband.dll file from Windows Media Player 11.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.askvg.com/how-to-get-windows-media-player-wmp-taskbar-toolbar-back-in-windows-7/ |title=How to Get Windows Media Player (WMP) 12 Taskbar Toolbar (Taskband) Back in Windows 7 and Later? – AskVG |work=AskVG |first=Vishal |last=Gupta |date=January 2010 |access-date=2023-04-12 }}</ref>
The user interface has been redesigned in Windows Media Player 12 such that the ''Now Playing'' view plays media in a separate minimalist window with floating playback controls, and also gives access to the current playlist, visualizations, and enhancements.<ref name="ArsWMP12"/> Enhancements are housed in individual undocked windows. The library view includes the rest of the media management functions. It also can preview songs from the library when users hover over the media file and click the Preview button.<ref name="ArsWMP12"/> Windows Media Player 12 can play unprotected songs from the [[iTunes]] library. As previously mentioned, taskbar-integrated mini-mode has been replaced with controls in the taskbar's interactive thumbnail preview (called the ''Thumbnail Toolbar''),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd942846.aspx#id0420081 |title=Introducing The Taskbar APIs |work=[[MSDN Magazine]] |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |first1=Yochay |last1=Kiriaty |first2=Sasha |last2=Goldshtein |date=July 2009 |at=Thumbnail Toolbars |access-date=2015-04-23 |archive-date=2015-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325042123/https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd942846.aspx#id0420081 |url-status=live }}</ref> albeit minus the volume control function, track and album information shown whenever a new song is played and the progress bar. The taskbar icon also supports jump lists introduced in [[Windows 7]].
[[File:Windows Media Player 12 live preview.png|thumb|The thumbnail viewer of Windows Media Player 12 in [[Windows 7]]]]
===Extensibility===
The player has had [[Skin (computing)|skinning]] support since Windows Media Player (WMP) 7 and includes a color chooser since the WMP 9 Series. Not all functions are usually exposed in skin mode. Windows Media Player 10 allows setting the video border color. Color chooser has been removed in WMP 12. It supports visualizations and ''Info Center View'' (Info Center View in WMP 9 Series and later) which displays media metadata fetched from the internet. Full screen visualizations are supported in WMP 9 Series and later. It supports Background plug-ins, window plug-ins and ''Now Playing'' plug-ins to control media playback besides DSP and renderer plug-ins. Plug-in support was introduced in WMP 9 Series.
===Online features===
The player integrates web-browsing support to browse online music stores, shop for music and tune to internet radio stations since version 7. It provides an embeddable [[ActiveX control]] for [[Internet Explorer]] so that developers can play [[Windows Media]] on web pages. Windows Media Player 10 and later feature integration with a large number of online music stores and selecting a music store switches the Info Center view, radio and other online features to use services from that store. Purchased music from a particular store appears in a separate library node under the respective category.
===Media streaming===
Previously, Microsoft had released [[Windows Media Connect]] for [[Windows XP]] to stream media content with its built-in UPnP media server. With version 11 of Windows Media Player, [[WMPNSS|Media Sharing]] was integrated and allows content (Music, Pictures, Video) to be streamed to and from [[Universal Plug and Play|Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) AV]] enabled devices such as the [[PS3]], [[Xbox 360]], and Roku [[SoundBridge]]. This includes DRM protected [[PlaysForSure]] content. WMP 11 on Windows Vista can also act as a client to connect to remote media libraries using this feature; this is not available on the [[Windows XP]] version.
