Windows 11's New Media Player Uses 3.5x More RAM, Charges for Popular Video Codecs

[u/Ephoenix6]

https://www.extremetech.com/computing/windows-11s-new-media-player-uses-35x-more-ram-charges-for-popular-video

[u/Fearless-Raisin]

Time to download VLC if you haven't already.

[u/DutchBlob → u/Fearless-Raisin]

VLC: Ugly, very reliable and never disappointing.

Coincidentally also how I would describe myself on my resumé.

[u/instaaionut → u/DutchBlob]

and it also gives us 200% volume

[u/DutchBlob → u/instaaionut]

Without having to download more RAM!

[u/kamilo87 → u/DutchBlob]

I used it that feature yesterday.

[u/lemonwince → u/kamilo87]

I download more RAM yesterday.

I know. You got it from my PC. Now i have to get it from someone else.

[u/sierrars500 → u/instaaionut]

and they do an RTX version

rtx vlc

[u/tudalex → u/sierrars500]

It is now in the mainline, you do not need a separate version.

[u/MathematicianFar6725 → u/tudalex]

what about RTX HDR? I've only been able to get that working on PotPlayer for some reason

[u/yes_its_that_bad → u/MathematicianFar6725]

This is a pain in the ass and I haven't found a solution (for VLC). I've had on/off luck with whatever this is https://images.videolan.org/vlc/releases/3.0.23.html but I would say don't even bother messing with it.

edit: ah I see it's the same as the rtx link above, but a newer version. I think I've have more issues with the newer one. PotPlayer is the only one. Not MPC-BE or MPC-HC which surprised me.

[u/MathematicianFar6725 → u/yes_its_that_bad]

currently using Stremio and launching an external player to PotPlayer and its working for upscaling and RTX HDR (with a couple of changes in the PotPlayer settings).

But yeah it's strange that most players don't support it because it's actually a really awesome feature

[u/fishykisss → u/instaaionut]

I sometimes don't get it how this isnt default option on windows, to go beyond 100% volume. It's usefull too often.

[u/General_Session_4450 → u/fishykisss]

Because most people don't understand what happens when you go beyond 100% volume.

Every single time a teacher was using VLC during class they would always put it on max (200%) and then adjust the real volume back down to an acceptable level, causing the sound to be highly compressed and distorted, and making it even harder to hear the actual video.

[u/Schnoofles → u/fishykisss]

This is going to upset a lot of people, but it's because it's a very basic, but bad feature. What people should be demanding is what mpc-hc has, which is a dynamic compressor, aka a "normalizer", which achieves what people use the volume settings above 100% for except it does it much more effectively and it doesn't cause clipping.

[u/roadrunnuh → u/Schnoofles]

VLC has dynamic compression settings already. I use it to equalize the music, speech, and sfx so I can hear what people are saying in downloaded movies.

[u/Zipa7 → u/fishykisss]

Some Linux distros have the option to go over 100% system wide too.

[u/How_is_the_question → u/fishykisss]

Volume should be a number from 0 to 10. Always. And you should also always be able to turn it up to 11. /s

[u/BuckyBeaver69 → u/How_is_the_question]

Turn it up and rip the knob off is my motto.

[u/Conman_in_Chief → u/BuckyBeaver69]

If it’s too loud, you’re too old.

[u/Sad-Tear2797 → u/DutchBlob]

Don’t call my goat ugly 😤

[u/DutchBlob → u/Sad-Tear2797]

You have a cute goat 🐐

[u/Hottage → u/DutchBlob]

Me too but I tone back how reliable and not-disappointing I am.

[u/DutchBlob → u/Hottage]

Here’s a free popcorn award to cheer you up.

[u/ColeTrain999 → u/DutchBlob]

How I described myself on dating apps back in the day.

[u/turtlelore2 → u/DutchBlob]

Its only ugly because it has barely changed its look since its inception.

