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This article is about the media player featured in Windows 10 and 11. For the media player featured prior to Windows 11, see Windows Media Player.
Windows Media Player
|
Media Player running on Windows 11 in Light mode |
|
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Initial release | November 2021; 3 years ago |
| Stable release | March 2025 Update (11.2503.5.0) (22 April 2025; 12 days ago[1]) [±] |
| Operating system | Windows 10, 11 |
| Predecessor | Groove Music Microsoft Movies & TV Windows Media Player |
Windows Media Player (or simply Media Player) is a video and audio player developed in UWP by Microsoft for Windows 11 and subsequently backported to Windows 10. It is the successor to Groove Music (previously Xbox Music), Microsoft Movies & TV, and the original Windows Media Player. It began rolling out to Windows 11 Insider channels in November 2021 and then to all users starting in January 2022.[2][3] It was later released to Windows 10 users in January 2023.[4]
The new version of Windows Media Player (or Media Player) now includes support for video files, as part of Groove Music’s rebranding from a music streaming service to a media player.[5] Other changes to the app include the album cover view being in fullscreen, and a refresh to the mini player.[6] Accessibility has also been optimized in this new version, with some improved keyboard shortcuts and hotkey support for keyboard users and with other assistive technologies.[7]
Some features from the original Windows Media Player were initially not included, such as DLNA local streaming and the ripping of CDs. Ripping was eventually reintroduced in July 2022 for Windows 11, supporting the AAC, WMA, FLAC, and ALAC formats.[8]
This is a list of known supported formats in Media Player on Windows 10 and Windows 11.[9][10][11]
List of supported audio formats
| File Container | File Extension | Number of channels |
|---|---|---|
| MPEG-1 Audio Layer III MPEG-2 Audio Layer III |
.mp3 | 2 |
| Free Lossless Audio Codec | .flac | 2 |
| Raw AAC stream Audio Data Interchange Format (ADIF) Audio Data Transport Stream (ADTS) |
.aac, .adt, .adts | 2 |
| MPEG-4 audio-only file (AAC) | .m4a | 5.1 |
| Waveform Audio File Format | .wav | 2 |
| Windows Media Audio | .wma | 5.1 |
| Dolby AC-3 | .ac3 | 5.1 |
| 3GP and 3G2 | .3gp, .3g2 | 2 |
| Adaptive Multi-Rate | .amr | 2 |
| Matroska audio-only file | .mka | 2 |
| Ogg audio-only file (may contain various Xiph formats such as: Ogg FLAC, OggPCM, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg Opus)[12] |
.oga | 2 |
| Ogg container (Vorbis) | .ogg | 2 |
| Ogg container (Opus) | .opus | 2 |
List of supported video formats
| File Container | File Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MPEG-4 video Apple MPEG-4 video (MPEG-4 Part 2, H.264, H.265, AV1) |
.mp4, .m4v | Dolby Vision, H.265, and AV1 playback require installation of an add-on from Microsoft Store. DTS Audio playback requires DTS Sound Unbound from Microsoft Store with a DTS:X Decoder license. |
| QuickTime File Format | .mov | |
| Advanced Systems Format | .asf | |
| Audio Video Interleave | .avi | |
| Windows Media Video | .wmv | |
| BDAV MPEG-2 Transport Stream | .m2ts | |
| 3GP and 3G2 | .3g2, .3gp2, .3gpp | |
| Matroska video | .mkv | |
| WebM (VP8, VP9, AV1) | .webm | AV1 playback requires installation of add-on from the Microsoft Store. |
| Ogg container (Theora) | .ogv |
List of supported streaming protocols
| Streaming Protocol | URL Identifier |
|---|---|
| Shoutcast / Icecast (ICY) | — |
| HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)[13] | .m3u8 |
- ^ «Windows Media Player». Microsoft Apps. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
- ^ Baxter, Daryl (September 29, 2021). «Microsoft accidentally shows off a new Media Player for Windows 11». TechRadar. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- ^ Baxter, Daryl (January 5, 2022). «New and improved Windows Media Player is rolling out to Windows 11 users». TechRadar. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
- ^ Baxter, Daryl (January 13, 2023). «The beat stops for Groove Music in Windows 10 as it’s replaced by Media Player». TechRadar. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ Holt, Kris (November 17, 2021). «Microsoft is replacing Windows Media Player with Media Player for Windows 11». Engadget. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ «Full screen album art». 16 November 2021.
