Playing Audio CDs with Windows Media Player

If you like to listen to music while you work or if you simply want to play some music, you can play audio CDs using Windows Media Player. In addition to playing music, you have many more options. You can adjust the volume, view visualizations, download track information for the CD, and more.

The first time you start Windows Media Player, you are prompted to select its playback options. You can select how music files are handled (see Figure 11.1) and whether Media Player is the default player for certain music file types (see Figure 11.2). Make your choices and click Next to move from screen to screen. When you have completed all of your selections, click Finish.

Figure 11.1. You can control how music files are handled by selecting options here.

Figure 11.2. Select whether Windows Media Player is the default player for each of these file types.

Playing a CD

To play an audio CD, simply insert it into your CD drive. Doing so starts Windows Media Player automatically, and the CD begins to play. If the CD does not play (which indicates that your drive may not be set up for Autoplay), click Start, All Programs, and Windows Media Player. Then, click the Play button. The music plays, and you'll see the default visualization.

tip

You can use other programs to play music, and your computer may be set up to use another media player as the default. Popular media players include RealPlayer, MusicMatch Jukebox, and iTunes. If you use one of these programs, you can accomplish the same tasks covered in this chapter. For the exact steps to follow, consult your particular program's online help.

If the CD has the title information on it or if you have downloaded the CD information from the Internet, you see the name of the album and each of the tracks (see Figure 11.3). You also see the time of each track, as well as the total CD play time. The current song is highlighted in the playlist.

Figure 11.3. When you play a CD, you see track information in the playlist. You also see a visual representation of each song.

caution

Note that the quality of the playback is determined by the quality of your speakers. Don't expect stereo quality!

If you see generic names (Track 1, Track 2, and so on), you can often download the track information from the Internet. To do so, connect to the Internet while the CD is playing. A quick way to connect is by using the Media Guide. See "Playing Music and Videos from the Internet" later in this chapter.

The taskbar appears to the left of the Media Player window and includes buttons for performing other music-related tasks. You learn more about these options later in this chapter.

tip

To hide the taskbar, click the little red arrow on the bar that divides the taskbar from the media play area.

Working with Windows Media Player Controls

The Media Player window provides several buttons for controlling the playback of the CD. These controls let you adjust the volume, play another track, and start and stop the playback. Figure 11.4 identifies the basic controls. With these controls, you can do any of the following:

• To play a different track, double-click it in the track list.

  tip

  

  If you are not sure what a particular button does, point to it, and the name of the button pops up.

  
  

• To play the next track, click Next. To play the previous track, click Previous.

• To change the volume, drag the volume control. You may also need to adjust the volume button on your speakers.

• To mute the music (say, when you get a phone call), click the Mute button.

• To stop the playback, click Stop. If you stop and want to restart, click the Play button again.

• To pause the playback, click Pause. To restart, click the Play button. (The Pause button becomes the Play button when the playback is paused.)

  tip

  

  See the next two sections for help on changing the Player colors and switching the Player skin.

  
  

• If you want to shuffle the order in which the tracks are played, click the Turn Shuffle On button. (This button is a toggle; click it again to turn shuffle off.)

• To keep the music playing but hide the Media Player window, click its Minimize button.

• To stop the music and close Media Player, click the Close button.

Figure 11.4. You can use the controls in the Windows Media Player window to play a different track, change the volume, and more.

Changing the Appearance of the Window

You can change the appearance of the Media Player window using one of two methods: changing the Player color or changing the skin.

To change the Player color, click the Change Player Color button. Each time you click the button, the Player changes color. Click the button until you see a color that you like.

In addition to the color, you can choose a different skin. A skin is a layer over an application that changes how it looks. You can also make both changes: change the skin and color. These are purely personal choices. You can experiment and pick the style you like.

To change the skin, follow these steps:

1.	Click the Skin Chooser button in the taskbar. You'll see the different skin choices. tip You can click More Skins to go online and select from other Windows Media Player skins.
2.	Click any of the listed skins. You'll see a preview of the selected skin. Figure 11.5, for instance, shows the Heart skin selected. Figure 11.5. You can change the look of the Windows Media Player window.
3.	Click Apply Skin, and your newly designed player appears, playing the CD.

To return to the main playback window, click the Now Playing button in the taskbar.

caution

With some of the skins, the control buttons are not easy to figure out. If you use a new skin, you may need to experiment to figure out which button does what. Also, remember that you can display a button's name by placing the mouse pointer on the edge of the button.

Changing the Visualization

In addition to changing the appearance of the player, you can choose from several visualizations. A visualization is a moving graphic image displayed during a song, making the music more of a multimedia experience. Again, pick the one you like best. You may want to vary the visualizations according to your mood. You can use the buttons for changing the visualizations that appear in the Now Playing window (see Figure 11.6).

Figure 11.6. You can select from several visualizations.

To select a visualization, do any of the following:

• Click Next Visualization to display the next visualization, or click Previous Visualization to display the previous visualization. When you use these buttons, you select different options within the visualization. For instance, if Ambience is selected (usually the default), you can select Warp, Falloff, Water, and others.

• To display another category of visualizations, click the Change Now Playing button and then click Visualizations. From the list of the different categories, select the one you want. You can select from Album Art, Bars and Waves, Battery, Particle, Spikes, and several others. Then from that category's submenu, select the visualization you want.