Play CDs and DVDs
Published: November 9, 2005
You can use Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 to listen to CDs and play DVDs on your computer.
Note To play DVDs using the Player, you must have a DVD-ROM drive and a software or hardware DVD decoder installed on your computer. By default, Windows does not include a DVD decoder. For more information about DVD decoders, visit the DVD Support in Windows XP page on the Windows Media Website.
To play a CD or DVD
1. | Start Windows Media Player and insert a CD into the CD drive or a DVD into the DVD drive. |
2. | If the Player is set to play discs automatically and is not already playing content, the disc starts playing. |
3. | If the disc does not begin playing, click the Quick Access Panel button and then click the drive that contains the disc.  Note To eject a disc, on the Play menu, click Eject. |
To watch a DVD in full-screen mode
1. | Click Now Playing and then click the Full Screen button.  |
2. | To restore the Player to the original size, press the ESC key. |
Getting Media Information about a CD or DVD
If your computer is connected to the Internet, the Player automatically finds media information about the disc from a database on the Internet and then displays the information during playback. For example, the Player tries to retrieve the album title, track names, artist name, genre, and so on. If media information is not in the database for a CD that you are playing, possibly because it was produced by a small label or because the CD was burned on a personal computer, then the Player identifies the tracks only by number and lists the artist or album names as "Unknown Artist" and "Unknown Album."
To find or edit media information
1. | As the disc plays, click Now Playing, and then click Find Album Info.  |
2. | Follow the instructions in the Player to find or edit the information. |
Learn more about digital music and video