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Playing Music and Video

(From Microsoft)

For information about getting started with digital music see our Archives. This time we will learn a few of the enhanced capabilities of Windows Media Player 10.

Change Music or Video Playback Speed
Adjust the speed at which your audio and video plays.
Create Smooth Transitions Between Songs
Turn on crossfading for a more professional sound.
Play Songs at the Same Volume Level
Keep audio levels the same between songs by using volume leveling.
Shuffle, Repeat, and Sort Content
Play music in random order or repeatedly.

Change Music or Video Playback Speed

With Windows Media Player 10, you can change the speed at which content plays. For example, you can slow down the playback speed if you are taking notes while watching a training video. Or you can speed up the slow sections of a presentation.

This article describes two ways you can change the playback speed. You can use the Fast-Forward or Rewind buttons, or you can play content at variable speeds by using the Play Speed Settings feature to change the playback speed while maintaining the audio and video quality.

To use the Fast-Forward or Rewind button to change playback speed

In Windows Media Player, begin playing content.
If you are playing an audio or video file:
- To play at 1.4 times the normal speed, click the Fast Forward button once.
- To play at 2.0 times the normal speed, click the Fast Forward button twice.
- To play at 5.0 times the normal speed, click the Fast Forward button three times.
- To return to normal speed, click the Fast Forward button four times.
If you are playing a video file only:
- To rewind, click the Rewind button once.
- To return to normal speed, click the Rewind button twice.

To play content at variable speeds

In Windows Media Player, begin playing content.
Click Now Playing, click the Select Now Playing options button, point to Enhancements, and then click Play Speed Settings
In the Enhancements pane, move the Play Speed slider to the speed at which you want to play the content, or click the Slow, Normal, or Fast link. Your content now plays at the speed you selected. To select speeds between the labeled play speeds, clear the Snap slider to common speeds check box.
Note: Not all content can be played at variable speeds.

Create Smooth Transitions Between Songs

With Windows Media Player 10, you can create gradual transitions between songs in your playlists—transitions that sound like those done in a professional studio or on the radio. Audio production professionals call this blending of sounds crossfading.

Crossfading delivers a smooth transition between songs as the volume at the end of the first song fades out and gradually goes down, and the volume of the next song fades in and gradually goes up. Crossfading is available only when you play WMA and MP3 files that are either in your library or on a data or HighMAT CD. Crossfading is not available with audio CDs.

To crossfade songs

In Windows Media Player, click Now Playing, click the Select Now Playing options button , point to Enhancements, and then click Crossfading and Auto Volume Leveling.
In the Enhancements pane, click the Turn on Crossfading link.
Move the slider to select the amount of time you want the songs to overlap.

The further you move the slider to the right, the greater the amount of crossfading you apply to your songs. Your music now plays using the crossfading you selected.

Play Songs at the Same Volume Level

Are you tired of having to adjust the volume level when a new song begins playing, because the new song is much quieter or louder than the previous song? Windows Media Player 10 includes a volume-leveling feature that you can use to make the Player automatically adjust the volume.

The Player levels, or normalizes, the volume by reading a volume-leveling value in a file, and then adjusting the volume accordingly during playback. Volume leveling is only available with files that are in Windows Media or MP3 format, and that contain a volume-leveling value. This value is automatically added to the files that are created when you rip (copy) music from CDs. In addition, you can add this value to files on your computer that you have added to your library. Finally, the Player automatically adds the value to files that you burn to an audio or data CD.

Adding the volume-leveling value does not change either the quality of a file or how the file plays in other players or portable media devices.

To add a volume-leveling value to files you add to your library

In Windows Media Player, press F3.
The Add to Library by Searching Computer dialog box is displayed.
Click Advanced Options, and then select the Add volume leveling values for all files (slow) check box.
The next time you add files to your library, any files that are in the Windows Media or MP3 format will have the volume-leveling value added to them.

To turn on volume leveling

In Windows Media Player, click Now Playing.
Click the Select Now Playing Options button, point to Enhancements, and then click Crossfading and Auto Volume Leveling.
In the Enhancements pane, click Turn on Auto Volume Leveling, as shown in the following screen shot. If Turn off Auto Volume Leveling is displayed instead, auto volume leveling is already turned on.

To check that a volume-leveling value is added to files you burn to a CD

In Windows Media Player, click the Access applications menu button, point to Tools, and then click Options.
Click the Devices tab, and then, in the list, click your CD burner.
Click Properties, and then click the Quality tab.
Check that the Apply volume leveling to music when it is burned check box is selected.

Shuffle, Repeat, and Sort Content

In Windows Media Player 10, content that you are playing appears in the List pane of the Library feature. For example, items in a playlist, tracks on a CD, or items in a library category (such as an album or artist category) are displayed in the List pane while playing.

Using the Player, you can change the order in which items in the List pane play by shuffling or sorting the items. You can also choose to play the items repeatedly. When you turn on shuffle, items will play in a random order. When you change the sort order, the Player rearranges the items in the list and plays them in the newly sorted order, unless you have turned shuffle on, in which case the Player continues to play the items in random order.

You can sort items in the List pane by any of the following categories—By Name, By Artist, By Album, By Rating, or By File Name. For example, you can sort songs in alphabetical order by the song name.

The Player relies on media information to sort items. The By Name, By Artist, By Album, and By File Name categories sort the list alphabetically from A to Z, where the By Rating category sorts the list with the highest rating first. When you sort by album, the Player sorts items with album media information from A to Z, and orders the items with no album media information at random.

When you sort by rating, the Player sorts the list—with highest rating first—by the user rating. The Player automatically rates items that you haven't rated yourself. By default, all items in your library are given an auto rating of three stars, which then changes based on the number of times the item is played. Ratings are displayed in the Rating column in your library. You can distinguish between the two types of ratings in the library—user ratings are brighter than auto ratings. For information about how to rate items, see Windows Media Player 10 Help.

Sorting only affects the order in which items are displayed in the List pane; it does not affect the order of the items in your library. Turning on shuffle or repeat does not change the display order in the List pane.

Note: The Player must be in full mode (the default) before you can set the shuffle, repeat, or sort options.

To set shuffle and repeat options

In Windows Media Player, begin playing items.

To select the items you want to play, on the Details pane, select a number of items, right-click, and then click Play Selected Items.
To select a number of items at once, you can pick adjacent items by pressing and holding the SHIFT key while selecting. You can pick nonadjacent items by pressing and holding the CTRL key while selecting.
Click the Shuffle/Repeat button, down in the bottom right hand corner, to select the option you want to use.
You can select any of the following options:
- To shuffle items, click the Turn shuffle on button.
- To repeat items, click the Turn repeat on button.
- To shuffle and repeat items, click the Turn on shuffle and repeat button.
- To turn off shuffle and repeat, click the Turn off shuffle and repeat button.
  Once you select an option, items will play using that option until you change it.

To set the sort order

In Windows Media Player, begin playing items, and then click Now Playing.
Click Now Playing List, point to Sort, and then click the sort method you want.