Windows Media Player 11
This feature is included in the following editions of Windows Vista:
Windows Media Player 11 allows you to manage and enjoy your digital media and can handle music and video collections of nearly any size.
Design and interface
When designing the Windows Media Player, Microsoft considered the needs of a wide range of users—from people just getting started with digital media to discriminating audiophiles with very large collections on their PCs.
Simple and intuitive playback controls.
Streamlined interface
For a sleeker and more functional appearance, the "classic" Windows Media Player menus are turned off by default and are accessible by right-clicking anywhere on the Player frame. (You can choose to re-enable the menus at any time.) Instead of navigating through menus, you can quickly access common settings by clicking the arrow below each activity tab, such as Rip, Burn, or Sync. Integrated Back and Forward buttons help you zip between screens or retrace your steps if you get lost.
Playback controls
Playback controls are laid out intuitively, and feature repeat, shuffle, and full-screen options.
Media Library
Music has its own focused media category view, with a simple list in the Navigation Pane that shows artists, albums, songs, genres, years, and ratings. By right-clicking Library and selecting Show More Views, you can customize the look of your collection any way you like.
You can personalize the way you browse your collection.
Album art
Windows Media Player 11 brings album art to the center of your experience, with thumbnail views that appear when you browse your collection, as well as intuitive visual "stacks" of albums when you browse by genre or through playlists. If you’re missing album art, Windows Media Player can find it for you, or you can replace it with your own images.
Optimized for large music collections
Windows Media Player 11 is optimized to handle massive collections of music—literally millions of tracks—so you can scroll, flip, and browse through your entire library without skipping a beat.
Instant Search
Search helps you access the files in your library. If you know exactly what you want (or even if you can remember only part of a song or album title), the Instant Search feature in Windows Media Player 11 can scan across your entire library and return exactly what you're after.
Rip CDs
You can rip songs from CDs into two audio formats: Windows Media Audio Pro and lossless WAV. And if your computer has multiple CD drives, you can load them up and start ripping them all at once, so you can digitize your entire CD collection faster.
Playlists
You can create custom playlists by dragging songs and albums into the List Pane, and a Shuffle Playlist feature makes it easier to create new playlists out of your favorite tracks with just a single click.
Media information
Windows Media Player 11 includes audio waveform matching that pinpoints the exact album information that goes with your tracks.
Discover new music
Many online stores are accessible in Windows Media Player 11. You can find a complete list of partners who have created plug-ins for Windows Media Player. You can then choose a different store to appear by default.
You can also discover a world of entertainment, including Internet radio, movie trailers, and more, by clicking Media Guide.
Media views
In Windows Media Player 11, each media type has its own specialized view in the Navigation Pane. For example, you can explore video by actor or genre just as easily as you can sort albums by artist. You can sort pictures by the date they were taken. And you can organize recorded TV by series.
Video experience
Video playback in Windows Media Player 11 helps you enjoy DVDs by including smoother playback and automatic full-screen viewing. The Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista are equipped to play DVDs right out of the box—there's no need to purchase an additional plug-in.
Simple device setup
You can synchronize portable devices with Windows Media Player 11. A wizard helps you quickly set up your new device the first time it's connected.
Sync features
You can sync your device automatically or manually. With Multi-PC Sync, you can also manage home and work libraries and with Shuffle Sync, you can fill your device with a random sampling of your library. In addition, you can automatically convert many types of media to a format your devices understand—even for protected music and video purchased from Windows Media online stores.
Synchronize with other devices.