Windows Media Player

Pros

• Easy to use
• Personalization features
• Watch videos and listen to music without problems
• Intuitive navigation
• Powerful and fun to use

Cons

• Not as many features as some media players available
• Details and album art updates can take a while
• Not compatible with iPods or iPhones

Windows XP Professional users have access to the feature-rich Windows Media Player 11 for the smooth playing of video and audio files. This 64-bit version of Windows Media Player is simply a newer version of the media player that Microsoft has always made available for its operating systems. This means it has many of the characteristics of its previous version, but there are differences that set Media Player 11 apart from versions of the past.

Media Player 11 Features

What comes new with Media Player 11 is the ability to personalize. You can download add-ons-themes, and visualizations so the appearance and feel of the interface matches your style. Other than this, Media Player hasn’t changed from its previous version. The program is rather clean and free of glitches, so Microsoft didn’t change what was already working well.

Regardless of the minimal updating, this is an upgrade that XP users must have. The performance is impressive, the redesign is quite thoughtful, and there are many useful features that include:

• Intuitive controls
• Playback, repeat, and shuffle options
• Back and forward navigation buttons
• Improved menu buttons
• The Rip, burn, Now Playing, Library, and sync buttons have sub-buttons that open more menu items
• When ripping, bit rate and format are some of the aspects that can be adjusted
• Play virtually any type of media file

As far as system specs, Windows Media Player 11 will play on XP professional 64-bit and newer operating systems. However, Windows Media Player receives an upgrade once in a while, particularly when a new operating system is released or when a major OS update is made. Unless you’re looking for more specialized features, there isn’t much need for any other type of media player.

The Takeaway

Windows Media Player 11 has everything you need for a good listening or viewing experience. From the personalization capability to the more in-depth controls that allow you to achieve many goals with your media, Media Player is a win. As your default media player, it will pop up to play media files and will do so without too much operational noise or trouble.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Personalization features
• Watch videos and listen to music without problems
• Intuitive navigation
• Powerful and fun to use

Cons

• Not as many features as some media players available
• Details and album art updates can take a while
• Not compatible with iPods or iPhones