The Hotfix have recently just posted an article revealing some exciting information regarding the next version of Windows Media Player.

"I have some information about release dates on WMP 11 for XP that no one else has. This info was obtained from a Microsoft employee who I can't name but was able to give me this info. If you know other MS employees, they may be able to confirm this info by digging a little bit through Microsoft's internal knowledge base (employees only)

Microsoft is planning a Public Preview Beta of Windows Media Player 11 for XP on Wednesday, May 17th.

The final RTM release is scheduled for late June 06."

Here is a list of features that will and will not be in the XP version:

Features in WMP 11 for XP (June 06):
  • New UI
  • Support for better synchronization for portable devices
  • Album “stacks” of album art
  • Indexed libraries with search-as-you-type features
  • User controlled downgrade of quality for DRM content to allow for smaller files
  • DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file
  • Includes Microsoft and MTV’s Urge music store
News source: The Hotfix


There are 40 additional comments
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(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #1 Posted by wkkschb on 10 May 2006 - 07:10
i wish they made one for the mac....

the version 9 on the mac is crap....

come on M$ shows some mac love
Quote this comment #1.1 Posted by Krankerz on 10 May 2006 - 12:48
Mac support has been officially dropped by Microsoft. They urge you to go here.

However, there is still no Universal Binary available and will not install. I hate being the bearer of bad news.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #2 Posted by Mike Mayer on 10 May 2006 - 07:10
Quote -

Here is a list of features that will and will not be in the XP version:


So those features ARE and ARE NOT in the XP version? I'm a bit confused...
Quote this comment #2.1 Posted by Jugalator on 10 May 2006 - 07:11
lol, good catch... You aren't alone
Quote this comment #2.2 Posted by xpgeek on 10 May 2006 - 07:13
They left out the second part :

Features in WMP 11 for Vista (Early 07):

* Everything that is in the WMP 11 for XP
* Playing content (including DRM) on your PC from another PC or device
* Viewing content from the Vista Media library on other PCs or digital devices, such as Tivo
* Playback of High Value video content
* Shell integration with Windows Media Player
* Content Indexer change notification to sync My Music and WMP library
* DVD Fullscreen playback enhancements
* DRM Transcode
* High quality video streaming over home networks
* Media foundation for playback

http://bink.nu/Article7008.bink
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #3 Posted by Jugalator on 10 May 2006 - 07:10
Oh, so your music library tags are indexed for quick searches like in Vista too?
Hmm.. Well, one thing is for sure, WMP11 won't be among my incentives to get Vista. :p
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #4 Posted by _//_TechTV on 10 May 2006 - 07:15
The article poster didn't bother to include the rest of the tet from the original website. The follow on from what was posted here details the features that willl be present in Vista but not in XP.


Quote -


Here is a list of features that will and will not be in the XP version:

Features in WMP 11 for XP (June 06):

* New UI
* Support for better synchronization for portable devices
* Album “stacks” of album art
* Indexed libraries with search-as-you-type features
* User controlled downgrade of quality for DRM content to allow for smaller files
* DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file
* Includes Microsoft and MTV’s Urge music store

Features in WMP 11 for Vista (Early 07):

* Everything that is in the WMP 11 for XP
* Playing content (including DRM) on your PC from another PC or device
* Viewing content from the Vista Media library on other PCs or digital devices, such as Tivo
* Playback of High Value video content
* Shell integration with Windows Media Player
* Content Indexer change notification to sync My Music and WMP library
* DVD Fullscreen playback enhancements
* DRM Transcode
* High quality video streaming over home networks
* Media foundation for playback




Edit: The Quote tags don't work

Last edited by _//_TechTV on 10 May 2006 - 07:22
Quote this comment #4.1 Posted by advancedboy on 10 May 2006 - 20:52
Works on SHIFT
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #5 Posted by Sp3ctranova on 10 May 2006 - 07:16
I played around with WMP11 with the latest Vista beta and I really don't like the "album stacking" thing. I just want a way to see all my songs in detail view...something I couldn't find with the WMP11 on Vista. However my ol' laptop barely ran it and I encountered several bugs, so it may be that this feature is there but I just didn't get to it.

Currently I'm very happy with WMP10. I'm used to the interface, like the orientation of things...it's really not all that bad. Ever since JHymn (R.I.P.) was broken by iTunes 6 it's a pain in the nuts to convert iTunes music into mp3, but I get by...
Quote this comment #5.1 Posted by eminem213486 on 10 May 2006 - 17:57
uh, look around song view in detail is there, there are alot more options now to organize your music.

i was a long time winamp user, then switched to itunes for its ease or use and organization. and now wmp11 has a good chance of stealing itunes light from me. i love the way it displays your songs, albums and cds in such a neat way. wmp11 for xp should be out in a couple of days... bye bye itunes
Quote this comment #5.2 Posted by Neomac v6 on 13 May 2006 - 04:15
From the screenshots I've seen, the WMP11 interface is still way more cluttered than iTunes', just like Windows Explorer is more cluttered than the Finder.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #6 Posted by Long on 10 May 2006 - 08:06
Quote -
* Viewing content from the Vista Media library on other PCs or digital devices, such as Tivo
I can't wait for this feature. It would be so useful to browse the media library of other networked computers, without doing it in Explorer manually.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #7 Posted by b0m8er on 10 May 2006 - 08:12
I can't wait for new WMP!!!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #8 Posted by osirisX on 10 May 2006 - 08:12
I can't wait for this. WMP11 is shaping up very nicely.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #9 Posted by nexus291 on 10 May 2006 - 08:18
seems like a worthwhile update, WMP10 is already my primary media player
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #10 Posted by plasmo on 10 May 2006 - 08:21
wmp10 is already nice. wmp11 with more drm features? cool
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #11 Posted by REM2000 on 10 May 2006 - 09:07
Ive always been a fan of WMP, although lately because of the mac i am using iTunes more and more on my PC.

