Windows 10: Here's how to install the new Media Player in the Windows 11 stable channel

Microsoft began rolling out a new Media Player for Windows 11 in November last year. But it was limited to users in the Insider Preview Program. When we tried installing the app in the stable channel of the operating system, it didn't work.



That seems to have changed quietly, according to a user on reddit. If you want to try the app without participating in the test builds, here's how to install the new Media Player in the Windows 11 stable channel.

The new Media Player replaces the Groove Music app, so if you were using the latter, it will no longer be available post installing the latest version. You will need to be on the latest Windows 11 version, i.e. 21H2 Build 22000.376, for these steps to work.

How to install the new Media Player in the Windows 11


1. Go to https://store.rg-adguard.net/, and paste the URL of the Groove Music app's Microsoft Store listing in the text box. Here's the link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/groove-music/9wzdncrfj3pt
​

2. Click the drop-down menu to the right-hand side, which says RP, and select the Fast channel.

3. Proceed by clicking the checkmark button next to it, and a long list of links will appear. Look for the file with the name Microsoft.ZuneMusic_11.2111.54.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle. It is about 35 MB to download.



Note: There is a similar file with the number 54.70, that weighs about 92 MB. Don't download this version, as it cannot be used to update the Media Player.

4. Run the file that you downloaded, and the operating system will display a pop-up that asks whether you would like to update Media Player. Click the update button to confirm the action, and wait for it to finish the process.

The new Media Player is ready to use, you can find more about its features in our previous article. You may have noticed that the program's title says Media Player Preview, because it is still being tested. But, now that the app works on the Windows 11 stable channel, it is only a matter of time before Microsoft makes the news official.

There doesn't seem to be any notable changes in the player since the first release. You can resize the app's window to collapse the sidebar labels, i.e. to just display the icons, increase the size or maximize the window to bring the labels back. I would have preferred a button to toggle the sidebar. The mini-player cannot be resized beyond a certain point. Those are the only flaws in the app, otherwise it's quite good for playing local media files.



The Start Menu lists the app as Media Player, but Windows Search does not recognize the name, it displays the legacy Windows Media Player as the result. Even more oddly, searching for Groove Music lists the new Media Player in the results. I'm guessing that the search indexing still points to the older version because the Store app uses the same listing.

It remains unclear whether the app will also be available for Windows 10, but since the Groove app is being replaced, one can only assume that the Media Player will support the old operating system.

Have you tested the new Media Player, what do you think about it?

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New Windows Media Player Plugin for Firefox

Anyone who uses Windows Vista and Mozilla Firefox may be pleased to hear that the Windows Media Player team has now released a plugin for Firefox that should allow the browser to play WMP content on websites. Here are the steps to get it working:

• Installation of the Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin may require administrative access to your PC. It is recommended that you close all other open browser windows before continuing with the installation.
• Click the Install button to automatically download and install the Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin.
• Depending on your security settings, you may see a Security Warning dialog box. Click Install to install the plugin.

There is a known issue if you are using Firefox version 2.0.0.3 on Windows Vista with the installer failing with error code -203. To work around this simply restart Firefox (you will get a notification that Windows Vista will be changing the Firefox compatibility settings) and then install again - the second time should succeed.

The download is available here, and the new plugin works on all versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista (although it is mostly intended for Vista, as that currently has no WMP support in Firefox).

Source: Windows Vista Blog

 

Windows Media Player 11 in June

Although we have to wait for the new Microsoft Vista OS, new version of Windows Media Player 11 will be available before the end of June. The XP version won't have all the features of its Vista successor, but the company won't say which features will be excluded. I guess we have to wait for a public test version and see what's included. With the new media player, consumers will be able to "reverse sync," meaning they can send content from a digital device to a PC. Another change is the ability to alter protected music and video files to change their quality level. With the new software, protected Windows Media files can be converted to smaller file sizes for playback on mobile devices. The biggest no go is that Windows Media Player 11 won't allow conversion of purchased Windows Media Songs into Apple iPods. So songs bought from a Windows Media store still won't play on the iPod.

Source: CNET News

 

Faulty Windows Media Player

Windows Mesdis Player developed a fault (Played jerky an missed bits) so I down loaded Media Player 10.

It's no better. Any suggestions (I run Windows 98)