Windows Media Player Problems

Windows Media Player architecture is not significantly changed in its 11^th version. The changes in this Windows Media Player update are related to user interface improvement and to maintain for additional online media store features. Therefore, general troubleshooting strategies that are used for Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 also be appropriate to Windows Media Player 11.

 

MORE INFORMATION

There is no license backup

Windows Media Player 11 does not offer an option to make a backup of licenses for protected media. External content providers must offer methods to do the following:

• Back up and reinstate licenses in their media programs
• Update the license for present content

If you have copied, or “ripped”, audio content from a CD and the Copy protect music option was enabled, you can no longer restore licenses if a difficulty occurs with the digital rights management (DRM) store on the computer. Therefore, if you have such content and the licenses are invalidated, you must re-copy the content from the unique source CD. For example, the licenses are invalidated after a clean installation of Windows or after you move the content to another computer.

You cannot transcode DRM-protected media

In some cases, Windows Media Player 11 cannot transcode DRM-protected media to fit on a transferable media device.

Cause

DRM-protected files cannot be transformed into any other format or even re-encoded in the same format by using a different bit rate. This is true even if you obtain a license from the content supplier to copy the file.

This activitiy also applies to music that has been copied from an audio CD into Windows Media Audio (WMA) by enabling the Copy protect music option.

Resolution

DRM-protected Windows Media Audio and DRM-protected Windows Media Video cannot presently be transcoded. To work around this restriction, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Disable the Copy Protect Music option, and then re-copy content

1. Right-click on the Windows Media Player toolbar, point to Tools, and then click Options.
2. Click on the Rip Music tab.
3. Click to clear the Copy protect music verify box.
4. Re-copy the music.

Method 2: Disable transcoding

You can end transcoding for a device if the device supports playback of media files in the original state. To do this, go after these steps:

1. Right-click on the Windows Media Player toolbar, point to Tools, and then click Options.
2. Click on the Devices tab.
3. Select a device, and then click on Properties.
4. Click on the Quality tab, and then click to clear the Convert music, pictures, videos, and TV shows as required verify box.

Method 3: Disable the Copy protect music selection, and then burn and re-copy content

You can burn content to an audio CD and then re-copy that audio CD to non-protected Windows Media Audio files otherwise to MP3 files. To do this, you should have the rights to burn some DRM-protected music to an audio CD. As soon you have burned and copied the media, it will be in a condition where Windows Media Player can transcode the media for your gadget.

Note When you burn content to an audio CD and then re-copy the content back to a Windows Media Audio file or to a MP3 file, you may decrease the quality of the audio compared to the unique source file. This is particularly true when you burn content at a lower bit rate.

You cannot play back DRM-protected media or obtain new licenses

You cannot play back DRM-protected media files by using Windows Media Player 11 or find new licenses for content. Additionally, you may get one of the following error messages:

The licenses for your media files are ruined. (Error code 0xC00D2754)

Windows Media Player 11 cannot play the file as the related license is either corrupted or not valid. (Error code 0xC00D11D6)

The license to play the package media is invalid

C00D277F – Secure storage protection error. Restore your licenses from a earlier backup and try again

C00D277F – Secure storage protection error. Restore your licenses from a earlier backup and try again

Cause

The DRM store on the computer is not valid or is spoiled in some way. Possible causes for this problem include the following:

• The processor has been changed.
• The motherboard has been changed.
• A BIOS setting has been changed that affected hardware. (For example, you disabled hyperthreading.)
• You moved the hard disk on which music was first downloaded from one computer to a different.
• An application, such as the RegClean utility, changed DRM settings in a manner that caused corruption.
• You performed a clean setting up of the operating system.

This issue occurs because DRM systems, such as Windows Product Activation, uphold an internal hardware ID. This ID is based on the hardware configuration that existed when Windows was installed or else when Windows Media Player 11 was installed. If you change the processor or other devices, the hardware ID in the DRM system does not go with the new computer configuration. In this case, DRM determines that a user has tried to shift protected content to another computer. This behavior can also occur if DRM detects that the DRM-protected storage in the registry has been changed to protect the uprightness of the DRM licenses.

