Windows Media Player is a built-in multimedia player that comes with Windows. While it is a reliable and widely used application, users may encounter errors and issues from time to time. This article aims to provide guidance on troubleshooting common Windows Media Player errors.

Learn how to get Windows Media Player 12 for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7.

Fixes an issue that occurs when you open a WMV video in Windows Media Player from a remote session in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2.

Fixes a playback issue that occurs after you set the ThreadPriority registry key entry to raise the video or audio thread priority on a Windows Embedded Compact 7-based device.

Get troubleshooting help and how-to information for Windows Media Player 12.

Microsoft supports MPEG4v3 files in .asf streaming format only. These files are not supported in an .avi file type. To play the file, you must encode the file again by using the original source in a supported format, such as the .wmv format. To do this, you can use the Windows Media Encoder.

Windows 11 Windows 10. Codecs allow you to play different formats of audio and video files. Media Player supports a wide variety of codecs. Most are included out of the box; some additional codecs can be installed from the Microsoft Store. Included codecs. Windows includes codecs that allow Media Player to play the following formats out of the box:

This article lists the multimedia file types that are supported by Windows Media Player 12. ( How to determine your version of Windows Media Player ). Note: Additional file formats might be supported if you install new codecs in Windows. For more information, see Codecs: frequently asked questions. Windows Media formats (.asf, .wma, .wmv, .wm)

Windows Media Player 12—available as part of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10*—plays more music and video than ever, including Flip Video and unprotected songs from your iTunes library!

How to get the update. The Media Feature Pack for Windows 10/11 N is available for download as an Optional Feature. Here’s how to install the Media Feature Pack: On Windows 10 N: Select the Start button, then select Settings > Apps > Apps and Features > Optional features > Add a feature.