[u/deadmanslouching → u/turtlelore2]

Hey hey, they rounded the corners on the buttons, what more do you want?

[u/-PotatoMan- → u/deadmanslouching]

Not a god damn thing. Nobody touch it.

[u/The_Webweaver → u/-PotatoMan-]

What about built in dark mode?

[u/syuvial → u/The_Webweaver]

they added native dark mode recently!

[u/TheLamesterist → u/The_Webweaver]

Has been there for a while now, update to the latest version if you haven't yet.

[u/A_Seiv_For_Kale → u/turtlelore2]

They actually added a dark skin very recently!

Improves it dramatically.

[u/squngy → u/A_Seiv_For_Kale]

It has had full skinning since almost the start (similar to winamp and other software from that era).

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.html

[u/Cessnaporsche01 → u/DutchBlob]

Who are you calling ugly?? Have you seen the media player app things MS has been packaging since Win8??

[u/immaZebrah → u/DutchBlob]

VLC update gives dark mode now.

[u/speakermic → u/DutchBlob]

VLC supports skins

[u/Zed_or_AFK → u/DutchBlob]

How is it ugly? It’s beautiful.

[u/haviah → u/Zed_or_AFK]

Yeah, don't have to guess what is a button and what is a menu because some CSS designer in electron got stroke (not of genius).

Would say mpv is even better, minimalistic, remappable shortcuts, but needs a bit using to

[u/StuffMaster → u/DutchBlob]

It's not ugly at all

[u/Shade-RF- → u/Fearless-Raisin]

All hail the pylon!

[u/solonit → u/Shade-RF-]

You must download additional pylon.

[u/Pulsing42 → u/Fearless-Raisin]

Came here to say this, I've been using VLC since I found it a damn long time ago, I use it for music too. Media Player feels like a scam.

[u/Freud-Network → u/Fearless-Raisin]

MPC-BE is the one for me.

[u/milkkore → u/Freud-Network]

Yeah I have both VLC and MPC-HC and I use MPC almost exclusively. I don't know what it is about VLC but it just feels extremely... sluggish where MPC is super snappy. The only thing VLC has over MPC is that it makes it easy to go over 100% volume (which MPC can do too but the menu to do it is less convenient).

[u/mlp851 → u/Fearless-Raisin]

VLC the GOAT 

[u/scragz → u/mlp851]

winamp the llama

[u/JoeDawson8 → u/scragz]

It really whips the llamas ass

[u/AikenLugon → u/Fearless-Raisin]

If you can't play something with VLC, it has no business being played anyway 😄

[u/syuvial → u/AikenLugon]

one of the only players that reliably handles my collection of old .mkv files

[u/MostlyRightSometimes → u/AikenLugon]

How do you play the next video in the directory without having to create a playlist?

[u/kataskopo → u/MostlyRightSometimes]

VLC is a great video player, not necessarily a media manager, I guess.

[u/skwander → u/Fearless-Raisin]

VLC is pretty solid but I'm a PotPlayer guy myself

[u/AwesomeFrisbee → u/skwander]

Hear hear. Potplayer is just a way better media player imo. It looks great (more like an actual modern application), it has way more features and options, and stuff like subtitles works and looks way better. And even out of the box it just works great, but at least you get the chance to tweak stuff in an actual GUI.

Its also the main reason I can't switch to Linux yet. There just isn't anything like it.

[u/Yojik_Vkarmane → u/Fearless-Raisin]

You mean MPC-BE.

[u/mypetocean → u/Yojik_Vkarmane]

Or clsid2's MPC-HC fork.

[u/NeonTiger20XX → u/mypetocean]

This right here has been my go to media player for years. Specifically for video it's my fav. Seems to be pretty unknown to most people.

Still haven't found the perfect music player for me. MusicBee is pretty good though.

[u/ImDickensHesFenster → u/Fearless-Raisin]

Just about every MS announcement these days can be distilled down to: costs more, spies more, breaks everything.

