I disagree, it does look nice but it is mearly a vehicle for MS to push more Pay Features at the hapless Consumer. Prime example is the Internet Radio Feature. That is the one and only thing, I use Windows Media Player for. Open it up to radio and you are promptly prompted to get MSN Radio PLus. That is crap. I think Shoutcast has it in spades over MSN.
And yah open the damn thing up and it automatically contacts MSN online Music Store. WTF?You have to right click, and get it to show it's menu bar to get at the options menu. That is hiding it if you ask me. Clueless folks are never going to find that, without being shown. Major No..No.. in my book, I deselected all media types on install, and guess what check options and it has still grabbed 50% of the extensions, specifically the ones I unchecked beforehand. The only plus I see is that MS upped the bitrate on the mp3 ripping capability.

i can only find alink for media player 9, has it been removed?

foobar200 h'uh?? Heard about it so I guess I will give it a try.

anyway, back to wmp10:
I will give it a look see, although I am sort of hesitant in downloading an update for it. I sort of like WinAMP.

One question though, does it now except acc music files?

Saw it, downloaded it, updated, had a look at it, still saw the crap that made me drop WMP and went back to QCD Player.

"Originally posted by by CygnusXII
That is the one and only thing, I use Windows Media Player for. Open it up to radio and you are promptly prompted to get MSN Radio PLus. That is crap. I think Shoutcast has it in spades over MSN."

Im sure its crap to you but this is just your opinion, some people might find it usefull.

"Originally posted by by CygnusXII
And yah open the damn thing up and it automatically contacts MSN online Music Store."

Very good. It never contacted the MSN Online store for me perhaps because its not available in the UK yet...

"Originally posted by by CygnusXII
WTF?You have to right click, and get it to show it's menu bar to get at the options menu.
Clueless folks are never going to find that, without being shown."

Yeah I can see your catching on. See that small arrow next to the minimize click that and see what happens.

"Originally posted by by CygnusXII
Major No..No.. in my book, I deselected all media types on install, and guess what check options and it has still grabbed 50% of the extensions, specifically the ones I unchecked beforehand."

Most likely its the default player now...

"Originally posted by joetheblow
One question though, does it now except acc music files?"

No, don't you mean AAC. IIRC you'll need http://www.3ivx.com/download/index.html

The 3ivx decoder plays back most MPEG-4 files (including MP4, M4A, 3GP and MOV files) with MPEG-4 AAC Audio and MPEG-4 Video (such as DivX 3, 4 and 5, Apple MPEG-4, Philips MPEG-4 and XviD) using Windows Media Player or other compatible players.

By the way, It is for XP only, at least so far. Are they going to do a "lite" version for older OS'es?

i like it a lot, espiaclly with the nice mp3 encoder. i think winamp just lost to winmedia on my machine

vf- Your right that is my Opinion, and I'll tell you this much, it's sad you cannot see Media Player for the Dark Horse it really is. Why should it (Media Player) ask me to choose the extension I wish to associate it with, and then totally ignore that input? why do I have to chase it down and deselect it a second time? Why does it have to connect to anything upon initially running? It's a Media Player not a Media Internet Connector Player.
I understand that it has enhanced features, but why assume which features to activate for me, initially? Also why Hide the Applications Menus'? That is another layer of obfuscation, there's alot of room on that control panel for the menus', menu button or something other than a tiny arrowed drop down. Also Why assume that I want it to be the Default, I have established that Winamp is my player of prefference, that is established in the registry, via context menu "open with" and also selecting in winamps Preffs. why does MS assume it can grab my file associations and redirect them, and obfuscate the process with misdirection, via the extension choice on install. So in all you sir defend nothing, despite your BOLD'ing quotes of Mine, and stating the obvious. I know it is opinion, so does everyone else on this board, that's what the purpose for which comments serve. It is also fact in what Media Player did, and reported by myself, after install. It's not like I needed to manufacture these points I am making. I am just lucky I was actually present when the parent of the Media PLayer Platform was being developed, or I might not know to look for these issues. I know of the disdain that the MS Support staff has for the Average Joe User, and the the Plan of attack that was developed to handle Media PLayers Issues. So while you blithely deconstruct my assesment of Media Players Install, and Initial run, please try to show some of your own actual opinion, or insight into your experience with this Version of Media Player.

