Windows Media Player - Is it worth another look yet?

[Kadin Lucas]

Hi,

So I realised that most things I use are microsoft (hotmail, windows phone 8, windows 7, future xbox one) but that when I am on my computer and listening to my own music I still use iTunes.

Is windows media player any good yet, or is there a better one for windows integration?

I have been using iTunes for the last probably 6-10 years without looking back at WMP so maybe it's time to give it another go. Unless it's still ****?

Cheers

 

[Meagey]

They use Xbox music now, it should sync with the music from your computer when you log in

 

[Laura Knotek]

How about giving WMP a try? It's free, so you could check it out for yourself.

I cannot comment on iTunes. The last time I used iTunes was back in 2006, just to get some free songs from Starbucks. I hated iTunes for Windows at the time and uninstalled it and deleted my iTunes account immediately after getting the free songs. I haven't tried iTunes again since that time, but I've used WMP ever since that time (along with Windows Media Center--I currently have Win 8.1 Pro).

 

[theefman]

If your music is local try the Zune software. Still works, and looks great. The Xbox music apps are poor, destroying your music tags and are generally unreliable. Media player is good as well but doesn't look as good as Zune.

 

[Kadin Lucas]

I had a quick look at Xbox Music as I had heard of the name, but thought it was more of a streaming service like pandora. If its also for playing music that you actually have then I will give it a go, cheers.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I had a quick look at Xbox Music as I had heard of the name, but thought it was more of a streaming service like pandora. If its also for playing music that you actually have then I will give it a go, cheers.

Yes, it will also play your music that you own. I don't have an Xbox Music subscription. I can play music using Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Xbox Music or Zune (since I have Windows 8.1 Pro and have all of those programs installed).

 

[Kadin Lucas]

The 'Music + Videos' on windows phone 8. Does that sync with any of the mentioned media players for play count and whatever else? Doesn't say if it's xbox music or wmp or it's own thing?

 

[RazrHD132]

Does anyone use winamp? I am getting ready to switch over to Windows phone and am wondering if i should make the switch to Windows Media Player as well

Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk

 

[Silver Wind]

Zune Software produces really good sound compared to iTunes, WMP or VLC. That's about all for its advantages, IMO.

Unless you own an iDevice, there's really no advantage to iTunes in Windows. WMP and XBox Music offer better performance, OS optimization, and memory usage.

I'd go with Xbox music though, as being a modern app gives it unique abilities like Snap and charms bar integration. Recent updates have made it much easier to manage a collection on it, and the seamless integration with your music library is really good.

 

[FinancialP]

Windows Media Player with extra codecs installed is a underrated beast!

 

[Laura Knotek]

Does anyone use winamp? I am getting ready to switch over to Windows phone and am wondering if i should make the switch to Windows Media Player as well

Sent from my XT925 using Tapatalk

Winamp might be shut down on 20 December 2013. There have been rumours that Microsoft is buying it, but nothing official as of now. AOL wants no part of Winamp anymore.

I didn't even know Winamp was still around until I saw the articles mentioning its shutdown by AOL. Last time I used Winamp was probably last time I used AOL, which would be sometime in the 90s.

 

[anony_mouse]

I try WMP every year or so. The experience is always the same...

- Open media file.
- Click through a load of worrying dialog boxes.
- Wait while my hard disk thrashes for a while.
- Think, wow, this is ugly.
- Get a message saying 'unsupported media format' or similar.
- Give up.

But, hey, it's free. Why not try it for yourself?

 

[WanderingTraveler]

I use it to sync my phone, lol.

It's a great solution as a sync tool and as a media program.

 

[HeyCori]

I know it's no longer support but I would still recommend using Zune.