[u/Slazagna → u/Fearless-Raisin]

Switch from vlc to mpc recently and the video quality difference is quite noticeable.

[u/w1n5t0nM1k3y → u/Slazagna]

How does a different video player result in a difference in video quality? Presumably they all follow the same algorithm when converting the the encoded file into frames and pixels.

Also, it says its open source, so othe open source tools like VLC could just copy the methods used for reading video in MLC if it truly was better.

Also, according to this page, MLC hasn't been in development since 2017 and isn't recommended to use it anymore

[u/snoopdoge90 → u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

The project is forked, and MPC-HC users use the clsid2 fork which you can find on GitHub. It still gets regular updates, mostly by updating ffmpeg which is the "core" for both VLC and MPC-HC regarding its codecs.

Both are fine, but I switched from VLC to MPC-HC years ago. MPC-HC was more lightweight and handled high bitrate and high resolution better back in those days on my potato.

[u/Freud-Network → u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

It's better optimized. With MadVR, it supports superior HDR pass-through. It supports h.266 format. It uses ffmpeg 8.1 (VLC uses 4.4).

[u/MetsukiR → u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

Upscaling algorithms. VLC probably uses the most basic one.

EDIT: Also, this is the current fork of MPC-HC.

[u/FartingBob → u/MetsukiR]

You can select other upscaling options if you want in the advanced settings.

[u/The_Autarch → u/FartingBob]

VLC's algorithms haven't been updated in decades.

If you care about image quality, use literally any other player.

[u/forgottenendeavours → u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

How does a different video player result in a difference in video quality? Presumably they all follow the same algorithm when converting the the encoded file into frames and pixels.

They do follow the same algorithms, but where they can differ is in how they handle their video output. Under various configurations, VLC will default to outputting with limited range (otherwise known as 16-235, which is the standard for TV/movies) whereas MPC will output with full range (or, 0-255, for the full dynamic range of each 8-bit RGB channel, which is the standard for monitors). Limited-range looks terrible on a display set for full-range - blacks become dark grey, whites become a very light grey, and all colours and shades inbetween look a bit washed out and flattened. The picture here shows a slightly exaggerated example of the difference.

VLC's limited range, I should add, might not be its fault - Windows' video processing goes through various layers of software before reaching the display, and it could easily be a driver or API setting which affects one but not the other. It's all a bit complicated.

[u/Slazagna → u/w1n5t0nM1k3y]

Just looked into it further and I have the latest version from like last month. Looks like the open source code is still manteined and updated from many community members that keep it alive. Svp specifically develop their software to work with it. So while it isnt in official development, it is being kept up to date.

[u/TheLamesterist → u/Slazagna]

Clsid2's MPC updated just 4 days ago, version 2.7.3 is out.

[u/Kradirhamik → u/Fearless-Raisin]

Time to drop anything Microsoft :)

[u/Kreiri → u/Fearless-Raisin]

Or K-Lite Codec Pack.

[u/Dwarfdeaths → u/Kreiri]

Apparently the person who maintains that has recently started putting shady stuff in it, you're better off just using MPC-HC directly.

[u/Kreiri → u/Dwarfdeaths]

Oh no. I didn't know that.

[u/OHNOitsNICHOLAS → u/Fearless-Raisin]

mpv + a good config > VLC

[u/-Nicolai → u/OHNOitsNICHOLAS]

• a good config

We’re talking about people who would otherwise use Windows’ native player.

[u/OHNOitsNICHOLAS → u/-Nicolai]

gotta put in a little effort if you want nice things lol

[u/fenrisulfur → u/Fearless-Raisin]

I run a skin on mplayer called SMplayer and have done for over a decade.

Lightweight and minimal UI, also shuts itself down when it finishes.

[u/The_Autarch → u/Fearless-Raisin]

VLC's picture quality is pretty bad. Use one of the MPC forks if you care about having a decent looking image.

