On April 16, 2012, Microsoft announced that Windows Media Player would not be included in Windows RT, the line of Windows designed to run on ARM based devices.
Windows Media Player supports playback of audio, video and pictures, along with fast forward, reverse, file markers (if present) and variable playback speed (seek & time compression/dilation introduced in WMP 9 Series).
Windows Media Player 12 is the most recent version of Windows Media Player.
It was released on July 22, 2009 along with Windows 7 and has not been made available for previous versions of Windows nor has it been updated since for Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Editions of Windows Media Player were also released for classic Mac OS, and Solaris but development of these has since been discontinued.
In addition to being a media player, Windows Media Player includes the ability to rip music from and copy music to compact discs, burn recordable discs in Audio CD format or as data discs with playlists such as an MP3 CD, synchronize content with a digital audio player (MP3 player) or other mobile devices, and enable users to purchase or rent music from a number of online music stores.
When deciding how to sort, display, and categorize your music, Windows Media Player reads those tags — not the songs’ filenames.
Most portable music players, including the i Pod, also rely on tags.
Windows Media Player 11 is available for Windows XP and included in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
Unlike Windows 8, Windows RT does not run Windows Media Player.
Beginning with the Fall Creators Update of Windows 10, WMP is disabled by default and must be reinstalled through the Programs and Features control panel. Being a component of Windows, Media Player shows the same version number as that of the version Windows with which it was included.
Windows Media Player version 7 was a large revamp, with a new user interface, visualizations and increased functionality.
Windows Vista, however, dropped older versions of Windows Media Player in favor of v11.