Consensus on Windows Media Player 9? at DVinfo.net

Robert Knecht Schmidt · January 16th, 2003, 03:00 AM

I notice that Windows Media Player 9 is now available from the Microsoft update site for Windows 2000 users. Have any other Windows 2000 users tried it out? Is it worth upgrading, or will it hassle my system? Any new exiciting features/capabilities? For those of you running a firewall like ZoneAlarm, does it contain spyware, i.e., is it constantly trying to send data over an internet connection, or does it ask for server rights? How much will it harass my GUI, changing settings, associations, adding icons, etc.?

Have any DVStorm users encountered problems after installing Windows Media 9?

Thanks in advance to any who post their feedback.

Adrian Douglas · January 16th, 2003, 07:00 AM

Robert,

I've had the beta version running on my W2k machine for a while now and haven't had any problems at all.

Alex Taylor · January 16th, 2003, 09:46 AM

I hate WiMP now that it's bloatware.. I was much happier with the one that came with 98 way back when. It was so simple and easy-going on the memory.

Dan Holly · January 16th, 2003, 11:12 AM

on my XP Pro box (sorry I'm not running Win2K anymore) with zero issues.

Rob Lohman · January 16th, 2003, 11:39 AM

You might also try out ZoomPlayer if you are on PC...

Andrew Leigh · January 16th, 2003, 02:02 PM

W2k SP3 and MP9.

Two weeks and no problems........problems................problems.

Just kidding works well though not a big supporter of MP.

Andrew

Imran Zaidi · January 16th, 2003, 02:27 PM

I'm not a big fan on Media Player myself, but apparently Microsoft is doing some amazing things with the Media Player 9 technologies. Just recently, you might have heard about a joint venture between MS and BMW where they were outfitting 25 theaters with a special digital projector for a special digital broadcast screening of a BMW short film and the doc. feature Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

A theater down the street from me, in Orlando, was selected as one of the 25. Regrettably I was unable to attend, but I hear it went well. And the whole thing was based on MS's Windows Media Player 9 technologies.

The moral? If MS is able to create 'screen-able' broadcast digital video with it, it won't be long before everyone's using it.

Joe Carney · January 16th, 2003, 04:09 PM

Windows Media player 9 supports up to 1280x720 and 5.1 surround audio at up to 24/96 resolution. All without paying those expensive fees to Dolby, DTS and the other DVD patent holders. Great potential option for Independent film makers.

this is a case where MS uis actually being the good guy, at least for consumers.

Robert Knecht Schmidt · March 4th, 2003, 04:36 AM

Now that it's been around for a while, have we come to a consensus as to whether Windows Media Player 9 is annoyware or not?

David Hurdon · March 4th, 2003, 05:37 AM

I loaded up the beta on day one and moved to the release version in January. I've also put two other users on it and on the whole I'm happy with it (and with the encoder too).

GaryBushey · March 4th, 2003, 05:52 AM

I use it quite extensively with no issues. Converted almost all my CDs to version 9 WMA (averaging about half the size of MP3) and use the encoder to do screen capture training videos.

CarterTG · March 4th, 2003, 06:50 AM

I recently updated my notebook (P4, WinXP) to MediaPlayer9.

I don't have the specific details, but back when I was using the previous version on my main edit box (P3, Win2K), someone passed along info to me that the previous MediaPlayer had a setting in some INI file that was defaulted to sending back info on what file (or URL) you were playing. I'm over 20k miles away from that box, so I'm sketchy on how I found it, but I DO remember digging up the parameter and it indeed was there!

I got a chuckle out of installing MP9 because THIS TIME it asked me something about sending file info to Microsoft (or wherever).

As for harrassing the system or changing stuff without permission, it's been a good doggie in that regard. I always select "Custom Install" for any software whenever available and was able to maintain control over what MP9 has access to.

I've been using MediaPlayer9 to play MP3s and WMV streams regularly. I'll use MusicMatch only to convert my CDs to MP3s, but that's about it since it's always nagging me to upgrade to MusicMatch Plus.

MP9 can point to a webpage that shows some third-party plug-ins available for sale. One of the more intruiging ones is from InterVideo that enables MediaPlayer9 to play DVDs (instead of using a seperate program) Anyone have experience with this and can comment on whether it works as advertised? (smooth integration, no hiccups)

tia,
Carter

K. Forman · March 4th, 2003, 07:26 AM

I tried downloading Mediaplayer 9, but couldn't. It seems that I didn't have the authority to install things on my machine. I think I have convinced everybody concerned, that I DO have the authority to install whatever I like, and just installed the new version.

It works pretty nice :)

Brian M. Dickman · March 4th, 2003, 10:11 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Alex Taylor : I hate WiMP now that it's bloatware.. I was much happier with the one that came with 98 way back when. It was so simple and easy-going on the memory. -->>>

Alex, you probably still have that player installed (every Windows since 98 still has it, and just isn't on the start menu). Look on your hard drive in Program Files->Windows Media Player for the file "mplayer2.exe". It's the classic old media player, and it integrates with pretty much all the same codecs the new one does. No fancy skins or net connected bloat. Unfortunately no playlists either, but for a single file player it works great.

Aaron Koolen · March 4th, 2003, 01:25 PM

It seems ok. In fact it seems better when handling media libraries of thousands of songs like I have - it's more responsive. One thing though is that after upgrading from the previous version, winamp started to do funny things when i used it for playing MP3's. I am not getting skips and jitters when playing through Winamp so I just stick with WMP now (I always hated winamps playlist management anyway).

Cheers
Aaron

BTW: Does anyone know if there is a way to make WMP add ogg vorbis files to your library. Can't find anyway to add a filetype.

January 16th, 2003, 03:00 AM	#1
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	Has anyone installed Windows Media Player 9? I notice that Windows Media Player 9 is now available from the Microsoft update site for Windows 2000 users. Have any other Windows 2000 users tried it out? Is it worth upgrading, or will it hassle my system? Any new exiciting features/capabilities? For those of you running a firewall like ZoneAlarm, does it contain spyware, i.e., is it constantly trying to send data over an internet connection, or does it ask for server rights? How much will it harass my GUI, changing settings, associations, adding icons, etc.? Have any DVStorm users encountered problems after installing Windows Media 9? Thanks in advance to any who post their feedback. __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 16th, 2003, 07:00 AM	#2
Adrian Douglas Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chigasaki, Japan. Posts: 1,660	Robert, I've had the beta version running on my W2k machine for a while now and haven't had any problems at all. __________________ Adrian DVInfo.net Search for quick answers Where to buy? From the best in the business...DVInfo.net sponsors

January 16th, 2003, 09:46 AM	#3
Alex Taylor Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 390	I hate WiMP now that it's bloatware.. I was much happier with the one that came with 98 way back when. It was so simple and easy-going on the memory. __________________ alextaylor.org

January 16th, 2003, 11:12 AM	#4
Dan Holly Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 336	I'm using it on my XP Pro box (sorry I'm not running Win2K anymore) with zero issues. __________________ Dan Holly Anchorage, Alaska

January 16th, 2003, 11:39 AM	#5
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	You might also try out ZoomPlayer if you are on PC... __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

January 16th, 2003, 02:02 PM	#6
Andrew Leigh Major Player Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 220	W2k SP3 and MP9. Two weeks and no problems........problems................problems. Just kidding works well though not a big supporter of MP. Andrew __________________ PAL XL-1, DV Raptor, Premiere TOTAL AMATEUR - DOING IT FOR THE FUN

January 16th, 2003, 02:27 PM	#7
Imran Zaidi Trustee Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 1,315	I'm not a big fan on Media Player myself, but apparently Microsoft is doing some amazing things with the Media Player 9 technologies. Just recently, you might have heard about a joint venture between MS and BMW where they were outfitting 25 theaters with a special digital projector for a special digital broadcast screening of a BMW short film and the doc. feature Standing in the Shadows of Motown. A theater down the street from me, in Orlando, was selected as one of the 25. Regrettably I was unable to attend, but I hear it went well. And the whole thing was based on MS's Windows Media Player 9 technologies. The moral? If MS is able to create 'screen-able' broadcast digital video with it, it won't be long before everyone's using it.

January 16th, 2003, 04:09 PM	#8
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	Windows Media player 9 supports up to 1280x720 and 5.1 surround audio at up to 24/96 resolution. All without paying those expensive fees to Dolby, DTS and the other DVD patent holders. Great potential option for Independent film makers. this is a case where MS uis actually being the good guy, at least for consumers.

March 4th, 2003, 04:36 AM	#9
Robert Knecht Schmidt Wrangler Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 1,933	Now that it's been around for a while, have we come to a consensus as to whether Windows Media Player 9 is annoyware or not? __________________ All the best, Robert K S Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| The best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

March 4th, 2003, 05:37 AM	#10
David Hurdon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 484	Concensus on WMP9 I loaded up the beta on day one and moved to the release version in January. I've also put two other users on it and on the whole I'm happy with it (and with the encoder too). __________________ Site:http://www.faceliftmarketing.ca Blog:http://www.websitevideo.blogspot.com

March 4th, 2003, 05:52 AM	#11
GaryBushey Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 27	I use it quite extensively with no issues. Converted almost all my CDs to version 9 WMA (averaging about half the size of MP3) and use the encoder to do screen capture training videos. __________________ Gary A. Bushey

March 4th, 2003, 06:50 AM	#12
CarterTG Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Midwest Posts: 42	I recently updated my notebook (P4, WinXP) to MediaPlayer9. I don't have the specific details, but back when I was using the previous version on my main edit box (P3, Win2K), someone passed along info to me that the previous MediaPlayer had a setting in some INI file that was defaulted to sending back info on what file (or URL) you were playing. I'm over 20k miles away from that box, so I'm sketchy on how I found it, but I DO remember digging up the parameter and it indeed was there! I got a chuckle out of installing MP9 because THIS TIME it asked me something about sending file info to Microsoft (or wherever). As for harrassing the system or changing stuff without permission, it's been a good doggie in that regard. I always select "Custom Install" for any software whenever available and was able to maintain control over what MP9 has access to. I've been using MediaPlayer9 to play MP3s and WMV streams regularly. I'll use MusicMatch only to convert my CDs to MP3s, but that's about it since it's always nagging me to upgrade to MusicMatch Plus. MP9 can point to a webpage that shows some third-party plug-ins available for sale. One of the more intruiging ones is from InterVideo that enables MediaPlayer9 to play DVDs (instead of using a seperate program) Anyone have experience with this and can comment on whether it works as advertised? (smooth integration, no hiccups) tia, Carter

March 4th, 2003, 07:26 AM	#13
K. Forman Capt. Quirk Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Middle of the woods in Georgia Posts: 3,596	I tried downloading Mediaplayer 9, but couldn't. It seems that I didn't have the authority to install things on my machine. I think I have convinced everybody concerned, that I DO have the authority to install whatever I like, and just installed the new version. It works pretty nice :)

March 4th, 2003, 10:11 AM	#14
Brian M. Dickman Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 148	<<<-- Originally posted by Alex Taylor : I hate WiMP now that it's bloatware.. I was much happier with the one that came with 98 way back when. It was so simple and easy-going on the memory. -->>> Alex, you probably still have that player installed (every Windows since 98 still has it, and just isn't on the start menu). Look on your hard drive in Program Files->Windows Media Player for the file "mplayer2.exe". It's the classic old media player, and it integrates with pretty much all the same codecs the new one does. No fancy skins or net connected bloat. Unfortunately no playlists either, but for a single file player it works great.

March 4th, 2003, 01:25 PM	#15
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	It seems ok. In fact it seems better when handling media libraries of thousands of songs like I have - it's more responsive. One thing though is that after upgrading from the previous version, winamp started to do funny things when i used it for playing MP3's. I am not getting skips and jitters when playing through Winamp so I just stick with WMP now (I always hated winamps playlist management anyway). Cheers Aaron BTW: Does anyone know if there is a way to make WMP add ogg vorbis files to your library. Can't find anyway to add a filetype.