Windows Media Player (WMP) is a proprietary player developed by Microsoft that has been bundled with the Windows operating system since the release of Windows 98 Second Edition in 1998. The player is also available for independent download, but the most recent version, WMP 10 (released in September 2004), requires Windows XP and is not compatible with earlier versions of Windows.
Although earlier versions of WMP were released for MacOS and Solaris, there are no plans for future development of WMP for non-Windows platforms. WMP 9 for Mac OS, released in 2003, was a disappointing product that performed poorly. Microsoft now distributes a QuickTime Player plugin, WMV Player, to support Windows Media on the Mac platform.
Audio formats supported: for encoding: Windows Media Audio (48 to 192 kbps; variable bitrates also available), Windows Media Lossless, MP3 (128 to 320 kbps; requires installation of plugin); for playback: MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and other native Windows formats, such as Windows Media Video (WMV) and Advanced Streaming Format (ASF).
URL for download: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ windowsmedia