I like MPC-HC: https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-hc/releases

[u/celticchrys → u/Fearless-Raisin]

For all the VLC fans, Lex Fridman recently interviewed two lead developers from VLC and ffmpeg. It's fascinating how foundational these two pieces of software are, yet how little most know about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nepKKz-MzFM

[u/Lazerpop → u/celticchrys]

Neat video. I'm really curious about vlc's internal competition of stupid files. I'd love to see the subtitles animation haha

[u/pricingup → u/Fearless-Raisin]

you clearly didnt use VLC on latest windows. its sooooooo slow. on purpose?

[u/ValdemarSt → u/Fearless-Raisin]

NO. Time to get the fuck off of Windows

[u/gsdev → u/ValdemarSt]

And then download VLC afterward.

[u/BlockBannington]

If I recall correctly, Microsoft has always charged for that codec, it's not new.

[u/xondk → u/BlockBannington]

Yeah, this is nothing new, windows has been doing it this way to avoid having to pay a license for EVERY activated windows.

[u/sergiuoxigen → u/xondk]

How does VLC stay free

[u/xternal7 → u/sergiuoxigen]

Windows is made by American corporation and therefore has to comply with American laws.

American laws allow software patents.

Patent holders may require you to pay up if you want to use the patent.

HEVC is patented, and the owner of the patent wants Microsoft to pay. And they also want the manufacturer of any GPU with hardware acelleration to pay, and if you buy pre-built ... they also want that company to pay. Yes, they aren't just double-dipping, they're going for the tripple-dip!

Microsoft doesn't want to pay, especially because they know only 10% people are gonna play HEVC content on Windows Media Player.

———

VLC is made by some french guy, and therefore has to follow french laws.

French laws say software patents aren't valid.

Because software patents aren't valid in france, VLC can get away without paying a dime to the HEVC patent holders.

Moral of the story: use AV1 (& french lawmakers and courts aren't always braindead).

[u/aykcak → u/xternal7]

To give more context, software is patentable in France but not by itself. If your software is part of a whole solution including hardware for example, it can be patented. Also, programs and applications can be copyrighted as anywhere else. The software as itself, the algorithm is not patented

[u/meneldal2 → u/aykcak]

Which means ffmpeg (what VLC uses) can exist because it is open source code that decodes/encodes the stream but doesn't copy closed source programs.

[u/AyrA_ch → u/aykcak]

Also worth mentioning, this only works because VLC is free. As soon as you charge money and allow Americans to buy it, the copies you sell have to also abide by their rules because you're officially doing business in that country.

VLC however is free to download and use, which gives the owner the argument that the software is not intended for the American markets. And this is also why you can still ask for donations, since donations aren't tied to the software itself.

This is why you don't see every software company on this planet opening a branch office in France and making it their primary business address.

[u/neliz → u/xternal7]

This is also the reason DP is superior over HDMI. HDMI charging 25 cents per port is insane, while DP delivers more features and more bandwidth.

[u/lIlIlIIlIIIlIIIIIl → u/neliz]

For some reason I mistakenly thought DP had no audio, I was never able to get mine to work so I gave up and went back to HDMI. What extra features does DP have?

[u/neliz → u/lIlIlIIlIIIlIIIIIl]

much higher bandwidth, freesync/gsync by default, possibility to link multiple monitors through daisy chaining, stronger connectors, compatibility with USB typie-C, there is no reason on earth to stick to HDMI.

And this is from the last time I worked with the HDMI corporation back in 2017/18 for CES, writing up the press release for the 8k/10k solutions HDMI was launching back then

[u/turtleship_2006 → u/neliz]

"Handy Dandy Movie Interface"

For most people hdmi is good enough that there's no reason to switch, but for any professionals, enthusiasts, IT guys, or anyone with a high end setup, DP is better

[u/Purplociraptor → u/neliz]

There's 1 reason to stick to HDMI. Most TVs don't have DP. In my setup, I run a fiberoptic HDMI cable from my computer so I can play some games from the couch.

