In 1995, Microsoft released ActiveMovie with DirectX Media SDK. Video for Windows was first available as a free add-on to Windows 3.1, and later integrated into Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. In November of the following year, Video for Windows was introduced with the ability to play digital video files in an AVI container format, with codec support for RLE and Video1, and support for playing uncompressed files. Microsoft continually produced new programs to play media files. Windows RT does not run Windows Media Player, but comes with Xbox Video and Xbox Music. In January 2023, Microsoft began backporting the latter to Windows 10. The latter was renamed Groove Music in Windows 10, and Windows Media Player in Windows 11. Windows 8 bundled Windows Media Player 12 along two other media player apps, namely Xbox Video and Xbox Music. Windows Media Player 12 was released on October 22, 2009, along with Windows 7 and has not been made available for previous versions of Windows nor has it been updated ever since. The player is also able to utilize a digital rights management service in the form of Windows Media DRM. The default file formats are Windows Media Video (WMV), Windows Media Audio (WMA), and Advanced Systems Format (ASF), and its own XML based playlist format called Windows Playlist ( WPL). It was made available for Windows XP and is included in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Windows Media Player 11 is the last out-of-band version of Media Player. These versions of Windows also included several other media playback apps, namely ActiveMovie Control, CD Player, DVD Player, Windows Media Center, and Microsoft Movies & TV. For example Media Player versions 5.1, 6.4, and 8 were all included in Windows XP. Windows Media Player is a unique component, in that since 1999, each version of Windows came with two or more versions of it side-by-side. In addition to being a media player, the app has the ability to rip audio file from and copy to compact discs, burn recordable discs in Audio CD format or as data discs with playlists such as an MP3 CD, synchronize content with a digital audio player (MP3 player) or other mobile devices, and enable users to purchase or rent music from a number of online music stores. Microsoft also released editions of Windows Media Player for classic Mac OS, Mac OS X, and Solaris, but has since been discontinued them. It has been a component of the Microsoft Windows operating system, including Windows 9x, Windows NT, Pocket PC and Windows Mobile.

Windows Media Player ( WMP) is the first media player and media library application that Microsoft developed to play audio and video on personal computers.

Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11 ĪctiveMovie Control, CD Player, DVD Player, Microsoft Movies & TV, Groove Music.

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