Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 ready to sing

Microsoft on Monday said it shipped a new version of Windows Media Player, a week after the company had initially hoped to debut the new jukebox player.

The software maker posted the free download of Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP after months of testing the new program, which includes built-in support for Urge, a subscription music service co-developed with MTV.

Microsoft originally planned to ship Windows Media Player 11 last week, but said it was not quite up to snuff.

The new media player is the second key feature of Windows Vista being made available to XP users ahead of the new operating system. Earlier this month, Microsoft released the final version of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP. The Vista versions of both titles will look somewhat different and have a few extra features as well. Microsoft is slated to wrap up development of Vista and start selling it to large businesses next month, with the operating system hitting store shelves in January.

The release of Urge and the new media software have been somewhat overshadowed, given that during the year since Microsoft announced its plans, it has decided to offer its own Zune player and companion subscription service. The $250 Zune is set to go on sale in mid-November.

In addition to Urge, the new media player features improved searching, a more visual interface and supports new formats for ripping and playing music, namely Windows Media Audio Professional and WAV Lossless.

[Gurpreet Joshi]

MS WMP 11 Ready to Sing - But nobody wanna Dance

One more product from M$ without innovating anything ,just another Bloatware.

[Drewzilla]

Does it work with Napster and Rhapsody?

Does it work with Napster and Rhapsody?

[DrtyDogg]

Yes

I've used it with napster, but I've never tried it with Rhapsody.

[DrtyDogg]

Yes

I've used it with napster, but I've never tried it with Rhapsody.

[mousehunt]

Slow down my system

After installing it, it slow down my system so much that I need to uninstall it. I wonder is IE7+WMP11 a lethal combination?

[DrtyDogg]

Not on my box

I run IE7 and WMP11 together just fine.

[Lindy01]

Works great!

and has been working great since it was a beta.

Attention Apple....Itunes needs to monitor folders like WMP before I ever install it again. I have a server at home and I keep all of my music on it....so does my other family members.

WMP can monitor a folder....get a clue. Tomorrow WMP 11 will allow me to stream video from Windows XP to my Xbox 360....with Windows XP and the new 360 update...thanks MS!!

[nightspark]

works great

I've been using wm11 since May and have had no problems. It looks great and has run flawless since my initial install. Well done Microsoft.

[wwwclown]

One more thing

Thanks M$ for the all the updates and patches that are needed for
your wonderful OS!!! And for all the extra apps I need to keep it
secure. Thanks M$!!!!

[rapier1]

Yes OS X and Linux NEVER need patches

Thats why we are all still running 10.4.0. Some people have
mentioned some MS conspiracy called 10.4.8 but obviously they
are *LIARS* because OS X never needs patches to fix security holes
or performance issues.

And linux never needs patches either. We just call them kernel
updates. Totally different thing. Never a single buffer overrun in the
linux kernel.

[maxwis]

CAUTION: Loads New Services, Broke My System

All went fine with my install of MP 11 until I rebooted my computer. It crashed my ATI Mediacenter and the computer became unstable. I reviewed the Windows Registry keys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runand and found a new entry that loads this at startup:
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe

I removed the entry and rebooted. Things worked normal again. Did a Google search for "WMPNSCFG.exe". Found a discussion about this MS program and some new Windows services:
http://forums.windowsforum.org/index.php?showtopic=27704

A new MS service, "The Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" had been added with a startup type of "automatic". Next, I looked at the XP System Event Log. I saw this error: "The Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service service depends on the Universal Plug and Play Device Host service which failed to start because of the following error:
The dependency service or group failed to start."

Well of course it failed, because Universal Plug And Play was not running, because that depends on SSDP Discovery service, which I had previously disabled (too many damn services that just create security holes). Now Microsoft could have avoided this whole MP 11 fiasco if it had not gone ahead and assumed I wanted to run a Mediaplayer Network Sharing Service, whatever that is.

Moral of story: Make sure you have a current Windows OS backup that you can restore to if you need to back out MP 11. Don't think that this program is just a nifty, innocuous music player, akin to Realplyer or Winamp. It loads a bunch of stuff behind your back that you have no idea about.

[maxwis]

CAUTION: Loads New Services, Broke My System

All went fine with my install of MP 11 until I rebooted my computer. It crashed my ATI Mediacenter and the computer

became unstable. I reviewed the Windows Registry keys under

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Runand and found a new entry that loads this at startup:
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\WMPNSCFG.exe

I removed the entry and rebooted. Things worked normal again. Did a Google search for "WMPNSCFG.exe". Found a

discussion about this MS program and some new Windows services:
http://forums.windowsforum.org/index.php?showtopic=27704

A new MS service, "The Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" had been added with a startup type of

"automatic". Next, I looked at the XP System Event Log. I saw this error: "The Windows Media Player Network Sharing

Service service depends on the Universal Plug and Play Device Host service which failed to start because of the

following error:
The dependency service or group failed to start."

