Windows Media Player Download 12: How to Get It and Why You Need It

Windows Media Player is one of the most popular and versatile media players for Windows-based devices. It allows you to play, organize, sync, and stream your music, videos, and photos across your devices. But did you know that there is a newer and better version of Windows Media Player available? It’s called Windows Media Player 12, and it comes with many features and improvements that make it the best media player for your digital media collection. In this article, we will show you how to get Windows Media Player 12 for your system, how to use it for your media needs, and how to troubleshoot and fix problems with it. Let’s get started!

What is Windows Media Player 12?

Windows Media Player 12 is the latest version of Windows Media Player, a software application developed by Microsoft that plays, organizes, syncs, and streams digital media files. It was first released in 2009 as part of Windows 7, and since then it has been included in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 as well. It is also available as an optional feature that you can enable or disable in some editions of Windows 10.

Features and benefits of Windows Media Player 12

Windows Media Player 12 has many features and benefits that make it the best media player for your digital media collection. Here are some of them:

It has a sleek and minimalist design that shows only the controls you need, so nothing comes between you and your media.
It supports many popular audio and video formats, such as MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, FLAC, MP4, WMV, AVI, MOV, MKV, and more.
It can play Flip Video and unprotected songs from your iTunes library without any conversion or extra software.
It can sync music, videos, and photos to your portable devices, such as iPods, iPhones, Android phones, tablets, etc.
It can stream media files to your other devices on your home network, such as Xbox One, Smart TVs, etc.
It can create playlists, edit tags, rate songs, rip CDs, burn CDs, etc.
It can access online media stores and services, such as Groove Music Pass, Spotify, Pandora, etc.
It can display album art, lyrics, artist information, etc.

Supported formats and devices of Windows Media Player 12

Windows Media Player 12 supports a wide range of formats and devices for your media needs. Here are some of them:

Format	Description
MP3	A common audio format that compresses sound data without losing much quality.
WMA	A proprietary audio format developed by Microsoft that offers high-quality sound at low bitrates.
AAC	An advanced audio format that offers better sound quality than MP3 at similar bitrates.
WAV	An uncompressed audio format that preserves the original sound quality of the source.
FLAC	A lossless audio format that compresses sound data without losing any quality.
MP4	A common video format that supports high-quality video and audio.
WMV	A proprietary video format developed by Microsoft that offers good compression and quality.
AVI	A popular video format that can contain various codecs and data types.
MOV	A video format developed by Apple that is compatible with QuickTime and iTunes.
MKV	A flexible video format that can contain multiple audio and subtitle tracks.
JPG	A common image format that compresses image data with some loss of quality.
PNG	An image format that supports transparency and lossless compression.
GIF	An image format that supports animation and limited colors.
BMP	An uncompressed image format that preserves the original image quality.

Windows Media Player 12 supports many devices for syncing and streaming your media files. Here are some of them:

Device	Description
iPod	A portable media player developed by Apple that can play music, videos, podcasts, etc.
iPhone	A smartphone developed by Apple that can play music, videos, podcasts, etc.
Android phone	A smartphone that runs on the Android operating system and can play music, videos, podcasts, etc.
Tablet	A portable device that has a larger screen than a smartphone and can play music, videos, podcasts, etc.
Xbox One	A gaming console developed by Microsoft that can play games, music, videos, etc.
Smart TV	A television that has internet connectivity and can play online media, music, videos, etc.

How to get Windows Media Player 12 for your system

Depending on your system, you may already have Windows Media Player 12 installed or you may need to download it from the Microsoft website. Here are the steps to get Windows Media Player 12 for your system:

Windows 10

If you have Windows 10 Home or Pro edition, you already have Windows Media Player 12 installed on your system. You can find it by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar. If you have Windows 10 N or KN edition, you need to download the Media Feature Pack from the Microsoft website. This will enable Windows Media Player 12 and other media-related features on your system. You can find the download link for your version of Windows 10 here. After downloading the Media Feature Pack, run the installer and follow the instructions. You may need to restart your system to complete the installation.

Windows 8.1

If you have Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 Pro edition, you already have Windows Media Player 12 installed on your system. You can find it by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the Start screen. If you have Windows 8.1 N or KN edition, you need to download the Media Feature Pack from the Microsoft website. This will enable Windows Media Player 12 and other media-related features on your system. You can find the download link for your version of Windows 8.1 here. After downloading the Media Feature Pack, run the installer and follow the instructions. You may need to restart your system to complete the installation.

Windows 7

If you have Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, or Enterprise edition, you already have Windows Media Player 12 installed on your system. You can find it by clicking on the Start button and typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box. If you have Windows 7 N or KN edition, you need to download the Media Feature Pack from the Microsoft website. This will enable Windows Media Player 12 and other media-related features on your system. You can find the download link for your version of Windows 7 here. After downloading the Media Feature Pack, run the installer and follow the instructions. You may need to restart your system to complete the installation.

Mac OS X

If you have a Mac computer, you may not have Windows Media Player 12 installed on your system. However, you can still play Windows Media files on your Mac by using other media players or converters. Here are some options:

You can use VLC Media Player, a free and open-source media player that can play almost any media format, including Windows Media files. You can download VLC Media Player for Mac here. After downloading and installing VLC Media Player, you can open and play Windows Media files with it.
You can use Flip4Mac, a software that allows you to play Windows Media files in QuickTime Player and other Mac applications. You can download Flip4Mac for Mac here. After downloading and installing Flip4Mac, you can open and play Windows Media files with QuickTime Player.
You can use Wondershare UniConverter, a software that can convert Windows Media files to other formats that are compatible with Mac devices, such as MP4, MOV, etc. You can download Wondershare UniConverter for Mac here. After downloading and installing Wondershare UniConverter, you can import and convert Windows Media files with it.

How to use Windows Media Player 12 for your media needs

Now that you have Windows Media Player 12 installed on your system, you can use it for your media needs. Here are some of the things you can do with Windows Media Player 12:

Play a CD or DVD in Windows Media Player 12

If you have a CD or DVD drive on your computer, you can play a CD or DVD in Windows Media Player 12. Here are the steps:

Insert the CD or DVD into the drive.
Open Windows Media Player 12 by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar or the Start screen.
Click on the CD or DVD icon on the left pane of the library view.
Select the tracks or chapters you want to play and click on the Play button.
You can use the controls on the bottom of the window to pause, stop, skip, repeat, shuffle, etc.

Burn and rip CDs in Windows Media Player 12

If you have a CD or DVD drive on your computer, you can also burn and rip CDs in Windows Media Player 12. Burning a CD means creating a copy of your music files on a blank CD. Ripping a CD means copying music files from a CD to your computer. Here are the steps:

Burn a CD in Windows Media Player 12

Insert a blank CD into the drive.
Open Windows Media Player 12 by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar or the Start screen.
Click on the Burn tab on the upper right corner of the window.
Drag and drop the music files you want to burn from the library view to the burn list on the right pane.
Click on the Start burn button to begin burning the CD.
You can use the controls on the bottom of the window to cancel, pause, resume, etc.

Rip a CD in Windows Media Player 12

Insert a CD into the drive.
Open Windows Media Player 12 by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar or the Start screen.
Click on the Rip CD button on the upper left corner of the window.
Select the tracks you want to rip and click on the Rip settings button to choose the format and quality of the ripped files.
Click on the Rip CD button again to begin ripping the CD.
You can use the controls on the bottom of the window to cancel, pause, resume, etc.

Sync and stream media files in Windows Media Player 12

If you have other devices that can play media files, such as portable devices or network devices, you can also sync and stream media files in Windows Media Player 12. Syncing means transferring media files from your computer to your portable device. Streaming means playing media files from your computer to your network device. Here are the steps:

Sync media files in Windows Media Player 12

Connect your portable device to your computer via USB cable or Bluetooth.
Open Windows Media Player 12 by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar or the Start screen.
Click on the Sync tab on the upper right corner of the window.
Drag and drop the media files you want to sync from the library view to the sync list on the right pane.
Click on the Start sync button to begin syncing the media files.
You can use the controls on the bottom of the window to cancel, pause, resume, etc.