Resolution

To reset the DRM store, go after these steps:

1. Exit the  Windows Media Player 11.
2. Find DRM folder on the hard disk. By default, this folder is %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\DRM in Microsoft Windows XP.
3. Delete the stuffing of the folder.
4. Visit the subsequent Microsoft Web site:

http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp

1. Follow the instruction on the Web site to renew the security component of Windows Media Player 11. This method should enable you to obtain new licenses for media. You should also be able to reorganize licenses for purchased content so that you can play that content on a computer.

You get an “An internal application error has occurred” error message

A number of Windows interface elements are blank. In addition, Windows Media Player 11 returns an “An internal application error has occurred” error message or does not begin.

Cause

This issue may occur if the component registration for the Jscript.dll file or for the VBScript.dll file has turn out to be damaged. This issue may also take place if the files have been unregistered.

Resolution

To resolve this matter, reregister the Jscript.dll and Vbscript.dll files. To do this, go after these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 jscript.dll, and then click OK.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 vbscript.dll, and then click OK.

   Note In Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, these commands must be run from an elevated command prompt. For more information about the elevated command prompt in Windows Vista, stopover the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/00d04415-2b2f-422c-b70e-b18ff918c2811033.mspx

Video playback issues

When you play back a video file in Windows Media Player 11, you may experience one of the subsequent symptoms:

• The video stutters or becomes uneven.
• The video and audio are not coordinated.

Probable causes for this behavior include the following issues:

• Inadequate system resources
• Network resource problems
• Software configuration problems

Insufficient system resources

The inadequate system resource could be the processor, the video card, or the hard disk.

Processor

A computer processor may not be powerful enough to process high-definition video at a fast sufficient rate to make sure that the playback is smooth and that the audio remains synchronized. Before you upgrade the processor to solve this problem, you may want to attempt one of the following methods:

• Improve the video card.
• If you are using a processor that can run at a slower speed for power management reasons, decide whether the same problem occurs when you run the computer on AC power.

Video card

Some video cards support offloading the video representation process to the video card. Offloading the video representation process reduces the load on the processor. Additionally, offloading video representation enables the computer to play much higher resolution video and to play video that has a much higher bit rate. This improvement is possible because the representation occurs in hardware.

Video cards that can offload the video representation process include the following:

• NVIDIA GeForce 6 series and later version
• ATI Xxxx series, X1xxx series, and later version

If a video card can offload video representation, but video playback is still uneven, you must confirm that offloading is going on. Offloading is supported by DirectX by using the DXVA characteristic. If DXVA is disabled, offloading does not occur, and the processor is strained to make the video.

Other troubleshooting options contain the following:

• Improve the video card drivers.
• Many video codecs have a “Use Hardware Acceleration” option. If that is the case for the format that you are playing, make sure that this option is enabled. Both the ATI Catalyst and the NVIDIA Forceware driver package consist of this option.

Network resource issues

If the video that is encountering the playback is being streamed over a network, the available network bandwidth may be inadequate to stream the video in real time. To quickly decide whether network bandwidth is an issue, play back the file after you copy it to the local computer. If the file plays back without harms, network bandwidth was probably insufficient.

When you use wireless networking, decide whether the wireless connection is contributing to the playback issue. If the wireless link is contributing to the playback issue, consider the following:

• 802.11b networks do not work well for video streaming for the reason that of low bandwidth.
• 802.11g networks offer higher bandwidth than 802.11b networks.
• Both 802.11b and 802.11g networks are prone to interference from other household electronics.
• 802.11a networks provide higher bandwidth and are less flat to interference from other household electronics than 802.11b or 802.11g networks.

Software configuration issues

Software configuration issues may also put in to video playback problems. For example, these harms may be caused by a codec issue or by Windows Media Player 11 configuration options that do not work with particular hardware or driver combinations.

