Windows 10: How to use the new Media Player app in Windows 11

​

Microsoft has started rolling out the new Media Player app for Windows 11, which replaces Groove Music on your computer. If you haven’t tried it yet, this guide helps you find out everything about this new music and video player. Here are all the features, options, how-to’s, etc., so that you can get started with […]

This article How to use the new Media Player app in Windows 11 first appeared on TheWindowsClub.com.

read more...

 

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

 

Windows Media Player is not in Default apps list in Windows 10

I know, this question was asked many times, but there is still no answer that can actually solve the problem. There are steps to get the WMP in Windows Optional Features, install it if missing, etc. - I did all that, and now WMP runs and plays media files. However, there is no way in Windows 10 to set it as a Default App to play media file types.

• Go to "Default apps" > "Music Player" > "Choose Default" - WMP is not there.
  
• "Choose default apps by file type" > ".mp3" > "Choose a default" - WMP is not there.
  
• "Set Defaults by app" > Windows Media Player is here! > select "Manage" > find ".mp3" > "Choose a default" - the only choice is "Look for an app in the Microsoft Store".
  

After a long time spent searching I found this article: How to make any program the default on Windows 10 - gHacks Tech News

Apparently after 1803 you are supposed to use hackers tools to set the Microsoft's own Windows Media Player as default. I used FileTypesMan as was suggested in the article, but when I try to change assignments for .mp3 files, I get "Error 5: Access is denied" from the tool. Also, if I right-click on an .mp3 file and select "Open with..." it still suggests me to go to Microsoft Store, open with Notepad, Paint, Word, but not Windows Media Player.

What is the proper way to make WMP the default media player, so it shows up in the Default apps list?