Stream media files in Windows Media Player 12

Make sure your network device is connected to the same home network as your computer.
Open Windows Media Player 12 by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar or the Start screen.
Click on the Stream button on the upper left corner of the window and select Turn on media streaming.
Select the network device you want to stream to and click on Allow.
Drag and drop the media files you want to stream from the library view to the play list on the right pane.
Click on the Play to button and select your network device.
You can use the controls on the bottom of the window to pause, stop, skip, etc.

How to troubleshoot and fix problems with Windows Media Player 12

Sometimes, you may encounter some problems with Windows Media Player 12, such as playback issues, sync issues, streaming issues, etc. Here are some of the ways you can troubleshoot and fix problems with Windows Media Player 12:

Check for updates and codecs

One of the common causes of problems with Windows Media Player 12 is outdated software or missing codecs. You can check for updates and codecs by following these steps:

Open Windows Media Player 12 by typing “Windows Media Player” in the search box on the taskbar or the Start screen.
Click on the Help button on the upper right corner of the window and select Check for updates.
If there are any updates available, follow the instructions to install them.
If there are no updates available, click on the Organize button on the upper left corner of the window and select Options.
Click on the Player tab and check the box that says Download codecs automatically.
Click on OK and restart Windows Media Player 12.

Reinstall or enable Windows Media Player 12

If checking for updates and codecs does not solve your problem, you may need to reinstall or enable Windows Media Player 12. You can do this by following these steps:

Reinstall Windows Media Player 12

Go to Control Panel and select Programs and Features.
Click on Turn Windows features on or off.
Uncheck the box that says Media Features and click on OK.
Restart your computer and repeat steps 1-3, but this time check the box that says Media Features and click on OK.
Restart your computer again and open Windows Media Player 12.

Enable Windows Media Player 12

Go to Control Panel and select Programs and Features.
Click on Turn Windows features on or off.
Check the box that says Media Features and click on OK.
Restart your computer and open Windows Media Player 12.

Contact Microsoft support or community forums

If none of the above methods work, you may need to contact Microsoft support or community forums for further assistance. You can do this by following these steps:

Contact Microsoft support

Go to the Microsoft support website and select Windows Media Player from the list of products.
Choose the version of Windows Media Player you have and the type of problem you are facing.
Follow the instructions or links provided by the Microsoft support team.
If you need to talk to a live person, you can also call or chat with the Microsoft support team.

Contact community forums

Go to the Microsoft community website and select Windows Media Player from the list of categories.
Browse through the existing threads or posts related to your problem and see if anyone has a solution or suggestion.
If you don’t find a relevant thread or post, you can also create a new one and describe your problem in detail.
Wait for other users or experts to reply to your thread or post and follow their advice or feedback.

Conclusion

Windows Media Player 12 is a great media player for your digital media collection. It can play, organize, sync, and stream your music, videos, and photos across your devices. It supports many popular formats and devices for your media needs. It also has many features and benefits that make it the best media player for your system. However, if you encounter any problems with Windows Media Player 12, you can also troubleshoot and fix them by following the methods we discussed in this article. We hope this article helped you understand how to get and use Windows Media Player 12 for your system. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading!

FAQs

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about Windows Media Player 12:

Q: How do I update Windows Media Player 12?

A: You can update Windows Media Player 12 by checking for updates from the Help menu or from the Windows Update settings. You can also download the latest version of Windows Media Player 12 from the Microsoft website.

Q: How do I uninstall Windows Media Player 12?

A: You can uninstall Windows Media Player 12 by turning off the media features from the Windows features settings. You can also disable Windows Media Player 12 from the default programs settings.

Q: How do I change the default media player on my system?

A: You can change the default media player on your system by going to the default programs settings and choosing the media player you want to use for different file types and protocols.

Q: How do I add subtitles or captions to Windows Media Player 12?

A: You can add subtitles or captions to Windows Media Player 12 by downloading or creating a subtitle file that matches the video file name and placing it in the same folder as the video file. You can also enable subtitles or captions from the Play menu or from the right-click menu.

Q: How do I customize Windows Media Player 12?

A: You can customize Windows Media Player 12 by changing the settings from the Options menu or from the Organize menu. You can also change the appearance of Windows Media Player 12 by choosing a different skin or color scheme from the View menu or from the right-click menu.

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Windows Media Player Download [WORK] 12