Codec

If you have performance issues and if the video that you are playing is using a third-party codec, try the following:

• Issues that occur with one file
  If the playback issue is going on only with one particular file or with one particular file type, contact the vendor of the codec to see whether there is an update for that codec. If an updated codec does not resolve the issue, we recommend that you contact the original content provider.
• Issues that occur with one codec
  If the playback issue is going on only with video from one particular content provider or was created by using one particular software package, contact the software vendor or the content provider for more information. We advise this step especially if other files that were created by using the same codec have no playback issues,

Windows Media Player configuration

Windows Media Player 11 provides several options that you can use to put in order the performance settings for video and DVD playback. These settings are on the Performance tab in the Windows Media Player 11 choice.

If you need further assistance please visit http://www.livetechcare.com

How to solve Media Player Problems in Windows

Windows Media Player architecture is not significantly changed in its 11^th version. The changes in this Windows Media Player update are related to user interface improvement and to maintain for additional online media store features. Therefore, general troubleshooting strategies that are used for Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 also be appropriate to Windows Media Player 11.

 

MORE INFORMATION

There is no license backup

Windows Media Player 11 does not offer an option to make a backup of licenses for protected media. External content providers must offer methods to do the following:

• Back up and reinstate licenses in their media programs
• Update the license for present content

If you have copied, or “ripped”, audio content from a CD and the Copy protect music option was enabled, you can no longer restore licenses if a difficulty occurs with the digital rights management (DRM) store on the computer. Therefore, if you have such content and the licenses are invalidated, you must re-copy the content from the unique source CD. For example, the licenses are invalidated after a clean installation of Windows or after you move the content to another computer.

You cannot transcode DRM-protected media

In some cases, Windows Media Player 11 cannot transcode DRM-protected media to fit on a transferable media device.

Cause

DRM-protected files cannot be transformed into any other format or even re-encoded in the same format by using a different bit rate. This is true even if you obtain a license from the content supplier to copy the file.

This activitiy also applies to music that has been copied from an audio CD into Windows Media Audio (WMA) by enabling the Copy protect music option.

Resolution

DRM-protected Windows Media Audio and DRM-protected Windows Media Video cannot presently be transcoded. To work around this restriction, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Disable the Copy Protect Music option, and then re-copy content

1. Right-click on the Windows Media Player toolbar, point to Tools, and then click Options.
2. Click on the Rip Music tab.
3. Click to clear the Copy protect music verify box.
4. Re-copy the music.

Method 2: Disable transcoding

You can end transcoding for a device if the device supports playback of media files in the original state. To do this, go after these steps:

1. Right-click on the Windows Media Player toolbar, point to Tools, and then click Options.
2. Click on the Devices tab.
3. Select a device, and then click on Properties.
4. Click on the Quality tab, and then click to clear the Convert music, pictures, videos, and TV shows as required verify box.

Method 3: Disable the Copy protect music selection, and then burn and re-copy content

You can burn content to an audio CD and then re-copy that audio CD to non-protected Windows Media Audio files otherwise to MP3 files. To do this, you should have the rights to burn some DRM-protected music to an audio CD. As soon you have burned and copied the media, it will be in a condition where Windows Media Player can transcode the media for your gadget.

Note When you burn content to an audio CD and then re-copy the content back to a Windows Media Audio file or to a MP3 file, you may decrease the quality of the audio compared to the unique source file. This is particularly true when you burn content at a lower bit rate.

You cannot play back DRM-protected media or obtain new licenses

You cannot play back DRM-protected media files by using Windows Media Player 11 or find new licenses for content. Additionally, you may get one of the following error messages:

The licenses for your media files are ruined. (Error code 0xC00D2754)

Windows Media Player 11 cannot play the file as the related license is either corrupted or not valid. (Error code 0xC00D11D6)

The license to play the package media is invalid

C00D277F – Secure storage protection error. Restore your licenses from a earlier backup and try again

C00D277F – Secure storage protection error. Restore your licenses from a earlier backup and try again

Cause

The DRM store on the computer is not valid or is spoiled in some way. Possible causes for this problem include the following:

• The processor has been changed.
• The motherboard has been changed.
• A BIOS setting has been changed that affected hardware. (For example, you disabled hyperthreading.)
• You moved the hard disk on which music was first downloaded from one computer to a different.
• An application, such as the RegClean utility, changed DRM settings in a manner that caused corruption.
• You performed a clean setting up of the operating system.

