Verification of the new application "Media Player" of Windows 11.Kernel mixer problem too

Last week, a new build of Windows 11 "22000.527 (KB5010414)" was released. Along with this, two apps, "Media Player" and "Notepad", have been updated. [See another image about this article] The media player, which is the default music playback software, is an app that will affect many users, but is there anything that has evolved with the update? And is there any progress in the example kernel mixer problem? I tried it right away. ■ From "Groove Music" to "Media Player" Last week, a news site such as PC Watch reported that "Media Player" was renewed in Windows 11. According to it, the default app has been updated along with the new build 22000.527 mentioned above. When I checked the OS build of my PC, it was "22000.493 (KB5010386)" released on February 8, 2022. When I opened the WAV file as a trial, a player that looked a little different from usual started. Previously, "Groove Music" should have been the default player, but if you look at the top left of the window, it says "Media Player". Speaking of "media player", you might think of "Windows Media Player", which is familiar to old Windows users, but it is not a new version of it, and this media player is the successor to Groove Music. .. Sure, Windows Media Player still remains, but Groove Music doesn't seem to exist. As a test, I also started "Notepad", and this was the same as before. Since it's a big deal, I updated it to "22000.527" with the update program. I didn't see any change immediately, but when I started it again after a day, "Notepad" was switched to the new version before I knew it. It doesn't change much in terms of functionality, but you can change the background color by selecting a theme from the settings screen. However, since I have lived for more than a quarter of a century with "Hidemaru", I think it is unlikely that I will touch Notepad in the future, but when touching other PCs, the default text editor will be a little easier to use. I wish I could. By the way, the theme in this article is to check the new application "Media Player". After updating to the latest build, opening the AAC file reveals a very simple design interface. At first glance, the impression seems to be easy to use. In Groove Music, the jacket (artwork) was displayed in the lower left, but the jacket is displayed larger, and the overall background is also a thin jacket. By clicking the icon at the bottom right of the screen, you can display it in full screen or make it a mini player. The mini player will not be displayed over time unless you touch it for a few seconds, making it even simpler. However, there is one thing I don't like about this new UI. That is, neither standard players nor mini players can find the beginning of a song. To the left and right of the play / stop button of the standard player, 10-second rewind skip and 30-second fast-forward skip buttons have been added, but the arrow button next to it just jumps to the previous song or the next song. I can't put it out. I don't understand the intention that the function was removed by the update even though Groove Music was able to find out, but I definitely want you to restore it. As you can see on the screen, 10-second rewind skip and 30-second fast-forward skip can be realized with the shortcut of "Ctrl + left / right key", and you can also play / stop by using the space key as before. Personally, I'd be happy if a shortcut was added that would cue when you press the period. Cubase, Steinberg's DAW, plays / stops in space and cue in periods, so it would be very convenient if it could be used with the same operation feeling ... I may be the only one who thinks. When you press the Esc key on the playing screen, a menu appears on the left side. If you look at this, you can set folders for the music library and video library, and if you set them, you will be able to search and list many songs. You can also display playback cues and create and manage playlists. As you can see from the fact that there is a video library here, Groove Music was just a music player, but it seems that media players can also play videos. Furthermore, when I pressed the setting button of the gear icon below it, the setting screen appeared. Here, you can manage the folders of the music library and video library mentioned above, and you can also set the theme to a dark screen. Also, if there is an item called Media Info and it is on by default, if there is no album jacket data, it will be searched on the net. However, Japanese music did not seem to be very effective. Click the icon menu button at the bottom right of the screen to display several menus. Select the property at the top to display information about the currently selected and playing data. If you select the equalizer, a 9-band graphic equalizer will be displayed. Some settings are prepared as presets, and if you check "Move nearby sliders together", moving one slider will follow the surroundings. However, Groove Music also has a parametric equalizer-like UI equalizer, and it seems good to think of it as something similar. On the other hand, the speed setting is a function installed from the media player, which is not in the conventional Groove music. It can be adjusted in 5 steps of 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x, and 2x, which seems to be convenient when playing video or listening to recorded conference contents. Windows Media Player also had a speed setting in 3 steps, but the 5 step media player seems to be easier to use. The ability to cast to a device was also added. By using this, it will be possible to cast to DLNA compatible devices and Bluetooth connected audio devices. From this perspective, it seems that media players have evolved more than Groove Music. Shortcuts were also displayed in this menu, but I randomly tried to see if there were other shortcuts hidden, such as the cueing earlier. Then, I found some. Ctrl + 0 to mute, Ctrl ++ to increase the volume, Ctrl +-to decrease the volume. You can also switch between mini / standard player with Ctrl + M, and switch between the playback screen and the screen with the menu on the left side with Ctrl + N. But unfortunately it didn't seem to be about cueing. ■ Usability and functions have evolved. But the kernel mixer problem is still ... That's the outline of the new media player. The first impression is that it is easy to use, multifunctional and convenient. However, what I'm most looking forward to is whether or not there is a function to pass through the kernel mixer that I have pointed out earlier. I tested this part last year when Windows 11 was released, but no progress was made. Well, I'm not expecting much, but since I've implemented WASAPI exclusive mode since the Windows Vista era, I've always wanted a player that supports it to be installed as a standard. So, I heard that it was a replacement from Groove Music, and I tried it with a faint expectation of "maybe". The verification method is the same as last year. The loopback function of the audio interface is used to capture the reproduced sound as it is and check the difference from the original. Specifically, the loopback function of Steinberg "UR22C" is turned on, and the sound created by the media player is recorded with "Sound Forge Pro 15". At this time, in order to match the timing exactly, I put a loud sound by one sample in my head and tried to use this as a marker, but the marker does not appear in the recorded result. By the way, I remembered that this phenomenon happened when I experimented last year and I was confused. Yes, Groove Music has been forcing a fade-in into my head for a few years and I couldn't turn it off. But. Apparently, the bad problem was taken over by the media player. Well, in reality, it fades in in a very short time, so I think that some people may not care, but since there are many songs that start at a loud volume from the head, I will fade in without permission. Is not desirable as a player. In order to avoid this problem before, I put a blank at the beginning of the song for a short time and then hit the marker, so as a result of switching to that method, I could see the marker firmly and overlap it with the opposite phase. The result was ... as expected, with no improvement. Yes, if the peak limiter is applied without permission and the volume is close to 0 dB, the level will be suppressed and the sound will change. Well, it would be unreasonable to expect Microsoft to do this, but I'm dreaming that one day an understanding person will follow along and improve it. The stance around here is the opposite of Apple, which is attacking the DAW industry with the momentum of incorporating audio functions into Logic Pro. I wish they had a better balance with each other.

AV Watch, Ken Fujimoto