Windows Media Player Shafts OS X users

[laserbeahm]

Is anyone else tired of getting shafted by upgrades of Windows Media Player. How many times have you downloaded a WMV file, and the sound plays but there is no video. Have you ever tried to play a file and it tells you to upgrade to the latest version of Windows Media Player because you don't have the correct drivers?

I wish more video files were in QuickTime. They would look a lot better. With increased bandwith, the excuse that the files are too large is becoming less effective.

Does anyone else agree?

 

[7on]

I agree.

WMV has always been horrible. Back when I was PC only it was horrible. I always spent the extra 30minutes to download a Quicktime file as opposed to a WMV one.

 

[Mav451]

Is anyone else tired of getting shafted by upgrades of Windows Media Player. How many times have you downloaded a WMV file, and the sound plays but there is no video. Have you ever tried to play a file and it tells you to upgrade to the latest version of Windows Media Player because you don't have the correct drivers?

I wish more video files were in QuickTime. They would look a lot better. With increased bandwith, the excuse that the files are too large is becoming less effective.

Does anyone else agree?

Sadly I think this is an issue of the native platform. WMP will always be "better" on PC. Notice I said "better"--better does NOT mean it is a good media player (compared to Media Player Classic or VLC), just better in the sense that it is more smoothly integrated (whether that's a good thing or not).

PC users are pretty much shafted with QT, so that's why most PC users don't use it (and with the prevalence of PC users...there is less reason to use QT as opposed to WMV, though I personally don't like WMV much better).

 

[BaDBoY]

its another marketing scheme no doubt

 

[ionas]

Who cares!

I got Video Lan Client (VLC)
I got MPlayer for Mac OS X (originally for Linux)
I got Quicktime
(And DivX and XVid Codecs)

I don't need more. I can play a lot more formats and codecs than any average Windows User can play cause he/she won't even know about alternatives.

If people offer content only available in wmv that these players cannot play, then I just won't need that content, cause the content creators where so dumb that I do not expect the content to be anything I really need (means: need for study, work or politics)

btw.: on windows 2000 windows media player 9 crashes, crashes, crashes, one more reason I am just switching to a G5 dual

 

[therevolution]

Try using VLC. In my experience, it actually handles wmv files better than Windows Media Player does.

 

[johnnyjibbs]

I hate WMV. Usually if there is a choice, the WMV file is about 2/3 the size of the QT file but is less than half the quality. I reckon QT if better per given bitrate than WMV anyway.

WMV and WMA are horrible. I always go for the QT version.

Oh, and sure, QT isn't as good on PC as Mac, but at least they're also at version 6.5.1.

 

[Darwin]

I too don't like WMP, whether its on Mac or PC

Sometimes the audio plays and I get a slideshow for the Image

And then other times it just Buffers and buffers and buffers

Its funny that with QT you select a Webcast for example and it a few seconds your watching with no pauses

Oh well, thats Standards for you, who needs them anyway

 

[BornAgainMac]

You can scrub thru video with WMP vs Quicktime. And I have had excellent results using a PC to play Quicktime Pro. I am glad WMP was developed because it seems like Quicktime got a lot better since WMP 7 for the PC came out.

I am looking forward to the new Star Wars III teaser due out in the Fall. I bet Quicktime will be updated during that timeframe and be required for the teaser.

 

[mainstreetmark]

I am looking forward to the new Star Wars III teaser due out in the Fall. I bet Quicktime will be updated during that timeframe and be required for the teaser.

So, you're saying that in order to see whiney kids and unnecessary cgi filler we'll have to upgrade to QT Pro?

 

[Dunepilot]

Is anyone else tired of getting shafted by upgrades of Windows Media Player. How many times have you downloaded a WMV file, and the sound plays but there is no video. Have you ever tried to play a file and it tells you to upgrade to the latest version of Windows Media Player because you don't have the correct drivers?

I'm sick of this too. You open the wmv, then suddenly vlc quits itself, or if you're using WMP to open the file, you get a fresh browser window telling you to download a product that you know (and MS knows) doesn't even exist. Apple treats Windows users a lot better than this.

 

[ExoticFish]

now i'm not supporting Micro$oft but the WMA incompatability is not their fault. the codec that a lot of people use to encode WMA with that does not work with the Mac version of WMP is not made by Micro$oft. it's made by another company that has not ported it to Mac and it doesn't sound like they are planning on it anytime soon. WMP for Mac includes all the Micro$oft codecs that the Windows version has. blame the crappy company (i forget their name at the moment) that won't bring that widely used codec to Mac.

 

[Horrortaxi]

Yes, laserbeahm, I do agree--strongly. But it's a little to simplified to say "I wish more people used Quicktime." Sure it's a better format, but have you heard the words "monopoly", "choke hold" or "anal rape" used in reference to Microsoft's dominance of the computer industry? This is an example of that. MS has the dominant OS, so they can put whatever file formats they want into it and that will suddenly become the dominant format for that type of file. Before Windows XP came out, who ever heard of a WMA or WMV file? We all worked with mpeg, quicktime, and mp3. XP supports none of those out of the box. You cannot rip a CD as an mp3 with Windows straight out of the box. You have to use WMA--a propriatary format. Since most people never change presets or download additional software, their music is all WMA and their home movies are WMV--just because they don't know better and weren't presented with a choice.

This is just a setup for further Microsoft dominance in the future. They've gotten past operating systems and software--they're into hardware now. Home entertainment. They want to dominate your house. Why? To enrich people's lives? Of course not! To control us? Quite possibly. Why control us? I don't know. Sometimes people want to control just for the sake of control and those are the scariest people in the history books. Sig heil.