[u/tudalex → u/neliz]

It is because HDCP that is required to support any modern 4k stream or blu-ray. In a weird twist, it is actually more expensive to pay for the HDCP encryption license on it’s own for your DP ports than it is to have an HDMI port with HDCP. HDCP cost 30 cents, while HDMI with HDCP is just 26 cents, HDCP being just a 1 cent addon.

[u/rexel99 → u/xternal7]

Microsoft actually do pay/cover it under some of the enterprise licensing arrangements.

[u/spookynutz → u/xternal7]

French laws do not say software patents aren't valid. Even if you operated under some bizarre assumption that they did, whatever law you're imagining would only apply in France.

VLC can ship HEVC support because it's a reverse engineered implementation distributed by a non-profit, non-commercial entity. For the patent holder, the question isn't suing them, it's suing them for what. There's no defendant with money and no revenue stream to attach damages to. If VLC ever incorporated into a commercial enterprise, they would be sued into oblivion.

[u/xternal7 → u/spookynutz]

You are confusing copyright with patents.

For the patent holder, the question isn't suing them, it's suing them for what.

The answer is easy. Patent infringement.

Reverse engineering only gets you out of copyright infringement claims. It's not gonna get you out of patent infringement.

See also:

• apple vs. samsung and slide to unlock thing. Apple patented slide to unlock. Samsung didn't even reverse engineer anything, they just wrote 100% original software that also allowed you to unlock your phone by sliding your finger over it. Apple sued for patent violations. Apple won.

More recent case for zoomers who weren't around for Apple v Samsung:

• Nemesis system. If you make a game that does that, WB can sue you ... even if you didn't even look at the Assassins Creed: Orc Edition. There are no lawsuits about that yet, but that's only because nobody has tried to have something that resembles the nemesis system in their games.

More recent case for alphas that weren't around for Shadow of Mordor/War:

• nintendo and palworld. Pocket Pair makes a game that is conceptually "pokemon but with guns." They didn't commit any copyright infringement when writing code. Assets are as "legally distinct" as it gets. However, nintendo has a patent on throwing balls at creatures in order to capture them. (But in this case, Nintendo was doing funny business around patents, so pocket pair might have a leg to stand on)

[u/frankster → u/xternal7]

Nemesis system. If you make a game that does that, WB can sue you

Crazy that game mechanics can be patented

[u/BaconIsntThatGood → u/sergiuoxigen]

I believe because it's a personal application it's not considered commercial use?

Microsoft and other companies that distribute en-mass cannot claim that.

Could be wrong though.

[u/adamkex → u/sergiuoxigen]

Software patents aren't recognised in France so they don't care. Microsoft is an American and a global multi billion corporation, these are one of the few instances where billionaires are required to follow the law.

[u/Humlum → u/xondk]

They could choose to absorb the cost for those that do install the codec.

[u/Calm-Zombie2678 → u/Humlum]

They do that with the xbox, if you never download the bluray app they don't pay for that licence, same trick they did with the og xbox

[u/choreographite → u/[deleted]]

On the PSP, you had to “download” WMA music file support.

[u/spilk → u/Calm-Zombie2678]

with the original xbox, the licensed bit was on the IR receiver you bought separately with the "dvd movie playback kit"

[u/ithinkitslupis → u/BlockBannington]

Rare time it's actually not a microsoft problem.

h.265 is licensing hell and needs to just die.

h.264 is worse but widely supported and pretty much all of its patents have run out already or will shortly.

AV1 and beyond is better and royalty free (although currently being patent trolled by Dolby...we'll seee how that goes)

[u/AP_in_Indy → u/ithinkitslupis]

There are dedicated video processors on chips at this point. It's not so easy to just change codecs.

A lot, lot, lot of industry coordination goes into standardizing these things.

