In Windows Media Player, you can play audio CDs, data CDs, and data DVDs that contain music or video files (also known as media CDs). You can also play video CDs (VCDs), which are similar to DVDs, although the video quality isn't as high.

Is Windows Media Player Discontinued

Media Player - Productive media player for your Windows device! High-quality and stunning playback with perfect audio settings for 200 supported media codecs, HEVC format, files from DVD's, CD's, Blu-ray discs. You get plenty of features that are absolutely free. Apr 23, 2020 Has your Windows Media Player in your Windows 10 stopped working or does it not play MP4 and DVD files anymore? Well, these are some of the common issues of the Windows Media Player reported by many Windows 10 users. However, the good news is, there are a couple of fixes to resolve this type of issue. Let’s see how.

If you have a DVD drive and a compatible DVD decoder installed on your computer, you can use Windows Media Player to play a DVD-Video disc—this is the type of DVD that movies are distributed on. If you encounter an error indicating that you are missing a DVD decoder, select Web Help in the error message dialog box to determine how to obtain a decoder.

To play a CD or DVD

1. Insert the disc you want to play into the drive.
   Typically, the disc will start playing automatically. If it doesn't play, or if you want to play a disc that is already inserted, open Windows Media Player, and then, in the Player Library, select the disc name in the navigation pane.

2. If you inserted a DVD, select a DVD title or chapter name.

Note: If you start to play a DVD or VCD in the Player Library, the Player automatically switches to Now Playing mode.
The Blu-ray Disc format is not supported in Windows Media Player. To play a Blu-ray Disc, you need to use a non-Microsoft program that supports Blu-ray playback and a device capable of reading Blu-ray Discs.
If you previously selected Rip CD automatically on the Rip Music tab in the Options dialog box or on the Rip settings menu, a CD will immediately begin ripping after you insert it into the drive.

If you get a message that says that your computer is missing a codec or that you require a DVD decoder, you're probably trying to play, burn, or sync a file that was compressed by using a codec that Windows or the Player doesn't include by default. For more information about codecs, see Codecs: frequently asked questions.

Notes:

• Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

• We recommend you move to a Windows 10 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft.

Download Windows Media Player

Get Windows Media Player for your version of Windows, or learn how to play Windows Media files on your Mac. Get the details here.

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Find help and how-to information for your version of Windows Media Player. Learn about the features and how to fix problems.

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Play a CD or DVD in Windows Media Player
Burn and rip CDs
Codecs: frequently asked questions

If Windows Media Player stopped working correctly after the latest updates from Windows Update, you can verify that the updates are the problem by using System Restore. To do this:

1. Select the Start button, and then type system restore.

2. Select Create a restore point, and then in the System Properties pane, select System Restore.

3. Follow the prompts to select the restore point just before the round of updates that seemed to trigger the problem. Then run the system restore process. (This takes a while.)

4. After your system is restored to the earlier configuration, check to see whether Windows Media Player runs correctly again.

For advanced video features like 4K, you might also want to try Microsoft Movies & TV. To download this for free from Microsoft Store, go to Movies & TV and select Get.

Make it yours

Customize Windows Media Player with easily installed skins, visualizations, and plug-ins for a new look and extra features. Learn more.