WOW CygnusXII
you really take your media players seriously......maybe a bit too seriously. I'm sure you have legit reasons for hating WMP 10 based on what you require of it. I can't speak for others but it rips and burns my tunes just fine, plays my mp3's, DVD's, and transfers to my portable with ease, organizes my media quite nicely and has a new slick look......and I love the Energy Bliss visual. One thing that really ticks me off about it though - it failed to balance my checkbook dammit! Just kidding

All in all I woould think tune jockey would be pretty pleased with this if they weren't already biased to another player. JMHO

Quoted from Wired Magazine Article
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64821,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2
www.wired.com

"With MSN Music, downloaded songs can be played on five computers, a playlist of songs can be burned to CD up to seven times, and users are granted unlimited capability to transfer songs to a current list of roughly 70 portable audio devices."

>My comment>Why be limited to five (5) Computers, when you buy a song, if it is not duplicated, in existence then why limit its transport from machine to machine? Also if your CD Becomes Damaged why limit to Seven (7)Copies? what if I sit here and break Seven CD's or Burn 7 Bad Disc, why should my license be invalidated?


"Open-format activists like Jason Schultz, a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, ask why the company doesn't simply strip DRM altogether, and lament the fact that Microsoft's service launch makes it all the more likely that two opposing proprietary systems Microsoft's and Apple's will now dominate a marketplace some feel would be better served by open standards such as MP3. "Microsoft's music launch is just the latest effort to 'bring music to the masses' by, ironically, setting up a new, separate, incompatible DRM fiefdom," said Schultz. "The thing people love about the internet is that you can send e-mail to anyone in the world with any e-mail client. In the digital music world, however, we're seeing an increasing trend toward technological balkanization. Apple's iTunes won't work on anything but the iPod. Real's music won't work on open MP3 players. And now Microsoft will require any device supporting its music service to use its Janus DRM."

>My comment>First off let us look at the Actual Concept they are promoting Janus DRM. That in and of itself is telling the tale. Microsoft does not Name it concept paths and products willynilly.
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Janus_(mythology)
Janus in Mythology
"Janus the god of change and transitions such as the progression of past to future, of one condition to another, of one vision to another, and of one universe to another.
His two faces (originally, one was always bearded, one clean-shaven later both bearded) originally represented the sun and the moon. He was usually depicted with a key. Janus head is a popular phrase for deception, that is, when action does not match speech."

Now doesn't that beat all? Hmmm.. MS Names a DRM Platform for the God most commonly associated with being two faced. Two faced as in "please determine which extensions to associate with Media PLayer, and NEVER TURN THEM OFF, as in LIE.If MS lies about something as simple as file extensions, what else is going on under the hood? Now isn't that interesting, and further in the Wired Article MS is quoted at how they are going to make the DRM Available to the Masses. Available does not imply open standard or Non Proprietary either.
I am telling you a freaight train is coming, and you are a deaf man standing on the Tracks. I am trying to tell you something I was privy too, without actually telling you (get my drift?)

Do you think the EFF is tilting a windmills here? Do you think the EFF wants to dilute its Opinions and Respect by encouraging a misguided concern? I think not.
Well here is another hidden Nugget in the Article.

"Rob Bennett, senior director of MSN Entertainment who previously led efforts to market the Internet Explorer browser told Wired News that updates to the service will come in six- to eight-week intervals, with a more complete release planned for October.?"

>My CommentOk now this is the Guy that handles IE Browser, now there's no Issue Here Right? IE doesn't conform to Internet Standards, IE was never run as an anticompetative venture (Hmm where's Netscape I wonder? Ie never had an Issue with Operas' Homepage?), MS hasn't been tied up in court all over the World for Bundling and Monopolisation due to IE?

I must be an Alarmist on this, but apparently I am not alone.

For some people Install, Use and be happy. For those that care Be Warned, that is all I am trying to say. The closest thing I can think is Wolf in Sheeps Clothing.

Hmmmmm:(, Why shouldn't I be suprised to see that the radio tuner feater is no longer there. Again something that is free and useful goes over to the Microsoft money machine .

I'm listening to 64k streaming radio free. Just needed a .net 'passport'

~ I can't see ANY player taking the place of WinAmp on my system. I stay completely away from WMP except to check out some of the awesome skins released for it. Other than that I never open it.

~ WinAmp for radio and .mp3's and JetAudio for all video formats for me.

~ BTW....I hate the new glossy look also.

Has anyone had a problem with the Bliss Plugin? My player recognizes the album art perfectly fine when in the album art mode visualization, but in the Bliss visualization I get a generic cd case. I'd appreciate any help. Other than that, great prog and viz.