An update is available for Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player in Windows 7 Beta

An update is available for Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player in Windows 7 Beta. This update addresses some issues with Windows Media Center playback, recording, and MP3 file support in Windows.

Playback and recording issues that are fixed in this update

• Protected tuning sources, such as OCUR and ISDB, do not function correctly.
• MHEG (iTV) in Europe does not function correctly.
• Recording of a series may fail after some time if the system was upgraded from Windows Vista and the recording of that series was set up in Windows Vista.
• Windows Vista DVR-MS recordings do not play back in Windows Media Center or in Windows Media Player.
• Windows Media Center may become unstable when you perform recording operations.

An MP3 file support issue that is fixed in this update

Every time that metadata is edited in an MP3 file that already contains lots of metadata in the file header, some audio at the beginning of the track may be lost permanently. Up to several seconds of audio may be lost.

Large headers are common in music files that are purchased from commercial services because the files usually have large album art. Use of tools to add large album art to existing MP3 files may also cause this audio loss. Specifically, any information that causes the header size to exceed 16 kilobytes will trigger the loss. Each edit will increase the total loss.

Important Windows Media Player has a feature that adds metadata that is missing. This may include large album art. By default, this feature is turned on. Therefore, without action on your part, all MP3 files that have large headers in your Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center libraries are likely to lose some audio. Install the update to resolve this issue before you introduce MP3 files to the computer.

Note The metadata for an MP3 file can be edited by Windows Explorer, Windows Media Center, and Windows Media Player. Such metadata includes album art (also known as a thumbnail), artist, album name, track, and several other tags. In Windows 7 Beta, Media Foundation programming interfaces perform metadata editing of MP3 files.

For example, the following actions may cause metadata to be edited:

• Automatically or manually importing MP3 files into Windows Media Center or Windows Media Player.
• Manually editing ratings or other information on MP3 files by opening the file properties in Windows Explorer, or by using user interfaces in Windows Media Center or Windows Media Player.

Workarounds for the MP3 file corruption issue

If you do not apply this update, the most effective workaround is to set the properties of all MP3 files to read-only on local hard disks, removable drives, and network shares that can be accessed by Windows 7 Beta computers. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Windows Explorer, select and right-click your MP3 files, and then click Properties.
2. On the General tab, click to select the Read-only check box.
3. We recommend that you back up all the MP3 files before you use Windows Media Player or Windows Media Center.

A simpler but less complete workaround is to disable metadata automatic updates in Windows Media Player by setting the Windows Media Player options. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Library tab, click to clear the Retrieve additional information from the Internet check box and the Maintain my star ratings as global ratings in files check box.
3. Click OK.

A possible solution to the MP3 file corruption issue

If some of your MP3 files have already been affected, you might be able to restore the corrupted MP3 files to their pre-edit status. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In Windows Explorer, right-click a corrupted MP3 file, and then click Properties.
2. On the Previous Version tab, select an earlier version in the File Versions list, and then click Restore. If multiple edits were performed, you may have to revert to the oldest version that is available.

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Windows 7 Beta, 32-bit versions
Download the Windows6.1-KB961367-x86.msu package now. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a754008b-d574-4e39-b4ba-67b859a242b7)

Windows 7 Beta, 64-bit versions
Download the Windows6.1-KB961367-x64.msu package now. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0c56bf3c-9370-4fda-b4c8-5dc63d55626d)

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Update information

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You may have to restart the computer if the upated files are being used during installation.

Update replacement information

This update does not replace any other updates.

File information

The English version of this update has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows 7 Beta, x86-based versions

The file version of Mf.dll is the same as it is in the Beta release. However, the file size, date, and time are modified.

Windows 7 Beta, x64-based versions

The file version of Mf.dll is the same as it is in the Beta release. However, the file size, date, and time are modified.

The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and MUM files (.mum) installed for each environment are listed separately. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are critical to maintaining the state of the updated component. The security catalog files (attributes not listed) are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For more information about Windows 7 Beta, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: