


A wrapper was provided for users in the form of the ActiveMovie Control, allowing users to play media files on their computer.ĪctiveMovie morphed into DirectShow and a new Media Player was created, known internally as Media Player 2. In 1996 Microsoft released ActiveMovie, a new way of dealing with media files and streaming media (which the original Media Player couldn't handle). The original Media Player application used MCI to handle media files. Windows has had a media player since version 3.0 with MultiMedia Extensions. The player is also able to utilize a DRM service in the form of Windows Media DRM. The Zune software which actually is a modified version of Windows Media Player, additionally supports AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) audio, and MPEG-4 and H.264 video formats out-of-the-box. The default file formats are Windows Media Video (WMV), Windows Media Audio (WMA), and Advanced Systems Format (ASF), and supports its own XML based playlist format called Windows Playlist (WPL). Windows Media Player replaced an earlier piece of software simply called Media Player, adding features beyond simple video or audio playback. In addition to being a media player, Windows Media Player includes the ability to rip music from and copy music to compact discs, synchronize content with a digital audio player (MP3 player) or other mobile devices, and let users purchase or rent music from a number of online music stores.

Editions of Windows Media Player were also released for Mac OS, Mac OS X and Solaris, but have since been discontinued. DVD Player Windows Media Player (WMP) is a digital media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices.
