Windows Media Player Extension

[Willy Aucoin]

WindowsMedia Player (or simply Media Player) is a video and audio player developed by Microsoft for Windows 11 and subsequently backported to Windows 10. It is the successor to Groove Music (previously Xbox Music), Microsoft Movies & TV, and the original Windows Media Player. It began rolling out to Windows 11 Insider channels in November 2021 and then to all users starting in January 2022.[1][2] It was later released to Windows 10 users in January 2023.[3]

The new version of Windows Media Player (or Media Player) now includes support for video files, as part of Groove Music's rebranding from a music streaming service to a media player.[4] Other changes to the app include the album cover view being in fullscreen, and a refresh to the mini player.[5] Accessibility has also been optimized in this new version, with some improved keyboard shortcuts and hotkey support for keyboard users and with other assistive technologies.[6]

Some features from the original Windows Media Player were initially not included, such as DLNA local streaming and the ripping of CDs. Ripping was eventually reintroduced in July 2022 for Windows 11, supporting the AAC, WMA, FLAC, and ALAC formats.[7]

I'm working on a Windows Form Application in which I have embedded a Windows Media Player that lets you play video files. The unique thing is that I have changed the extension of the media files (for reasons which I can't get into here). For instance, "xyz.wmv" might be called "xyz.ext". They play just fine, but before they play, I get the message:

You can click yes and you can even check the box to not show that message again, but I don't want that for all the obvious reasons including the fact that it confuses users. I have looked into the .settings properties but I cannot find a way to suppress this message and more importantly other messages that might come up.

You can do this pretty straight forward IF you have admin rights as you need to edit the registry. Not sure how far you will get without admin rights and can test later, but here is how to do this via code (in a real implementation I would do this as part of a setup - or check if the keys exist each time which seems wasteful):

This is a good generic process for programmatically adding file associations and default programs to the Windows Registry from .NET. You have to be careful about registering the extension (the first key I set above) IF the extension already exists (TEST FOR THIS). Otherwise the above code will happily overwrite your current values. All you really should need is the one added to: HKEY_Current_User.Software.Microsoft.MediaPlayer.Player.Extensions anyway. Think it through, check in advance, and test before you go crazy in the registry!!

Final note: missed your question on how to reproduce once you have clicked always allow: just remove the entry in HKEY_Current_User.Software.Microsoft.MediaPlayer.Player.Extensions and voila!

Final note #2: Response geared to the questions in the Bounty. Other errors can be suppressed by setting telling Media Player to allow you to handle error events and then writing your custom handler. I have not done this before so cannot comment on the ease and what can/cannot be controlled through this method.

The Windows Media Player control does not raise an exception when it encounters an error such as an invalid URL. Instead, it signals an event. Your application should handle error events sent by the Player.

The "Media Player" is a browser extension to play music and video files either locally or from online sources. This project aims to bring a VLC-liked media playing experience using native HTML5 technology. The add-on is built on top of the well-known "video.js" project by applying a few custom plug-ins to enhance the user experience. This player supports media boosting, speed control, playlist media selection, fullwidth-progress bar, HTTP-streaming (M3U8), cast to a remote device, and wave surfer visual for audio files.How to Use (local resources):Open the interface and drop the media link to itHow to Use (remote resources):Open a video page like _video.aspRight-click on the player and select "Open in Media Player"You can start watching an offline video file by dragging and dropping the video file into the player or pressing the big play button. To have the player load subtitle make sure to drop both video and subtitle files together (The dropped subtitle should have the same name as the file and needs to be in SRT or VTT format). Also, you can add a subtitle file later using the "+CC" button. This button appears when there is no subtitle found for the current track.Extra Features:1. Video casting: right-click on the player. If your browser supports this feature, you can transfer the media to a remote device.2. Take a screenshot: Press the "screenshot" button on the player3. 2x volume-boosting: Like VLC, you can boost the audio by 200%. Use the boosting feature when the volume is not loud enough.4. Media Capturing: The player can optionally detect media files in the current tab and transfer them to the media player5. Play in a separate window or inside a browser tab6. Supports media keys even if the player is not focused7. Supports native context menu on Chrome OS. You can right-click on the finder window (explorer) and use this player to open media files.You can use your keyboard to control the following playback options:1. "F" key: This will toggle the fullscreen mode on and off2. "Space" key: This will toggle the playing state of the player3. "Key Up" and "key Down": Increase or decrease volume.4. "Key Left" and "Key Right": Seek backward and forward for 10 seconds.5. "U" key: Shuffle playlist6. "R" key: Toggle repeat, repeat one, and no-repeat7. "S" key: Take s screenshot8. "B" key: Boost volume (2x or 200%)9. "O" key: Open network URLsChange Log:0.1.2:1. Media Player now supports history (it will save the current track position and retrieves it after a restart)2. Media player now supports global keyboard shortcuts for toggle pause and play state, moving to the previous track and moving to the next track0.1.3:1. Better playlist!0.1.4:1. For audio tracks, a seek-able wave-surfer is replaced with the old poster image2. playback rate is now adjustable.0.1.7:1. Supports live stream (m3u8)2. Supports folder drop and recursive media file search0.2.31. Partial support for MKV video container0.2.51. Better support for video/mkv format

