Windows Media Player 11 Details Leaked

[Damion Chaplin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.thehotfix.net/comments.php?catid=1&shownews=211' target='_blank'>http://www.thehotfix.net/comments.php?catid=1&shownews=211</a><br /><br /></div>"Microsoft is planning a Public Preview Beta of Windows Media Player 11 for XP on Wednesday, May 17th. The final RTM release is scheduled for late June 06 (I will try this week to get a date). Here is a list of features that will and will not be in the XP version:<br /><br />Features in WMP 11 for XP (June 06):<br />* New UI<br />* Support for better synchronization for portable devices<br />* Album “stacks” of album art<br />* Indexed libraries with search-as-you-type features<br />* User controlled downgrade of quality for DRM content to allow for smaller files<br />* DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file<br />* Includes Microsoft and MTV’s Urge music store"<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/wmp.jpg" /> <br /><br />Well, I like the metadata in the DRM content that tells a user what they can and can't do with a particular file. I forsee that as becoming a huge issue in the future when DRM schemes become more prevalent (and as people suddenly realize all that music they bought can't be used they way they wanted to). However, I still think that WMP is probably the worst MP3 player I've ever used. I mean where exactly is the 'Add folder to playlist' option? If I can't find it, how's my mother supposed to? Maybe it'll be a little more obvious in this next release. :wink:

[Vincent Ferrari]

Great. There goes the usefulness of my Axim X51v as a media player.

I hate when new versions of Media Player come out. There's never an upgrade path for people committed to the older versions.

[Jason Eaton]

Great. There goes the usefulness of my Axim X51v as a media player...

I always thought MS should unbundle the media player, as the hardware makers seem to fall flat time after time on that issue. Offer it as an add on app I say.

[Vincent Ferrari]

I really don't understand why everything else in the OS is up to Microsoft, but Media Player is up to the manufacturers. There's no rhyme, reason, or logic behind it and despite the fact that it can be upgraded, I've only owned one device that ever got a Media Player upgrade (from 8.0 to 8.5) and that was the Audiovox Maestro.

You can see how long ago that was.

[Felix Torres]

I really don't understand why everything else in the OS is up to Microsoft, but Media Player is up to the manufacturers.

That would be due to the "friendly" folks in the justice department and their "concerns" over how MS distributes WMP.
Desktop Windows has *always* had a Media Player, so they can say it is an expected piece of the OS, but with CE everything is modular so that argument doesn't wash. MS can only apply branding requirements to control what goes into a PocketPC and they don't insist on WMP being kept current as part of those requirements, presumably out of antitrust concerns. (How long would it take for Real or one of the third-party media players to sue MS if they required that all Windows Mobile devices carried WMP? Over-under starts at a week...)

So it really is up to the manufacturers to decide whether WMP goes in or not.

[Vincent Ferrari]

I don't buy that.

Microsoft forcing manufacturers to include WMP and Microsoft retaining the right and ability to make the updates of it available to end users are mutually exclusive. If a manufacturer includes WMP (as of now, I don't know any that don't), then Microsoft should retain the right to bring our updates for it.

I believe the answer is a little different, and it has to do with Microsoft not wanting to upset third party manufacturers who are also in the business of manufacturing MP3 players, etc, and canibalize their business.

[David Horn]

Actually, the whole thing's been leaked:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Video-Players/Microsoft-Windows-Media-Player-11.shtml

Still syncs nicely to the Pocket PC, but now I need to find a new VGA WMP11 theme for it. :)

No idea how these stack things are supposed to work, but I love the new library layout.

[RenesisX]

I don't know about embedding the meta-data into the content. Your "rights" are in the licence data, which is stored in Documents &amp; Settings, not in the media file itself. These "rights" have always been visible by right-clicking on the file in Media Player and clicking the Licence tab.

[Kent Pribbernow]

This is really pissing me off. All morning long I have seen headlines that Microsoft has officially released a beta version of WMP 11 for XP, and yet it is nowhere to be found. Where hell is this beta at?!?!!?

[RenesisX]

I found it kicking around on some shareware site yesterday.

It's another yawn-fest to be honest. The biggest feature for me in there was the ability to transcode DRM'd content, a feature I asked for about 4 years ago.

At least now it gives the ability for online music stores to offer WMA Lossless and then WMP can transcode to say, 128Kbps as it transfers to a portable player.

Still, downloads are so yesterday anyway.

[Darius Wey]

This is really pissing me off. All morning long I have seen headlines that Microsoft has officially released a beta version of WMP 11 for XP, and yet it is nowhere to be found. Where hell is this beta at?!?!!?

They were all premature announcements. The beta was always set to come out on Wednesday, which is today, so here you go. 8)

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.mspx