This issue occurs because DRM systems, such as Windows Product Activation, uphold an internal hardware ID. This ID is based on the hardware configuration that existed when Windows was installed or else when Windows Media Player 11 was installed. If you change the processor or other devices, the hardware ID in the DRM system does not go with the new computer configuration. In this case, DRM determines that a user has tried to shift protected content to another computer. This behavior can also occur if DRM detects that the DRM-protected storage in the registry has been changed to protect the uprightness of the DRM licenses.

Resolution

To reset the DRM store, go after these steps:

1. Exit the  Windows Media Player 11.
2. Find DRM folder on the hard disk. By default, this folder is %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\DRM in Microsoft Windows XP.
3. Delete the stuffing of the folder.
4. Visit the subsequent Microsoft Web site:

http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp

1. Follow the instruction on the Web site to renew the security component of Windows Media Player 11. This method should enable you to obtain new licenses for media. You should also be able to reorganize licenses for purchased content so that you can play that content on a computer.

You get an “An internal application error has occurred” error message

A number of Windows interface elements are blank. In addition, Windows Media Player 11 returns an “An internal application error has occurred” error message or does not begin.

Cause

This issue may occur if the component registration for the Jscript.dll file or for the VBScript.dll file has turn out to be damaged. This issue may also take place if the files have been unregistered.

Resolution

To resolve this matter, reregister the Jscript.dll and Vbscript.dll files. To do this, go after these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 jscript.dll, and then click OK.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regsvr32 vbscript.dll, and then click OK.

   Note In Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, these commands must be run from an elevated command prompt. For more information about the elevated command prompt in Windows Vista, stopover the following Microsoft Web site:

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVista/en/library/00d04415-2b2f-422c-b70e-b18ff918c2811033.mspx

Video playback issues

When you play back a video file in Windows Media Player 11, you may experience one of the subsequent symptoms:

• The video stutters or becomes uneven.
• The video and audio are not coordinated.

Probable causes for this behavior include the following issues:

• Inadequate system resources
• Network resource problems
• Software configuration problems

Insufficient system resources

The inadequate system resource could be the processor, the video card, or the hard disk.

Processor

A computer processor may not be powerful enough to process high-definition video at a fast sufficient rate to make sure that the playback is smooth and that the audio remains synchronized. Before you upgrade the processor to solve this problem, you may want to attempt one of the following methods:

• Improve the video card.
• If you are using a processor that can run at a slower speed for power management reasons, decide whether the same problem occurs when you run the computer on AC power.

Video card

Some video cards support offloading the video representation process to the video card. Offloading the video representation process reduces the load on the processor. Additionally, offloading video representation enables the computer to play much higher resolution video and to play video that has a much higher bit rate. This improvement is possible because the representation occurs in hardware.

Video cards that can offload the video representation process include the following:

• NVIDIA GeForce 6 series and later version
• ATI Xxxx series, X1xxx series, and later version

If a video card can offload video representation, but video playback is still uneven, you must confirm that offloading is going on. Offloading is supported by DirectX by using the DXVA characteristic. If DXVA is disabled, offloading does not occur, and the processor is strained to make the video.

Other troubleshooting options contain the following:

• Improve the video card drivers.
• Many video codecs have a “Use Hardware Acceleration” option. If that is the case for the format that you are playing, make sure that this option is enabled. Both the ATI Catalyst and the NVIDIA Forceware driver package consist of this option.

Network resource issues

If the video that is encountering the playback is being streamed over a network, the available network bandwidth may be inadequate to stream the video in real time. To quickly decide whether network bandwidth is an issue, play back the file after you copy it to the local computer. If the file plays back without harms, network bandwidth was probably insufficient.

