Windows Media Player entertains users.
Windows Media Player (WMP), Microsoft's answer to Apple's QuickTime, has been providing audio and video playback software for Windows operating systems to the PC world since 1991. Version 9.0 debuted in 2003 with on the Windows XP operating system. The 10.0 version of WMP appeared a year and a half later. Although the differences between the two versions might be considered slight by 2011 standards, they were quite significant to PC users at that time.
WMP 9.0
If version 9.0 of WMP wasn't entirely about the audio codices of the software, it certainly represented many improvements. The builders of 9.0 recognizing the dawn of the age of burning and ripping CDs, added features like Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound recording and playback capability. Improved compression facilities were added to the control interface, allowing the user much improved control over the final recording's sound. Also added were links to on-line music services and the ability to play the WMP contents on a regular television.
WMP 10.0
The 9.0 upgrade was truly an improvement over its predecessor in nearly every way. The similarity in graphical user interface (GUI) and general control interface appearance is deceiving: WMP 10.0 is far more than a sophisticated and efficient ripper and burner of CDs as was 9.0. In fact, the 10.0 was designed to be not only a CD player/recorder but an entire media center for the Windows XP operating system with the PC at the center. This version created a library for the entire user's media content from MP3 player music to on-line presentations to a television interface to downloaded media content and any other media content the user might come up with. With the Windows XP Media Center operating system, the WMP 10.0 became the centerpiece for a household tool that far surpassed the original number crunching word processor scheme of the home computer.
Differences and Similarities
Both WMP 9.0 and 10.0 had a fairly similar look that actually went back a generation or two. Version 9.0 was designed for the Windows XP operating system as was 10.0; however, 9.0 had versions available that could be used with other Windows operating systems like 2000, 98, ME and even 95. Version 10.0 would only work with XP. Both 9.0 and 10.0 featured a jukebox GUI that made selection, filing and arranging genres of music easier and less work than previous versions. WMP 10.0 went a step further by carrying this ability on to all media content, making the original 9.0 "jukebox" concept into a multimedia system-wide entertainer.
What's New with WMP?
The latest Microsoft media player for the most recent operating system, Windows 7, available as of March, 2011, would be considered a vast improvement if compared to WMP 9.0 or 10.0. WMP 12.0 features greatly increased format compatibility and even plays unlocked iTunes. For video recording and playback, the latest WMP plays DivX, MOV, and Xvid files. It also supports 3GP, AAC, AVCHD, MPEG-4, WMV, and WMA files as well as most AVI files. WMP 12.0 also streams audio and video to any connected PC using the Windows 7 OS. With fifteen second music previews and consolidation lists, WMP 12.0 is the latest media lovers' wish come true from Microsoft.
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