February 2003

This documentation provides late-breaking or other information that supplements the documentation for Microsoft® Windows Media® Player 9 Series.

Contents

Minimum system requirements

Known issues

Legal notice

Minimum system requirements

For information on minimum hardware and software requirements, please read System Requirements.

Known Issues

Installing the Player

Installing the Player on Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows XP Professional
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to install Windows Media Player 9 Series on computers running Windows 2000, Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows XP Professional. For more information about user accounts and groups, see Windows Help.

Backing up your licenses
If there are licensed or protected files on your computer, it is recommended that you back up your licenses before installing Windows Media Player 9 Series. For more information about backing up your licenses, see the Help for your version of the Player.

Turn on System Restore before installing the Player
Before installing Windows Media Player 9 Series, verify that System Restore is turned on. System Restore is available in Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP Home Edition, and Windows XP Professional. For more information about System Restore, see Windows Help. Note that if you are running Windows Millennium Edition, you must download an update for System Restore.

Adding files to Media Library
If you are upgrading from the Windows Media Player 9 Series beta release or release candidate, Media Library will be empty after the upgrade is complete. The digital media files are still on your computer, but you need to add the files to Media Library again. Note that when you upgrade from the release candidate of Windows Media Player 9 Series, you may be prompted to have Windows Media Player search your hard disk for digital media files in order to add them to Media Library. For more information about adding files to Media Library, see "To add files by searching for audio and video" in Windows Media Player Help.

Saving ratings and play counts
By default, ratings and play counts are stored in Media Library rather than in the digital media files themselves. Because the Media Library from the beta or release candidate version of Windows Media Player 9 Series is not saved when you upgrade to the final version of the Player, the ratings and play counts are not retained. To prevent this from occurring, download and run the Windows Media Player 9 Series Ratings Migration Power Toy. The Power Toy adds the ratings to your .wma and .mp3 files.

  Caution You must download and use the Power Toy before installing the final version of Windows Media Player 9 Series, or the rating values will be lost after you upgrade. Note that the Power Toy is not supported by Microsoft.

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Removing this version of the Player

The method for removing Windows Media Player 9 Series from your computer varies depending on the version of the Windows operating system your computer is running.

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General playback issues

Experiencing playback problems
If you are experiencing audio or video problems while playing digital media files, install the latest audio and video drivers for your hardware from the hardware manufacturer's Web site. Problems may include choppy playback, video that does not display, or video that is displayed upside down.

Playing DVDs
If you have more than one DVD decoder (also called an MPEG-2 decoder) installed on your computer, you may experience problems when playing DVDs. To resolve the problem, you can remove the decoder that you do not use by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel.

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Using portable devices

For best performance, install the latest device drivers available for your device. For a list of supported devices, links to device manufacturer Web sites, and information about available driver downloads, see Cool Devices.

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Using Netscape Navigator as the default browser

Configuring proxy settings
If you configure Netscape Navigator to be the default Internet browser, the stand-alone version of Windows Media Player 9 Series uses the proxy settings specified in Netscape. However, if you view content that is embedded in a Web page, the proxy settings specified in the Internet Options Control Panel item are used instead.

Using Media Guide with Netscape Navigator 7.0
If your Internet connection requires a proxy server, and you download and install Netscape Navigator 7.0 and then configure it to be your default browser, the Media Guide feature is not displayed and the Player is unable to receive streamed content. To resolve this issue, download the offline full Netscape installation package, and then install the software without specifying an explicit proxy server.

Digital rights management (DRM) not supported
Digital rights management (DRM) is not supported by Netscape Navigator versions 6.x or 7.0. This means, for example, that if Netscape Navigator 6.x or 7.0 is your default Internet browser, it may not be able to acquire a license to play protected content.

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Copying to CD

Creating HighMAT CDs
HighMAT™ (High-performance Media Access Technology) CDs are a type of data CD that can contain both audio and video content. A HighMAT CD offers an improved playback experience when played on next-generation consumer devices such as HighMAT-compatible CD or DVD players. When you create a HighMAT CD by using the Player, however, the CD contains audio data only. Only Windows Media files (such as files with .wma, and .wmv extensions), .mp3 files, and .wav files can be copied to a HighMAT CD. If you copy a file that contains video, such as a .wmv or .asf file, to a HighMAT CD, only the audio content is copied to the CD.

When an .mp3 file with a bit rate less than 64 Kbps or greater than 160 Kbps is copied to a HighMAT CD, the file is converted to a Windows Media Audio (WMA) file using a bit rate that is closest to that of the .mp3 file. In addition, .wav files are always converted to Windows Media Audio files when they are copied to a HighMAT CD.

When copied to a HighMAT CD, files created using the Windows Media Audio 9 Professional codec or Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless codec (also known as Windows Media Audio Lossless format) are converted using the Windows Media Audio 9 codec (also known as Windows Media Audio format) to a bit rate of 160 Kbps.

Roxio CD Burning and licensed files
Roxio CD Burning may quit unexpectedly when you are copying (burning) licensed files to a CD and you exceed the copy limit specified in the license for one or more of the files. You can prevent this problem by downloading the updated CD Creator engine for Windows Media Player at the Roxio Web site .

Note Roxio CD Burning is only available on computers running Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, or Windows 2000.

Using mini Player mode
If you used mini Player mode after you installed the beta release of Windows Media Player 9 Series, you must restart your computer after upgrading to the final version of Windows Media Player 9 Series to continue using mini Player mode.

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Issues with Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint 2002 version 1.0

If Windows Media Player 9 Series is installed on the same computer as Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint® 2002 version 1.0 and you attempt to preview your presentations by using Microsoft Producer, you will receive Microsoft ActiveX® control alerts and will not be able to preview the presentation using the Preview Presentations tab. You will also receive ActiveX control alerts when you attempt to access the presentation templates in Microsoft Producer. To prevent these alerts from appearing, upgrade to Producer for Office PowerPoint 2003.

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Compatibility layer

To take advantage of security, privacy, and technology improvements, Windows Media Player 9 Series includes a compatibility layer. The compatibility layer enables earlier versions of the Player to use the enhancements in Windows Media Player 9 Series. Although the compatibility layer has been tested in a number of scenarios with different Web sites, it is possible that, after installing this version of the Player, you may notice differences when viewing Web pages or audio and video content in other programs. Examples of these changes may include video not playing or not playing properly. For information about resolving this issue, you can search the Knowledge Base, or you can contact the program or Web page developer.

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Technical support options

The services and prices listed in the following table are available in the United States only. Support outside the United States may vary; see the worldwide Web site listed in the table for regional contact details. Microsoft support services are subject to then-current prices, terms, and conditions, which are subject to change without notice.

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Legal notice

Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places and events depicted herein are fictitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.

© 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows Media, Windows NT, ActiveSync, ActiveX, Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectInput, DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectShow, DirectSound, DirectX, FrontPage, HighMAT, JScript, Microsoft Press, MSN, NetShow, Outlook, PowerPoint, Visual Basic, Visual C++, Visual InterDev, Visual J++, Visual Studio, WebTV, Win32, and Win32s are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.A. and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

GIF decompression code, copyright 1990, David Koblas. Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

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