When you use wireless networking, decide whether the wireless connection is contributing to the playback issue. If the wireless link is contributing to the playback issue, consider the following:

• 802.11b networks do not work well for video streaming for the reason that of low bandwidth.
• 802.11g networks offer higher bandwidth than 802.11b networks.
• Both 802.11b and 802.11g networks are prone to interference from other household electronics.
• 802.11a networks provide higher bandwidth and are less flat to interference from other household electronics than 802.11b or 802.11g networks.

Software configuration issues

Software configuration issues may also put in to video playback problems. For example, these harms may be caused by a codec issue or by Windows Media Player 11 configuration options that do not work with particular hardware or driver combinations.

Codec

If you have performance issues and if the video that you are playing is using a third-party codec, try the following:

• Issues that occur with one file
  If the playback issue is going on only with one particular file or with one particular file type, contact the vendor of the codec to see whether there is an update for that codec. If an updated codec does not resolve the issue, we recommend that you contact the original content provider.
• Issues that occur with one codec
  If the playback issue is going on only with video from one particular content provider or was created by using one particular software package, contact the software vendor or the content provider for more information. We advise this step especially if other files that were created by using the same codec have no playback issues,

Windows Media Player configuration

Windows Media Player 11 provides several options that you can use to put in order the performance settings for video and DVD playback. These settings are on the Performance tab in the Windows Media Player 11 choice.

If you need further assistance please visit http://www.livetechcare.com

How to Plug-in Media Player in Windows

Some websites require the use of the Windows Media Player (WMP) plug-in for certain content such as implanted audio and video. This article describes how to get the Windows Media Player plug-in running on Windows operating systems.

Standard WMP plug-in: In Windows XP and earlier, the WMP plug-in file “npdsplay.dll” and linked plug-in files are usually included in the Windows Media Player program folder. The WMP plug-in is automatically detected during plug-in scanning and will be used by Mozilla applications for set in media that require the WMP plug-in. Important: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-006 (February 2006) reported a susceptibility in the standard Windows Media Player plug-in file “npdsplay.dll” on Windows 2000 and Windows XP systems, that could result in remote code execution when using non-Microsoft web browsers. The “Security Update for Windows Media Player Plug-in (KB911564)”, offered from Windows Update or from the download links given in the security bulletin, updates the file “npdsplay.dll” (normally located in the C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player folder) to version 3.0.2.629. If your system includes the set WMP plug-in, make certain that it is the updated version of this file.

New WMP plug-in for Windows XP and above: Windows 7/Vista and some versions of Windows XP do not take in the standard WMP plug-in. Microsoft’s TechNet division has developed a new Windows Media Player Firefox Plug-in (file name “np-mswmp.dll”) for Windows XP and over. This new plug-in can be installed to solve a missing plug-in issue (see below) or to take benefit of its new features (e.g., scripting support) on systems that already include the standard WMP plug-in.

Missing plug-in

The WMP plug-in is not built-in in Windows 7/Vista  and may also be missing in other Windows systems. You may visit a site that includes fixed media requiring the WMP plug-in and receive a message such as Unknown plug-in (application/x-mplayer2 ) or you may be wrongly directed to reinstall the WMP program, which is not a solution, since reinstalling or updating Windows Media Player does not add the lost plug-ins .

If your system is not having the WMP plug-in, use one of these solutions:

Installing the new plug-in

Firefox and Sea monkey: Windows7/Vista/XP users can set up the new Windows Media Player Firefox Plug-in provided by Microsoft. To install the new plug-in, download the installer file to your computer, then shut your browser and run the installer.

The plug-in installer add the file “np-mswmp.dll” to the Firefox installation directory plug-ins folder, typically “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plug-ins”. If Firefox is not installed or if the Firefox installation directory cannot be situated, the plug-in will be placed in another location such as C:\PFiles\Plug-ins. To install the plug-in in Sea Monkey or in a custom Firefox installation, you will need to copy the “np-mswmp.dll” file to your browser’s plug-ins folder, for example, to the “C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Sea Monkey\plug-ins” folder for Sea Monkey.

Important: The new plug-in does not work in the older Mozilla group or in Firefox 1.0.x and may not work in other browsers. If the new plug-in does not work in your browser, remove the file “np-mswmp.dll” as of the browser plug-ins folder and follow the steps below to restore the standard WMP plug-in.

