Windows Media Player 10 Technical Beta Now Released

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx' target='_blank'>http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx</a><br /><br /></div>It's ready for download! Keep in mind that this is a technical beta - they have a warning on the page that more or less says "use at your own risk". Beta software can be unstable, and some features might not work. And when you have audio and video files with meta data in them, there's a good chance the player might mess with those, so you may want to try it with a duplicate set of songs. And above all, be sure that on Windows XP you have System Restore turned on so you can roll back your system if you don't like what the new player does to it. If you're up for it, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx">download the beta today.</a><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/mp10.jpg" /> <br /><br />"Windows Media Player 10 is being refined to provide a great experience for discovering, playing, and taking your digital media anywhere. We are still in the early stages, but this technical beta lays the groundwork for the great end-to-end digital media experience coming with the final release for Windows XP. <br /><br />• <b>Sleek New Design.</b> A streamlined and sleek new design delivers a fresh new look and improved ease of use, including faster access to top Player tasks. The most important Player features are now in a more prominent position in the library, enabling users to accomplish everyday digital media tasks all in one convenient place and to take advantage of the powerful capabilities of the Player while browsing the library. <br /><br />• <b>Choice of Online Stores.</b> Introducing the first "Digital Media Mall" enabling you to discover, download, rent or stream music and video within the Player from a choice of online stores. These stores enjoy deeper integration and customization within the Player to enhance their functionality and ease of use. <br /><br />• <b>Enhanced Device Support.</b> A wide selection of devices are supported with this release, including a host of current portable music players and new Portable Media Center devices that will be available later this year. A major component of this rich device support includes a new feature called Auto Sync which enables the seamless, automatic synchronization of music, video, and even recorded TV and photos to supported portable devices. <br /><br />• <b>Improved All-in-One Smart Jukebox.</b> Windows Media Player 10 Technical Beta builds upon the award-winning Windows Media Player 9 Series, delivering fast and flexible playback, unmatched audio and video quality, and smart jukebox features designed to save you time and effort."

[piperpilot]

I'm currently recording a 3-hour radio show that I stream through WMP, so I can't download the new beta yet. but I would be interested in hearing feedback from anyone who has downloaded it and is taking it for a spin :)

[jake080]

Andy Hunter is a great christian techno artist/youth worker in Europe :)

[Mojo Jojo]

(sigh)

Must wait till I get home to try. I don't think work would appreciate it much if I installed beta material. =)

It looks very nice, curious if this new style is a foreshadowing of what Longhorn might look like. I also like some similarites I am seeing in the new players. I would venture that the battle has now begun.

Yes, any thoughts would be appreciated and help tide over the itch for new things for at least a couple hours till I get home.

[jake080]

It looks very nice, curious if this new style is a foreshadowing of what Longhorn might look like.

Im gonna say it is. I have one of the beta builds of Longhorn, and its edges, shape, and smoothness are extreemely resemblent. Also most of the graphical interface of Longhorn's final release will totally blow away that of the current beta. None of the Sun Microsystems, "Looking Glass" type stuff (its not that, but MS is developing something of their own just like it ;) ) is even in place in the build i have. So I expect more phenomenonal changes. I guarantee I will be right there to buy the final release of longhorn with all its new MS programs such as MP10... I sure like the name 'Longhorn', they should keep it :) But yeah, the Windows Explorer and IE versions are sweeter than what we can get not in XP, and are resemblent of this MP10 beta :) :) :)

~Jake

[Kent Pribbernow]

I'm not quite fond of the new interface. It is a major improvement over WMP9, to be sure. But I was hoping the Library interface would receive more refinement. The file browser interface really sucks for media management.

[piperpilot]

Just found out that this beta is only for Windows XP. Since my work computer runs Windows 2000, I guess I won't be loading it on this computer: I'll just have to wait until I get home. :cry:

[James Fee]

I haven't seen it anywhere, but does WMP10 support Janus (http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5183692.html)? I assume it does, but have not seen anything about it (or don't know where to look). Am I the only one bothered by the name Janus? Yes he was the god of gates and doorways, but he was also two-faced. Not sure I want my DRM "two-faced". :lol:

[Felix Torres]

I haven't seen it anywhere, but does WMP10 support Janus (http://news.com.com/2100-1027-5183692.html)? I assume it does, but have not seen anything about it (or don't know where to look). Am I the only one bothered by the name Janus? Yes he was the god of gates and doorways, but he was also two-faced. Not sure I want my DRM "two-faced". :lol:

Janus looked to the past and to the future.
That's why the first month of the calendar is named after him.
And this particular two-faced implementation is supposed to look after the interests of both content providers *and* consumers equally.
Ergo, in this context, Janus is meant to imply fairness.
So its appropriate, I'd say.

