If there’s one thing that Windows 11 was good at, it was the increased focus and helpful updates to the built-in apps that come with Windows. Sometimes that means brand new features for long forgotten apps like Notepad and Paint. In other cases, it means bringing back features that older apps lost somewhere along the way, such as with Sound Recorder or Windows Media Player.
The latest preview version of Media Player, which is currently being rolled out on the Windows Insiders Dev Channel, belongs to the second group. In March, Microsoft enabled audio CD playback in the new version of Media Player, which the old version supported for almost its entire existence. And now Microsoft is rolling out CD ripping support in a new version of Media Player, presumably so we can all convert our old Weezer and Matchbox 20 CDs into files we can rip to our iPods and Zunes.
CDs can be ripped to AAC (default), WMA, FLAC, or ALAC files at constant bit rates from 96 to 320 kbps. MP3 support and variable bitrate support, two features still included in the “Media Player Legacy”app, are noticeably missing.
The current media player was built around the streaming-focused Groove Music app, so it’s missing some long-standing features from the legacy Media Player app in the first place. Microsoft also says it’s changing some file associations for the Windows Insiders Dev Channel, opening local video files with the default Media Player instead of the Windows 8 Movies & TV app.
Finally, the built-in Camera app in Windows has received an updated version of Windows 11 with a redesigned control layout. Its functionality will remain largely the same, but Microsoft says it will get support for scanning QR codes and barcodes, a feature that iPhones and some Android phones already support.
Listing image by Old Windows Icons/Andrew Cunningham