Troubleshooting

Video is invisible or disappears when you click a control

• When the player is active, right-click on it and selects ‘Options…’
• At the bottom of the window should be a ‘Video Acceleration’ option. Change it from full to half by stirring the slider.

Firefox crashes on exit if the WMP plug-in has been used (Windows 2000)

• Double-click on the ‘My Computer’ icon on the desktop, and then double-click on ‘Control Panel’.
• Double-click on the Java icon to carry up the Java control panel.
• Click on the ‘Update’ tab, and after that the ‘Update Now’ button.

WMP6 used even though WMP9 or later is installed

If the player controls look like they are as of an older version of Windows Media Player:

• Open this link and save it to your desktop: http://plug-indoc.mozdev.org/resources/wmp9.reg
• When it has downloaded, double-click it. A pop-up will inquire if you want to add the information in it to the registry – click Yes.

If the above registry patch doesn’t help then reinstalling a downloaded version of Windows Media Player, such as WMP10 or WMP11 for Windows XP, is reported to fix the difficulty

“Cannot create DirectShow Player”

This could be a symptom of this problem. Failing that, attempt reinstalling WMP and installing the latest version of DirectX. Windows XP users by WMP 9 or WMP 10 should upgrade to WMP 11.

Player appears and status bar says Ready but nothing happens when you click Play

If the WMP plug-in console appears and the player status bar says ‘Ready’ but nothing happens when you click Play and no error messages appear, this can be caused by internet connectivity issues.

• The WMP plug-in will not work unless Windows Media Player is able to open the file from the internet. Open the Windows Media Player program, then try opening a direct link to a media file (such as a .wav, .mid or .wma file) from within WMP, via “File -> Open URL”. (Testing plug-ins includes media test pages that contain such direct links.)

Internet Explorer also needs to be able to connect to the internet for the Windows Media Player plug-in to work:

• Make sure that Internet Explorer is not set to Work Offline mode: To check if IE is in ‘Work Offline’ mode, open IE and open the File menu. There would be a tick by the ‘Work Offline’ option. Click it to take IE off Work Offline mode.
• Make sure that Internet Explorer’s proxy settings are correct.
• Make sure that Internet Explorer and WMP are not blocked by your firewall. [13]

This problem can also be caused by DSL/cable providers using Network Address Translation (NAT) not forwarding UDP packets properly. The solution is to disable UDP in Windows Media Player:

1. In WMP, click Tools > Options
2. Select the ‘Network’ tab
3. Deselect ‘UDP’

It has also been reported that reinstalling/upgrading/downgrading Windows Media Player can solve this.

[edit]

WMP thinks it is always offline or returns an error that it cannot play any items in the playlist

You may receive an error that WMP needs to connect to the internet, or a message similar to “Windows Media Player cannot play any items in the playlist. To find information about the problem, click the Now Playing tab, and then click the icon next to each file in the List pane.” when attempting to connect to online content such as internet radio [14]. The instructions given here may help resolve the problem. Also, some sites may require cookies for the content to play so make sure that cookies are not being blocked. Internet firewall or other security software can also block WMP so check your firewall settings and make sure that WMP is allowed access to the internet. If you are running Zone Alarm, set it to Medium security, or go into the Firewall settings page and hit the “Custom” settings button, enable the “Allow outgoing TCP ports” option, then specify “554, 1755” as the selected ports. [15]

[edit]

Crashes or missing WMP controls while trying to play embedded WMV files

Your browser may crash or, if the video does play, the WMP controls (play/pause/stop) or right-click options may be missing [16]. This can happen when the VLC Media Player is installed and its own browser plug-in takes precedence over the WMP plug-in, causing a conflict. To resolve the issue, remove the VLC plug-in file npvlc.dll which is usually located in your Mozilla browser’s installation directory plug-ins folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\plug-ins\).

