User Rating: 
6/10
Not bad I say, Not bad!by meisinscotland - November 16, 2006
Pros: Quick to launch, miles better than WMP 8 and 7
Cons: MS enforcing you to use WMA instead of MP3
Review:
It's not bad, WMP9. Could be better, like a lot of Microsoft products, but I think the equaliser and SRS wow effects are very good. Coupled with a decent pair of headphones and the right setting, you can have the bassiest of bass thumping down your ears.
If you got Windows XP between 2003 and 2005 you would have got Windows Media Player 9. If you got it before that, it would have been WMP8, and after, WMP10. Both were rubbish compared to 9.
You can make playlists easily, build up a large library of music, and the best part is that the player doesn't soak up memory.
Like IE, it lacks features and is a bit boring on my part - I use RealOne Player most of the time.
User Rating: 
1/10
Its A TRICKby - September 1, 2004
Pros: For beginers its good
Cons: Does not play .wmv files from the net.its a trick to curb distribution on the net.CANNOT UNINSTALL by any means.BEWARE.
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User Rating: 
2/10
WinAmp works much better!by - September 1, 2004
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Cons: After upgrading to version 9.0, MP3 playback sounded awful! Thought it was speakers, amplifier on motherboard, etc. - finally tried playing the MP3s with WinAmp, and they sound great! I'm sorry I ever upgraded. The previous version worked much better.
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User Rating: 
9/10
Good free productby - August 5, 2004
Pros: Pretty much everything I look for in something like this. Can play more types of files than anything else I've tried.
Cons: After burning a few CD's with it, system slows down. No MP3 decoder
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User Rating: 9/10
One Flaw--That's itby - June 11, 2004
Pros: I paid $10 so I now can rip MP3 music instead of wma. Quick Acess Panel and Taskbar Mode are things I have yet to find on other Operating Systems. All sorts of cool featurs, like SRS WOW, color chooser, and other stuff.
Cons: Have to pay $10 to rip MP3's Made by Micro$oft
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User Rating: 2/10
Rather get ****** in the assby - May 3, 2004
Pros: Pros? Uhm, it's free? But so is the common cold.
Cons: I don't think I could freeze my computer more often if I stuck it in the arctic. Does it ever not make me reboot if I dare to run another program at the same time. None of my other media players cause this many problems, but some files only play on WMV. I
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User Rating: 
8/10
It's a great upgradeby - January 29, 2004
Pros: It has great features and very reliable
Cons: It does not have great support, even though you probably will never need to get service or support, also, it's not fast on pre-XP computers.
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User Rating: 9/10
Let?s be fair!by - December 15, 2003
Pros: I am a regular computer user as the majority of people are! Right. I don't wanna participate in this MP3 and WMA war, but I certainly want to say that the Final Version of WMP9 Series is just Stunning! It has many features that I awaited for along time,
Cons: Suggestion: I also know that WMP9 Series has some weak points, such as 1) Some of its best feature like Lossless Audio Compression is only available in Windows XP, Microsoft should consider that some people cannot afford expensive hardware and they cannot
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User Rating: 6/10
Free and Easyby - October 18, 2003
Pros: Able to burn CD's with little to no effort. This is coming from a user of Musicmatch (I even bought the full system, but couldn't get the Burner Plus feature to work without freezing.) I've burned almost nine cd's today with WMP version 9...no slowdowns
Cons: Very big consumer of RAM space. Try not to be on too many other programs at the same time.
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User Rating: 2/10
not worth the effortby - September 8, 2003
Pros: skins, visulations, many quality features
Cons: i've installed and reinstalled 3 time and still having trouble. i've checked my settings several times, antivirus, firewall,etc. but each time i come back, my preset stations are erased. i've studied this thoroughly and it's not my pc. freezes up over 6o%
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User Rating: 6/10
copy protect?by - September 2, 2003
Pros: what is wrong with you all, it is an option not an integrated part of the player! i have used wm9 for quite a while, and have moved my files between several computers without any problems. the only thing i don't like is the lack of encoding options (mp3
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User Rating: 
5/10
When it actually works it's great but it's not stableby - August 31, 2003
Pros: The interface is grand and the media handling very good.
Cons: requires too much horsepower for my trailing edge PC.
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User Rating: 8/10
good 4 powerfull computers, or else stick with winampby - August 25, 2003
Pros: all is said..it's the best...if you have a powerfull pc..or else..yes it craches, takes time to load and does funny stuff
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User Rating: 
3/10
Barf!by - August 24, 2003
Pros: its free but always needs updated
Cons: I stream movie playback on one system to another and the fast forward doesnt work. It didnt work in version 8 and I bet you it wont work in version 10,11,12,13
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User Rating: 6/10
I can watch movies on it!!!by - July 24, 2003
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Cons: It fades movies after playing a couple of seconds of'em. I seems to be some kind of copyright feature, but attempts also against the freedom of the user.
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User Rating: 9/10
Everything I look for in a media player.by - July 10, 2003
Pros: I used to be a Sonique user for the longest time, until I got XP and when I did, I decided to give WMP 9 a try. Since it had just came out when I got XP. I loved it. It was everything I look for in a media player. It sounds great, easy to install, and e
Cons: The only cons I come across are with the visualizations. If I switch to one that I've downloaded (not one that comes with the player) WMP will crash. Very strange, but overall and excellent player, MUCH better than Real One and Quicktime.
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User Rating: 9/10
The best media player out thereby - June 18, 2003
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Why? If you're given a piece of software as detailed and well-presented as WMP 9 absolutely FREE OF CHARGE, the answer is most certainly "YES". Whatever you think of Microsoft and their new DRM fefautures, this software is, without doubt, well worth upgrading to, esp. for XP users.
User Rating: 
7/10
A Fairly Painless Upgradeby - June 18, 2003
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Overall I found this a fairly painless upgrade. Previously I was using Media Player 7.1. I am running Windows 2000 SP3, so your mileage may vary. My biggest upgrade concern was that I would lose the previous contents of my Media Library. Indeed, my worst fear seemed to be realized. When I first entered the library, I was prompted as follows, "This is the first time you've run Media Library, would you like to search your hard drive for media?" Fortunately, I kept my wits and pressed on by answering "No". Once inside the Media Library, I discovered that my database had come across almost completely intact. There were, for example, a couple of playlist entries out of sequence. Also, some of my AC/DC songs were read as "AC;DC" which meant that three artists were created: "AC/DC", "AC", and "DC"! But, a little editing corrected both of these problems. WMP 9 automatically maintains files that correspond to the playlists in your library. Presumably this is so you can easily recreate your Media Library by importing backups of these files. Not a new concept to me, as I started backing up my playlists when I was running crash-a-holic Windows Me. So I guess it's nice that WMP 9 does this automatically, although there are a couple of quirks in the way it does it. From my faint praise, you're probably wondering why I recommended this program. I'm recommending it because WMP 9: 1. Has a sleek new appearance 2. Gives you access to new media formats 3. Has a few nice new features 4. Works about as well as the prior version 5. Wasn't a huge pain to upgrade, and 6. Didn't screw up anything else (e.g. Real One Player, EasyCD Creator, Quicktime, etc.). All things considered, this is about the best you can expect from a Microsoft product.
User Rating: 6/10
Run to RealOne!by - June 18, 2003
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I prefered Windows Media Player 8 over 9 and cross platform support sucks. Unless your DJ'ing stick with the free RealOne player.
User Rating: 1/10
it bites!by - June 18, 2003
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Downloading Media 9 and now my media player won't play any of the radio stations nor play any of the movies previews. I wish I could get rid of it and go back to my old windows media player that actually worked. Plus there is not any valid support to go to for this problem--unless you want to pay for it.
User Rating: 1/10
It's a horrible piece of software!by - June 18, 2003
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The PC I used had an unexpected reboot about 20% of the time whenever I use Windows Media Player 9.0. I lost a good deal of software I had not saved and I think Microsoft has to get their act together. They should have got their act together 0 years ago!
User Rating: 1/10
Stay Away!!by - June 18, 2003
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WMP is awful. Crashes without warning. Fails to initialize streaming media files. Very Flaky for burning CD's. No help from MS. Never like QT or RP but now forced to use for media files. MS & MP9 has effectively crippled my computer's use of media files. They should be held responsible (class-action lawsuit).
User Rating: 3/10
Kills Yahoo Launch Download Speedby - April 18, 2003
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Yahoo Launch had no problems with 300Kb/s downloads until installing WMP9.0 (Version 7 worked great). Now 128K is best it'll do. I find this on a lot of other 300K downloads. QT and RP1 have no problems with similar media files.
User Rating: 3/10
Bottom Line: CRASHES WHENEVER ITS WANTSby - March 26, 2003
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Good try microsoft, but i've had fewer crashes on the bumper cars ride at the amusement park. This is classic case of older versions are better, but we all want to say we have the latest and greatest. Needs more work, period.
User Rating: 3/10
MAKES VIEWING A PAINby - March 20, 2003
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With WMP8 i could make all the videos I wanted to watch full screen, no such luck with this version! It constantly has a large annoying bar at the top and bottom, and you can make these large bars any color you want EXCEPT black! the ONLY color which would make them ignorable. DO NOT INSTALL THIS PROGRAM!!
User Rating: 3/10
WMP 9 Renders CD Burners Useless!by - March 1, 2003
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DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS PROGRAM! I was a fan of MS until I downloaded WMP9. As soon as it installed, my burner stopped working. Lest one thinks it was the burner, I have tried two other burners, and tested the burners on other computers (not running WMP 9) where they worked fine. There is no support, no responses by MS to any of my query emails. I would roll back to WMP8 if the Restore Point had not been automatically deleted. BAH! I would appreciate any constructive suggestions for correcting the problem, short of waiting for MS to issue a patch.
User Rating: 7/10
An All-in-one Media Player AT LAST!!!by - February 26, 2003
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As I thought IE would be my browser forever, but I moved to Opera, the similar as I thought Winamp would be my media player forever, but I moved to WMP9 since I was dissapointed with the performance of Winamp 3.0. Winamp 2.xx was great, but Winamp 3.0 was a mistake. At least, that what made me decided to move to WMP9.0. Previous WMP player never beat Winamp at all, only an upgrade of WMP9.0 now beats a "downgrade" of Winamp 3.0. For the unavailability of old format MP3 decoder, who cares? People should start to realize that WMA sounds better with the same bit rate, and it offers a copyright protection. Only shame about the "not responding" when accessing songs on network resource. No, I'm not supporting MS, just my personal opinion
User Rating: 6/10
bad video qualityby - February 16, 2003
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whenever i viewed a .mpeg file with wmp 9.0 the screen goes blank or blurred for the last few seconds. after i roled back to 8.0 the things were normal again.does anyone has a solution as i want to use 9.0 for its better sound quality.
