Windows 11 is Getting a New Media Player App You Can Test Today (theverge.com) 77
Microsoft has created a new Media Player app for Windows 11, and it's beginning to test the app with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today. The redesigned Media Player app will support both audio and video, and it includes a design that better matches Windows 11's UI improvements. From a report: "At the heart of Media Player is a full-featured music library that allows you to quickly browse and play music, as well as create and manage playlists," explains Dave Grochocki, a senior program manager lead for Microsoft's Windows inbox apps team. "The update to the new Media Player will replace the Groove Music app."
The playback view in this new Media Player app includes album art or artist imagery, which will appear both in full-screen modes and the mini player option. Media Player will also support video, which is usually handled in Windows 10 and Windows 11 in a separate Films & TV app. "All your content in the music and video folders on your PC will appear automatically in your library, but you can also tell Media Player where to look for additional content in app settings," says Grochocki.
The playback view in this new Media Player app includes album art or artist imagery, which will appear both in full-screen modes and the mini player option. Media Player will also support video, which is usually handled in Windows 10 and Windows 11 in a separate Films & TV app. "All your content in the music and video folders on your PC will appear automatically in your library, but you can also tell Media Player where to look for additional content in app settings," says Grochocki.
Whys (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Whys (Score:4)
I have no idea. Literally every popular player out there is better than any of the garbage Microsoft includes in their OS.
The only people that actually use the built-in stuff are those that simply don't know any better, it seems.
Re:Whys (Score:4, Interesting)
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Does anyone remember trying to play a DVD on Windows Media Player, and getting told that you need to buy some kind of add-on before it can play actual DVDs?
VLC FTW.
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Blame that on the DVD conglomerate (Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi, Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Thomson, Time Warner, and Toshiba). They didn't want to make the decryption of DVDs free and Microsoft didn't want to pay what they wanted to include it free with Windows. So I guess you can blame Microsoft for being too cheap to pay the fee but it is the DVD conglomerate that is asking for the licensing fee.
Re:Whys (Score:4, Informative)
The only people that actually use the built-in stuff are those that simply don't know any better, it seems.
Not just that, it's also what you use on a PC that's not yours, or on a locked down corporate PC where you have no permission to install better alternatives.
Portable Apps (Score:2)
Not just that, it's also what you use {...} on a locked down corporate PC where you have no permission to install better alternatives.
Then there are Portable Apps [portableapps.com]:
applications (a lot of then opensource) which have been modified in order to run unpriviledged from some arbitrary storage without any prior installation required.
Short of gluing the USB port shurt, there no required priviledge that a SysAdmin could remove to prevent them for working.
(And even then, it should be possible to run them from your home folder or download folder)
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At my former workplace, running unapproved software by any means on company devices was strictly forbidden. Although the USB ports were not glued shut, we were *specifically* told (and reminded annually) that, amongst other things, connecting any non company approved USB device was forbidden. I don't think that's particularly unusual (it wasn't a top secret government setup or similar, but it did involve insurance companies and similar). I never tested it but I think there was software installed to monitor
Re: Whys (Score:2)
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The only people that actually use the built-in stuff are those that simply don't know any better, it seems.
Not really true at all, plenty of us don't really use media on our PC's much, on the rare once in a blue moon I need to play something I am more than happy to use the built in player no matter how sucky it is.
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But like the browsers, it'll be for the user's own good. It could be a security risk if a user is ever allowed to run a non-microsoft application.
Re:Whys (Score:5, Funny)
Re: Whys (Score:2)
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And others like Foobar2000!
Re: Remember, kids... (Score:2)
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It was a stupid idea to begin with. Especially if you remotely support PCs. If someone tells you that they have a black screen with white letters on it and no further details, it could be anything. Blue with white lettering is a lot more useful information.
Functionality (Score:2)
How is the media player different than the old one? It looks different. That's about it as far as I can tell.
Blu-Ray Support (Score:1)
Re: Blu-Ray Support (Score:1)
Re: Blu-Ray Support (Score:4, Informative)
Laughs in bittorrent
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I recently discovered that I need to pay just to use the Old English font under Win 10. Screw that. If it was really important I could've fired up the old XP box.
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Aren't the font specs the same? Just grab the font from the XP box and import it into Windows 10.
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Blu-Ray? Do they still make those?
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They don't. The original keys were leaked, resulting in publishers changing to new ones, breaking all blu ray players made before the leak. That and often a dependence on java actually working made blu ray doomed from the start.
Will it come with DRM? (Score:2)
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Will it come with DRM that blocks the playback of pirated media?
Not yet. This first release just blocks all pirate songs -- and pirate movies rated Arrr. :-)
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Yes, and also blocks anything not purchased through the Microsoft store.
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Will it come with DRM that blocks the playback of pirated media?
I'll likely never know since I won't ever use Wine to run it.
Who cares? (Score:4)
As usual, it will be restricted, hard to use and have lots of other flaws including some severe security problems. It is MS, after all. The company that cannot get anything right if their life depends on it.
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The company that cannot get anything right if their life depends on it.
and even when they do, people like you move the goalposts anyway.
Re: Who cares? (Score:2)
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The company that cannot get anything right if their life depends on it.
The world's most valuable company can't get anything right? Damn I wish I could fail that hard.
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I would point out that Micro$oft was in a funk for many years. It only really turned around when they began to move towards Linux.
Coincidence? I think not.
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This discusses it [vanityfair.com].
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I would point out that Micro$oft was in a funk for many years. It only really turned around when they began to move towards Linux.
Coincidence? I think not.
Nope. Just you being unable to read graphs. Microsoft's share price started shooting up as did their income back when Azure did *not* yet have Linux support.
But even if their profit was entirely Linux based, are you saying they got their choice of Cloud platform right? I mean that kind of is my point isn't it. How could a company that "cannot get anything right if their life depends on it" make money?
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No, you're wrong. It's all Linux.
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It's all Linux.
The fantastic part about absolutes is that it's so easy to call you an idiot. It has never in its history been all Linux. At its peak (and definitely not at its start) it was 60% Linux. But don't take my word for it, Microsoft has some nice annual reports in which they go into a lot of detail about their biggest business success. Go read them.
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I also eat Linux ice cream. What do you do?
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Ben and Jerry's of course, I don't eat Linux ice cream because I'm not a virgin.
A media player that's supports audio and video (Score:2)
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The relentless pace of innovation never stops in Redmond.
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Consistent, yes. Not a great UI and not really built for managing a music library. I really like to use a player that I can point at a folder of albums and have it index all the metadata and give a library view for creating playlists and so on. iTunes is a bloated mess, but it did this very well. Winamp used to be the best option but when even iTunes is better you know you're obsolete.
Also, and this is a minor thing, the play/pause button is the largest button in the UI. This is a laziness thing, but I
Wow! (Score:2)
Re:Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
And it supports both audio AND video! It's an even bigger thing than I thought.
Oh MY. We ARE in the Metaverse!
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Don't give them ideas, or they may decide that it may be used to view photos as well!!!
Translation time... (Score:2)
"At the heart of Media Player is a full-featured music library that allows you to quickly browse and play music, as well as create and manage playlists,"
TRANSLATION:
"At the heart of Media Player is a full-featured spy tool with telemetry that allows us to quickly pwn your PC and find copyright violations to extort you for"
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SMALL PRINT: After you've paid our low, low, pay-per-play licensing fee.
it includes a design that better matches... (Score:1)
Aaand that's enough reason not to use it right there.
I couldn't care (Score:2)