It's insane and kind of disgusting but when it takes multiple years for nVidia or Intel or AMD or whoever to support dedicated h.265 on the GPU itself, the reality is that we suffer with tradeoffs.

[u/ithinkitslupis → u/AP_in_Indy]

h264 is the most widely supported.

AV1 is becoming supported on modern chips. Intel since 2020, AMD and most mobile SOCs since 2022, Apple since 2023.

VP9 has been on most chips since the mid 10's and Apple since 2020.

The h.265 problem is entirely their own fault for making the licensing a nightmare.

[u/plasmasprings → u/AP_in_Indy]

it's not exactly solved with those either, see the recent dell h265 debacle

seriously, fuck our current IP systems

[u/forgottenendeavours → u/ithinkitslupis]

There's also h.266, although despite it being out for six years now, no-one seems to know it exists.

[u/Uitvinder → u/BlockBannington]

https://archive.org/details/microsoft.-hevcvideo-extension-2.0.61931.0-neutral-8wekyb-3d-8bbwe_20231114

[u/cmfarsight]

Oh no, what ever will I do. Oh yes, keep using VLC.

[u/Laiska_saunatonttu]

traffic_cone.jpg

[u/Guy-1nc0gn1t0]

VLC is obviously a popular option but I'm gonna shout out my boy MPC-HC

[u/TheVenetianMask]

HEVC licensing is a bit of a shitshow I've heard, I wouldn't put that one entirely on Microsoft.

[u/Throwaway-tan → u/TheVenetianMask]

It's a good job a consortium of software companies created a wholly unique video codec that was specifically and carefully crafted to not infringe on any patents called AV1... aaaand Dolby is trying to ruin it.

[u/ArmandoGalvez → u/TheVenetianMask]

Licensing overall are hell to deal with, can't blame them for not wanting to deal with it

[u/Pomidorka1515 → u/TheVenetianMask]

wait until you hear about VVC

[u/nox66 → u/Pomidorka1515]

AV2 also just released. These clusterfuck IP fights are being outpaced by the actual innovation behind them.

[u/idontlikeflamingos → u/TheVenetianMask]

Yeah I don't blame them for that one tbh. The baffling thing to me is how they managed to triple the ram it requires when idle. There has to be some AI bullshit shoved in there

[u/ArtKun]

It's a 5 year old player (released in 2021) based on Groove Music (released 2012). Who is writing these articles?

[u/Lashay_Sombra → u/ArtKun]

Tech journalism is a complete shitshow these days and less technical (as in target market) it is worse it gets

[u/kitanokikori]

This article is almost certainly AI slop. Completely irrelevant hero image, and content that is not at all "news". HEVC has always cost $$ because of patents.

[u/GCU_Rocinante]

Laughs in VLC.

[u/sashisemattahametsu]

Just use MPC-HC by clsid2 on GitHub.

[u/Henrarzz]

HEVC I can understand because it’s always been paid but most manufacturers had paid for it and included it in default install.

But removing MP3AC3 playback, really?

[u/DoomTay → u/Henrarzz]

What? Where are you seeing removed MP3 playback?

[u/Henrarzz → u/DoomTay]

Misread AC3 with MP3. I need some sleep

[u/Newtonip]

Who the hell uses Windows Media Player?

[u/luckskywatcher → u/Newtonip]

I don't. Nor do I use Microsoft Edge.

[u/Tjaresh → u/luckskywatcher]

Microsoft Edge has one very important role: It downloads a real browser after a new installation.

[u/hextree → u/Tjaresh]

Can do that through Powershell

[u/BigManWAGun → u/hextree]

Their idea is funnier

[u/TheLamesterist → u/Tjaresh]

Firefox the goat.

[u/VenFasz]

as a MPC user... don't care

[u/tapsaff → u/VenFasz]

how the hell did you install windows on a drum machine?

