Neowin.net - Windows Media Player 10 Officially Released

Windows Media Player 10 Officially Released

Posted by Toxicfume on 02 September 2004 - 14:11 · 180 comments & 42357 views

Not long after we reported it leaked, Microsoft officially released Windows Media Player 10, which sports many new features and a new user interface.

This release hosts a new User Interface that is cleaner and lesser cluttered, but the basic layout appears to be mostly the same. The player comes with a default skin not based on any previous versions of Media Player. The skin, which is mostly of a glassy-blue gradient has received many negative reactions as Microsoft seems to be 'going blue' on most of their recently released applications.

As we reported earlier, Microsoft has shipped the player which integrates to online music stores. Not only is MSN's Music store available, but also a variety of their stores include Napster, Wal-Mart and Music-Match. This is Microsoft's first step in going online for music, after Apple's footsteps with iTunes.

Microsoft also promises easy Syncing procedures with many portable devices, and they have announced future compatibility with soon to come Windows Mobile–based Portable Media Centers, which includes Creative's next generation of audio/video player, the Nomad 'Zen'.

Folder Synchronization is featured in this release, which basically monitors your choice of folders which contain your media for changes in files, which will automatically reflect to the built-in playlist. Also, as we mentioned, possibly one of the most spectacular feature of this new version is the ability to encode music into high bitrate mp3 format.

Download: Windows Media Player 10 (Approx. 12MB)

View: Forum Thread

News source: Microsoft Windows Media Player 10

The 11 console titles--all sequels--that the research predicts will sell more than 1 million units each and will dominate holiday sales are as follows:

•Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Take-Two, PS2)
•Halo 2 (Microsoft, Xbox)
•Madden NFL 2005 (Electronic Arts, PS2)
•Need for Speed Underground 2 (Electronic Arts, PS2)
•Gran Turismo 4 (SCEA, PS2)
•Spider-Man 2 (Activision, PS2)
•Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (Activision, PS2)
•Pokémon LeafGreen (Nintendo, GBA)
•Pokémon FireRed (Nintendo, GBA)
•Metal Gear Solid 3 (Konami, PS2)
•Mortal Kombat: Deception (Midway, PS2)

Wedbush Morgan predicts that during 2004, 218 million pieces of software will be sold in total, skewed such that an astonishing 114 million of them will be moved during the final three months of the year. In addition, the report closes with in-depth looks at six of the major third-party publishers and recommendations for investors (giving a "Buy" rating to Take-Two, Activision, Atari, and Electronic Arts and a "Hold" rating to Midway and THQ).

While today's report focused on the console and handheld sectors, the document briefly alluded to three PC games thought capable of driving sales of a million or more before the end of the calendar year. Those would be Doom 3 (Activision), the upcoming The Sims 2.0 (Electronic Arts), and "November’s" release of Half-Life 2 (VU Games). "We expect the total unit sales for the 11 console/handheld million unit SKUs plus the three PC million unit SKUs to exceed 30 million units in calendar 2004," said Wedbush analysts Michael Pachter and Edward Woo in today's report.

Dice says: I feel this analyst is correct, do you?

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(1 reply) #1 Posted by Jasco on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:13

#2 Posted by EuroBoyPN on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:16: too bad its only in english

#3 Posted by HoochieMamma on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:18: Still doesnt resize properly (in compact mode) when playing vids like MPC does :/

#4 Posted by rbet on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:18: cool!

#5 Posted by qdave on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:20: lol euroboy!

great news!!!

(5 replies) #6 Posted by shift on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:20: It's lovely! Check out the cool vis you can get for it too!
Download Visual

Don't you think it's a shame the Icon is so ugly? It doesn't show up very well on the default Windows XP Theme.

(1 reply) #7 Posted by LeCastor on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:21: Is it already available in other languages ?

(7 replies) #8 Posted by mattisking on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:22: Anyone else notice that it's ONLY for Windows XP. Not smart Microsoft. Not smart at all. I use Windows XP Professional at home but am not ALLOWED to use XP at the office where we run all Windows 2000. I purchase most of my music through iTunes (90%) while at the office with my headphones on. Excluding 2000 and even 9x users is going to hurt you in the long run.

(3 replies) #9 Posted by Rolando on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:25: still no match for iTunes... it has some nice new stuff though

#10 Posted by welshkid on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:26: installin now

#11 Posted by ksalter on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:27

QUOTE

still no match for iTunes... it has some nice new stuff though

Why?

#12 Posted by kainashi on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:27: awesome. this is great news.

#13 Posted by imtoomuch on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:28: I think it looks good no matter what other people say. I'll still use Winamp as my music player and Media Player Classic as my video player, but it seems Microsoft did a good job even if they were just playing catchup. Being able to rip to MP3 is nice. I still use that more than any other format.

#14 Posted by IGx89 on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:29: Does anyone know if there are any new/improved features since the public Technical Preview?

#15 Posted by mohennessey on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:34: great. wasted 10-15 min trying to find a host that had the english, non beta release of wmp10 and its finally released . i love it!

(5 replies) #16 Posted by Mith on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:35: doesn't work on server 2003

(1 reply) #17 Posted by A10 on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:36: Ummm... Windows 2000? Give us a gosh darn break I can understand leaving 9x out, but I'm still scratching my head over this one.

(1 reply) #18 Posted by anog on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:40: How the hell do you choose a skin in WMP10??
I guess I'm reallyyyyyyyyy dumb if I can't figure this out

(1 reply) #19 Posted by tekwar2000 on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:40: Is it already available in other languages ?

(6 replies) #20 Posted by RosUFO on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:41: I've got a white box with a red X in the upper lefthand corner next to movies & TV. It's like there is a graphic pic missing. When I click on it I get a dropdown with a list of other music download services. I tried reinstalling but no good. Anybody else have this issue?

(4 replies) #21 Posted by iron2000 on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:41: Is there still the half colour half black and white video problem?

(12 replies) #22 Posted by Galley on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:47: I'll stick with RealPlayer 10.5 and iTunes, thank you very much.

#23 Posted by sjgore on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:50: The built-in MP3 encoder is excellent news!
...and an unexpected move from Microsoft.

#24 Posted by kronik on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:53: ahhh its always good to see Microsoft come out with a new product, no matter how overated it may be

(4 replies) #25 Posted by tekwar2000 on 02 Sep 2004 - 14:54: Windows Media Player 10 (US English Only)

Windows Media Player 10 Korean Version

Windows Media Player 10 French Version

(3 replies) #26 Posted by jameseuk on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:00: If you are currently using the tech beta please read:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsme...dme.aspx#147383

(2 replies) #27 Posted by TGD on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:01: I'm in the UK and apparently there's "No Available Online Store", do I need to do anything or is it just not in the UK yet?

#28 Posted by Winnerboy on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:08: simply, fine, fine, fine without bugs at least so far i love it.

(3 replies) #29 Posted by kev_gordon on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:09: NO radio!?

I dont seem to have a radio tab or be able to access the radio anywhere?

Is this 'cos I'm at work and behind a firewall and filters and all that? Dunno, but I used to be able to do it?

(2 replies) #30 Posted by lare2 on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:09: Does any one guys have a red X at top right, or it's only me !

(3 replies) #31 Posted by tekwar2000 on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:09

WTF is this???? Look here

Windows MP10 Download

QUOTE

Before you can obtain this content, you need to upgrade the security of your media player.
If you choose to upgrade, your computer will connect to a Microsoft-operated Internet site and send information about your media player, including a unique hardware identifier. No information will be sent that can be used to personally identify you or track your activities. Microsoft will then update the security component of your media player to ensure that it runs with optimal security.

To deny the security upgrade, click Cancel.

#31.1 Posted by aristotle-dude on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:12: It has to do with the DRM. They want to ensure you are not stealing music. LOL

#31.2 Posted by Jugalator on 02 Sep 2004 - 16:39: Correction -- stealing their music from MSN.

I doubt it will help much against all other forms of music piracy.

#31.3 Posted by Jstphish on 03 Sep 2004 - 18:22: Thanks for the link as Microsoft wouldn't kept giving me an error.

(1 reply) #32 Posted by Krankerz on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:15

QUOTE

Folder Synchronization is featured in this release, which basically monitors your choice of folders which contain your media for changes in files, which will automatically reflect to the built-in playlist.

That feature was available in version 9.

#32.1 Posted by Toxicfume on 03 Sep 2004 - 03:03: I never mentioned it's new.

(4 replies) #33 Posted by eSouL on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:17: Found a bug.

In taskbar mode, the volume control isn't skinned (colored) with the rest of the player.

(2 replies) #34 Posted by jameseuk on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:23: looks i'm gonna have to wait for the English International Version then as I'm from the UK

#35 Posted by GwaRGuITaR on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:24: they never fixed the right click menu not working on the miniplayer when listening to music. works for videos though as always... doh!

#36 Posted by dellard14 on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:27: microsoft are spoiling us, first sp2 then this. all the updates are coming at once

#37 Posted by dzvert on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:37: The red x problem is lame, but if it's something you just can't live with then you might try a quick fix like I found. Drop down the little arrow next to the red x and choose Napster or one of the other services. When I did that, the accompanying icon took the place of the red x. On my system, the red x only appears when MSN Music Preview is selected. Worth a try.

#38 Posted by thornz0 on 02 Sep 2004 - 15:51: very nice update, and the high bitrate mp3 encoder is a welcome upgrade.