With version 12, media streaming was further improved. While previous versions streamed media to [[UPnP]] compliant devices (Digital Media Server role) and could play media by fetching it from a network share (Digital Media Player role),<ref name="WMP12Streaming">{{cite web |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/05/12/media-streaming-with-windows-7.aspx |title=Media Streaming with Windows 7 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |work=Engineering Windows 7 |first=Steven |last=Sinofsky |date=May 12, 2009 |access-date=April 23, 2015 |archive-date=July 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712162812/http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/archive/2009/05/12/media-streaming-with-windows-7.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Windows Media Player 12 can access media from the shared media libraries on the network or HomeGroup, stream media to [[DLNA]] 1.5 compliant devices and allows itself (once the remote control option is turned on) to be remotely controlled by Digital Media Controller devices which stream media (Digital Media Renderer role).<ref name="WMP12Streaming"/> Similarly, the ''Play To'' feature once enabled for remote PCs, by turning on remote control of the player, allows compliant devices and computers to be discovered and controlled remotely from a computer running Windows Media Player 12 (Digital Media Controller role).<ref name="WMP12Streaming"/> If the devices do not support the streamed format, Windows Media Player 12 transcodes the format on-the-fly. Media from a home network can also be streamed over the internet using an ''Online ID Provider'' service, which handles discovery of the computer's IP address, authorization, security, connectivity and Quality of Service issues.<ref name="WMP12Streaming"/>
===Skin Mode===
Windows Media Player also features skins. Currently, Windows Media Player has two default skins: "Corporate,” which was first introduced in version 8, and "Revert,” which first shipped with version 9. In previous versions of Windows Media Player starting with version 7, there were many usual skins offered, some of which were included in various versions of Windows. A non-exhaustive list of skins included with Windows Media Player from versions 7-10 are "9SeriesDefault,” "Atomic,” "Bluesky,” "Canvas,” "Classic,” "Compact,” "goo,” "Headspace,” "heart,” "iconic,” "Miniplayer,” "Optic,” "Pyrite,” "QuickSilver,” "Radio,” "Roundlet,” "Rusty,” "splat,” "Toothy,” "Windows Classic,” and "Windows XP.” All of these skins were removed starting with version 11, but are retained if the player is upgraded. Some skins such as the ones included in previous versions can be downloaded from the Microsoft website, however they have since been removed. It has been archived since 2016 and is currently available.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609092016/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-media-player-skins#t1=all|title=Skins for Windows Media Player|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|work=Windows|archive-date=June 9, 2016|url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-media-player-skins#t1=all|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Corporate skin is not deletable.
==Security issues==
[[Microsoft]] [[Windows Media]] Runtime in [[Windows 2000]], [[Windows XP]], [[Windows Vista]] and [[Windows Server]] contained a bug that permitted "remote code execution if a user opened a specially crafted media file". Such a file would allow the attacker to "then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights", if the account on which the file was played had administrator privileges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-047.mspx |title=Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-047: Critical Vulnerabilities in Windows Media Format Could Allow Remote Code Execution |date=September 8, 2009 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |work=[[Microsoft TechNet]] |access-date=June 5, 2010 |archive-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731034506/http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS09-047.mspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The problem was addressed in a critical update issued on September 8, 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968816 | title = MS09-047: Description of the security update for Windows Media Format Runtime, Windows Media Services, and Media Foundation: September&nbsp;8, 2009 | date = September 10, 2009 | work = Support | publisher = [[Microsoft]] | access-date = June 5, 2010 | archive-date = May 19, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100519232939/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968816 | url-status = live }}</ref>
==Other versions==
Microsoft has also released versions of Windows Media Player for other platforms including [[Windows Mobile]], [[classic Mac OS]], [[Mac OS X]], [[Palm-size PC]], [[Handheld PC]], and [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]]. Of these, only the Windows Mobile edition continues to be actively developed and supported by Microsoft. Version 1 of the [[Zune]] software was also based on Windows Media Player; later versions are not.
===Windows Mobile===
[[File:Windows Media Player 10 Mobile.png|thumb|Windows Media Player 10.3 Mobile on a Windows Mobile Professional device]]
Windows Media Player for Pocket PC was first announced on January 6, 2000, and has been revised on a schedule roughly similar to that of the Windows version.<ref name="pocketpcpr">{{cite web
|url=http://news.microsoft.com/2000/01/06/microsoft-unveils-windows-media-player-for-palm-size-and-pocket-pcs/
|title=Microsoft Unveils Windows Media Player for Palm-Size and Pocket PCs
|date=January 6, 2000
|access-date=January 31, 2017
|work=News Center
|publisher=[[Microsoft]]
|archive-date=August 6, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806104748/https://news.microsoft.com/2000/01/06/microsoft-unveils-windows-media-player-for-palm-size-and-pocket-pcs/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Currently known as "Media Player 10 Mobile,” this edition (released in October 2004) closely resembles the capabilities of the Windows version of WMP 10, including playlist capabilities, a media library, album art, WMA Lossless playback, support for DRM-protected media, video playback at 640×480 with stereo sound, and the same [[Energy Blue]] interface aesthetics also seen in [[Windows XP]] Media Center Edition 2005. It also supports synchronization with the desktop version of WMP 10, and additionally supports synchronizing and transcoding of recorded television shows from Media Center. Media Player 10 Mobile is not available as a download from Microsoft, distribution is done solely through OEM partners, and is typically included on devices based on Windows Mobile.