User Rating: 9/10
It's great but does not work with hiwire playerby - February 16, 2003
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the player is the best, however if you listen to stations like KFI in LA or KLAC(both clear channel stations) who use a hiwire play, the series 9 in most cases will not work. They will advise you to downgrade to the 7.1 player. this is true with at lease windows 98 2nd edition..It is incredible to me that hiwire has not found a solution to the incompatability problem. For most of us, downgrading just to hear their stations is not an option
User Rating: 5/10
Great for all but DVDs!by - February 7, 2003
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If you're only doing stuff with music, you can't go wrong with WMP9. But if you want to watch DVDs, DO NOT INSTALL THIS SOFTWARE! Not only will you be unable to play DVDs in WMP9, you won't be able to play them in ANY application!
User Rating: 1/10
Won't play my video files even some DVDsby - February 7, 2003
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This is the worst player of all. Microsoft has done it again. I am running on XP and installed version 9 then suddenly my video and mp3 files are not working. it doesn't even play the dvd's i rented at blockbuster. NEVER INSTALL WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 9 IF YOU'RE ON XP. THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN GET IT BACK TO VERSION 8 OR ANY OLDER VERSION.
User Rating: 9/10
THE Best Playerby - February 6, 2003
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Microsoft has really OUTDONE itself with WMP9 .It is one of the best players and only winamp uses less system resources than WMP9 .But WMP9 is much better than WinAMP(This omes from a diehard winamp fan)
User Rating: 
4/10
will send information to MS validating all licensesby - February 6, 2003
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Did any of you guys read the ELUA that comes with this upgrade? If so you found out that installing this upgrade ?will send information to MS validating all licenses.? What?s with that.
User Rating: 2/10
can't play my mpg'sby - February 4, 2003
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after installation i could no longer veiw some of my mpgs i get a broken link icon
User Rating: 4/10
Distort the hell out of MP3 playbackby - January 28, 2003
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There's something seriously wrong with MP3 playback. Initially I thought I was getting pitch variation at the start of playback (apart from poor sound quality generally). I did some frequency analysis tests and compared it against Ultra Player and sure enough, WMP9 mungs the hell of playback. Ultra Player had some top end distortion but nowhere near as bad as WMP9. See results at: http://members.tripod.com/pogen/ How do you uninstall this thing?
User Rating: 4/10
Snail Pace!!!!!by - January 27, 2003
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Is it just me or is anyone else experiencing their computer slowing down rapidly when this player is loaded up, up till now i dont think anyone else has mentioned this, apart from that everything is working ok for no, but then again ive only had it 5hours!!!!!
User Rating: 3/10
Had the potential, but failed.by - January 26, 2003
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I do not have the beta, the final has been released, so I'm reviewing the latter. First off, compared to the pervious versions Windows Media Player 9 has a host of new welcomed features and navagation. The sound is better ten fold, yet the video playback is nothing better than before. The bad comes in with compatability. I've tried this software on both Win2000 and XP, both came across the same fault. When playing certain files (notably .mpg and .mpeg) that are encoded with the DivX and/or latest Indeo codecs, the software trigger an error, and forces you to restart the program. Afterward, the software at times refuses to play said filetypes again, until a reboot. This, in my opinion, is a major downfall for such a nice attempt. And many others within my group share this same inconvience. The DVD playback under XP is nothing special, less than par, you're better off using the top of the line WinDVD or even PowerDVD for that matter. If you have 7 with the "service pack" there's no need to ungrade, and at the same time you maintain the stability of a somewhat better version.
User Rating: 9/10
In a word: dominantby - January 24, 2003
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Like all things Microsoft the version 9.0 is in my face all the time...it's everywhere no matter what I click....that said, I confess I like it and it's as good as freebies get. Having recently moved to XP, I enjoy the player a bit more than on Win 98 SE because it will rest in the taskbar.
User Rating: 3/10
If you want to hose your systemby - January 23, 2003
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...install this. What a load of crock. It makes explorer.exe hang for about a full minute. What a joke. It is a shame that I can install it on some machines but the one machine I want it to work on craps out. What ever happened to good ole uninstalls....this thing requires a system restore point to unintegrate it with the OS. its a crock.
User Rating: 2/10
Poor... don't recommend.by - January 23, 2003
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sometimes windows media player 9.0 can't decode moving pictures, even though other movie players work well. while i played moving picture, it looks like still images. it doesn't work. Moreover, during screening, there are some lines on the screen. so i don't use this.
User Rating: 7/10
Great! Except for one thing.by - January 23, 2003
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This is a great piece of software! However, the install program erased the ratings for all the songs I rated before while using the Beta and Release Candidate versions.
User Rating: 3/10
Caused my FireWire drives and camera to malfunction; no uninstall; this program is garbage - avoid iby - January 18, 2003
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Installation on WinXP SP1 system caused Firewire (1394) hard drives, DVD-Rom drives, and camera to malfunction. They had been working fine before install. Used XP's Restore function to rollback to Media Player version 8, and all the Firewire devices worked fine again. Tried another Media Player 9 install, and the Firewire devices again acted up. Got fed up and did another Restore rollback, and sure enough, the Firewire devices again worked fine. The Media Player 9 install also caused my MediaJukebox version 8.0.388 to malfunction, andmalfunction stopped after system was Restored back to Media Player 8. Thank Heavens for the Restore Point feature of XP, but restore points, unlike uninstall functions, don't stay in your system indefinitely, they disappear by date when your total restores go over the limit. Any software with no uninstall is risky, but for Microsoft to disseminate such a bug-ridden piece of software as WMP 9 for XP without an uninstall ought to be a crime. This application is very much still a beta, and Microsoft should have the integrity to so label it.
User Rating: 8/10
The best media player available.by - January 17, 2003
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I have over 2000 media files and I love the sorting features. Has excellent sound quallity and a pretty good interface. If you like to rip high quality MP3s you might be better off with Creative PlayCenter3. I love it and look foward to what the future holds for Media Player. Hopefully it does not try to prevent playing pirated music and media however...
User Rating: 9/10
Good Job @ Microsoft ^_^by - January 17, 2003
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Well, I have to admit that I was concerned before I installed this player, because MS "CLEARLY" states that people should turn on "System Restore" before installing it. However after succesfully install it, I am totally hooked and find out this is definitely the BEST media player around, even better than MusicMatch Jukebox and/or RealOne Player. I really don't understand why people complain about this application in this board, because I use it every single day without any problems, and some issues are already addressed in CNet's reviews. Not to mention all the options can be switched and modified by user's will. So now I don't even want to uninstall this great media player, and thanks for Microsoft for designing this easy-to-setup, to-organize, and to-operate program for its users *^_^*
User Rating: 7/10
Full control within MP9by - January 17, 2003
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I had messed around with earlier versions of Media Player, but I didn't see any great features over it vs. WinAmp vs. RealPlayer. I mean, I always had to open an explorer window and drag and drop MP3s into the player and then hit the play button. Nothing could give me full management of my music. I had bought several utilities for cleaning up the ID3 tags, etc. and those helped, but I was still looking for the one-stop-shop for music management. With MP9, things have changed. I have one source where I can organize and play my music (with the caveat that I did buy a MP3-recorder plugin). Hereafter, I now do all my music management from within MP9. It allows me to record CDs to MP3 on my hard drive, creates my playlists for me, and gives me info on the track currently playing. I am so convinced that this tool will effectively manage music that I am now in the process of converting some fairly extensive development I've done on playlist generators to work within the MP9 environment (originally written as a standalone system accessed via web pages).
User Rating: 4/10
No Fast Forward dooms this player!by - January 17, 2003
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It opens faster, plays .avi files that WMP 8 wouldn't, but no slider or control to move ahead in video or audio clips makes this player a real dog. Shame on you MickeySoft!@
User Rating: 6/10
Final Version worth the waitby - January 17, 2003
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So far, I am much more impressed with this version. I didn't install the beta (didn't have any need for beta versions), but the Final version created a Restore Point automatically (Win XP Home), and so far, has exceeded my expectations. While I never tried with previous versions, I appreciate that this version does sync with my MP3 player (Creative Jukebox). As far as proprietary file types go, I figure my MP3 player handles it, and the PC would be the only other place I'd listen to music, so it's a non-issue. Great improvements MS!
User Rating: 8/10
Better than WMP 8.0by - January 17, 2003
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Definitely better than 8.0. I have used it on Win2K and XP and it performs better than when I had WMP 8.0. It is more intuitive and fast. Kudos to Microsoft!
User Rating: 3/10
Lockups and Config Problemsby - January 17, 2003
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Seems player can't decide how to use my SoundBlaster correctly, as it plays CD's through multi codex at the same time. Conflicts with other software that might try to use the sound card at the same time including office and windows. Computer was error/crash free before the upgrade. It's also not so cool that I need to pay groups of other companies for encoders and such to make the thing really useful.
User Rating: 9/10
Best Media Program Everby - January 17, 2003
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I don't know how anyone can say that 6.4 is better, and that it's not worth the upgrade. It is definitelt worth the upgrade for all OS, especially XP.
User Rating: 3/10
Very poor recorderby - January 16, 2003
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I recently downloaded this awful program. Liked WM8, only used it on a limited basis, so thought I'd try it. Put a CD in, copied it, then tried to burn it, the process took over a half hour. Then went into my Roxio, copied the same CD in under 4 minutes, by-passing the hard drive all together. Why won't it let you simply copy a CD without downloading to your hard drive? During the process it took forever to "convert" the files, what is this? With Roxio I put a cd in the DVD drive, a blank one in the CD burner, open Ahead Nero and it's wizard ask me 3 simple questions. Then makes me a perfect copy in minutes that will play on any player I've ever owned (car, boombox, Home theater, clock radio even).
User Rating: 9/10
Great Package!by - January 16, 2003
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I like the new WMP9. I don't see what the "Big Deal" is about,not being able to record "mp3's"? I prefer recording my CD audio tracks in Windows Media Audio and the use of VBR during recordings. I never did like when I rip a CD, it created two folders I have to click through... I would have liked to have had that option with folders.
User Rating: 3/10
Disslikes Kazaaby - January 16, 2003
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I am a great user of kazaa. I installed media player 9 for my windows xp based pc and found that when i wanted to preview music. It tried to play it in Internet Explorer and with no install it is even worse.
