Microsoft Media Player 7 BETA

Released years ago, Microsoft's Media Player [WMP] proved to be a top popular choice for misc media playing, from standard .wav files to .mpeg videos. Not only WMP supports many file formats from its early versions, but it also can auto-update its codecs [Compression - Decompression algorithms], as long as you have an Internet connection.

For example, if you try to play an .avi with Intel Indeo video compression, and if your WMP installment didn't support such codec from install time, you can be sure that the software will try to download what is needed to play the file! Great!

Another neat feature of WMP up to version 6.4, is the the chance you are given to go for "compact look", which can shrink up to just a small border, framing your video file. Some users, like myself, expressed the desire to reduce to the display window to a frameless state, but that never happened, although the compact option is nearly as good.

So, it was with great expectation that I tried the 7th release of WMP, still on BETA.

I am not going to say I am disappointed with WMP 7 BETA, but I'll start confessing that it steers away from the compact look :(.

WMP 7 BETA is a Windows 98 / Windows 2000 ONLY software; the final release might support Windows 95, but that is not guaranteed. Microsoft also assumes this release to be the first one that really tries to dive in and fight bravely to impose itself against alternatives on popular media formats.

This means that Winamp and Sonique (top mp3 players) now get to fight with Seattle's giant. WMP 7 is fast, written on top of DirectX, and also delivers great looks, for those who are skins aficionados.

Yes, WMP 7 BETA, now lets you choose skins. The provided skins are very imaginative, and even completely out of the ordinary - never before seen stuff in some cases! - which may require actual learning :).

Good news until now, at least - again - for skin fans. Unfortunately, users like myself who simply prefer NOT TO USE what it doesn't add functionality, are on dead end, since the current BETA release has no compact look, and when used with other than the default skin, can't render double sized video, despite double sizing the display window (the movie itself won't stretch to the available pixels). Note: there is a "compact" skin, but it is not really compact...

WMP 7 BETA installs new codecs, runs faster, debuts skins, offers a tremendous variety of adjustments, from video contrast to hue, from audio balance to bass, and has many Internet features, all related to windowsmedia.com & associated sites, from where you can download free music, free interviews, free everything, on quantities that will soon rival with conventional TV, but offers such media on an "on demand" style. Wonderful!

The only "true bug" on this BETA is a nasty one - the play slider doesn't work with some file formats.

Other new features are support for portable media devices (read portable mp3 players) and an history that remembers what you've been playing recently.

But what do I use WMP for? Answer: to play video files (mpegs, 99% of the time) on compact mode, and I do scale them to 200% the original size!, so I am really not using the 7th release, though I didn't UNinstall it - instead, I am using the 6.4 player options to make that version the default reader for the same files WMP 7 BETA registers. The best of both worlds!

I can't wait for the FINAL release! I expect it to solve the current annoyances.