- ^ «Optimized accessibility». 16 November 2021.
- ^ Parmar, Mayank (2022-07-14). «Windows 11 now lets you easily rip CD with new Media Player». Windows Latest. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
- ^ Windows 11’s New Media Player Brings Big Improvements to Audio and Video — PCMag
- ^ «Supported audio and video formats (Windows Runtime apps) — Windows app development». Microsoft Docs. 13 October 2015.
- ^ «Supported codecs — UWP applications». Microsoft Docs. 15 November 2024.
- ^ «MIME Types and File Extensions — XiphWiki».
- ^ «HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) tag support — UWP applications».
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Home » Windows 11 » How To Install Windows Media Player In Windows 10/11
Windows Media Player has been part of the Windows operating system for a long time. While it’s true that Microsoft has not updated the Windows Media Player after the release of Windows 7, it’s still one of the most used audio and video players on Windows computers.
While there are plenty of alternatives to Windows Media Player, there are many users who still prefer using the built-in Windows Media Player. If the Windows Media Player is missing from your Windows 10 or 11 installation, you can install it again. This guide shows you how to install Windows Media Player in Windows 10 and 11.
NOTE: Windows Media Player in Windows 11 is different from the Media Player app. This guide shows you how to install the classic Windows Media Player (Windows Media Player legacy in Windows 11) and not the new Media Player app.
Step 1: Open the Windows 10 Settings app. Go to Apps > Apps & features page.
Step 2: On this page, click the Optional features link to open the Optional features page.
Step 3: Next, click the Add a feature button. This will bring up the Add an optional feature dialog.
Step 4: Here, scroll down to see the Windows Media Player entry. Select the Windows Media Player entry and then click the Install button. That’s it! Windows Media Player will be installed on your Windows 10 computer in a few minutes. During the installation, the Settings app will also show the progress. If it asks you to restart, reboot your computer once to complete the installation procedure.
Install Windows Media Player in Windows 11
In recent versions of Windows 11, Windows Media Player has been renamed to Windows Media Player Legacy after the introduction of the new Media Player app. If the Windows Media Player is missing, here is how to install it again.
Step 1: Navigate to Windows 11 Settings > System > Optional features page.
Step 2: On the Optional features page, click the View features button.
Step 3: Scroll down the features list to see the Windows Media Player entry. Select the Windows Media Player entry and then click the Next button.
Step 4: Finally, click the Install button to begin installing Windows Media Player. This might take a few minutes to tens of minutes.
Once installed, you can launch Windows Media Player via search.
Рекомендуем: Как установить Windows Media Center в Windows 10
Как вы уже знаете, Windows 10 Fall Creators, получила несколько кумулятивных обновлений. Новый пакет обновления KB4046355, выпущенный для этой сборки, удаляет Windows Media Player.
Обновление удаляет проигрыватель Windows Media с устройства (файлы и записи в контекстном меню), но это не мешает пользователям устанавливать его снова.
Если эта проблема затронута вас, и вам необходимо восстановить проигрыватель Windows Media, переустановите его с помощью приложения «Параметры».
Как установить, вернуть проигрыватель Windows Media
- Откройте приложение «Параметры» и перейдите в группу настроек «Приложения». Выберите «Приложения и возможности» и нажмите на ссылку «Управление дополнительными компонентами».
- На экране «Управление дополнительными функциями» нажмите кнопку «Плюс» рядом с «Добавить компонент».
- Найдите в списке проигрыватель Windows Media и нажмите кнопку «Установить». Windows Media Player будет установлен. Вам не нужно перезагружать Windows 10.
Установка не займет больше десяти, двадцати секунд.
После установки Windows Media Player снова появляется на вашем устройстве. Опять же, на данный момент неясно, является ли это ошибкой, которая затрагивает только некоторые инсайдерские устройства, или если это предзнаменование будущих событий.
Пользователи Windows, не использующие проигрыватель Windows Media, не должны замечать никаких проблем, вызванных удалением. Однако, если проблемы обнаружены, рекомендуется переустановить медиаплеер, используя вышеописанный метод.
Теперь вы: Какой медиаплеер вы используете?
Вам может быть интересно: Способ получить официальный Windows 10 DVD Player.
Windows Media Player has been around in various forms for decades. While it used to be the default Windows media player, that’s changed for Windows 10. You now need to install Windows Media Player before it’s available; the method you use will depend on your version of Windows 10.
