Windows Media Player: It's a solid 9
PC World | at | by Mike
The next update of Windows Media Player might push you to get Windows XP--especially if you'd like the audiophile-quality music and multichannel movie surround sound available only under Microsoft's latest operating system. Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows XP, due by year's end as a free download, supports new Microsoft encoding for 5.1- and 7.1-channel digital recordings, which Microsoft asserts sound superior to standard stereo CDs. Such recordings aren't widely available now, but music labels may offer special editions--for a price, and with copyright protection. Another new encoding algorithm improves compression on standard stereo WMA files.