Uninstalling Windows Media Player??

[foq]

Since I use VLC now, how do I uninstall windows media player/is it reccomended? I'd rather not have alot of different different players cluttering up my OS.

[Baker]

Uninstalling Windows Media Player is a very, very bad idea. Long ago, I uninstalled MSN off my computer, I generally don't like Microsoft's "junk" (MSN, IE, Outlook) and don't really like Windows Media Player either, but if you uninstall it you eventually will run into a video that you want to play that can't be played without it.

Just delete the icon.

[foq]

Thanks for saving me from fucking up my computer again

[Bank]

Baker is wrong. There is NOTHING that can be played on WMP that cannot be played in VLC. VLC is a media player REPLACEMENT, it covers an obscene amount of filetypes, including .avi and .wmv.

WMP is garbage, and Microsoft knows that. That's why, much like IE, they dont allow you to easily uninstall it. Google yourself an answer.

[Baker]

I'd like to uninstall all Microsoft's b.s. except the operating system, but doesn't Windows Media Player have the ability to play a lot of Microsoft's proprietary b.s. like WMA files locked to a single computer.

Don't you occasionally run into the occasional media file that for one reason or another employs Microsoft's DRM, encrypt or proprietary "sub formats" that would prevent you from using anything other than Windows Media Player to play it?

I don't know the answer, but I guess I'm asking how do you know for certain? Is there an info page somewhere or a link that explains it?

Reading the wikipedia article it looks like VLC is a hell of a lot better than most things I've used (I like the pre-bundled codec aspect).

What about some of those rip-off music services that use Microsoft's format?

Deleting Windows Media Player to save a few hundred MB vs. potential hassles of reinstalling it sounds risky unless you know for absolute sure.

If you make a strong case for it, I'll delete Windows Media Player and install VLC gladly.

[Bank]

I'd like to uninstall all Microsoft's b.s. except the operating system, but doesn't Windows Media Player have the ability to play a lot of Microsoft's proprietary b.s. like WMA files locked to a single computer.

Don't you occasionally run into the occasional media file that for one reason or another employs Microsoft's DRM, encrypt or proprietary "sub formats" that would prevent you from using anything other than Windows Media Player to play it?

I don't know the answer, but I guess I'm asking how do you know for certain? Is there an info page somewhere or a link that explains it?

Reading the wikipedia article it looks like VLC is a hell of a lot better than most things I've used (I like the pre-bundled codec aspect).

What about some of those rip-off music services that use Microsoft's format?

Deleting Windows Media Player to save a few hundred MB vs. potential hassles of reinstalling it sounds risky unless you know for absolute sure.

If you make a strong case for it, I'll delete Windows Media Player and install VLC gladly.

Truly, anything that requires WMP ONLY (which is nothing to my knowledge) is nothing I want to see.

I have never run into a file VLC cannot run, and I never will, until some ingenuitive Danish college student invents another. Then, it too will be brought into VLC's list of supported filetypes.

[Baker]

Truly, anything that requires WMP ONLY (which is nothing to my knowledge) is nothing I want to see.

I hear ya on that one. I might uninstall it Windows Media Player just to see if I ever need it for it anything. That would be a one way trip, once a Microsoft product is uninstalled I don't want to find out how severely a reinstall screws things up.

I hate Windows Media Player. I try to have something else associated with media files, it is annoying the damn thing takes forever to load up just to play a trivial wav file. Not worth the hassle.