Of course, considering the attitudes of the media towards MS, these days, any new tech they put out needs eyes in the back of the head to avoid getting knifed. ;-)

[Jonathon Watkins]

Andy Hunter is a great christian techno artist/youth worker in Europe :)

Darn right. I have seen him DJ and have this Album. It's really great! You can listen to most of it at Andy's (http://www.andyhunter.com) website.

I will wait till WM10 is formally released however - I'm not feeling like living on the edge at the mo. :?

[Jonathon Watkins]

I'm not quite fond of the new interface. It is a major improvement over WMP9, to be sure. But I was hoping the Library interface would receive more refinement. The file browser interface really sucks for media management.

How bad is it? :? The library function is the one thing I was really hoping would be better.

[jake080]

Should I try putting this on my Longhorn beta system? I rarely use it as most everything is on this XP system, so i guess setting sys restore is pointless, i might as well use the Lh beta to test beta software! :P
~JAke

--Ill let yall know how it goes, and how well it blends in the future os!

[jake080]

Bleh, it does that dumb XP detection instead of letting you try it on anything, only to find out it doesnt work :P

NEVERMIND IT THEN!!!

:)

[Phoenix]

Andy Hunter is a great christian techno artist/youth worker in Europe :)

I'm apparently missing something here (and I'm all for good music), but this is relevant to WMP 10 in what way?

[piperpilot]

Andy Hunter is a great christian techno artist/youth worker in Europe :)

I'm apparently missing something here (and I'm all for good music), but this is relevant to WMP 10 in what way?

I couldn't figure it out at first either. Andy Hunter's work is pictured on the screen shot of WMP 10.

[James Fee]

Andy Hunter is a great christian techno artist/youth worker in Europe :)

I'm apparently missing something here (and I'm all for good music), but this is relevant to WMP 10 in what way?

I couldn't figure it out at first either. Andy Hunter's work is pictured on the screen shot of WMP 10.
Just an insight into Jason's music choices... Andy Hunter has more to do with Jason than WMP 10. ;)

I will say I never herd of the guy (its a guy right) before someone pointed it out, but lets just say I'm not into techno. 8)

[Phoenix]

I couldn't figure it out at first either. Andy Hunter's work is pictured on the screen shot of WMP 10.

I see. I should've figured that out. :oops:

[VanHouten]

Just an insight into Jason's music choices... Andy Hunter has more to do with Jason than WMP 10. ;)

Except that screenshot came from MS so it must be an insight into Bill Gates' musical tastes. :)

[James Fee]

Except that screenshot came from MS so it must be an insight into Bill Gates' musical tastes. :)
Quite a jump from Beck (http://www.beck.com/) I guess which was featured in older WMP version.

[Jonathon Watkins]

Just an insight into Jason's music choices... Andy Hunter has more to do with Jason than WMP 10. ;)

Except that screenshot came from MS so it must be an insight into Bill Gates' musical tastes. :)

Yup - should have made that more obvious - it's from MS. Interesting to see what music they pick for their screen shots.

[James Fee]

Anyone see if the iPod is supported by WMP 10? I know no AAC support, but what about MP3 support?

[Magellan]

Has anyone actually installed it yet?? Did it mess anything up?

[piperpilot]

I haven't installed it yet. I was kinda waiting to see what others had to say about it first. I just got a new computer and I really don't want to mess it up quite yet. :wink:

[Magellan]

Same here. I am at work now, but when I get home I will try it on one of my less critical PC's.

[Suhit Gupta]

Has anyone actually installed it yet?? Did it mess anything up?
I actually installed Longhorn (latest build) on a machine a week ago to see what it looked like and at that time I installed WMP 10 Beta on it. It seemed to work fine, though the machine was quickly redone because of the large number of bugs in Longhorn.

Suhit