User Rating: 5/10
Tried twice- don't botherby - January 16, 2003
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Using windows 98SE with a Intel 850MV mother board, this program has a pitch change in the first 5 seconds of play. Under the rating default the files replicate themselves when opening the group (5 - excellent).
User Rating: 7/10
Look, before opening your big mouthby - January 16, 2003
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Well, you people OBVIOUSLY don't understand the EULA very well. It gives the PROGRAM admin access, otherwise it wouldn't work right, like alot of the other programs won't work with restriction lockdowns. That's what you fools get for running XP Pro, and not understanding what an Admin even is. As for the copy protection, IT IS EASY TO DISABLE. They do *NOT*, I repeat do *NOT* force you to use it by any means. Grow a brain people.
User Rating: 
10/10
WMP9 Toolbar ROCKSby - January 14, 2003
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I LOVE the Windows Media Toolbar! I didn't think WMP9 was a very great "upgrade" until I saw that when it's minimized you can add a WMP toolbar to your Taskbar... This is SO SWEET!!!
User Rating: 7/10
GOOD PRODUCT BETTER THAN 7by - January 6, 2003
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i used wmp7 for a while the nswitched to realone player. then a week ago i tried wmp9 for the first time! Overall it is good but it cant beat realone player. it does have faster loading time than wmp7 and takes up less system recources.
User Rating: 5/10
cant play some games cause of itby - January 4, 2003
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its really good but theres a problem.. i can't play some of my fav. games for example i can't play nhl 2003 for some reason. and i cant uninstal media player so im screwed.
User Rating: 4/10
Yo! Sucker Ate my Audioby - December 26, 2002
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You look good but you lack smartness. You play video but no audio. Fit for nothing tool even after unstalling it ain't giving my audio back. What a wacko!
User Rating: 8/10
my player of choiceby - December 23, 2002
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I've always been chided by my friends for preferring microsofts media player over winamp and several times I've tried to make the switch to winamp. But there's something about media player that keeps dragging me back. Now with series 9 I feel no want to try winamp again, the sound is better, the media library and now playing options are better, hell, everything is better! I don't want to like it, it is by microsoft after all, but as with Windows XP it seems that MS is getting its act together. This is the best media player you'll find, bar none.
User Rating: 7/10
Best Version of Media Player Yetby - December 21, 2002
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A good program. Makes converting your CDs to WMA easy and the new equaliser is great. The sound quality is top notch. I used to be a Winamp fan but after Winamp 3 which was a resources hog and crashed regularly I'm now converted to Media Player. It loads swiftly and does its job fine. If you need more features simply buy a third party program.
User Rating: 3/10
Good But Can't Remove itby - December 21, 2002
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I installed Media Player 9.0 and it has been working great. I like to watch videos on Launch.com. Then I kept getting a prompt that I needed to load an update to run it anymore. I let the update run. Later I tried to listen to videos on Launch.com. I get the message that they do not support Media Player 9.0 to uninstall and go back to a previous version. I didn't run system restore prior to loading the update and now I can not return to a previous version unless I reinstall Windows XP. Microsoft should of made this capable of easily uninstalling not part of the OS. Really irritating.
User Rating: 2/10
Not able to use other online productsby - November 29, 2002
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Not able to play radios on other websites, can't play videos on other webpages, doesn't support features online
User Rating: 10/10
A glowing thumbs up!!!by - November 29, 2002
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I agree with others, people who have posted negatively havent used WMp 9.0 extensively. I am now using RC 1 and have found no bugs whatsoever. Sound quality is amazing, the new wma codecs are superb, the visualizations stunning, taskbar view, great... Considering this is free, it is a steal. It is better than MusicMatch, Media Jukebox (bug filled piece of garbage), and winamp (too slow) sure, you have to pay 10 dollars to rip into mp3 format . But unless you have a portable device that locks you into MP3, there is no reason to use that antiquated format. WMA codecs are great, smaller, and siund better. And they DO NOT require copy protection so you can burn your own cds to listen in the car or transfer to you rportable device
User Rating: 8/10
YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!!!by - November 27, 2002
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The Beta Version Media Player 9 is great. It has alot of great new features and more but for one word of caution! For those whom use Yahoo's Launch Radio - The two do not work together yet! Yahoo claims it's trying to work out the conflict the two have together and in the mean time, I choose to reinstall the earlier version of Media Player so as to not loose Yahoo Launch. Great beta - Microsoft has issues to still work out though!
User Rating: 8/10
Flawless!! (If you have XP)by - November 20, 2002
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I think how strongly you rate WMP 9 depends on whether or not you run XP. WMP 9 has some really cool features that are only available if you are running XP, such as controls that slide in and out of view when you are running full screen video, and a mini player that allows you to watch videos while surfing the net or checking your mail. Bottom line, WMP 9 is not that great of an improvement if you aren't running XP, but if you are it's a MUST HAVE!
User Rating: 1/10
Missing files frequentlyby - November 19, 2002
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I downloaded Windows Media 9 after using 7.1 since it came out and being very happy having no problems. Once I got 9 many files turned up missing. I tried everything but couldn't seem to fix it.
User Rating: 4/10
NEEDS ALOT OF WORKby - November 9, 2002
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the features and speed of windows media 9 are improved but there is alot of things that dont work .. like if you move a mp3 album to a new folder it will screw up the link in wmp hat means reset your whole playlist. also i get slow motion video and any file that is converted plays in slow motion. other then that it's better TNT_COMPUTERS@HOTMAIL.COM
User Rating: 2/10
Can't find away to remove the devil.by - November 8, 2002
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Okay... So I didn't read the fine prints and warnings about how there is no uninstalling procedure for the beta. I also did keep my system restore turned off. Now I hosed my Media player after playing with codec?s and the register and no longer able to play video on it. Just think that any company (especially as big as MS) should supply some means of uninstall or installing back an older version (even if it's a pain in da @$$). Well... been at it for a few hours... will need to find a way or wait for the final release, or reinstall my whole OS. Not cool Microsoft... Not cool. Nother reason why Mac are so much more forgiving and tactful. Guess I'm going to have to bug my friends (Bill's slaves) down the street.
User Rating: 5/10
Poor user experienceby - November 6, 2002
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The quality of the media that the player uses is high, but the interface is complicated, there are too many useless features, and the whole player feels sluggish and unresponsive. It doesn't feel polished, (version 9!) it doesn't feel stable, and the interface is infernal. And the visualisations suck. On the whole, I would recommend winamp or another lightweight stable player.
User Rating: 1/10
You gotta be kiddin meby - October 31, 2002
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This is the worst piece of software I've ever seen. It completly messed up all my video settings. I'm not able to watch ANY videos and guess what? I can't uninstall it either. So I have to either format my PC or buy a new one to watch a video in it. Great software, yeah. This is why I pirate Microsoft software.
User Rating: 1/10
Avoid like the plague!by - October 30, 2002
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Completely trashed my ZoneAlarm running under Windows 98. Had to uninstall both and reinstall ZoneAlarm. I'm lucky it didn't do any other damage...never again! Stick with WinAmp.
User Rating: 5/10
won't play all previous versions-- very sloppyby - October 28, 2002
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go to jpostradio.com their audio is all wmp ver 7? and ver 9 won't play these links i refuse to sys restore to regain functionality wmp should as first priorities be aware and assure that all versions of wmp audio will work before releasing the beta am i the only one that this web sites audio won't work with wmp 9? very sloppy
User Rating: 5/10
Crashes My XP PRO, like a PROby - October 23, 2002
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THis program is great and all and even better than 7.0, but I cant handle the blue screen error Pages LOCKED PRoblem.. My computer has never crashed since now,, and now when u run 7.0 it doesnt work anymore. THANX MS
User Rating: 1/10
Don't download !!!by - October 21, 2002
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Not sure what the hell I was thinking when I downloaded this 'virus' of a program. NO uninstaller, can't delete it manually either, the files keep reappearing. Can't log on to the net from wmp to get radio stations, can't play most audio file types. Most visualizations can't be played full screen. Too much of a headach. Only way to get rid of is to System Restore (Windows XP) or reformat (unless someone came up with a easier way)
User Rating: 9/10
A huge improvement over WMP 7by - October 18, 2002
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I used to really hate using WMP 7, fiddly playlists, it was slow to start up, and WMA didn't deliver all it promised. But WMP 9 has become my player of choice - a much improved playlist system, excellent quality with WMA 9, and fast start up. I'm no Microsoft fan, and I really want to be able to hate WMP 9; but I can't... Windows Media is a part of Microsoft that actually makes decent software, and the new WMA9 codec is superb. Just because Microsoft made it doesn't mean it has to be buggy and insecure... Download it now.
User Rating: 10/10
Much better than the previous versionby - October 16, 2002
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1. Works better than WM Player 8. 2. My Nike player works a lot better with this version 3. Cancelling movies while buffering from slow sites does not freeze the media player any more !!! Surely worth the download.
User Rating: 1/10
It is not posible to seek in movie when the movie play!by - October 15, 2002
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It is not posible to seek in movie when the movie play!
User Rating: 8/10
Better Than Winampby - October 11, 2002
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I used to hate Windows Media Player, but this release changed my mind. It sounds better with the default settings than my Winamp did all tuned up with a DSP, and sounds just as good as Quintessential Player, my previous media player. It also loads faster than both of those programs, and has a better interface. My favorite new feature is the way the player can minimize into the taskbar (in XP), and lets you control your music from the taskbar. I have no idea what the 64% of people who rated this product negatively were thinking, but I definately think this is worth downloading.
User Rating: 6/10
fancy crapby - October 10, 2002
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has some pretty fancy features,great file management but i dont know y it doesnt play half of my files speciallay .avi formats and vcd's.i use win media xp and hav no problems.hope the final version of 9 can get rid of the small glitches.
User Rating: 9/10
Don't let the nay sayers get to you.by - October 4, 2002
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Review is dead wrong. Just look at the player and you'll see the reviewer was looking at it on an old OS and didn't even bother to see if it locks music to your PC by default (it doesnt). I've had no problems.
User Rating: 3/10
It's a waste of timeby - October 4, 2002
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I want to say nice things but I had the old version and I was fine with it, until I downloaded this version 9 it's " Basura"... I advice anyone not to even try it...
User Rating: 2/10
I feel dupedby - October 3, 2002
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This is without a doubt one of the worst consumer traps Microsoft has yet put forth. When its not crashing it wont let me fast forward video files and it no longer even recognizes some file types. Stay away from this one unless you want to take the risk of reinstalling Windows if you decide that you dont like it because theres not even an option to uninstall. Who's idea was it to throw this hucker into the fray anyway?