Well of course it failed, because Universal Plug And Play was not running, because that depends on SSDP Discovery

service, which I had previously disabled (too many damn services that just create security holes). Now Microsoft could

have avoided this whole MP 11 fiasco if it had not gone ahead and assumed I wanted to run a Mediaplayer Network

Sharing Service, whatever that is.

Moral of story: Make sure you have a current Windows OS backup that you can restore to if you need to back out MP 11.

Don't think that this program is just a nifty, innocuous music player, akin to Realplyer or Winamp. It loads a bunch

of stuff behind your back that you have no idea about.

[mortis9]

Same Here!

It broke every other media player I have installed: quicktime (crashes), vlc (crashes on start), media classic (only runs on one moniter and screws up the background). I'm not a MS-hater, but seriously guys... *** did you do to my system? They better fix this, or somebody better fix it. My guess is that Apple will issue the first fix, but I could be wrong. Let this be a warning to all. Stay away from WMP11 until they patch this shaky beta.

[maxwis]

It's Spyware Too

MP 11 lauches a program called Logagent that phones home when you play various "FREE" content. ZoneAlarm told me what it was trying to do, and I instructed Zone to Deny Internet access to Logagent. Thank goodness for ZoneAlarm. I would never trust MS own firewall crap. I can guarantee you that MS will seceretly allow their own programs unfettered Internet access. If there ever was a compelling argument for using 3rd party firewall software on Vista this is it.

[qwerty75]

Terrible Program

My daughters downloaded it and installed it. The first thing it did on initial start-up is crash. lol

At least MS is consistent.

The second problem is that it plays all DVD's poorly. The picture is extremely dark, and there doesn't seem a way to fix it. At least PowerDVD still works and is reliable.

[timber2005]

Re: Terrible Program

Depending on your daughters age, you probably should have done it.

I did notice issues on a computer that I didn't turn off many running programs while installing. Simple fix? uninstall, turn off the other, non ms bloatware, and reinstall.

As for your dvd issue, there is a simple fix.
Check your Video drivers. There was a nVidia issue a couple of versions ago that messed up gamma settings.

If that doesn't work, right click the title bar (where it says Windows Media Player ;)), View, Show Enhancements, Video Settings. There you can adjust everything video.

Vala! Enjoy!

[timber2005]

Customer Feedback

Its part of the customer feedback system ;)

[coryschulz]

Been using WMP 11 for months, works great!

No real problems. Loads just as fast as iTunes on win XP. It may be a little more cluttered looking then iTunes, but I also think it has more customizable features and is much more graphical. When building an app there is often a trade off between cluttered looking applications and available features.

I use WMP because on the front of my laptop are the little volume buttons and stop and play buttons, and I use these regularly, and they don't work with iTunes. So... iTunes also doesn't have support for third party visualization codecs like MS does. I use G-Force, which is very colorful visualization.

You guys can hate MS all you want for their previous inability to produce good products, which I also think they have lagged in creativity and security. But the truth, is that MS is shaping up their products, and is transitioning control from Gates to Ozzie, and the next few releases in Windows, and IE 7.5, and Office, and all of their Live services, and their .Net framework, and their Expression Studios.... Everything is really starting to look a lot better. Even if they did get a lot of the ideas from other companies, they've still managed to evolve as a company and piece together what is becoming Microsoft 2.0.

You can have your doubts all you want, but I think MS is maturing and realizing their weaknesses. I do like Apple a lot though. Their products continue to have a certain level of creative quality. The iPod is perfect. Their docking menu in their OS is brilliant!! Steve Jobs is amazing at marketing!! They both have strengths and weaknesses. If I had enough money I would use them both.

[Waam]

My 2.0Ghz P4 can barely run it!

I hope the finished version runs better because the beta is a real
ball and chain for my Sony Vaio desktop. Worst even, it didnt; even
ask me, but sucked up all the music out of my iTunes and created
another folder for the MP3's and AAC. BUT! It duplicated them and
I lost another 8gigs to music. It duplicated my library... did I do
soemthing wrong?

[rsanchez]

WMPNETWK.exe crashes in a blue screen

I am getting the blue screen. I keep getting a message that says STOP: 00x0000000A(0xF7004025,0x00000002,0x00000000,0x80536622
How do I prevent this?

[rsanchez]

It crashes my computer when I am on foxfire

How do I stop getting a blue screen. I get an error message that says STOP wmpnetwk.exe stopped unexpectedly.

[rsanchez]

keeps crashing my computer

Does AMD have problems with wmpnetwk.exe. My computer keeps crashing with the blue screen.