You might get the blue screen more or less often, but I think I now know the reason for this: until now, Microsoft has been busy improving Windows Media Player rather than fixing bugs in the OS (just kidding!). And, after getting my hands on the latest version, I can honestly say that it was worth the effort!

This is a major change for the player, and I'm not just talking about the interface. All the features are now combined in a new, more efficient way that makes working with your media library even more fun.

Let's have some fun!

First of all, my eyes were captured by the new sleek, futuristic and overall hypnotizing design. Now, there's the option of having a classic program menu, which is kind of dull (our expectations are higher, and by dull, I mean ordinary), but you can also choose to hide it, which I strongly recommend.


If you do this, the menu items are available from a context menu that's visible when right clicking the title bar. For what design is concerned, this is far better than the older version, since you won't get an auto hide menu that's shown whenever you get the mouse over it: now, you can access the menu only when you need to. Functionality isn't an issue, the context menu is well organized and allows for fast access to all the sub menus (it has a vertical structure, with sub menus showing on the right).

The visual effects are smooth, colored enough to give the player a professional look, but quiet enough not to fall in the childish category. The playback control buttons have a different, centered placement, being much easier to master and "play" with.

Manage, then play!

Moving on to the functionality issues, improvements can be clearly noticed. The one that's been enhanced the most is the Media Library. In the new version, the tree is different, having the newly selected content being placed on the right in the upper part of the window, rather than under the category, in the left. Combined with the Back and Forward navigation buttons placed right above the library tree, Windows Media Player now has an Explorer-like look, that's not only great in appearance but works better too.

Unlike the previous versions, where your songs and videos were organized in a table-like library that made you feel like you were presenting a report in front of the CEO, now there are no lines that separate the columns, making the list friendlier. As for the column headers, you have the option of hiding the ones that you don't like (however, you don't have the option of adding new ones).

Even though it's hard to imagine, should you find navigating through the library to be a painstaking operation, there's a search tool that you can use, providing you with fast and accurate results that will take care of the navigation problem (WordWheel feature borrowed from Windows Vista).

You can switch between the media type that the library should manage by clicking the Library button, and choosing one of the following: music, pictures, video, recorded TV and other.

In order to have your files sorted out in an even more efficient way, you can rate them by grading them from one up to five stars. So, if you've had a bad day so far and want to end it likewise, go ahead and select the songs that are rated as One star in the library, and hit the play button.

Ripping options now allow you to quickly change the bit rate and format of the files you're converting, making the player even faster. Also, when going to the Burn section, you can easily select from creating a Data disc or an Audio disc.

The new Windows Media Player includes support for Xbox 360, making it a jukebox that can compete with all those professional ones (that you have to pay big money in order to get).

The playlist includes a quick sorting option that allows you to categorize your items by: title, artist, album, release date, rating, and file name. This doesn't compare with Winamp's playlist jump to file function, but the library quick search makes up for it.

Another thing I like is that you can manage all your previously created playlists by adding files from the current one.

The enhancements panel includes eight settings that you can adjust so that you can personalize your experience with the program: color chooser, crossfading and auto volume leveling, graphic equalizers, media link for e-mail, play speed settings, quiet mode, SRS Wow Effects and Video settings.

In order to keep up with the latest media downloads, you now have an integrated online store browser.

You can stick with the default URGE media store, or you can select another from the most popular ones that are on Microsoft's list. The collection is updated, but it would be great if you could add your own. If you have good references, you can write Bill an e-mail and tell him about your hot store that needs to be included in the player.

The important thing here is that wherever you're playing your media from (hard drive, CD, network, a device that you've plugged in or the Internet), everything looks and acts the same, integrating all functions as if it were only one source.

The Good

Microsoft has done a good job with the new version of the Windows Media Player. A change every once in a while has never hurt anyone, but this proves that such a change is more than healthy. The features and the great new design confirm that there can only be one king.

The Bad

The skin support should be called "mini-mode", since the full mode does not support skins. But I don't know how bad of a thing this is, since if the skins don't please you, you can set your custom color for the full mode interface, giving it a personalized look.

The Truth

I like the changes in the look and functionality that Microsoft has introduced in the new Media Player. I think it's the best edition so far, and the advantages clearly surpass the drawbacks. This is a great program to play your media with, whether you do it locally or via network/ Internet.

See the screenshots below for a quick view on the program's behavior: