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Microsoft Updates Windows Media Player

Media Player 7 gets a �Real� look with a jukebox, radio, and �skins.�

By Cameron Crouch, PCWorld   

Microsoft is posting a technology preview of the player for download starting Monday, but suggests putting this beta on a nonproduction system until the second quarter release. It will also bundle Windows Media Player 7 with Windows Millennium Edition, expected to ship in June. Macintosh and Unix versions are in development.

Flashier But Easier

The update offers a streamlined interface with easy-to-find playback controls and a choice of "skins" to change its look. It also adds full and compact modes, already offered by RealJukebox from rival RealNetworks, more library options, and language support.

"We wanted to make it integrated--one place to find, manage, and play content--and we wanted to make it simple," says Brooks Cutter, lead program manager in Microsofts Digital Media Division.

But while the large Play button is hard to miss, finding the Record control is tricky. You have to select the track and hit a small Copy button. Similar obscurities exist for copying music to portable players.

"Weve added more personality with the skins," says Sean Alexander, technical product manager for Windows Media Technologies. The skins, along with visualization graphics that move with the music, give the player a dynamic feel. But looks arent everything; the skins hide many of the players controls.

The skins give you choices of the players appearance, but they lack the pizzazz of some competing skins, says Stacey Quandt, a Giga Information Group analyst. RealJukebox has a wider selection of skins with more intuitive controls, she adds.

In the full mode, you can see your music library and buttons to play your CDs, browse the radio tuner, or record on a portable device. You can view album art and store videos in the library with your music. A direct link to the Windows Media guide points you to Windows Media content on the Web.

The Windows Media Player also uses the guide to identify songs, with to database information from American Music Guide, Alexander says. "AMG is providing full album details, cover art and discography."

Player or Platform?

The Windows Media Player 7 supports MP3 files, but defaults to Windows Media Audio. It records CDs as .wma files, at bit-rate conversions ranging from 64 kilobits per second to 160 kbps. RealJukebox records MP3s at 96 kbps to 128 kbps, while MusicMatch goes as high as 320 kbps. Clarification: RealJukebox Plus records a maximum of 126 discs at 320 kbps at a variable bit rate. The free edition of Jukebox records at 96 kbps. --Editors

Windows Media Player 7 can transfer music to the Diamond Rio, RCA Lyra, and Creative Nomad II, as well as Windows CE devices and the upcoming Pocket PC. Sony devices will also soon support WMA, but many players do not, so you may have to record in MP3.

Microsoft intends Windows Media to be a platform, not just a player, Alexander says. The WMA format is a key element.

"MP3 is 12-year-old compression technology that has a lot of piracy," Cutter says. "Windows Media Audio files are half the size and have built-in security."

With its digital rights management and sound quality better than or comparable to MP3, the WMA format could become a de facto standard, analyst Quandt says. Even competitor RealNetworks recently licensed it.

Soon, Windows Media Player will accompany the operating system and Pocket PCs; will you need anything else? Youll still need a RealPlayer or QuickTime player for some Web files, but you might not bother to download a jukebox.

"Microsofts offering will force competitors to provide more services," Quandt says.