User Rating: 8/10
Great but remember beta is betaby - October 2, 2002
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The encoding is great with WMA Vbr, small size great sound. The auto playlist feature is great. When encoding a large number of CDs a feature that should have been added is a notification the CD is done (IE CD Eject or Sound). Two things bad I have noticed(This may be due to firewire). A. If the CD is badly damaged WMP locks up. Musicmatch doesn't have a problem. It detect and switches to Analog. B. Sometime the progress bar disappears. It's encoding but the bar is gone. All in all I can't wait for the final release but until at a minimum A is fixed. I use MusicMatch to encode and WMA to play.
User Rating: 4/10
The Windows version before 9.0 was better then thisby - October 2, 2002
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There is barely and more features as before, the color is very low, and the whole setup was bas, i rate this thumbs down, i know they can do better then this
User Rating: 3/10
After months of waiting.. what changedby - October 1, 2002
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Windows media player 9 is alright, it plays alright but so did version 6. The only great difference among 6, 7 and 9 is the layout and even so personaly i liked the simplicity of 6 better. Anyway what ever happened to version 8? I have lots of problems with the newer windows media player crashing. The product is obviously made by microsoft, it's too tempting to include some kind of holes in freeware like the whole mp3 thing, who wants to encode in the windows audio format that pretty much only windows media player can run.
User Rating: 5/10
Good, but not good enough.by - September 29, 2002
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WMP 9 is easier to use granted, but it's not a must download. No MP3 support still, what's up with that? If you are happy with your current WMP then keep it. If you aren't happy with your current WMP then wait I guess for WMP 10, because WMP 9 isn't much better then WMP 8 or even WMP 7.1.
User Rating: 5/10
has bugsby - September 26, 2002
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i find that certain video files - music vids or just general mpeg's, avi's or similar - have a tendancy to be played at a slower speed WITHOUT the option to correct it being availible. you can user adjust the speed, but every so often you get a video that simply plays slow. Shame such a small bug spoils what would otherwise be a great all round player
User Rating: 3/10
too buggy .. can't play it's own wma filesby - September 25, 2002
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this isn't beta it's alpha .. be careful before you install and make sure you realize uninstall is a big problem
User Rating: 8/10
Wait till the full version comes outby - September 21, 2002
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WMP 9.0 has many new features but is heavy on system resources. The player minizes in the taskbar but dsen't allow opening of individual files. Only playsits can be opened. These are the pnly problems I found in the player
User Rating: 4/10
"Holy Computer-Glitch, Batman!"by - September 20, 2002
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Programs such as WMP9 have more holes than a block of Swiss cheese - Holes mean less security, not much in the way of stability, no real tech support: all adds up to one thing = Finish creating the product BEFORE trying to suck us all into the black hole of upgrades & updates.
User Rating: 1/10
Winampby - September 20, 2002
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You just cant beat it. Winamp is more compact and able to do much more and MUCH BETTER then Windows Media can ever do. Windows Media is just a bunch of loaded in features that nobody in a regular basis use. Their server isnt up to date to the newest codec. While other players are beating by far. Winamp is owning with their 3.0 release. As soon as Winamp3 perfects its Video playback and such it will surely make Windows Media eating its dust.
User Rating: 5/10
Read the EULA! It gives *total* control to MS.by - September 20, 2002
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Read the license agreement for this software! It gives Microsoft full administrative access to your machine. No way should anyone click through such an agreement.
User Rating: 1/10
Give me MP8 back!!!by - September 20, 2002
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How do I uninstall this beast??,it has corrupted many files and reports file as being lost presumably because of MS's paranoia of copyright infringement. ..Lousy full screen playback,shrinks back slowly when you move mouse and I can't find a way to disable it. It truncates the file size making the playback bar useless. Many times it just returns AVIs back to the beginning when trying to jump points...MS please post a patch ASAP or give us an uninstaller
User Rating: 4/10
SHOUYLD HAVE LEFT THE OLD ONE. lESS TROUBLE. iT LOOKS LIKE THEY HAD TO PUT SOMETHING OUT THER AND SPby - September 19, 2002
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7.2 WAS EASIER AND MORE STABLE
User Rating: 1/10
STOP! *****YOU'LL BE SORRY***** STOP!by - September 19, 2002
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DO NOT DOWN LOAD IT, YOU WILL NOT BE ABEL TO USE YOUR DVD AND DOWNLOAD MUSIC, Can't encode CD audio tracks in MP3 format or play back DVD WITHOUT PAYING A FEE! TO A 3RD PARY.... YOU DON'T NEED THE 9.0, ALSO STILL HAS BUGS!, IN IT'S BETA FORM.
User Rating: 4/10
A blight upon the PCby - September 18, 2002
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1) Hijacks my system. I can't for the life of my get winamp to play my m3u files anymore, even though everything is set to do it. 2) full screen movies. Why the hell is it SCALING!? The "full screen" scales the movie in and out if you move to mouse so you can see the control bar and play list. UGH! 3) No uninstall. Nuff said. 4) Slow, the program is slow and jittery when it starts music or movies. 5) It does have good cd-burning and various other features, but it is so huge and un godly uyn weildy that it is unusable. 6) Making a playlist is still impossible to do easily. 7) The interface still sucks.
User Rating: 3/10
i hate itby - September 18, 2002
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if you installed this version of media player you will get screwd by microsoft.if you read the agreement it states that by you installing this thing,you give microsoft the full right to search your pc for illigal nedia,in other words media files like divx microsoft will delte of your pc or messed it up.i basically dont agree with this,i loved the media player but now is just gettin stupid.my next pc will be a mac.just to show microsoft that i dont agree with what there doing.
User Rating: 3/10
Code bloat meets copy protectionby - September 17, 2002
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High CPU utilization (2-4 seconds of 100%) on a 1.8GHz P4 with 512mb of DDR when pressing the Stop button. Refuses to play several AVI files. Copy protection is a definite turnoff here. No support from Microsoft for betas either, the only good feature is good quality video.
User Rating: 1/10
Makes real one hangby - September 17, 2002
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I had to reformat to fix the effects of Media Player 9. Media Player made the video in kazaa not work. Also real one does not work after installing. It's to bad, I'd really like having both Media Player and Real One. If I have to choose between them, Real One is way more stable.
User Rating: 10/10
Factual Inaccuraciesby - September 17, 2002
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It is very disappointing that this article has as many factual inaccuracies as it does: 1. There is NO default for copy protection. It is entirely up to the end-user to decide on first-attempt. 2. The screenshot is most unflattering- showing a mere dialog of the UI and on Win9x no less. Most early adopters/beta testers are running Windows XP. This screenshot doesn't represent anything that is Windows Media Player 9 Series. I wonder about bias. 3. Consumers already pay for DVD decoders once when they buy a new PC or for home-built white-box systems, when they purchase a DVD player (included in the software). A very small percentage of those users unable to get a replacement DVD decoder for the one originally supplied actually have to pay for one. 4. The product is Windows Media Player 9 Series, not Windows Media Player 9.0. I'm very disappointed. Many of the user reviews of this player have been based on these factual inaccuracies without checking out the real deal.
User Rating: 4/10
THIS PROGRAM SUCKS!!!by - September 16, 2002
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I tried this program for a few days and found that it had alot of attractive features that made me hopeful that this is the "right stuff" for my CD library and burning CD's. Guess what it didn't allow me to burn a single CD. What was Microsoft thinking when it tossed this piece of doo doo out there for the public to play with? Come on guys you can do better than this!!
User Rating: 2/10
Doesnt workby - September 16, 2002
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Installed this over windows media player 8 and it wont play windows media files or windows media streams without crashing and now i find out the only way of removing it is a rollback!! Not good!
User Rating: 10/10
good improvementby - September 15, 2002
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love the mini taskbar player. Better video quality. Can't wait for the final version.
User Rating: 3/10
It's WORSE!by - September 15, 2002
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Since I installed the WMP 9, I can not playback my WMA files and it automaticly lock up all my media files that I can not playback on another computer! I even try other players, but none of them works. The worst thing about it is it can't uninstall it! The DVD playback and user interface are better then WMP version 8, but overall, it's not worth to upgrade. I am afraid I have to reinstall my Operation System again!
User Rating: 8/10
Not perfect, but WAAAAAY better than Realby - September 15, 2002
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It's got some quirks, but I'd use WMP over Real anyday. The interface is slick and streaming w/o buffering and smooth playback for slow connections are incredible. I'm not a fan of the new digital rights stuff, but overall, thumbs up!
User Rating: 5/10
9.0 GOTA GOby - September 15, 2002
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THIS STEMS SUCK NEEDS LOTS OF IMPROVMENT BADLY JUST CRASED MY SYSTEM I CAN NOT PLAY AVI MOVIES OR VCD JUST SHOWS A BLANK PINK SCREEN IT HAS INFECTEDMY SYSTEM 7.1 IS BETTER TO ANY WAYS
User Rating: 4/10
What happened to my CODECS???by - September 15, 2002
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While a great item for music, it seems that our friends at (msoft) have devised themselves a little moneymaker to replace what I had included in my purchase of WIN XP-PRO. I can no longer play the files which worked prior in media player, so I guess its back to some third party players.
User Rating: 10/10
best everby - September 15, 2002
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Hi. I don't know what the users voting no on this are smoking. There are a lot of new features in this version, and has a very good interface and I like it very much.
User Rating: 1/10
Destroyed my ability to play files!by - September 15, 2002
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I previously have Windows Media Player Series 8. As a KaZaA user, I download several different types of files as well, especially MPEG and AVI files. Series 8 could only play MPEG files when I downloaded it, but when I found a "Nimo Codec" I could finally play AVI files. With Series 9, I am not able to play MPEG or AVI! Do not download or buy!
User Rating: 6/10
_I_ won't surrender control over my own files.by - September 15, 2002
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Odd review. It feels slower, and I don't here a difference. But most important, the standard is MP3. And this release makes it harder to have faith in Windows Media format
User Rating: 2/10
Microsoft's usual monopoly play.by - September 15, 2002
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It's the usual Microsoft thing. Make it possible to do something so people looking at feature lists will get sucked in, then make it as hard as possible to do anything other than what Microsoft wants to let you do. Any more of this, and I'll sacrifice my investment in Windows-compatible apps and run screaming to MacOS or FreeBSD.
User Rating: 5/10
Too Many bugs even for a betaby - September 15, 2002
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Doesn't co-exist with many on line configurations. Causes meltdown. Lots of problems reading files. It can't be uninstalled See msnews.microsift.com m.p.w.beta before trying
User Rating: 1/10
It crashes all the time!by - September 15, 2002
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I was unable to run it for more than 5 minutes without a crash! It happens all the time!
User Rating: 10/10
Awsome upgradeby - September 14, 2002
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Excellent features in terms of media rating and categorizing. It looks slick and it's fast. I wish it had a built in MP3 encoder but no big deal -you get a plug in. In fact, I probably prefer a plug in when you consider a free MP3 encoder would be very limited as is in most free players.
User Rating: 1/10
A nightmare! Stick to the old one!by - September 14, 2002
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This new Beta 9 WMP completely destroyed all of my previous audio possibilities in both music and news!I can´t even listen to my own CDs! I´ve tried to unistall it 30 times,but it´s impossible.This is so unfair!
User Rating: 3/10
Too Buggyby - September 14, 2002
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I knew that it was a beta when it came out i downloaded it, so i knew the consequences, but i didn't expect this. For some stupid reason, it can't find a connection to the net, so the homepage doesn't load, the internet radio doesn't work, and neither do the many video streams that i like to watch. I really would've expected microsoft to come with a half decent version of the product, especially seeing as the most hyped about thing is the video streaming, i don't care about the size of the file, if i can't even download it in the first place.
User Rating: 1/10
i never rate, but this S**KS!!!by - September 14, 2002
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Hit on fastforward or try to move the slider so it skips ahead in the movie, and it starts AGAIN from point zero. Nuff said? I program w/ .NET Microsoft tools and usually like MS, but this is the WORST piece of CR*P I have seen in many years. The DivX players look like mature products compared to this piece of junk. SHAME MICROSOFT
User Rating: 2/10
another M$ product.by - September 14, 2002
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Seriously folks, you shouldnt rely on MS so much, take some time to learn other programs and you will be better off later.
User Rating: 6/10
Good for looks, Ok with the musicby - September 14, 2002
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Windows Media Player is a new look with new features and an awesome taskber miniplayer, but the sound quality is the same. Avi and Wav files don't work as good as with this, but it has good mp3, mpg, wma and wmv support. My wav files get completely blurred and I can't even understand anything.
User Rating: 7/10
Best media player I've ever seen!by - September 13, 2002
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Windows Media Player 9 is undoubtedly the best out all of the current media players. Although it isn't as reliable as the previous version, I love the mini-player in the taskbar. It also makes it so easy to keep track of your music. I don't care if you can't record MP3's from CD's, I've converted all my MP3s to WMA anyway.
User Rating: 4/10
Misses the pointby - September 13, 2002
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Quality is decent, but assumes that entertainment/music is the only thing streaming is good for. An odd position considering the lock that M$ has on the corporate desktop.
User Rating: 4/10
Windows Media player 9by - September 13, 2002
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I can't believed I was so foolish as to install this. Now I can't play my *.avi files on another machine. I ripped a movie created *avi file copied to CD now they wont play. I use third party ripper and I copy using third party product and I dont know what MS did but nothing is readable I will have to format to rid my self of this virus. If you want to see just how bad this is try deleted files from the c
progra~1(windows media player subdir in DOS they pop right back in! it operates like the worlds ultimate Virus.
User Rating: 5/10
MP3 Player?by - September 12, 2002
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Hey. I am a FERRETT when it comes to information. I can find out ANYTHING. I will NOT let WMP play my MP3's until it sounds as good as Audio Active. Far and away the BEST sounding MP'3 Player ANYWHERE. To quote THEM? "The world's best-sounding Windows MP3 player. There are lots of free MP3 players out there. And a lot of them do some pretty whiz-bang stuff... none of which has anything to do with audio playback. Mini-browsers? Gimme a break! Audioactive Player is gimmick-free. It's a thin-client player with studio-reference playback provided by the latest Fraunhofer MPEG decoding algorithms. And the essential tools you can't do without, like M3U playlist support with integrated editing and ID3 tag editor." It's virtually unheard of. Hopefully this can help to change that. Best of all? It's FREE! http://www.audioactive.com/download/default.htm Try it, I'm an ex high-end Audio Guy. I know this thing is GOOD. (*Then email me and thank me for affecting your life so profoundly.... ;>
User Rating: 2/10
More like Alpha then Betaby - September 11, 2002
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So many bugs, in a seemingly early release. It was nice of Microsoft to release this "beta" product, but it would be nicer if it works. Hopefully by the time of final release they will have worked out many annoying issues such as not being able to play certain "copywrited" material without certain consent to unlock it.
User Rating: 5/10
good but have some proplems make it failby - September 10, 2002
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the fast forward key doesnt work proparley also it work ok with xp what about other windows
User Rating: 4/10
Microsoft Media Player 9.1984by - September 10, 2002
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You are getting sleepy, wery, wery, sleepy... you vill now download this softvare..yes, it iss good, wery, wery, good. you vill wote for bill gates for president.
User Rating: 4/10
Slows down all my songsby - September 10, 2002
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I can't figure it out, but it sounds like a walkman running out of batteries. If that gets fixed, the player will be a significant upgrade.
User Rating: 4/10
Wait until all the bugs are outby - September 9, 2002
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It crashed my xp system....and as with Windows XP release...it has to much wrong to invest in it now
User Rating: 8/10
Great beta productby - September 9, 2002
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I love this WMP edition. It does most things better than the competition and only Winamp (with thirdparty downloads) can compare now. The codecs are better in this edition for playing all manner of files. Playlist control is much improved over version. For example ther is not a sort function for songs in a playlist in WMP8, but in 9 there is. You also have more control over the song display information in 9 where you can change the column descriptors for all displayed tracks. The best inclusions for me, as someone who uses whole home mp3/wma audio, are the new crossfader/autoleveling functions found under view/settings. This allows your playlist to play as if it were a dj mix as opposed to songs that end discretely. The last major improvement I've had the time to discover is what microsoft calls the "miniplayer" function. Much more than a simple skin mode, it places a fully functional media player toolbar on the windows taskbar. You now fast forward rewind, etc in the taskbar without having a screen display betraying the fact your are listening to music on your computer at work. A pop-up screen comes up, as well as a dialog window, letting you know what song you are fast forwarding or rewinding to! Nicely done! Now if only they allow crossfading and/or autoleveling for CD recordings (like Nero)and single song repeat instead having to create a playlist for one song... blakjedi
User Rating: 6/10
Good Product- but not for allby - September 9, 2002
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This is a good product. It works great in XP and is as feature rich as any jukebox. Your'e out of luck if you do not have XP as there is no tagging available, which makes the product useless. I'm opting for MusicMatchbox because it has all the features I need. I used to use RealJukebox but am leaving because they make it mandatory to pay $10 per month to get all of the same features for RealOne. If Microsoft were smart they would have recognized that not all users are ready to move to XP-- why hamper the product for users of older Windows versions. This is a dumb move.
User Rating: 7/10
Doesn't work with Zone Alarm 3by - September 9, 2002
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Nice but I'm not upgrading. Won't stream with Zone Alarm due to all the reporting it attempts to do.
User Rating: 3/10
You have to watch from the beginning?by - September 9, 2002
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I have many long video files. For some reason many of them no longer seek. If you plan to watch an hour long movie you better watch it to the end - because you will may have to start over from the beginning. I uninstalled - and in XP that is a pain - had to go back to a checkpoint - which took an hour and used half a gigabyte of disk space creating an "uncheckpoint" checkpoint.
User Rating: 3/10
No online streaming and no unistall.by - September 9, 2002
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Looks cool with some good new features, BUT I can no longer listen to streaming audio or video. "Access Denied". Evidently I can't get a license to listen to online media. The Microsoft news groups confirm a problem like mine, but no answer. There is no successful way to uninstall WMP9 and get back your old settings. I have no choice but to stick with WMP9. I hope to see a fix soon. Read the news groups first before deciding to (snicker) upgrade.
User Rating: 2/10
What are they taking everybody for, M_O_R_O_N_S ?by - September 9, 2002
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This is unbelievable. To think, that I would ever use software, which prohibits me from sharing my own private property! Let alone copying it.
User Rating: 2/10
nothin' but trouble...by - September 9, 2002
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it caused all kinds of problims with IE, and all media functions of my pc took forgver to launch...
User Rating: 10/10
Awesome and DVD plackback is wow.by - September 9, 2002
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hey i always liked WMPx and winamp they both do the job , but WMP9 is nealty autmatically loads VCD's and DVD's and mp3's sorts it and i just have to click the play button and chill out.
User Rating: 1/10
Next to MusicMatch 2 words "Well Done"by - September 9, 2002
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Hello fellow readers! from me heres the bottem line you will read this and that good bad about XP and its player, but here it goes XP is a pain in the @$$ but a cool O/S NOW bout the player wmp9 is hott maintains microsoft originality innovation and style yeah so it doesnt have ALL that but its a 180 turn around from b4 and more importantly it doesnt flash rip off ideas from other players....SO my advice c'mon give it a shot itz KOO and something new! PeACe OuT! p.s. MusicMatch & WMP9 RULE real,winamp droool..
User Rating: 7/10
What do you want?by - September 9, 2002
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If Microsoft put out a DO-ALL free media player, then the industry would cry afoul because Microsoft would be maintaining their supposed monopoly. By not including DVD or MP3 support, it allows 3rd party developers to make some money off Microsoft for a change, and gives users a choice. Do you want a Microsoft Monopoly or do you want a choice?
User Rating: 7/10
Full Screen mode does not workby - September 9, 2002
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Full Screen mode does not work. My PC is W2000 Pro (SP3)with 512 Mb RAM and a GeForce2 MX400 video card with 32 Mb RAM. Also missing the Error Correction option when ripping CDs to the Hard drive...
User Rating: 5/10
An Audio Step Backwardsby - September 9, 2002
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While I like most of the new features in MP9 It seems odd that I can no longer get surround sound with my Audigy/Klipsch 5.1 setup. Only the two front speakers and subwoofer work. I have changed every setting I can find to "5.1 surround" but it defaults back to standard stereo speakers. I hope that this is just a "beta" issue and the final version will be fixed.
User Rating: 7/10
Good, still needs workingby - September 9, 2002
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I used to never even touch Windows Media Player until WindowsXP and now it's great. MP9 only makes it better. Sleeker looks, more options (I love the alter song speed function). The only gripe I have with it is that it slows down my system inbetween songs (which never happened before downloading it). I'm sure for the full release it will be worked out.
User Rating: 1/10
.Net: The era of junk apps.by - September 9, 2002
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WMP9 is a joke. Why is XP and .Net so great? They go and change VB7 to a whole new interface as well as different options and delete hundreds of options, lets not forget a modified language. They have reached the step to limiting the media section of the internet. Nice graphics and interface, but were the heck is the quality and diversity of Media? I think I'll stick with Winamp 3.
User Rating: 6/10
winamp looks and plays betterby - September 9, 2002
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winamp still wins hands down in terms of the look and feel. winamp's skins and visualization are simply miles and miles ahead of mplayer.
User Rating: 3/10
Controlling your mediaby - September 8, 2002
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The fact that they are trying to control your media are big brother, who is Microsoft to tell me that I can't play a song in the 5 computers that I have in my house... Once a song is played on a computer, you?re stuck playing on that computer. It is not compliant with MPEG 4, which is what all the mobiles are supporting and the new Digital TV standard. The fact that I am limited on encoding with it is frustrating but will never be addressed. The people have asked MS to provide a media player and not an advertising, controlled news media panel (Read as Dump TV) but this is what they are providing us. The fact that it has taken WMP 9 versions to become this stable is sad, and some items are still not addressed such as choosing a different MP3 player, 9 takes over your computer with vengeance.
User Rating: 1/10
Although good it has problemsby - September 8, 2002
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As PC Win XP admin it works ok, but on limited accounts it DOES NOT WORK, Microsoft should have placed a way to uninstall this idiot beta program.
User Rating: 6/10
Cool it.by - September 8, 2002
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Yes, I admit the lack of MP3 encoding is a bit annoying, but I don't really have any reason to complain since I don't encode MP3s. Take into account it still is a beta...and so many people are so sickeningly paranoid. Whatcha got to worry about?
User Rating: 7/10
The best so far...by - September 8, 2002
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Microsoft have finally given Windows Media Player an awesome upgrade in 9. with there new marketing strategy on the product they are committed to making WMP work. version 9 see's mass improvements on UI, good extra options, resource optimizations, better intergration into XP, and most importantly better playlist handling, and meta data collecting. my only problem with it, is it's current early beta stability & it's awful incompatibility with CD's (hope that gets fixed) overall windows media player 9 is well worth picking up.
User Rating: 4/10
Microsoft tightens it's grip.by - September 7, 2002
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This is just more of the same from Microsoft. The player is average, at best. But, this player has nothing to do with improving a product. It's just setting users up for even more dependence on the MS platform. Shareware, and freeware, do all the things this software does, and more, and better. Why bother with this. Why allow yourself to be locked in.
User Rating: 8/10
Best Media Player Everby - September 7, 2002
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This player is so packed with features. Task bar player is great, advanced tag editor is great. The Autoplaylists rule. Tried out the pressplay integration and I have to say they really got it right. People have it wrong wrt to the copy protection. MS has actually taken a step in the right direction - there is no default for copy protection. And everyone complaining about the EULA is just engaging in conspiracy theory. MS has made major strides. I will definitely switch from WinAMP.
User Rating: 5/10
Get back to basics!by - September 7, 2002
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Doesn't do the basic stuff you want it to do: play media quickly, well, and reliably. Can't play ASF files, won't allow you to scrub forward/backward on SOME movies, and won't rip to MP3 without paying for it! Really disappointing, I must say - I was looking forward to this version - hopefully they'll get their act together when they release the final version.
User Rating: 7/10
Not yetby - September 6, 2002
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I tried it, it failed.It is not ready. Too many faults and no uninstaller, for once good thing I had XP.
User Rating: 6/10
What do you want for free ?by - September 6, 2002
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A slightly better play back of video's. Music sounded a little better than older version but still not as good as it does in some other players.
User Rating: 8/10
Jeez, you microsoft haters need to get a life.by - September 6, 2002
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Oh no, be scared, the big bad boogey man Bill Gates is after control of your computer and the world....Give me a break, you Microsoft haters need to give it a rest, some people like me just want to get a good product and like it or not Microsoft does have some nice programs. and pssssst, Microsoft won't hurt you little boys, so calm down and get some sleep, the boogey man is just a kids nightmare. : )
User Rating: 8/10
Really like Windows Media Player 9 Seriesby - September 6, 2002
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Wow - this is very cool. I really like the new mini-version when you minimize it. The new media library is very fast and the autoplaylists are great.
User Rating: 10/10
Kicks Butt!!!by - September 6, 2002
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Great interface improvements (including task-bar dock), improved track recognition, seems faster - I don't envy iTunes anymore
Love it.
User Rating: 1/10
Realplayer is ANNOYING. MP9 is great!by - September 6, 2002
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I simply hate the Real player's added "features" that are simply annoying: 1 advertiement every few clicks, forcing all your media type to be associated to the Real Player (even if you change it to MS's media player, Real auto detect and change it back), using up too much real estate, non intuitive UI. MP9 is great. Instant reply works while Real doesn't. Real wouldn't even play .wav files if you click on the .wav files via a web link. I am just a totally frustrated Real user. Glad to see the advertisement free Media Player catching up. I watched some cool Victoria Secret clips at high res with no buffering. Can't beat that!
User Rating: 4/10
well it's a msft productby - September 6, 2002
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so ya gotta let stuff slide, cause there apparently still learning....they always have security holes.
User Rating: 2/10
Not open enough to all mediaby - September 6, 2002
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Does not allow MP3 recordings and MS must keep its domance as to where we listen to the music we record? We are still in Orwell's 1984.
User Rating: 6/10
Not bad MSby - September 6, 2002
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Not bad Microsoft - a definite improvement to the Media Player 7.1 that those of us who do not have XP have to use. As for those who are whining about it being uninstallable in Win XP - did you or did you not read the release notes? I did - and while I use Win 2000, did note that the only way to uninstall from XP is to set a restore point (not a bad idea in general when dealing with beta software to begin with). Some of the other complaints I ran across in the reviews were obviously written by people with nothing better to do than complain. I am using Zone Alarm 3 - WMP 9 ran just fine. As for using Winamp or RealMedia - no thanks - Winamp's usability in version 3 is nowhere near as intuitive, and I don't care for adware/spyware a la RealMedia. Support of course is limited due to it's beta status. This is one product that will be interesting to see in its full release version.
User Rating: 3/10
Vendor lock-in in spadesby - September 6, 2002
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Ragther that focus support for industy standars, such as .MP3 and MPEG - Microsoft wants to lock your computer down with their "Digital Rights Managment" system so that they can sell your captive eyeballs to the higest bidder.
User Rating: 7/10
Love the cross fading!by - September 6, 2002
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Cross fading, info center, playback speed with pitch compression, auto playlists - lots of really cool features here.
User Rating: 4/10
Not getting Admin rights to my machineby - September 6, 2002
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That's just flat out rediculous to include in a EULA. My company is abandoning MS completely do to their rediculous licensing and EULA's.
User Rating: 7/10
Great step forward for media playersby - September 6, 2002
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A really nice improvement to previous versions of the product. The beta has some clear bugs to be addressed (I find sound missing on many video clips, even though other players have no problem with the same clip), but I'm sure this will be addressed in the final release.
User Rating: 9/10
The best of everthing for nothingby - September 6, 2002
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Just think you get to play all your favorite music and the best part is its free. Of course you have to pay to get dvd playback and MP3 encoding, but the approx. 20 dollars (for both or 10 for each sep.) completely outdoes all other players. I love that the new player has extensions avaiable for added 3rd party utilities (such as SRS surround sound) to it, this means you can do almost anyting with it. Of what I can see, the MS people say Windows media is now instant on, but although that is not completely accurate(this may be because it is only in beta and servers so not yet support the features needed for the instant on) it is still incrediably fast from older versions (and faster than any other format). Also if you must record music you have to do it in WMA, you get better sound than MP3 but at also half yes HALF of the file size. Better music and more hard disk space, whats a negative in that. Windows keeps doing what they do best, and Media 9 series is no exception. Download the beta today and see it for yourself. AGAIN IT IS FREE. You can't beat something at that price.
User Rating: 4/10
Give me IRFAN shareware, instead...by - September 6, 2002
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The Media Player 9 EULA is utter garbage, and there is no way I will grant Microsoft "Administrative Rights" to my computer or my media collection. If I am to agree to give Microsoft the right to charge me fees at some future point in time to continue to use Media Player, I will reserve the right to charge them for my testing and user evaluation time. Worst of all-- it is just not a good quality product-- I will stick with shareware products which may not be as flashy, but get the job done as well, or better.
User Rating: 6/10
Watch out!by - September 6, 2002
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I have tons of mp3s and I upgraded to Windows Media 9 thinking it would be better, but it isn't! It scrambled all mp3s from alphabetical order to some crappy random order. If you have large playlists, don't upgrade from Windows Media 8!
User Rating: 3/10
Keeps on crashing...by - September 6, 2002
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I know it's only BETA, but geeze, come on guys. I keep XP Pro up to date, but Media Player 9 keeps crashing whenever I try to play a radio stream. CDs play ok. I have already reverted back to the state of my computer before this download to restore system stability. I'm an IT professional, and a Microsoft fan, but I really think MS should have waited until the product was more stable. I know I know, it's only beta...
User Rating: 6/10
It great, sort ofby - September 6, 2002
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The new media player looks cool, sounds good, and is more stable. But it does lack some features.
User Rating: 4/10
Why use itby - September 6, 2002
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This is a completely pointless program. I rather use Quicktime, Winamp and Real instead of this proprietary closed format software. There is an isma compliant mpeg4 standard out there but M$ doesn't care. To them open standards are something evil. When competition is gone, then you must pay.
User Rating: 6/10
Good, but why v.2799?by - September 6, 2002
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Pretty decent so far from what I can conclude, but why didn't they elect to use the 2848 build instead? It's more stable, for one thing.
User Rating: 2/10
In XP, set a system restore point FIRST!!!!by - September 6, 2002
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Win98/2k version works as well as a BETA could (it installs) but if you have XP set a restore point first. It removes WM8 and MS says that you need to reinstall XP if you want it back!!! Oh yeah, don't get me started on XP's Service Pack 1!!!!
User Rating: 3/10
Nothing new and everything done better by competitionby - September 6, 2002
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Just downloaded it today and it looks like a tiny update to Media Player 8. Sure, it looks prettier, but it doesn't actually do that much more. Important features (most noteably DVD playback and MP3 encoding) are lacking and the media library is completely unusable. The product still feels like it didn't go through any user testing. Does customers/users actually care for the media players tie in with the windows media website? I doubt it. Most user would benefit so much more from downloading the new Winamp 3, out now. It features are whole much more. Larger developer base (=more skins and plug ins) and a cool component system and truly makes Winamp the media platform of choice.
