Reader Windows Media

The Lecteur Windows Media (in English, Windows Media Player ) is a Multimedia player owner produces by the company Microsoft which makes it possible to read audio files, Vidéo, and Image S on the personal computers functioning using the Operating system Microsoft Windows such as for example a PDA or a portable device functioning with the operating system Windows Mobile. It made its appearance in 1992 in Windows 3.1. Versions of the Reader Windows Media for the operating systems Mac OS and Solaris also were born but their developments were stopped since.

With his appearance, the Reader Windows Media replaced another multimedia player from now on obselète which was called Media Player (in English, media player means Multimedia player), thus bringing new functionalities going well beyond the simple reading of audio and video files.

Functionalities

In addition to being a multimedia player, the Reader Windows Media can allow:

to extract from the music since a audio CD,
to create its own audio CD starting from audio files on its computer,
to synchronize files with a Walkman (for example a Wandering MP3, a Mobile phone or another Apparatus),
to buy or rent music on online music stores,

Format of files

The formats of files proposed by defect by the Reader Windows Media are formats which are clean for him:

WMV ( Windows Media Video for the video files)
WMA ( Windows Audio Media for the audio files)
ASF ( Advanced Streaming Format for the reading of flow of media)
the WPL ( Windows Playlist , a format of List of reading based on the language XML)
the WVX

It makes it possible to read the DVD, CD, but so various Formats of data audio and video: MP3 , MPEG , AVI .

History of the versions

The last version goes back to it (left the October 30th 2006) is version 11, for Windows Vista.

Windows Media and justice

the first version took again without prior agreement codec S of QuickTime. The lawsuit brought by Apple did not know a verdict, this company, then with the barks, having had to conclude by amicable agreement an arrangement with Microsoft.

Windows Media Player was in the middle of the investigation into Microsoft launched by the European commission since 2000 and which led in 2004 to the judgment of Microsoft to a fine of 497 million Euro S for abuse position dominante.
La European commission condemned Microsoft to publish a version of Windows XP (all versions) without technologies multi-media, of which Media Player. The user thus has the choice of his reader. Microsoft specifies that the installation of Windows Media Player would restore the functionalities multi-media of Windows. The name of this edition of Windows, after many modifications due to the dissension of the European commission is Windows XP Home/Professionnal Edition NR.

See too

Its main competitors are Real Player, ITunes and Winamp.

External bonds

Official site

Simple: Windows Media Player

Random links: