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Thread ID: 41075 2003-12-29 09:44:00 What are the catches, if any, with installing Windows Media Player? ssssss (2100) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
203919 2003-12-29 09:44:00 I have Windows Media Player version 7. 01.
I am thinking of updating to the latest version.
Is the latest version, version 9, bye the way?
Are there any catches?
I ask because I don't trust Microsoft and there digital rights crusade.
Will installing the latest version interfere at all with my ability to play mp3's?
ssssss (2100)
203920 2003-12-29 09:48:00 In a nutshell:
You will still be able to play MP3's without a hitch
The downside is you give Microsoft a good hold on your PC, allowing them to download updates without consulting you etc.
There are other things if you take 5 mins to read over the EULA (End User Liscence Agreement) before you click the final "install" button...

If you're not happy with it, try another player such as WinAmp, Foobar, Musicmatch Jukebox... There are countless others, so dont be limited to Windows Media Player!
Chilling_Silently (228)
203921 2003-12-29 10:01:00 Thanks.
I have Winamp and MusicMatch and RealPlayer on my computer.
I have been using WinAmp up to now, but I have just found out that Windows Media Player 7.01 appears to give better sound. However after reading what you say, I won't upgrade. I was considering it, because I haven't been able to master the 7.01 version (my brain is a bit simple) and I thought their latest version might be simpler.
ssssss (2100)
203922 2003-12-29 10:25:00 I tried it and my adcvice is dont I ended up reverting my whole HDD back in time using a image its intrusive and not worth the hassle try Foobar 2000 its very clean and sounds slightly better than winamp , kiwibeat (304)
203923 2003-12-29 10:37:00 Try WinAmp 5.01 then, and download the MAD Plugin for it :-) Should give you the best sound you can get out of mp3's! Chilling_Silently (228)
203924 2003-12-29 10:57:00 It's definitely not worth the upgrade. I did it ages ago, but I'm hoping like hell I'll be doing a full reinstall of Windows in a few days, thereby taking it back to v8.

All the same, a firewall and some tweaks can get rid of WMP9's reporting habits.
agent (30)
203925 2003-12-29 20:40:00 I use zoomplayer for my movies it is smaller and less resource hungry with more options and features does not try to ring home every few mins like most M/Soft stuff tends to do these days with info about what you are viewing or doing etc .
Hate upgrades that cannot be removed so keep a image of my C: drive if I happen to want to experiment , just ended up with a virus from kazaa so did a revert back took 20 mins using drive image 2002 ,
much faster and less painful than reformatting then reinstalling etc etc .
kiwibeat (304)
203926 2003-12-30 06:43:00 many of you will have 128k mp3's and lesser sound playback equipment (poor DACs, poor APU's or just plain bad speakers) so no player and no plugin is going to make your mp3's sound better.. you're limited by your playback equipment... if you change your playback plugin and you're convinced it sounds better, then I'd suggest you consider reading up on the placebo effect

get an m-audio soundcard and some decent headphones and then give it a proper listen.. you'll soon discover just how bad those 128k mp3's are and just how wrong you were

Anyway back on topic, I just stick with media player 6.4.. it's lean, mean and does the job... media player classic if I want to play quicktime or realmedia files and powerdvd or divx player if I want to change ratios...

you can find media player 6.4 hiding on your computer in c:\program files\windows media player\mplayer2.exe
whetu (237)
203927 2003-12-30 07:08:00 hmmm....Theres a definite quality difference between winamp and windows media player.... metla (154)
203928 2003-12-30 07:44:00 Sheesh, what are you guys watching that you are are paranoid about MS discovering? Baldy (26)
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