User Rating: 6/10
Good, But Needs Workby - September 6, 2002
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Media Player 9 has and awesome feature set and has excellent playback quality. However, the beta crashes quite often and theres no support due to its beta status. Hopefully Microsoft will fix this by the time of the official release.
User Rating: 5/10
Anti-Standardby - September 6, 2002
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Microsoft made the player support its own proprietary Windows Media format. MS needs to adopt and support industry standards.
User Rating: 1/10
Digital Right Managementby - September 6, 2002
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I can't believe Microsoft is kissing up to Hollywood and the record industry in such a disgusting manner. It's such a shame because the product would be fine otherwise.
User Rating: 3/10
Completely proprietaryby - September 6, 2002
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Regresses in not supporting de facto standards. Where is the mp3? What good is this without DVD playback? Just another anticompetitive attempt to dominate another market.
User Rating: 1/10
NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!by - September 6, 2002
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I don't care how "great" this or any media player is...I will NEVER use a product that copy protects MY OWN FILES. NEVER NEVER NEVER!!!! Go stuff it
User Rating: 8/10
It's great - stop whiningby - September 6, 2002
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Pluueeaaasseee - QT is better then this? Hardly. Real? You must be joking. No unbiased person could make these claims. Music Match maybe. As for the DRM - those of you that are either to stupid to figure out how to turn off the DRM (3 steps) and those of you spreading FUD (you know who you are) it's not a big deal. IT TAKES 3 STEPS TO TURN OFF.
User Rating: 8/10
Awesome - the best player - periodby - September 6, 2002
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This is clearly superior to any other player right now. DRM critics - tools=> options=>copy music=> uncheck the "protect music" box. If you didn't have it checked before upgrading it won't be checked anyway when you upgrade. Not sure what the fuss is all about.
User Rating: 5/10
Still Like Media Jukebox 8by - September 6, 2002
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When I heard that microsoft would be coming out w/ a new Media Player I was hoping that it would sound as good and crisp as my Media Jukebox. I wanted to be able to use a All-In-One programs to play my mp3s and my video and movie clips. But after listening to WMP9 it stil sounds the same as the last one.
User Rating: 3/10
Can't rip CDs to mp3by - September 6, 2002
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The audio standard is mp3 yet Microsoft still doesn't include ripping CDs into mp3 format...unless you pay and install another piece of software (plug-in).
User Rating: 2/10
ZoomPlayer is amazing!by - September 6, 2002
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If you want a decent Media Player for all your needs give ZoomPlayer a try! It has vast features and many options for TV-Playback. Offers to switch between Audio tracks (languages) for example DivX movies plays also DVD and you can tweak anything - especially the aspect ratio. Wonderful program. And look at the filesize!!! I dare to say: the Media-Player is obsolete!
User Rating: 1/10
More loss of personal freedom!by - September 6, 2002
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This latest attempt by "Big Business"(read "Microsoft") to subversevly "control the masses" is the usual garbage. As the COO of a computer services company I have to deal with software "EULA's" on a daily basis and the Media Player 9 EULA is one of the worst I've seen so far! If you read it carefully and decipher the "legalese",you'll find that granting Microsoft "Administrative Rights"(read"control") to YOUR computer and to "Copy Protect"(read"lock up") YOUR media collection, is NOT all of the little "nastys" in there. If read carefully you'll find it also gives Microsoft the right to charge you a fee(read"pay money")at some future point in time to continue to use the Media Player and it's contents(read"YOUR media files")via a licensing fee! Don't believe it? Have a friend in the legal field read the EULA and ask them! Worst of all the Media Player 9 is typical poor quality,buggy, "let them eat service packs" Microsoft software. Tell Bill to stuff it.
User Rating: 10/10
The Goods Are Greatby - September 6, 2002
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Simply amazing. File size is half of normal MP3, Services feature things like PressPlay, and Automatic Playlists finally make WMP better than iTunes 3.0.
User Rating: 8/10
Good, not greatby - September 6, 2002
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I am glad to see so many people turning away from the ad supported and very invasive Real Player, and if MS had included DVD and MP3 support, we would all be clamoring to download it.
User Rating: 7/10
Can't get it to streamby - September 6, 2002
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I always played the streaming videos of the strokes in their website, but know it is impossible. Isit b/c of zonealarm 3? what the hell is going on?
User Rating: 8/10
Microsoft has overstated their claimsby - September 5, 2002
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Features are rich but the quality claims are all a hype. I love the facelift that Microsoft performed on the player; it both more user friendly and customisable. Everything was perfect and until I tested the audio qualities of the encoded files. In my tests, Real Audio 8 and Windows Media Audio 9 were undistinguishable at higher bit rates. But Real Audio really showed its true colour when Windows Media 9 was beaten hands down at lower bit rates (<56Kbps). This was how I did the test. I ripped a track from my Ken Davis cd, featuring a variety of instruments which helps to demonstrate all round abilities. Then I encoded each track at 32Kbps in Real Audio 8 (using dBPowerAmp) and Windows Media Audio 9 (using Windows Media Encoder 9). Finally, I listened to the encoded music files and compared them with the original. Obviously, both files lost some quality during compression. But Real Audio 8 came out surprisingly faithful and reatined much of it depth compared to Windows Media Audio 9. I noticed that Windows Media Audio 9 souned dull, flat and washed out. It very evidently lack the vibrancy and brightness of Real Audio 9. A point to note, without excessive disturbing compressional artifacts, Real Audio 9 can achieve a low of 21Kbps while Windows Media 9 can only attain 48Kbps. Above 48Kbps, both codecs are nearly undistinguishable. I also found the Windows Media Audio 9 behaved quite similarly to MPEG4 AAC used by QucikTime in terms of bitrate and quality. In conclusion, I personally feel that Real Audio 8 still reigns leader in audio quality of highly compressed low bitrate audio. With Real Audio 9 coming out in the coming out soon in the coming months, I wish that Real can hopefully revamp the interface of its free version of RealOne to include more features and customisability.
User Rating: 3/10
Error Messages on video playbackby - September 5, 2002
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After installation I was unable to play video clips, receiving a "memory could not be read error message. Zero suppor for this problem from Microsoft. No uninstall capability for the player. Win XP's system restore was the only fix. Beware of betas that cannot be uninstalled!
User Rating: 6/10
Encoding my music SUCKS!by - September 5, 2002
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Again Microsucks has come up with another method to force users to do it their way, like it or not. Innocent users begin using the program and after much work and effort of building a music libary, WHAM you find out you can't use anything BUT Windows Media Player to listen to those file because of the encryption routines they slipped in on you. I will not use this product or "platform" as they call it. Down the road it will cost big bucks to keep it usable. No Thanks
User Rating: 2/10
Beware of Microsoft's Intentionsby - September 5, 2002
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I can't believe CNet's positive recommendation considering what we get for what we have to do to get it. I do not care for MS's media player giving Microsoft ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS on my PC. I also do not like the copy-protecting of files. I strongly prefer RealPlayer. It has more features and supports more formats than the new Windows Media Player. I recommend not allowing yourself to be fooled by Microsoft's intentions.
User Rating: 2/10
Relinquish Contol of you PC! You deserve to loose you FREEDOM!by - September 5, 2002
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Anyone naive enough to believe that CNet's reviews tell you what is important for YOU to know deserves to loose their freedom, one slice at a time. MS's media player gives Microsoft ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS on your PC (read the EULA!). It also COPYPROTECTS YOUR FILES! Pluse, the likelyhood of secutity holes (deliberate or due to negligence) is VERY high based on other experience with Microsoft products (Windows, LookOut, IE,...). Do yourself (and all of us freedom-loving people) a favor. Use Linux, Netscape 7.0 and ANY media player OTHER THAN MS media player!
User Rating: 8/10
Stop whining already!by - September 5, 2002
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The copy protection can be turned off. If you're not willing to test the product out yourself, then shut the hell up! Why use WMA u ask? Well because its superior to MP3!! Why would u wanna encode your music into an inferior format?
User Rating: 6/10
Media Player getting betterby - September 5, 2002
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Some reviewers have written that you cannot play WMA tracks ripped with WMP 9 on other computers. It is not true. If you read the CNET review, it says that the default setting does not allow you to copy and play the file. However, you can easily uncheckc that little box. I made a great sounding variable rate WMA and it played just fine on another computer. I have used a paid version of MusicMatch Jukebox because I thought the previous Media Player 7 was so annoying. This player is much better than before. The sound quality is very good when you use the equalizer and WoW effects. There are also more options for converting CD tracks to WMA format. You can increase the quality of WMA with Variable bit rate recording. The playlist function seems a little easier to use. The visualizations look very good too. I don't much like the main buttons on the side. This software definitely tries to pull you in closer to Microsoft. I think this is a good media player but I am still wary of Microsoft. I think I will use this and MusicMatch.
User Rating: 7/10
WMP9 is shaping up.by - September 5, 2002
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I think version 9 of the windows media player is a step in the right direction. It doesn't require Windows XP, and overall quality is still decent (for a beta). I have read alot of people griping about the copy protection in WMP9, and all I have to say is that its no different with WMP8, being that you can disable it at anytime from the options menu. Now I know this is only beta, but even as I write this, the player keeps stalling my system at each new track where WMP8 never did. I know its trying to keep down the transition time, but I would rather have the pause if it means my computer doesnt stall. Other then that, the interface is nice, even if it doesn't completly match with XP. (cute touch with the customizable colors) I also have to give MS a thumbs up for finaly including a full blown out advanced tag editor. Normaly I dont care for Microsoft, and have loathed them for many years, but I do have to say when they make something they do everything (except security) very weill. I only wish programs like RealOne were as streamlined as Windows Media, and ad free.
User Rating: 1/10
IT SUXXXXXby - September 5, 2002
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Microsoft says they have spent so much cash on buiding it and stuff, but i see no use of any improvements its juts the same, and plus they have also taken out features like viewing a vcd..
User Rating: 6/10
don't install under xp!by - September 5, 2002
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crashes everytime it tries to switch from one video to another in the playlist. and it's impossible to uninstall under xp. avoid this if you run xp. if you run something else, try it, and at least you have the option of uninstalling if you hate it.
User Rating: 1/10
Another sucking product from M$by - September 5, 2002
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It's a shame and it's always this way. M$ products are awfull, but it's marketing is perfect. If you are looking for a product that has been advertised really good, but is not capabale of doing what users want ( because of M$ fight against mp3 ) and is buggy with lots of security holes and no major improvements, then try it !
