Microsoft Windows Media Player
Music, video, photos, TV
Product Category: Software
Windows Media Player 11 meets the needs of a wide range of users, from people who are just getting started with digital media to experienced audiophiles with very large collections on their PCs. Significant changes were made to the player to deliver a simple, powerful, more visual way to navigate music, video, and other digital media and further improve your overall media experience.
Download Windows Media Player 11 for Vista
Download Windows Media Player 11 for XP
Windows Media Player 11 is included with Windows Vista and offers great ways to store, sort, share and enjoy your music, video, photos, and recorded TV—all in one place. You can also download Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP, or download earlier versions of the player for Windows operating system.
The latest version of Windows Media Player is packed with great features:
Windows Media Player 11 is loaded with smart, fun features that enhance your music collection and create a personal entertainment experience. The new design lets you get the most out of your digital library and enjoy simple solutions for managing it all.
Discover new music
Many of the great stores that you visited in Windows Media Player 10 are available in this version of the Player as well. To find a store, just click the Browse all Online Stores option on the tab to the right of the Sync tab. The name of the tab changes depending on the menu option you select.
Media Guide and Internet radio
All of the features that you loved about the WindowsMedia.com Guide in previous versions of the Player are still available in Windows Media Player 11. The Guide offers free music videos, movie trailers, and quick access to online radio stations. To access the Guide, just click the tab to the right of the Sync tab, and then click Media Guide. Use the Internet Radio link to easily search for stations around the world.
Great options for ripping CDs
Do you have CDs that you want to copy into your Windows Media Player library? No problem. Windows Media Player 11 makes ripping your entire music collection fast and simple. In addition to the current format options for ripping your music—Windows Media Audio (WMA), MP3, Windows Media Audio (Variable Bit Rate), and Windows Media Audio (Lossless)—Windows Media Player 11 introduces two new options: Windows Media Audio Pro and WAV (Lossless).
Designed for music lovers
As your digital music collection grows larger from ripping CDs, downloading songs from the Web, and buying music from online stores, it's more important than ever to be able to quickly organise and explore all of that music. Windows Media Player 11 is optimised to handle massive libraries of digital music—literally millions of tracks—so you can scroll, flip, and browse your way through your entire collection at high speed without skipping a beat.
Simplified library
The navigation for the library remains in the left pane, but a number of improvements have been made to help with organisation, layout and flow. Music now has its own focused view, with a simple list showing artists, albums, songs, genres, years and ratings. You can add additional items to this list by right-clicking Library in the navigation pane and selecting Show more views.
Instant Search
Large libraries with fast performance are great, but what happens when you only remember part of a song title or you want to immediately jump right to the music you are looking for? Instant Search allows fast access to your digital music collection. Just type in the track, album, artist, or a keyword—or even part of a name—and let Instant Search do the work for you. Results are returned with each keystroke, narrowing down the choices as you type, and providing fast response time, regardless of the size of your library.
Windows Media Player 11 offers great new ways to store and enjoy digital media beyond music. It's easier than ever to access all of your video, pictures, and recorded TV on your computer. Play it, view it, organize it, and synchronize it to a portable device for viewing anywhere, or share with devices around your home—all from one place.
Storing and enjoying music, video, pictures, and recorded TV
Just as music enjoys its own listing in the library, so do video, pictures, and recorded TV. There are two ways to easily access these category views in Windows Media Player. You can click the music note icon just above the Navigation pane to reveal the drop-down list, or you can click the Library tab to get to the quick access menu.
Storing your entire digital media collection in Windows Media Player 11 has many great benefits, but what about options for enjoying your digital media library away from your computer? Great digital media devices offer a great experience when teamed with Windows Media Player 11 and help you to stay connected with your music, video, and pictures no matter where you are. Check out more great devices.
Creating custom CDs
Burning custom CDs is one of the benefits of having a large digital music library. The Burn tab in Windows Media Player 11 has been enhanced to make this experience even better.
Gas gauge
When burning a CD, a gas gauge icon, similar to the one that appears when you synchronize a device, provides a visual estimate of the remaining space on a CD. As you drag and drop items into the Burn list, the meter adjusts accordingly. This helps you to manage the work of getting the most music into your custom mix.
Disc–spanning feature
If you want to burn a large amount of items than will fit on one disc, the new disc-spanning feature in Windows Media Player 11 queues up the second disc when you reach maximum capacity on the first disc. This provides an intuitive way to burn multiple custom CDs while providing you with the ability to reorder content at the last minute. After the first disc is finished burning, your disc drive opens, and you are prompted to insert the next disc.