If you’re missing this classic Windows utility, we’re here to show you how to get it back quickly and for free. We’ll also offer up some alternative media players because Windows Media Player hasn’t seen a major update in years.
Windows Media Player is software that plays and manages music and video files. If you’re new to Windows, you may never have heard of it, let alone used it. Nonetheless, Windows Media Player was the de-facto media player for many, especially Windows 8 and prior versions.
The first iteration of the program was called Media Player, launched in 1991 and included in Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions.
Over time, Windows Media Player grew to support more media formats (all the codecs in the now-defunct Windows Media framework, along with WAV and MP3) and more features.
Some of these features include DVD playback, syncing to portable media players, music visualization, and media streaming. You could also apply different themes.
For many, one of the most important features of Windows Media Player was its ability to rip from and burn to discs. When music was still mostly consumed on disc, Windows Media Player was invaluable for bringing your tunes on to your computer.
While primarily known as a player for Windows desktops, over the years Windows Media Player was also released on Windows Mobile, Mac, and Oracle Solaris.
The quickest way to check if you have Windows Media Player 12 (the latest version) installed and enabled is to open the Start menu and search for it.
It comes as an «optional feature» for the majority of Windows 10 versions. However, Microsoft now disables it by default, so there’s every chance your search will yield no results.
There are also two versions of the operating system that don’t have it at all: Windows 10 N and Windows 10 NK.
This is because the European Commission ruled that Microsoft’s practice of pre-installing some software on their operating systems is anti-competitive. Thus, Microsoft was forced to offer alternative versions of Windows 10 with some of these key features removed. Not only do they lack Windows Media Player, but they also exclude apps such as Video and Voice Recorder.
No matter your operating system version, we’ll show you how to install Windows Media Player for Windows 10—legally and for free.
It’s extremely simple to install Windows Media Player 12. The method you need will depend on your version of Windows 10.
Windows 10 N and NK
You need to download the Media Feature Pack from Microsoft’s official website.
First, select your language using the dropdown, then click Download. You must then choose which version of the file you want to download. This depends on what bit version of Windows 10 you’re running.
To find this out, press Windows key + R, input dxdiag, and click OK. This will open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. Look at the line Operating System and check if it reads 32-bit or 64-bit.
If you’re running 32-bit, check to download this file:
Microsoft-Windows-MediaFeaturePack-OOB-Package.msu
If you’re running 64-bit, select the other file. Once checked, click Next. You should then be prompted by your browser to Open with Windows Update Standalone Installer (default). With this selected, click OK to begin the installation.
Follow the wizard through, and the update will be installed. Along with installing Windows Media Player, this will also install other apps like Skype, Voice Recorder, and Groove Music. A full list of the additional features can be found on Microsoft’s support page.
Windows 10 Home and Pro
Windows Media Player comes included as an optional feature with these versions of Windows 10, but it needs to be enabled.
To do so, press Windows key + I to open Settings. Go to Apps > Optional features > Add a feature.
Scroll down to Windows Media Player and select it. Click Install.
Job done! Go back a page, and you’ll see Windows Media Player on the list of installed optional features. You can also uninstall it from here, should you ever wish to.
Some people consider Windows Media Player to be an annoying Windows feature they don’t need. If that’s you, then you’ll likely want alternative audio and video playing software. Happily, there are a number of free and great alternatives to Windows Media Player.
One of the best media players you can download is VLC media player. This open-source, cross-platform software will run pretty much any audio or video file that you throw at it, thanks to its huge amount of video codec support.
VLC can play video files, webcams, streams, and more. It’s also very lightweight and fast.
Other good free choices are Winamp, which boasts great visualization and interface customization, and MusicBee, which is a powerful music manager that also supports podcasts and radio.
Alternately, you could use other default Windows applications. These were designed with Windows 10 in mind and offer a more modern user interface. For video, do a system search for Films & TV. For audio, search for Groove Music. The latter also comes with a store and streaming service, but you can just use it to manage your local music collection if you desire.
If you’ve been missing Windows Media Player in your life, hopefully, you’ve now been able to install it on your system. Microsoft may remove support for it entirely in the future, but for now, it’s here to stay.
Remember, you don’t have to use Windows Media Player if it doesn’t suit your needs. In fact, there are better players out there since Microsoft’s offering has fallen by the wayside.