The latest Windows Media Player, version 10.0, is a solid and comprehensive media-management program that will please anyone who uses a wide variety of audio and video formats and portable devices. At one end, it integrates compatible music stores and movie-download services, including the new MSN Music Service. At the other end, it syncs with more than 75 portable devices, according to Microsoft. In between are a bunch of feature enhancements, most notably the ability to rip songs to MP3 (no more plug-ins), as well as manage and display photos. The app still isn't as user-friendly as Apple's iTunes, and it works with only Windows XP, but it is a significant and worthwhile update.
Setup and interface
Upgrading to Windows Media Player 10.0 is a fairly painless process. Including the necessary restart of your computer, it takes less than 10 minutes to have the jukebox up and running. The player then automatically imports any media and playlist information from the previous version; the time this takes varies, depending on the size of your media library.
We really like this version's new, streamlined interface, even though you'll need a little time to learn its ins and outs. Gone is the menu box that appears by default around version 9.0 when you move your mouse just outside its bounds. To access menu options, simply left-click the Access Applications Menu button (indicated by the upside-down triangle at the top left of the window) or right-click anywhere along the top edge of the jukebox. Microsoft also moved the function tabs from the left side of the player to the top for easier navigation and lightened the background hues of the main viewing panes, opting for iTunes-like color-coding that makes it much easier to browse through songs. Some of the function tabs also have updated names such as Rip, Burn, and Sync. Plus, in addition to offering Mini-Player mode, the latest Windows Media Player will shrink down to just control buttons while you have it open on your desktop (previous versions would still show parts of the viewing panes).
Our favorite enhancement, however, is the addition of a third viewing pane, which you can alternately assign as the Now Playing List, the Burn List, or the Sync List; the last two are useful for keeping track of what you have going on in the background. In Now Playing List mode, the two buttons at the bottom let you directly burn or sync your current playlist.
Features
Windows Media Player 10.0 is packed with plenty of features, including everything offered by version 9.0 and some useful extras.
The most notable new feature is the Digital Media Mall, which gathers several online media stores and services within a single interface and offers a virtual one-stop shopping environment for digital entertainment. The test app we were given included only MSN Music, Napster 2.0, and CinemaNow, but the platform is open for development so that other services can easily be incorporated.
By launch, Microsoft plans to work with 6 services in the United States and 25 worldwide, including Musicmatch, Music Now, Wal-Mart Music Downloads, OD2, and Virgin Mega (France). For people who like to get their content from several different online services but don't like to clutter their hard drives with the proprietary jukeboxes required to buy or listen to tracks (as is the case with Napster, Musicmatch, and Music Now), this feature could make Windows Media Player a must-have. But don't expect to get off completely download-free; we had to download and install a 9MB plug-in to use Napster within the player's interface.
Windows Media Player 10.0 offers driverless support and seamless integration for a long list of portable devices, though iPod users still have to stick with iTunes or, for the time being, RealPlayer. If you own one or several compatible players, you won't have to install the proprietary software for each portable device, resulting in less software clutter and more disk space. The program also lets you set up a manual or automatic sync for each device.
Auto Sync is a major new feature that enables instant, seamless, and automatic syncing of all sorts of media, from music to recorded TV to supported devices such as Creative's Zen Portable Media Center. Many files, especially video and photo, require transcoding, or formatting, in order to play back on portable devices. Although this can be a lengthy process, Windows Media Player does it automatically in the background so that it seems instantaneous. In addition, Windows Media Player 10.0 will intelligently load playlists and other media based on user rating, playback frequency, or any other user-defined parameter. If you decide to automatically sync a device, it shows up in the library. Simply expand the view to display the sync settings associated with it. (Note that while some devices are recognized by name, many register the generic name removable disk. You can rename them, and they will show up with that name subsequently.)
Another handy aspect of the syncing feature is that connected devices will also show up in My Computer under the heading Audio Devices. Thus, even those players that normally don't function as such can effectively be used as removable drives.
Unlike previous versions, Windows Media Player 10.0 supports photos and offers a separate field for recorded TV; the latter is designed for those with Media Center PCs. These features namely benefit those who have a Portable Media Center (PMC) such as Creative's Zen PMC, although it's also helpful if you prefer to organize all of your media within one program. Shutterbugs will appreciate the built-in photo slide-show feature.
Performance
We didn't find any significant differences between Windows Media Player 9.0 and 10.0 when it came to performance issues such as audio/video quality or load time, although the latest version seemed to switch between tabs more quickly. Streaming audio and video came through smoothly and at decent quality, as you'd expect over a broadband connection, and the program had no problems handling any of our archived media.
Hallelujah! Microsoft listened to the pleas of the MP3 faithful and now lets you rip CDs directly into MP3 files in Windows Media Player. You can choose a bit rate of up to 320Kbps for MP3 encoding, and you still have the option of recording files as WMAs. For the latter, you can choose to go Lossless, which will encode at a variable bit rate from 470Kbps to 940Kbps. Microsoft also implemented another highly appreciated, albeit smaller, change to Windows Media Player's CD-ripping settings: The default copy protection status is now set to No, so you don't have to worry about accidentally protecting your music when ripping CDs.
Service and support
Support for free software is historically limited or expensive, and Microsoft doesn't break the mold here, with one-on-one support costing US$35 a pop. The company's Web site, however, offers several self-help sections, including one each for how-tos, FAQs, troubleshooting, and video tutorials. If you're willing to wait for a response, Microsoft also provides an e-mail alias to which users can send their questions. Answers are posted on a weekly basis.
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