Burning data CDs and DVDs
In addition to burning audio CDs, you can burn data CDs and data DVDs, providing an easy way to back up your entire music collection. Simply click the arrow below the Burn tab and click Data CD or DVD.
Simplified device setup
Synchronising portable devices with Windows Media Player 11 is simple. Windows Media Player 11 now features an easy-to-use wizard that guides you through device synchronising when you connect a device for the first time. You can simply connect a Windows Media-enabled devices and Windows Media Player 11 will automatically recognise it and allow you to customise the name of the device. The Player then defaults to the Sync tab with an icon of your device, enabling quick and easy syncing of content. You can either choose to drag content to the Sync list or set up a permanent sync relationship using Auto Sync.
New sync features
Cool new portable device features were added to Windows Media Player 11. The Sync tab includes several enhancements that simplify the portable device experience, including a device capacity meter and the ability to explore the contents of your device using the same Instant Search and visual navigation that you find in the Library view.
Browse from device
A device icon is displayed in the Navigation pane when you connect your device. You can click the device icon, and then browse all of your device's content in the Library pane using album art views, scrolling, and Instant Search.
Shuffle Sync
With just one click, the new Shuffle Sync feature can calculate your device capacity and fill the device with a random sampling that is weighted toward the highest-rated content in your library.
Guest Sync
Do you find yourself juggling multiple Player libraries between your home and work computer? The Guest Sync feature offers a great solution for keeping your device current with selections from multiple PCs.
Sync Gauge
A gauge appears in the Sync pane next to content when device syncing begins, providing a visual estimate of how much room is available on the device. Content download status is also shown in the bottom-left corner.
Going mobile
Portable media devices aren't the only options for enjoying music, video, and pictures on the go. As flash storage capacity increases, the mobile phone has grown in importance as a portable media device. With Windows Media Player 11, you can sync experience with mobile phones.
Share it
The new Media Sharing feature of Windows Media Player 11 lets you enjoy the contents of your Windows Media Player library from anywhere in your home. If you have a home network (wired or wireless) you can use Windows Media Player 11 to stream the contents of your library to other computers or devices in your home.
For example, if you have an Xbox 360 or other digital media receiver (DMR), you can use Windows Media Player to stream music, pictures, and videos from your computer to that device.
Download Windows Media Player 11 for Vista
Download Windows Media Player 11 for XP
Find out more about Windows Media Player
The latest version of Windows Media Player is packed with great features:
More of the music you love - Breathe new life into your digital music experience!
Windows Media Player 11 is loaded with smart, fun features that enhance your music collection and create a personal entertainment experience. The new design lets you get the most out of your digital library and enjoy simple solutions for managing it all.
Discover new music
Many of the great stores that you visited in Windows Media Player 10 are available in this version of the Player as well. To find a store, just click the Browse all Online Stores option on the tab to the right of the Sync tab. The name of the tab changes depending on the menu option you select.
Media Guide and Internet radio
All of the features that you loved about the WindowsMedia.com Guide in previous versions of the Player are still available in Windows Media Player 11. The Guide offers free music videos, movie trailers, and quick access to online radio stations. To access the Guide, just click the tab to the right of the Sync tab, and then click Media Guide. Use the Internet Radio link to easily search for stations around the world.
Great options for ripping CDs
Do you have CDs that you want to copy into your Windows Media Player library? No problem. Windows Media Player 11 makes ripping your entire music collection fast and simple. In addition to the current format options for ripping your music—Windows Media Audio (WMA), MP3, Windows Media Audio (Variable Bit Rate), and Windows Media Audio (Lossless)—Windows Media Player 11 introduces two new options: Windows Media Audio Pro and WAV (Lossless).
Designed for music lovers
As your digital music collection grows larger from ripping CDs, downloading songs from the Web, and buying music from online stores, it's more important than ever to be able to quickly organise and explore all of that music. Windows Media Player 11 is optimised to handle massive libraries of digital music—literally millions of tracks—so you can scroll, flip, and browse your way through your entire collection at high speed without skipping a beat.
Simplified library
The navigation for the library remains in the left pane, but a number of improvements have been made to help with organisation, layout and flow. Music now has its own focused view, with a simple list showing artists, albums, songs, genres, years and ratings. You can add additional items to this list by right-clicking Library in the navigation pane and selecting Show more views.