It would be nice if Edge could replace Movies & TV and Groove Music. I've done some quick testing and it already works for webm and mp4, if added support for mkv, avi, and wmv, 3rd party media players would become obsolete.

@cbomtempo Both extensions that you suggested have less than 1 Mb in size, so I don't think it can be considered bloat. Even more when it could be a selling point for Edge. A built-in media player with extra functions like AI generated subtitles for when you're listening to podcasts or watching a video in another language + automatic translation for your language using Bing would be a big selling point, and it would also give lots of data to improve MS AI.

I don't want to be rude, but the browser engine could be used to build "virtually" any application and I don't want my browser to be a media player, a calculator, a text editor, a file explorer, or anything else other than a web browser... Even because someone could implement all those functionalities as a web application or a browser extension.

A useful extension: step by step to the first website for the WMP, but it is not the case that some formats are not supported and that you have to purchase the full version for just under 25 EUR to cut longer videos. Anyone who is looking for a standalone program for cutting can look at the same manufacturer for Video Splitter.

SolveigMM WMP Trimmer Plugin is a tool that allows transforming Windows Media Player into a full-fledged Media Editor. WMP Trimmer plugin allows editing parts of multimedia files directly from Windows Media Player while maintaining intact quality and being lossless in synchronization. By downloading the software, you can create webinars, remove TV ads, censor content for children, create ringtones for mobile phones and many other editing actions for video and audio.

Windows Media Player Trimmer is what you need for easy video editing. All that is required is software download, install it and run. Thanks to the intuitive interface your further work will be simple. And if you don't understand something, you can use our video instructions. Download SolveigMM WMP Trimmer free right now or install the paid version of WMP Trimmer Plugin !

In general, a codec is a way to compress or decompress media files like video or music. It includes 2 parts, an encoder that compresses the media file (encoding) and a decoder that decompresses the media file (decoding).

Among the many audio and video codecs used today, some were created by Microsoft and most others were designed by other companies or individuals. By default, the Microsoft Windows operating system (OS) and the Windows Media Player consist most popular codecs like the above-mentioned MP3, Windows Media Audio, and Windows Media Video.

However, it is possible that the file you want to play was compressed by a codec that are not included by Windows OS or the Player. If so, usually, you can download the involving codec online either for free or for a fee. In some situations, Windows Media Player can make use of the codecs installed by other digital media playback and creation programs automatically on your device.

6. You can further choose quality for the selected file format. Besides, you can click the settings icon behind each quality option to specify more specifications. Or, just click the Create Custom option at the bottom right to create a customized video/audio quality standard.

Wait for it to complete. It will only take a few seconds depending on the target file format you choose and how large your source file is. MiniTool Video Converter supports batch conversion and you can convert up to 5 files to the same or different target file formats. Most importantly, all the conversions are completely free of charge!

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