[edit]

Player does not appear but audio sometimes still plays

If the Adblock addition is installed, the OBJ-TABS setting may hide the WMP plug-in. If you find this happens to you, disable Obj-Tabs in your Adblock options. If that doesn’t work, try installing the new WMP plug-in or restore the standard WMP plug-in, as described above and place the plug-in file(s) in your browser’s plug-ins folder. The VLC Media Player plug-in has also been known to do this – try removing the VLC plug-in (see above).

Windows XP Media Center Edition

Windows XP Media Center version does not come with the Windows Media Player plug-in so you will need to add it (see the Missing plug-in section, above). If these solutions don’t work, the update for Windows XP N (XP with no media playback ability (see Windows XP Home N or Windows XP Professional N, above) is reported to to add back the absent files and settings that allow Windows XP Media Center Edition to support the WMP plug-ins. Warning: this update cannot be uninstalled. The only way to undo it is to re-install Windows, so try at your own risk.

ActiveX

Some sites are coded to invoke Windows Media Player through ActiveX. An ActiveX plug-in is available for some versions of Mozilla products, but it’s generally not recommended

If you need further assistance please visit http://www.livetechcare.com

How to Install Media Player

Hardware and software requirements.
Lists the necessities for hardware and software that must be met before you can install Windows Media Rights Manager.

File requirements.
Describes the necessary media and image files formats, outlines the encryption process, and discusses watermarking and pre-encoding options.

Installing Windows Media ^TM Rights Manager.
Describes the Windows Media Rights Manager setting up process.

Quick Start Guide.
Tells how to get a Windows Media Rights Manager Web site up and running fast.

Hardware and software requirements
Windows Media Rights Manager requires the subsequent hardware and software.

PC with Pentium class or later processor

5 MB of available hard-disk space

Microsoft® Windows NT® Server operating system version 4.0 with Service Pack 4 (SP4)

Note: We strongly advise that you run the Web server on an NTFS partition. When you install Windows Media Rights Manager on an NTFS partition, Access Control Lists (ACLs) are set up to limit access to Windows Media Packager, the tool you use to administer your Windows Media Rights Manager Web site. When you run Windows Media Packager, you log in using the same account as the one that was used in installation.

If you set up Windows Media Rights Manager on a FAT partition, anybody who can access the Web server computer can administer the Web site.

For more information about NTFS and FAT partitions, see the Windows NT credentials.

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack with Service Pack 1, which includes IIS 4.0

Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 is preferred, or 4.01 with Service Pack 1

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0

SQL Server Client Network Utility should use TCP/IP rather than Named Pipes.

You must have an SQL Server logon account that uses SQL Server authentication and has rights to create databases.

Microsoft Windows Media Tools 4.0

Microsoft Windows Media Player 6.2 or later

Optional
If you want to stream media items:

Microsoft Windows Media Services 4.0

If your SQL Server is on another computer than Windows Media Rights Manager:

Microsoft Data Access Components 2.0

File requirements
After you have installed Windows Media Rights Manager, you will make your Web site and encrypt and package your media items using Windows Media Packager. You will require to have at least one media file to start your Web site.

Requirements are as follows:

Media files should be in WAV, MP3, or pre-encoded ASF format.

Images should be in GIF, JPG, or BMP format.

A standard image, such as a company logo, is displayed in Windows Media Player when a media item is played. When the user clicks the standard image, the Web browser opens a corresponding URL, such as the company’s Web site.

You can also indicate an image to display, such as a song’s album cover, with items on the downloads page. Copy the images you wish to use into the \image directory in your Web site’s local root directory (for example, c:\inetpub\wwwroot\wm\content\images) before adding media items to your Web site.

You can also use third-party tools to arrange your media files before adding them to your Web site.

Watermarking media files. Watermarking is a procedure that lets you add information to your media files, such as an identification number, the copyright owner’s name, the date, etc., for tracking and fraud-detection purposes.

Pre-encoding media files. You can pre-encode your media files to add JPG image files to songs, to manage the encoding process, or to shorten the process of encrypting and packaging files. You can make use of Windows Media Author to pre-encode files (see Using Windows Media Encoder in Windows Media Tools Help). For more information about media files, see the part entitled “The Input File” in Windows Media Rights Manager Help.

Installing Windows Media Rights Manager
When you put in Windows Media Rights Manager, the Setup application performs the following tasks:

Installs Windows Media Rights Manager server and administration components to the directory you state.

Installs your Web site pages to the directory you state.

Requires the domain name for your Web site, such as www.mysite.com, where mysite is your domain name.

Create an SQL database for Windows Media Rights Manager data. You be required to provide the name of a database (for example, Music) and the name of your SQL Server. Also, you should provide the logon name and password of an SQL logon account; this account must use SQL Server authentication and have privileges to make databases.

After Windows Media Rights Manager Setup has finished, start Windows Media Packager to create your Web site: click Start, point to Programs, point to Windows Media, point to Rights Manager, and then click Windows Media Packager. If you installed Windows Media Packager on an NTFS file system partition, you should first log on using your Windows NT account.

Quick Start Guide
To get your Windows Media Rights Manager Web site up and running quickly, go after the following steps:

1. Make certain you meet the installation requirements

You’ll require Windows NT Server 4.0 with the Option Pack, Internet Explorer, SQL Server 7, Windows Media Tools, and Windows Media Player. Many of these items can be downloaded correctly from the Microsoft Web site.

1. Install Windows Media Rights Manager

You’ll need to supply a few pieces of information during setup:

The domain name for your Web site (this is the first part of the URL that people will type to access your particular Web site). But if you haven’t registered a domain name yet, don’t worry—you can do it afterward, and update the settings in Windows Media Rights Manager.

The name of your SQL Server, and the name of the database you’ll use to accumulate information about your media Web site (such as MyMusic).

The SQL account to access the database. You’ll need to specify a login name and password to access the database, which should be an SQL account, since Windows Media Rights Manager uses SQL validation. For example, if you use the SQL system account, the login would be sa, and the password would be anything you set for the account.

1. After you run the Setup program, Windows Media Rights Manager creates HTML pages and a database for your media Web site, and installs Windows Media Packager (the application that you’ll use to supervise it all).
2. Get a few songs or videos to put on your media Web site.

If you don’t have something ready yet, you can create a sample file quickly just to see how Windows Media Rights Manager works. For example, create a WAV file with a microphone and the Microsoft Sound Recorder (double-click Sndrec32.exe in your Windows directory), or for now, just use a WAV file that come with Windows.

1. Start Windows Media Packager

Click Start, point to Programs, point to Windows Media, point to Rights Manager, and after that click Windows Media Packager.

Add a media item to your Web site.

1. 1. Click the Add button, placed on the left side of the Content List.
   2. Set the essential properties for your media item:

In the Input filename and path box, type the location of the song or video you desire to add. For example, type C:\Windows\Media\Ding.wav.

In the Output filename box, type the name you would like to use for the resulting file, such as Sample. Windows Media Rights Manager automatically uses the accurate extension.

In the Title box, type a name for the song, such as Sample Song.

Agree to the rest of the default settings for now; click the Save button on the left side of the window.

1. 1. The item you presently added is now displayed in the Content List.

 

1. Check your Web site.

Unwrap your Web browser to the downloads page of your site. Either 1) click the Rights Manager Web site link, which is situated above the Content List tab, or 2) on the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Windows Media, point to Rights Manager, and after that click Your Web Site.

The media piece you added appears as a link; click it to download the encrypted media piece to your hard drive (for example, save it to your desktop for easy access).

1. Check the license acquisition process.

Find the file you just saved, and then double-click it to play it. As you don’t have a license yet, your Web browser will display the registration page. Enter your e-mail address, and after that fill out the other registration information. When you’re finished, the Web browser displays a link to the licensed media item—clicks the link to play the piece

1. View the information for your site.

Go reverse to Windows Media Packager and click the Statistics tab. The first tab under Statistics is Site Statistics, showing you common information about the traffic on your Web site. The statistics for your Web site show that you have one media item vacant for download, one person has registered on your Web site, one item has been downloaded, and one license has been issued.

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