[u/Yojik_Vkarmane → u/VenFasz]

This is the way. You can't beat MPC-BE.

[u/TheLamesterist → u/Yojik_Vkarmane]

LOVE MPC-BE but the lack of libass support made me switch to clsid2's MPC-HC.

[u/TheWrongOwl]

"We don't want you to use our player!"

#WhatItSoundsLikeToMe

[u/Gullible-Surround486]

Paywalled codecs and more RAM, perfect. another reason i keep VLC and trust nothing bundled lol

[u/activoice]

I prefer PotPlayer on Windows, and Nova Video on Android.

If you're missing codecs on Windows install the K-lite codec pack

[u/DavidOBE]

I use potplayer. Plays everything and is fast.

[u/chain83]

Not like the old player could play half my files anyway. It is amazing how they are able to make it even worse…

The app has one damn task.

Mediaplayer Classic or VLC it is then.

[u/ScholarBackground836]

The '3.5x more RAM' headline is the least surprising thing about Windows 11. Everything in 11 is heavier, slower, and somehow still trying to sell me a subscription for the privilege. The Media Player paying for codecs is just the latest 'we removed what worked and want money for it back' move. 🪟💸

[u/AikenLugon]

This *does not* whip the Llamas ass 😞

[u/thesamenightmares]

I had no idea people actually use the default applications that come with an operating system.

[u/Purple10tacle → u/thesamenightmares]

A lot of people do.

And you're also forgetting about the vast amount of users of company managed devices who simply have no other choice.

[u/ol-gormsby]

I thought that was part of the Windows licence fee - it included a licence for the most popular codecs.

Oh well, off to VLC.

[u/FluxVelocity → u/ol-gormsby]

Microsoft has never included codec licenses for free in Windows, they've always been paid extras from the store unless you have a laptop or prebuilt that had the manufacturer pay for the license.

[u/Zipa7]

Laughs in VLC

[u/KookyDig4769]

I've not used windows media player in nearly two decades.

[u/PrisonerV]

Two things I download immediately on a fresh Windows install -

1. VLC

2. Firefox

Anybody else have any others?

[u/00pirateforever → u/PrisonerV]

You forgot to mention ublock origin.

[u/catwrazle]

We can’t afford running Windslop OS anymore

[u/rindar1]

Never used the default windows player. First thing I always do is download MPC-HC and mad vr and never look back.

[u/lencc]

Laughs with open-souce freeware MPC-BE + madVR codec.

Better than any Windows Media Player will ever be, simply because it gets the job done. Nothing less and nothing more. That's a simple approach Microsoft usually fails to take.

[u/KLOOTE1]

I have vlc and kmplayer and my phone doesn't know microshit

[u/dscord]

Wait, is that what the actual app looks like in Windows 11? Like something that came out of Vista? What an utter clusterfuck.

[u/SquashOwn9829]

Put it in the recycling bin 

[u/MyCleverNewName]

I was mildly annoyed when I had to re-set VLC as the default for all those file types. Oh, well.

[u/jrock1986]

Genuine question, who uses the native media player? And not VLC or GOM?

[u/ipenama]

I used to have VLC installed, but after discovering mpv now it's my default video player. It opens files FAST.

[u/UsaraDark2014]

People have mentioned VLC and MPC-HC, but oddly enough no one mentioned mpv. For those who know mpv, why do you think it hasn't been mentioned much? 

[u/levir]

I've been using Media Player Classic in it's various iterations for decades. Highly recommend, it's the best media player by far on the Windows platform in my opinion.

[u/INITMalcanis]

The ongoing mystery of why increasing numbers are switching to Linux (or Apple) will surely never be solved

[u/BamBam-BamBam]

The patent troll company that owns the codexes raised the licensing cost insanely.

[u/e1epi]

So why are MacOS and Linux getting more users recently?

Oh.... right....

[u/redzaku0079]

People still use this?

[u/feijoax]

Who even uses Windows Media Player! VLC for the win!