Windows Mobile 6 includes a copy of Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, but with a similar (but not quite identical) theme as Windows Media Player 11.
===Mac OS X===
Version 9 was the final version of Windows Media Player to be released for [[Mac OS X]] before development was canceled by Microsoft. It was developed by the Windows Media team at Microsoft instead of the [[Macintosh Business Unit]] and released in 2003. On release the application lacked many basic features that were found in other media players such as Apple's [[iTunes]] and [[QuickTime]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}} It also lacked support for many media formats that version 9 of the Windows counterpart supported on release 10 months earlier.
The Mac version supported only [[Windows Media]] encoded media (up to version 9) enclosed in the [[Advanced Systems Format|ASF]] format, lacking support for all other formats such as [[MP4]], [[Moving Picture Experts Group|MPEG]], and Microsoft's own [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]] format. On the user interface front, it did not prevent [[screensaver]]s from running during playback, it did not support file drag-and-drop, nor did it support playlists. While Windows Media Player 9 had added support for some files that use the [[Windows Media Video|WMV9]] codec (also known as the WMV3 codec by the [[FourCC]]), in other aspects it was seen as having degraded in features from previous versions.
On January 12, 2006, Microsoft announced it had ceased development of Windows Media Player for Mac. Microsoft now distributes a third-party [[Plug-in (computing)|plugin]] called WMV Player (produced and maintained by [[Flip4Mac]]) which allows some forms of [[Windows Media]] to be played within [[Apple Computer|Apple's]] [[QuickTime]] Player and other QuickTime-aware applications.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/flip4mac.mspx | title=Windows Media Components for QuickTime | publisher=[[Microsoft]] | access-date=March 30, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060112005045/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/flip4mac.mspx|archive-date=January 12, 2006}}</ref>
==European Commission case==
In March 2004, the [[European Commission]] in the [[European Union Microsoft antitrust case]] fined Microsoft €497&nbsp;million and ordered the company to provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player, claiming Microsoft "broke European Union competition law by leveraging its near monopoly in the market for PC operating systems onto the markets for work group [[Server (computing)|server]] operating systems and for media players.” The company has made available a compliant version of its flagship operating system under the negotiated name "[[Windows XP]] N,” though the product has not been very successful. [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows 7]] and [[Windows 8]] are also available in "N" editions. However, it is possible to either install Windows Media Player (XP/Vista)<ref>Microsoft. [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx Download Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725225106/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx |date=2017-07-25 }}. "be used to restore Windows Media Player and related technologies to N and KN editions of Windows Vista." Retrieved July 26, 2008</ref> or the Media Restore Pack through [[Windows Update]] (Vista) to add the media player.
==Release history==
Prior to the release of Windows Media Player in Windows 98 Second Edition, separate programs, [[CD Player (Windows)|CD Player]], Deluxe CD Player, [[DVD Player (Windows)|DVD Player]] and [[Media Player (Microsoft)|Media Player]], were included in old versions of Microsoft Windows for playback of media files. Only Windows Media Player 11 is not available for [[Windows Server 2003]].
{| class = "wikitable"
|+ Windows Media Player versions<ref>{{cite web|title=Get Windows Media Player|url=http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-media-player|work=Windows|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=November 5, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825061104/http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/windows-media-player|archive-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref>
|-
!Version !! Original release !! Included with !! Available for
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;" | [[Microsoft Windows]]
|-
| '''Media Player (2022)'''<ref name="msstore-wmp">{{cite web |title=Windows Media Player |url=https://www.microsoft.com/store/productId/9WZDNCRFJ3PT |website=[[Microsoft Store]] |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=18 February 2023}}</ref> || February 15, 2022 || [[Windows 11]] || [[Windows 10]]<ref name="neowin-wmp">{{cite web |last1=Sen |first1=Sayan |title=Microsoft is bringing the new Windows 11 Media Player to all Windows 10 users |url=https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-is-bringing-the-new-windows-11-media-player-to-all-windows-10-users/ |website=Neowin.net |publisher=Neowin LLC |date=12 January 2023}}</ref>
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 12'''|| July 22, 2009 || [[Windows 7]] and later<br /> [[Windows Server 2008 R2]] and later || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 11'''|| October 18, 2006 || [[Windows Vista]]<br />[[Windows Server 2008]] || [[Windows XP]] (SP2+)<br />[[Windows XP x64 Edition]]<br />[[Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 10'''|| August 25, 2004 || [[Windows XP x64 Edition]]<br />[[Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005]]<br />[[Windows Server 2003]] (SP1+) || [[Windows Server 2003]]<br />[[Windows XP]]<ref name="10 latest">{{cite web|title=MS09-037: Description of the security update for Windows Media Player: August 11, 2009|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973540|work=Support|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=August 12, 2013|date=May 8, 2012|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055220/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973540|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 9 Series'''|| January 7, 2003<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.microsoft.com/2003/01/07/final-release-of-windows-media-9-series-starts-next-wave-of-digital-media/|title=Final Release of Windows Media 9 Series Starts Next Wave of Digital Media|date=January 7, 2003|work=News Center|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=September 29, 2015|archive-date=February 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203222536/http://news.microsoft.com/2003/01/07/final-release-of-windows-media-9-series-starts-next-wave-of-digital-media/|url-status=live}}</ref> || [[Windows XP]] (SP2+)<br />[[Windows Server 2003]] (RTM) || [[Windows XP]]<br />[[Windows Me]]<br />[[Windows 2000]]<br />[[Windows 98]] SE<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.petri.com/download_windows_media_player_9|title=Download Windows Media Player 9|last=Petri|first=Daniel|date=2009-01-08|website=Petri|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-12|archive-date=2019-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213064409/https://www.petri.com/download_windows_media_player_9|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|'''Windows Media Player for Windows XP''' (version 8) || August 24, 2001 || [[Windows XP]] (RTM & SP1) || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 7.1'''|| May 16, 2001 || [[Windows 2000]] (SP2+) || [[Windows Me]]<br />[[Windows 2000]]<br />[[Windows 98]]<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bumpersoft.com/Video-and-Audio/MP3-and-Audio/Audio-and-CD-Players/Windows-Media-Player-7-1-for-Windows-98-2000-and-Me-711.htm|title=Windows Media Player 7.1 for Windows 98, 2000, and Me 7.1 - BumperSoft|website=www.bumpersoft.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-12|archive-date=2019-02-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213123635/https://www.bumpersoft.com/Video-and-Audio/MP3-and-Audio/Audio-and-CD-Players/Windows-Media-Player-7-1-for-Windows-98-2000-and-Me-711.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 7.0'''|| June 19, 2000<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.microsoft.com/2000/07/17/microsoft-windows-media-player-7-brings-click-and-play-digital-media-to-millions-around-the-globe/ |title=Microsoft Windows Media Player 7 Brings Click and Play Digital Media To Millions Around the Globe |work=News Center |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |date=July 17, 2000 |access-date=June 15, 2011 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527051557/http://news.microsoft.com/2000/07/17/microsoft-windows-media-player-7-brings-click-and-play-digital-media-to-millions-around-the-globe/ |url-status=live }}</ref> || [[Windows ME]] || [[Windows 2000]]<br />[[Windows 98]]<br />[[Windows NT 4.0]]<br />[[Windows 95]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 6.4'''{{efn|Windows Media Player 6.4 was shipped side-by-side with later versions of WMP in Windows ME and Windows XP}} || September 15, 1999 || [[Windows 2000]]<br />[[Windows Me]] (hidden)<br />[[Windows XP]] (hidden)<br />[[Windows Server 2003]] (hidden)<br />[[Internet Explorer 5|Internet Explorer 5.01]]<br />[[Internet Explorer 5|Internet Explorer 5.5]]<br />[[Internet Explorer 6|Internet Explorer 6.0]] || [[Windows 98]]<br />[[Windows NT 4.0]]<br />[[Windows 95]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 6.1'''
|| March 1999 || [[Windows 98]] SE<br />[[Internet Explorer 5|Internet Explorer 5.0]] || [[Windows 98]] <br/ >[[Windows NT 4.0]]<br/ >[[Windows 95]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 6.0''' || September 1998 || [[DirectX Media|DirectX Media 6.0]]<br />[[Internet Explorer 4|Internet Explorer 4.01]] (SP2) || [[Windows 98]]<br />[[Windows NT 4.0]]<br />[[Windows 95]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 5.2''' || July 1998 || {{N/A}} || [[Windows 98]]<br />[[Windows NT 4.0]]<br />[[Windows 95]]<br />[[Windows 3.1]]
|-