Instant Search
Large libraries with fast performance are great, but what happens when you only remember part of a song title or you want to immediately jump right to the music you are looking for? Instant Search allows fast access to your digital music collection. Just type in the track, album, artist, or a keyword—or even part of a name—and let Instant Search do the work for you. Results are returned with each keystroke, narrowing down the choices as you type, and providing fast response time, regardless of the size of your library.
All your entertainment in one place - Easy access to all of your music, video, photos, and recorded TV
Windows Media Player 11 offers great new ways to store and enjoy digital media beyond music. It's easier than ever to access all of your video, pictures, and recorded TV on your computer. Play it, view it, organize it, and synchronize it to a portable device for viewing anywhere, or share with devices around your home—all from one place.
Storing and enjoying music, video, pictures, and recorded TV
Just as music enjoys its own listing in the library, so do video, pictures, and recorded TV. There are two ways to easily access these category views in Windows Media Player. You can click the music note icon just above the Navigation pane to reveal the drop-down list, or you can click the Library tab to get to the quick access menu.
Enjoy everywhere - Connect to your music, video, and pictures no matter where you are
Storing your entire digital media collection in Windows Media Player 11 has many great benefits, but what about options for enjoying your digital media library away from your computer? Great digital media devices offer a great experience when teamed with Windows Media Player 11 and help you to stay connected with your music, video, and pictures no matter where you are. Check out more great devices.
Creating custom CDs
Burning custom CDs is one of the benefits of having a large digital music library. The Burn tab in Windows Media Player 11 has been enhanced to make this experience even better.
Gas gauge
When burning a CD, a gas gauge icon, similar to the one that appears when you synchronize a device, provides a visual estimate of the remaining space on a CD. As you drag and drop items into the Burn list, the meter adjusts accordingly. This helps you to manage the work of getting the most music into your custom mix.
Disc–spanning feature
If you want to burn a large amount of items than will fit on one disc, the new disc-spanning feature in Windows Media Player 11 queues up the second disc when you reach maximum capacity on the first disc. This provides an intuitive way to burn multiple custom CDs while providing you with the ability to reorder content at the last minute. After the first disc is finished burning, your disc drive opens, and you are prompted to insert the next disc.
Burning data CDs and DVDs
In addition to burning audio CDs, you can burn data CDs and data DVDs, providing an easy way to back up your entire music collection. Simply click the arrow below the Burn tab and click Data CD or DVD.
Simplified device setup
Synchronising portable devices with Windows Media Player 11 is simple. Windows Media Player 11 now features an easy-to-use wizard that guides you through device synchronising when you connect a device for the first time. You can simply connect a Windows Media-enabled devices and Windows Media Player 11 will automatically recognise it and allow you to customise the name of the device. The Player then defaults to the Sync tab with an icon of your device, enabling quick and easy syncing of content. You can either choose to drag content to the Sync list or set up a permanent sync relationship using Auto Sync.
New sync features
Cool new portable device features were added to Windows Media Player 11. The Sync tab includes several enhancements that simplify the portable device experience, including a device capacity meter and the ability to explore the contents of your device using the same Instant Search and visual navigation that you find in the Library view.
Browse from device
A device icon is displayed in the Navigation pane when you connect your device. You can click the device icon, and then browse all of your device's content in the Library pane using album art views, scrolling, and Instant Search.
Shuffle Sync
With just one click, the new Shuffle Sync feature can calculate your device capacity and fill the device with a random sampling that is weighted toward the highest-rated content in your library.
Guest Sync
Do you find yourself juggling multiple Player libraries between your home and work computer? The Guest Sync feature offers a great solution for keeping your device current with selections from multiple PCs.
Sync Gauge
A gauge appears in the Sync pane next to content when device syncing begins, providing a visual estimate of how much room is available on the device. Content download status is also shown in the bottom-left corner.
Going mobile
Portable media devices aren't the only options for enjoying music, video, and pictures on the go. As flash storage capacity increases, the mobile phone has grown in importance as a portable media device. With Windows Media Player 11, you can sync experience with mobile phones.
Share it
The new Media Sharing feature of Windows Media Player 11 lets you enjoy the contents of your Windows Media Player library from anywhere in your home. If you have a home network (wired or wireless) you can use Windows Media Player 11 to stream the contents of your library to other computers or devices in your home.
For example, if you have an Xbox 360 or other digital media receiver (DMR), you can use Windows Media Player to stream music, pictures, and videos from your computer to that device.
Download Windows Media Player 11 for Vista
Download Windows Media Player 11 for XP
Find out more about Windows Media Player