User Rating: 4/10
sucks, take up system recources, error prone. Trying to control meby - September 5, 2002
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Ppl stick with 6.4. It the best Windows Media player ever come up with. 9 is trying to use me instead of myself using the software. MS is trying their best to take over our control of our system.
User Rating: 1/10
Why don't they try to be more like iTunesby - September 5, 2002
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Smart playlists and star ratings is copyed strait out of iTunes 3. I would like ot see M$ come out with some original stuff some time. That would rule.
User Rating: 5/10
Great player but lacking important featuresby - September 5, 2002
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Better than previous version, but still can't beat the old 6.4. You can't fast forward to a certain part, if you click on the seek bar, anywhere, it will restart the movie again. You have to press the little fast forward button to be able to click anywhere on the seek bar. For asf files, it won't work. Such a terrible feature for a good player. Also, can't select audio channel, just like in 6.4. The only nice thing is the interface. I don't know why the setting button is gone, we have to manually find it on the menu.
User Rating: 3/10
Trojan Horseby - September 5, 2002
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Redmond's latest attempt to monopolize your every move succeeds in limiting your access to content, limiting other's access, and grossly inefficient programming will help your computer crawl with their new product. Upgraders beware.
User Rating: 9/10
Sweet Dude!by - September 5, 2002
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Ok, so what it doesnt allow you to play your music on other computers, I mean realistically how often are you going to go around to another computer and play your porn vids or your metallica (napster ^_^) mp3s? you all try to boycott msn, as if youre going to stop bill gates from making more money?? lmao thats a joke in itself. other than that its alot like the previous verson, but covered in a sexy metallic skin whoo! makes me wet haha. overall the speed is very good, compared to that other media player..(REALJoke) I suppose its a preference..I have no bias either way, i have musicmatch 7.2 winamp 8 (not that memory hogging winmp3) and Realone ver 2. and tell you what..I like this alot better, not only does it have a sleek new look, easy user interface, good resource usage, and a nice playlist that makes sense (finally! was it so hard winamp?? follow their lead) you have the built in video support (avi divx mpeg) if you get the right components. you may all hate bill gates and his monopoly on everything, real does it too, so does musicmatch, live with it. Use this if you dont really care about copyright this and that, and want all in one media player that not only looks sleek, is very functional as well.
User Rating: 8/10
The BEST WMP so far...by - September 5, 2002
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read thru all those comments, all the people who rated it Thumbs Down can be put into two groups.. 1:Amature Pirates & 2:those who belong to the the IN thing 'bieng anti-MS'.... grow up guys.. this is still a beta, & i can say the most stable BETA i ve ever used so far of any software.. wait till the final..
User Rating: 8/10
Call them M$oft, but they do make good softwareby - September 5, 2002
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OK, here'a disclaimer: I am by no means an advocate of Microsoft. True, they do try to earn a monopoly and some of their software is ridiculusly expensive (does "Office" ring a bell?). BUT, Microsoft is indeed an excellent software maker, with good products in every area. Media Player 9 is wonderful. It's easier than ever to manage your media library, wonderful quality, and streaming time is w-a-y down. For example, try to play one of CNet's video files. You can barely see the "buffering" screen, and it starts playback already. Real Player, on the other hand, shows the buffer screen for a while, and then the "loading" (__% complete) screen. If it's a short video, by the time Real gets through all of this, Media Player 9 is done playing a quarter to a third of the video. And of course there's the issue of start time of the stand alone players...compared to MP, Real seems like it itself is being downloaded (1.5-3 sec). Also I love the little Media Player Toolbar on the taskbar. Oh and please, those who are complaining about the copy-protection, you CAN turn it off by going to tools.options.copy music.copy protect (uncheck). I hate to say it this way, but KUDOS to Microsift!
User Rating: 8/10
Well done.by - September 5, 2002
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Microsoft has done a good job on a media player, I noticed even in the previous release, Windows Media Player 8.0, that shipped with XP was much better then previous versions. The interface is great and that's something that counts these days. Can't wait for the final release
User Rating: 4/10
Intentionally incompatible. Terrible License agreementby - September 5, 2002
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Make sure you turn off the Spyware! Yes, Microsoft says it can come on YOUR computer and play with Media Player any time it chooses! Turn off those options!!
User Rating: 3/10
Gangstersby - September 5, 2002
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Nothing good about this new Micro Soft product. As thier routine, they follow the market trends and threaten others but still out of the race......
User Rating: 10/10
If you are wary of the copy protection, read this:by - September 5, 2002
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The copy protection can easily be turned off!!! Anyone who is getting all freaked out and saying stuff about how Microsoft wants to take over the world is just paranoid. The new Media player is amazing, just remember to uncheck the "make my files copy protected box". That simple.
User Rating: 1/10
More Junk From Microsoftby - September 5, 2002
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Another worthless media player from Microsoft. You can't even play files from one CPU to another with all the copyright BS.
User Rating: 6/10
Good video but horribly not userfriendlyby - September 5, 2002
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I'm sorry, but despite the very good video quality, this version blows because of the continuation of master control over the end user, which in the end just means more money for Gates. I'm sick of it! Doesn't paying hundrends for OS upgrades and Word earn you at least free control over your own music files? Sorry but Apple's MPEG 4 format is just as good and doesn't try to control your machine. And Real supports more formats as well.
User Rating: 5/10
Will Not Work With ZoneAlarm 3by - September 5, 2002
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The only the player will access net media for me for me is if I shut down ZoneAlarm 3 in Windows XP-a very undesirable option.And of course, I have found no option to uninstall and because it is Beta there is no help available.
User Rating: 3/10
Oh! Bill, you kill me!!!!by - September 5, 2002
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I was just reading the other reviews from CyberMeister(tm) and Marc P. and others and it's soooo true!! That "Copy-Protect" feature is really terrible. That's too bad because there are some nice features in there but as usual with Microsoft, the greed and the search for sympathy goes on with WMP9. This reminds me to check out that Apple iMac and iTunes!!
User Rating: 7/10
Worth to TRY...by - September 5, 2002
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Extremly satisfied with my NEW RealOne Super Player. It is very risky to submit the final and last "word" about the value of the less known Microsoft Media Player 9.0 Public Beta.
User Rating: 5/10
DO NOT INSTALL!by - September 5, 2002
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Can't encode CD audio tracks in MP3 format or play back DVD videos without a third-party plug-in; default setting copy-protects your files so that it's impossible to play them on other computers.
User Rating: 4/10
One Giant Step to Controllby - September 5, 2002
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Yikes , I can not belive the B.S. Meter. It's off the scale BGates ( aka microdick) wants to controll our ability to trade, swap , or give away any type of media without paying someone a fee... until someone comes up with a way to use 9.0 ina way that supports mp3 etc. for use ANYWHERE I want to use them I would never upgrade. Although that is the wrong term to use , I think surrender might be a better phrase!!
User Rating: 10/10
Nicely done.by - September 5, 2002
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Not a big fan of M$ but this blows RealOne out of the water. Review is totally wrong about copy protection- no default! Screenshot is totally lame too- cmon someone at CNet hates M$. Love the miniplayer. M$ finally got it right.
User Rating: 3/10
MMP 9.0 is not worth the hypeby - September 5, 2002
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Why the heck are they having a premier in Hollywood for this thing. It is not all it has been cracked up to be. I have been waiting to see if it would be better the MPEG4 but obviously it is not.
User Rating: 3/10
MS scams US again.by - September 5, 2002
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Somebody has to be a fool to put MP9 on their computer. Why? Think about it: Hidden in the review is the fact that MP9 "copy-protects" (I just love that Orwellian wordsmithing!) the files on your computer so they can't be played on another computer; such as your laptop, your computer at work, your "significant other's" computer for "romance a du" . . . you get the picture. Let's see a review that tells it like it is: MS is making a hard-core play for the RIAA's "Stooge of the Year" Award. Big Bill & Company plan to be the white knight that rescues the Neanderthals at RIAA from their inablility to adjust to the Brave New World that now exists - and can not be extinguished. But then limiting your choices while at the same time starting an industry group made up of MS and its co-dependent vendors to counteract building international enthusiasm for "Open Source" software - cynically, if not comically, calling it The Initiative for Software Choice - is exactly the double-speak Big Bill thrives on. And Big Bill is counting on you to be a chump and slavishly cave-in to knee-jerk fawning reviews by major publications who don't illuminate the Big Picture to help them get the award. MP9 - forget it. No support for Real, QuickTime, or anyone else but Bill Gates; lock-down "copy protection" to keep you from enjoying your own music library where ever you want to play it. So go with the mindless herd: load MP9, then look in the mirror and spell C-H-U-M-P. Kenneth E. Lamb "The CyberMeister" (tm)
User Rating: 10/10
Nice Job!by - September 5, 2002
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Waiting for the upgrade... I'm interested in the additions and new features, I would have liked to have DVD playback built-in without the added expense. I'm interested in the new codec and file size when I do my recordings in wma... I don't know why everyone tout's mp3's, I prefer wma's and its file size!!
User Rating: 2/10
like the previous real versionby - September 5, 2002
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is this it?..copy protection is just horrible!! ..they should pay you to use it..
User Rating: 10/10
more bugs than an African Rainforestby - September 5, 2002
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Bugs, Bugs and more Bugs. Absolutely stay away until this product goes final, its not worth the frustration that betas bring. If you don't experience a problem and can keep this thing playing lucky you
User Rating: 1/10
I can't copy my files?by - September 5, 2002
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According to the review, WMP "copy-protects your files so that it's impossible to play them on other computers." So if I have a clip - my video clip of my kids, or one from a friend, or a freely-distributable clip from the net - then MS will alter it so I can't make a copy? That's not copy protection, that's a virus. This is likely illegal also. Marc (tech attorney with 15+ yrs exp.)
User Rating: 7/10
Worth the waiting and lives up to the hypeby - September 5, 2002
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Way more usable then compatition such as the Winamps or Real. With advance sorting features such as by ranking and etc. Able to organize my music in a lot of ways and ease up the pain to managing a lot of mp3's. Better yet, I like the video quality of this player. But some features have to dig a little bit down, otherwise it is easy to use.
User Rating: 10/10
The stuff!!!by - September 5, 2002
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It's much easy to control then the last version and it's more options. I really think this is a winner.
User Rating: 9/10
The hype is true.by - September 5, 2002
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Usability is unbelievable...blows Real out of the water. File size is half what it used to be with better quality. I was a dedicated Real user but this is the time to switch.