The stackable album art sounds interesting.
(3 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #12 Posted by Croquant on 10 May 2006 - 09:12
What's nice about DRM?
I'm sticking with non-microsoft players that don't include any stupid ****ing DRM.
Quote this comment #12.1 Posted by bangbang023 on 10 May 2006 - 09:19
Most players out there support DRM to some degree. It'd be pretty stupid to release a player that can't play legally purchased online music and such.
Quote this comment #12.2 Posted by Croquant on 10 May 2006 - 09:27
DRM essentialy means that music stores can charge you money for something that you don't actualy own. You don't own the right to move that music where you want to, you don't own the rights to copy that music to cd, you don't own nothing. You're just renting it.
Microsoft supports that by including DRM in their WMP player.
That means the Microsoft doesn't belive you should be able to actualy own the music you buy.
Well, **** that noise. Don't let the big corporations tell you what you can do with your music.
Quote this comment #12.3 Posted by SomeAzn on 10 May 2006 - 11:48
It's their property. They can do as they wish. Just because a player has DRM doesn't mean you have to buy music. You can still use WMP11 to play all your illegally downloaded music just like you could with WMP10.
(4 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #13 Posted by *John* on 10 May 2006 - 09:27
DRM sucks, and by continuing to support the players and buying DRM'd music its never going to go away....

Thats why I dont buy mp3's or use WMP.

@Microsoft
When I pay for something, its MINE, and I can do what I like with it. If you dont agree with that, then I wont buy from you or anyone else that tries to restrict what I do with something that I legally paid for.
Quote this comment #13.1 Posted by MioTheGreat on 10 May 2006 - 10:43
Hey, if they don't put out the DRM, you'll have others push the DRM, and things won't integrate as nicely. Look at the iTMS. You can't play those songs on anything but an iPod, or in iTunes.

Or even worse than someone like Apple creating it, you could have people like the RIAA rolling out their own DRM. And odds are that they wouldn't be as nice with it.

Either way, the DRM would be there. You can't avoid it. I'd rather have Microsoft write it than some guys being paid by the RIAA. Just avoid using the DRM. Rip to FLAC, etc.



In any case, I'm impressed with WMP11. It's a vast improvement over previous versions, and will become my music player once it's out.
Quote this comment #13.2 Posted by Croquant on 10 May 2006 - 17:44
Oh, really. A "vast" improvement, is it?
Tell us, then: What's so "Vastly" better about it?

And don't give me the "trust Mircosoft to do DRM" bit. You're missing the point: We shouldn't have to put up with DRM in the first place, never mind who gets to be the DRM gatekeeper.
As for your "...you could have people like the RIAA rolling out their own DRM." statement, well just who did youb think was behind the whole DRM movement? The care bears? No, it's the freaking RIAA! Microsoft's just been co-opted into it becasue there'smoney to be made by restricting whay people can do with the songs they buy.
Quote this comment #13.3 Posted by PCyr on 10 May 2006 - 18:59
"When I pay for something, its MINE, and I can do what I like with it. If you dont agree with that, then I wont buy from you or anyone else that tries to restrict what I do with something that I legally paid for."
You did not buy the music, you bought the license to listen to it. It is not yours, it's who ever holds the rights to it.
Quote this comment #13.4 Posted by Ctrl Alt Del on 12 May 2006 - 16:40
@John
You may want to carefully re-read that End User License Agreement that comes with Windows. You don't own Windows, you have the right to use it.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #14 Posted by EduardValencia on 10 May 2006 - 12:16
hell ya!
(3 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #15 Posted by lbmouse on 10 May 2006 - 12:45
"DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file"

I've got some metadata that shows what MS can do with their WMP 11.
Quote this comment #15.1 Posted by Dragular on 10 May 2006 - 20:00
Quote - lbmouse said @ #12.4
"DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file"

I've got some metadata that shows what MS can do with their WMP 11.


Hahaha! Amen to that. Respect +++ for you.
Quote this comment #15.2 Posted by advancedboy on 10 May 2006 - 20:53
ouch, I felt the bite from here.
Quote this comment #15.3 Posted by g_denne on 11 May 2006 - 03:52
that's a classic...love it.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #16 Posted by cork1958 on 10 May 2006 - 13:03
I haven't particularily cared for WMP since version 6. Simple and basic is how I like it!
Quote this comment #16.1 Posted by jstillion on 10 May 2006 - 13:48
Then you will love (non-microsoft) Media Player Classic (at least for video's) - http://www.divx-digest.com/software/media_...er_classic.html
Quote this comment #16.2 Posted by Croquant on 10 May 2006 - 17:46
Yep. The Media Player Classic package that's bundled with the K-Lite Codec Mega Pack is all I use (except when I'm using Quick Time Alternitive or Real Player Alternitive, or EAC.)
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #17 Posted by xeed on 10 May 2006 - 13:05
Can't wait!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #18 Posted by duntkno on 10 May 2006 - 14:10
i cant wait too, i want this nowwwwww
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #19 Posted by Angel Blue01 on 10 May 2006 - 14:25
This is the first WMP since 2001 that I've liked even a little bit
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #20 Posted by Luppy on 10 May 2006 - 16:03
I was a die hard winamp from 1995->2004 then i made the switch to iTunes.
i've tried using wmp many times and cannot stand it. I wan't my playlists the same as the media library way, not some text list.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #21 Posted by MGS3-SS on 10 May 2006 - 17:26
I'll stay with iTunes, easier to use.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #22 Posted by vlsi0n on 10 May 2006 - 20:52
iTunes is a nice text based music client, but I like things that are more involved. So I use both
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