|'''Microsoft Media Player 5.1''' || 2001 || [[Windows XP]] (hidden) || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 5.0''' || 1999 || [[Windows 2000]] (hidden) || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 4.9''' || 2000 || [[Windows Me]] (hidden) || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 4.1''' || 1998 || [[Windows 98]]<br />[[Windows 98 SE]] (hidden) || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 4.0''' (Unicode) || 1996 || [[Windows NT 4.0]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 4.0''' (ANSI) || 1995 || [[Windows 95]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 3.51''' || 1995 || [[Windows NT 3.51]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 3.5''' || 1994 || [[Windows NT 3.5]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 3.15''' || 1992 || {{N/A}} || [[Windows 3.1]] with [[Video for Windows]]
|-
|'''Media Player 3.1''' (32-bit) || 1993 || [[Windows NT 3.1]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 3.1''' (16-bit) || 1992 || [[Windows 3.1]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Media Player 3.0''' || 1991 || {{N/A}} || [[Windows 3.0]] with Multimedia Extension
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;" | [[Windows Mobile]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 10.3 Mobile'''|| February 12, 2007 (Windows Mobile 6) || [[Windows Mobile 6.1]]<br />[[Windows Mobile 6]] || [[Windows Mobile 5.0]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 10.2 Mobile'''|| {{dunno}} || [[Windows Mobile 5.0]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 10.1 Mobile'''|| May 10, 2005 || [[Windows Mobile 5.0]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 10 Mobile'''|| October 12, 2004 || [[Windows Mobile 2003 SE]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 9.0.1'''|| March 24, 2004 || [[Windows Mobile 2003 SE]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 9 Series'''|| June 23, 2003 || [[Windows Mobile 2003]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 8.5'''|| October 11, 2002 || [[Pocket PC 2002]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 8.01'''|| July 2002 || [[Pocket PC 2002]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 8'''|| October 4, 2001 (Pocket PC) || [[Pocket PC 2002]]<br />[[Smartphone 2002]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 7.1'''|| May 21, 2001 || [[Pocket PC 2000]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 7'''|| December 12, 2000 || [[Pocket PC 2000]] || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 1.2'''|| September 7, 2000 || Handheld PC 2000 || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 1.1'''|| {{dunno}} || Palm-size PC CE 2.11 || {{N/A}}
|-
|'''Windows Media Player'''|| April 19, 2000 || [[Windows Mobile#Pocket PC 2000|Pocket PC 2000]] || {{N/A}}
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;" | [[classic Mac OS|Mac]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 9 Series'''|| November 7, 2003 || {{N/A}} || [[Mac OS X]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 7'''|| July 24, 2001 || [[Mac OS 9]] || [[Mac OS 8|Mac OS 8.x]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 6.3'''|| July 17, 2000 || [[Mac OS 8]] || [[System 7|Mac OS 7.x]]
|-
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#ddf;" | [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]]
|-
|'''Windows Media Player 6.3'''|| July 17, 2000 || {{N/A}} || [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]]
|}
==See also==
* [[Comparison of media players]]
* [[Comparison of video player software]]
* [[Groove Music]]
* [[Media Player Classic]], a media player that mimics the appearance of Windows Media Player 6.4
* [[Media Transfer Protocol]]
* [[Windows Media Encoder]]
* [[Windows Media Services]]
==Footnotes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.updatexp.com/windowsxpmediaplayer.html|title=A Little Windows Media Player History...|last=Liron|first=Marc|year=2004|work=Windows XP Media Player - The Best There Is?|access-date=October 7, 2011|archive-date=January 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080118091504/http://www.updatexp.com/windowsxpmediaplayer.html|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|url=http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899113|title=The default codecs that are included with Windows Media Player 9 and with Windows Media Player 10 (Revision 1.1)|date=August 4, 2005|publisher=Microsoft Corporation|work=Microsoft Support Center|access-date=October 7, 2011|archive-date=November 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120023148/http://support.microsoft.com/kb/899113|url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-media-player-details.aspx}}
* [https://www.windows-media-player.com The Vintage Windows Media Player]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050101093232/http://www.wmplugins.com/ wmplugins.com – The place to find and share plug-ins, skins and visualizations.]
{{Windows Components}}
{{Media player (application software)}}
[[Category:1991 software]]
[[Category:Macintosh media players]]
[[Category:MacOS media players]]
[[Category:Microsoft software]]
[[Category:Microsoft Windows multimedia technology]]
[[Category:Pocket PC software]]
[[Category:Tag editors]]
[[Category:Windows CD ripping software]]
[[Category:Windows components|Media Player]]
[[Category:Windows media players]]
[[Category:Windows Mobile Standard software]]