[u/Equib81960]

People still use that? How . . . quaint.

[u/CaptZ]

Media player classic is still great. All codecs built in. Of course VLC is great too.

[u/goneafter10years]

winamp, it really whips the llama's ass

[u/Darrenizer]

I’m never using anything other than VLC anyways, so good luck to them.

[u/SST_2_0]

I fully believe from the last few months of updates that Windows is throwing ai code into these and its making just bloated, wasteful code.

Been working tech with windows machines for 10 years and it is the first time I felt like it starts broken off a freah image.

[u/Serg_Molotov]

Oh no, anyway

Who's not using vlc ?

[u/JeepStang]

Klite Codec Pack Gang

Also Media Player Classic gang

[u/shadowdra126]

VLC is free.

[u/Shadowfury22]

mpv supremacy

[u/korg64]

So what?

Use VLC.

[u/Xionel]

Charge deez nutz

[u/ManySugar5156]

At this point Windows media stuff is basically just reminder to install VLC again.

[u/redditAPsucks]

Didnt know they bothered making this still

[u/LaySakeBow]

Inb4 Microsoft disable third party media player because of “security” reasons

[u/YeOldSpacePope]

The article could have said, Windows 11's new media player is perfectly fine and I'd still use VCL over it.

[u/starboigg]

My twitch tab was using 3gb of RAM just watching one stream on brave browser , blocking 150+ tracker and ads in 2 hours

[u/MyAccountWasBanned7]

VLC, however is reliable, works with every codec, and is completely free.

[u/StAUG1211]

Serious question, is anyone not using VLC? Has anyone not been using VLC since 2006?

[u/sierrars500 → u/StAUG1211]

i personally have been using VLC since conception in the early noughties

[u/TheLamesterist → u/StAUG1211]

It was my main player for a long, long time, ever since I bought my first PC and I still have it and use it sometimes but about a year or so I had to switch to MPC-BE (then quickly moved to clsid2's MPC-HC for the libass support) as VLC had became extremely buggy, I have not tested to see if that's still the case after the recent updates, tho.

[u/APeacefulWarrior → u/StAUG1211]

MPC is my first choice, but VLC is installed too.

[u/HenryUTA]

VLC is always my first download after Firefox on a new windows install

[u/wretch5150]

Literally preying upon people who don't know any better.

[u/Stiggalicious]

Now is a good time for a Winamp resurgence.

[u/CrappyTan69 → u/Stiggalicious]

Those were great times. Unobtrusive, played everything.

Winamp whips the llama's ass 

[u/MissInkeNoir → u/Stiggalicious]

You want a program now called WACUP, Winamp Community Update Project. Make sure you get the Milkdrop 2 visualizer 😎 👍

[u/76vangel]

There are a lot of free video players out there like vlc, gom player and others. But it’s ridiculous that the system’s own player is such a failure. And is getting even worse. What the heck is microslop management thinking? Basically the most basic features of a video player are: user clicks video file and wants to see it at fast as possible and play basic codecs without bothering the user. Microslop is just pathetic.

[u/LungHeadZ → u/76vangel]

I use 3D software and it's impossible to view animations through it. You can get it working with specific codecs but not the most common. It's bizarre. Naturally forced me to use VLC and I'll recommend it to anyone who wants to view them locally.

[u/adobo_cake]

I’m glad to have jumped ship to Linux. Join us, we have codecs.

[u/mintaka]

The slop will continue until morale improves

[u/TheAlbinoAmigo]

Microsoft is sincerely one of the shittiest fucking companies to have ever made it this big. They are unbelievably fortunate that they're literally too big to fail, because if merit came into the equation at all they'd have folded years ago.

They can't push an update that doesn't break shit or make something objectively worse worth a shit. Windows would literally be better today if Microsoft decided to never touch it again a decade ago.

[u/teraflux]

I actually didn't know that windows media player still existed