Windows Media Players

Window media player skin it
Windows Media Player doesn't have to look like a boring box. Change its appearance to something a little more you -- something more colorful, classy, or just plain strange.

Click the window media player Skin Chooser button.
Click each skin to see what it looks like.
When you find one you want to use, double-click it or click Apply Skin.
If you don't find anything you like, click More Skins to search the Windows Media Player skins gallery.

Lava lamp effects
Trick out your music with pulsating images called visualizations. Graphics files will spontaneously react to the changing beat and volume of your music. To select a visualization, click View, click Visualization, select a category, and select a visualization. Download other Visualizations from the Windows Media Player site.

If you want to watch your favorite visualization full-screen, put on your favorite playlist, select an Ambiance, Battery, or Plenoptic visualization, and press Alt + Enter to give your party a unique twist. Press Esc to return to your desktop.

Some visualizations look odd in the larger size because the resolution for the visualization is different from your monitor's resolution. Here's how you fix the problem.

Click Tools and choose Options.
Go to the Plug-Ins tab.
Select Visualizations and the type of visualization you're using.
Click the Properties button.
Under "Full screen settings," choose your screen resolution from the drop-down menu.
Click OK.

Change views
Ctrl-key shortcuts change the size and shape of your player instantly.

Press Ctrl + 1 for full-size view.
Press Ctrl + 2 for compact view.

If you have Windows XP, you can also put Media Player in your taskbar.

Right-click an empty area of the Windows toolbar.
Click Toolbars and choose Windows Media Player.
Minimize Media Player.

Click the Mini-Player icon in your taskbar to get a small screen for your visualizations or video. Click the player's information button (it's the only button you won't also see on a home stereo) to get access to your CDs and playlists.

Volume hot keys
Three keys will help you adjust your player's volume while it's minimized.

F8 mutes your player. Press F8 again to bring the music back.
F9 turns volume down a notch.
F10 pumps up your desktop sound.

Stop WMP from stuttering
Streaming media often stops and sputters on low-bandwidth connections. Increase the amount of time your player spends buffering the stream and you'll be on your way to clean, crisp playback.

Click Tools and choose Options.
Go to the Performance tab and put a mark next to the Buffer radio button.
Increase your buffer time.
Click OK.

Fast playlists
You don't need to add each MP3 to a playlist individually. Make huge playlists in seconds.

Click Media Library and open the playlist you want to use.
Open the folder where you store your MP3s on your hard drive.
Select the songs you'd like in your playlist. Hold down the Ctrl key to choose multiple MP3s.
Drag the MP3s into the right pane of your playlist.

Open URLs
You don't need to spend hours searching for video or audio streams you've recently played when you want to watch them again. Simply open the Internet file in Media Player.

Click File and select Open URL.
Select the file from the pull-down menu or type the file's URL.
Click OK.

If you want more information about the file (file size, file type, size, length, and creation date), go to File and select Properties.

Increase privacy protection
Windows Media Player can send out information about how you use the program. Make sure it doesn't.

Click Tools and choose Options.
Go to the Privacy tab.
Uncheck "Send unique player ID to content providers."
Uncheck "I want to help make Microsoft software and services even better by sending Player usage data to Microsoft."
Click OK.

Share music over a network
Play your CD tracks on other networked PCs.

Click Tools and choose License Management.
Select a shared folder on your network.
Click Backup Now to back up your audio licenses to this shared folder.
On a second PC, select the same folder using Tools, License Management.
Click Restore Now.
The second PC can now play the same audio tracks.

Copy and burn your music
Get music from a CD into your computer.

Insert a CD into your CD drive.
Click the Copy From CD button.
Select individual tracks or the entire album and copy.

If you later want to burn your music to a backup CD or transfer music to a portable MP3 player or Pocket PC, click the Copy to CD or Device button. Select the tracks you want to burn or transfer and the device you want to use. Start copying!