History of Windows Media Player
- Before gaining the official title of "Windows" media player, the program Microsoft introduced in 1991 simply went by the name "media player." This program offered audio playback after Sound Blaster (a major manufacturer of sound cards for PCs) introduced digital audio to the PC platform. The versions of media player for Windows 3.0 and 3.1 allowed only simple audio performance.
- Media player for Windows 95 and 98 offered support for a more advanced collection of audio formats. The ability to play MPEG4 video, MetaSound/MetaVoice audio, and Vivo audio and video came standard with the player.
Windows 98 Second Edition brought two important additions: the official name change to "Windows Media Player," and the ability to play MP3 audio. - Windows Media Player 7 for Windows 2000 introduced important new features along with a graphical interface upgrade. Media Player 7 brought with it two new media file formats: Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV). Technology intended to curb media piracy, known as Digital Rights Management (DRM), became standard. The Windows Millennium Edition of Media Player offered CD copying, CD burning and screen capturing, along with another interface upgrade. The ability to stream content from the web also became available in this version.
- Introduced in October 2001, Windows Media Player for Windows XP provided yet another update to the user interface, along with improved sound quality and DVD playback. Windows Media Player XP would only be available for XP users. Users of older versions of Windows (all the way up to Windows 2000) would have to upgrade to use the latest Media Player.
- Windows Media Player 9 served as an upgrade to the previous version of Media Player for Windows XP along with previous versions of Windows. This latest version brought improved audio and video formats, more advanced volume and playback functionality and the new mini-player mode.
- Intended for Windows Vista, Media Player 10 introduced increased functionality (influenced by such software as iTunes). It provided the ability to copy and burn CDs, manage media libraries and access portable media devices (such as MP3 players) all within a single interface. Media Player 10 also integrated the Napster service for buying digital music online.
- Media Player 11, released in May 2006 as a beta, came with a Microsoft deal with MTV to sell digital audio through the URGE downloading service. It also became possible to burn WAV files to CD (previously, burning CDs required conversion into certain audio formats such as MP3). Media Player 11 eased wireless sharing of media between PCs and other computers or devices such as the Xbox 360.
