{"id":355421,"date":"2021-10-20T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T11:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/windows-media-player-turns-30\/"},"modified":"2021-10-20T14:00:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T11:00:17","slug":"windows-media-player-turns-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/windows-media-player-turns-30\/","title":{"rendered":"#Windows Media Player Turns 30"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29aeba0b877\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a29aeba0b877\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/windows-media-player-turns-30\/#Bringing_Audio_and_Video_to_Windows\" >Bringing Audio and Video to Windows<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/windows-media-player-turns-30\/#A_Few_Notable_Moments_in_Windows_Media_Player_History\" >A Few Notable Moments in Windows Media Player History<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/windows-media-player-turns-30\/#The_Crazy_Skins\" >The Crazy Skins<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/windows-media-player-turns-30\/#Windows_Media_Player_Lives_On\" >Windows Media Player Lives On<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Windows <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Player Turns 30&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<!-- UNCACHED CONTENT --><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-761907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/windows_media_player_hero_3.jpg?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/windows_media_player_hero_3.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/windows_media_player_hero_3.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>30 years ago, Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows Media Player\u2014then just called \u201cMedia Player\u201d\u2014as part of \u201cWindows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions.\u201d Since then, it\u2019s morphed and changed dramatically over time. Here\u2019s a look at its history.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bringing_Audio_and_Video_to_Windows\"><\/span>Bringing Audio and Video to Windows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Early versions of Windows didn\u2019t support audio and video playback. Computers at the time typically weren\u2019t powerful enough: Audio and video data took up a lot of storage space, relatively speaking, and advanced codecs that compressed high-quality audio and video had not been invented yet. Also, in many cases, the early PC hardware itself did not support high-quality audio or video playback.<\/p>\n<p>Around the turn of the 1990s, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Multimedia_PC\">multimedia PCs<\/a> with enhanced graphics cards and sound cards that could play digitized sound samples and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Wavetable_synthesis\">wavetable<\/a> audio became more common. In that atmosphere, Microsoft decided to update its Windows 3.0 operating environment to support multimedia recording and playback. The company released <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/betawiki.net\/wiki\/Windows_3.0_with_Multimedia_Extensions_1.0\">Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions<\/a> on October 20, 1991.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-762377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/media_player_original.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Windows Media Player 3.0 for Windows 3.0 with MME\" width=\"650\" height=\"472\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/toastytech.com\/guis\/win3mme.html\">ToastyTech<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For the first time, Windows included sound and video capabilities. Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extnesions could play MIDI files, record and play back digitized audio, play music from CDs, play sounds on startup and error events, and more. Some of those capabilities came thanks to a new <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a> called Media Player. At first, Media Player could only play .MMM animation files\u2014commonly called <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/fileformats.archiveteam.org\/wiki\/RIFF_Multimedia_Movie\">MultiMedia Movie Format (RIFF RMMP)<\/a>\u2014out of the box. However, it could be extended to play other formats, and in future versions of Windows, Media Player\u2019s abilities grew.<\/p>\n<p>The story of Windows Media Player is long, circuitous, and hard to grasp in its entirety. Over time, Media Player absorbed (and branched off into) other media technologies at Microsoft. For example, in 1992, Microsoft released <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Video_for_Windows\">Video for Windows<\/a>, which allowed digital video playback in the form of AVI files on Windows for the first time. In 1996, Microsoft released <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ActiveMovie\">ActivePlayer<\/a> (later called \u201cDirectShow\u201d) for <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/marc.info\/?l=ms-wmtalk&amp;m=103440755412872&amp;w=2\">playing media files<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NetShow\">NetShow Player<\/a> for streaming video. Eventually, all these technologies\u2014and many more\u2014would get rolled into the Windows Media Player brand.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-762376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/win_media_player.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Windows Media Player in Windows XP\" width=\"650\" height=\"470\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\">Microsoft<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As Windows Media Player grew in complexity, it added support for visualizations, skinning, CD playback and ripping, DRM-protected audio and video (that could be sold through the Internet), and media library management support. Over the years, Windows Media Player has appeared on many versions of Windows, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.windows-media-player.com\/macos\/\">the Mac<\/a>, Windows CE and PocketPC devices, and even\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.windows-media-player.com\/solaris\/\">on Sun\u2019s Solaris<\/a> operating system.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Windows 3.0 Is 30 Years Old: Here&#8217;s What Made It Special<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Few_Notable_Moments_in_Windows_Media_Player_History\"><\/span>A Few Notable Moments in Windows Media Player History<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Decoding the complete history of Windows Media Player is like navigating a maze full of conflicting and confusing version numbers, abandoned Microsoft technologies, and the slow aggregation of software bloat over time. It\u2019s even hard to exactly pinpoint when \u201cMedia Player\u201d became \u201cWindows Media Player\u201d \u2014 perhaps around version 5.0. Here are just a handful of notable events in the Media Player timeline.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1990 (October 20):<\/strong> Media Player debuts as part of Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions. It\u2019s initially limited to playing animation files.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1992 (November):<\/strong> Thanks to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/microsoft.fandom.com\/wiki\/Video_for_Windows\">Video for Windows<\/a> (an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/QuickTime\">Apple QuickTime<\/a> competitor), Media Player can play AVI video files for the first time. It can also play MIDI files.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1996:<\/strong> Microsoft Releases <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/NetShow\">NetShow Player<\/a>, which steams video from the Internet. It competes with RealPlayer and will later become part of Windows Media Player.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1996 (May):<\/strong> Microsoft releases <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ActiveMovie\">ActiveMovie<\/a>, which allows viewing or hearing media streams and new audio\/video codecs. The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> would eventually be folded into Windows Media Player.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1998 (October):<\/strong> Microsoft releases Windows Media Player 6.0, which removes MP3 support (introduced in version 5) and proves <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itprotoday.com\/windows-8\/windows-media-player-60-not-all-its-cracked-be\">unpopular<\/a> at first.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2000 (July 17):<\/strong> Microsoft releases Windows Media Player 7, which supports skins, visualizations, burning songs to CD, and more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2004 (September 16):<\/strong> Microsoft <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnet.com\/tech\/home-entertainment\/microsoft-opens-msn-music-store\/\">launches<\/a> the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/MSN_Music\">MSN Music<\/a> store, which sells DRM-protected music in WMA format, playable in Windows Media Player.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2006:<\/strong> Microsoft releases <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zune_software\">Zune desktop software<\/a>, which is a modified version of Windows Media Player. It\u2019s used to sync songs with Microsoft\u2019s Zune music players.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2021 (October 5):<\/strong> Windows Media Player v12 (a legacy version) ships with Windows 11.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Crazy_Skins\"><\/span>The Crazy Skins<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Released in 2000, Windows Media Player 7 supported changing the player\u2019s interface for the first time\u2014similar to WinAmp, which preceded it. To do so, you could <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160609092016\/http:\/\/windows.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/windows-media-player-skins#t1=all\">download files known as \u201cskins\u201d<\/a> that could dramatically alter the look and layout of Windows Media Player\u2019s controls.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-762375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wmp_skins_1.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A variety of Windows Media Player skins.\" width=\"650\" height=\"500\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Skins soon became a way for people to further personalize their Windows experience, and people frequently used skins that featured their favorite media properties, actors, models, and musical groups. There were also wild futuristic or alien-like skins that seemed more fashionable than practical, but people loved them anyway.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>What Happened to Winamp, and Can You Use It Now?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Windows_Media_Player_Lives_On\"><\/span>Windows Media Player Lives On<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The multimedia playback landscape is somewhat confusing in Windows 11 today. The OS ships with Groove Music, an audio player and library similar to iTunes that traces its origins back to Zune Music in 2006. Windows 11 also includes the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Movies<\/a> &amp; TV app, which allows rentals and purchases of streaming video content, itself descended from the Xbox Video service.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-762379\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/wmp_today_win11.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Windows Media Player in Windows 11\" width=\"650\" height=\"410\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Windows Media Player hasn\u2019t been significantly updated since 2012, but it lives on in Windows 11. There are rumors that Microsoft is preparing a major update or replacement for the application based on an accidental leak of a new app called simply \u201cMedia Player.\u201d Until we know more details, the traditional Windows Media Player is still with us. Happy Birthday, Windows Media Player!<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <strong><em>Microsoft Just Leaked Windows 11&#8217;s New Media Player<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/761739\/multimedia-mania-windows-media-player-turns-30\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Windows Media Player Turns 30&#8221; 30 years ago, Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows Media Player\u2014then just called \u201cMedia Player\u201d\u2014as part of \u201cWindows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions.\u201d Since then, it\u2019s morphed and changed dramatically over time. Here\u2019s a look at its history. Bringing Audio and Video to Windows Early versions of Windows didn\u2019t support&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":355422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/windows_media_player_hero_3.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355421"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355421\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}