Windows Media Player

[roccusraiser]

After downloading the most recent update fo WMP, tunes that I burn to my computer CD will no longer play on my home audio system or on car CD.  Any suggestions?

[patio]

When you burn them you have to check which format you are using by default...

patio.  

[Dell4700]

Also, consider using a different program to burn your disks.  You didn't say what you were using.

Personally, I would avoid using burning software (or hardware) from any company that also manufactures/produces content (or is closely allied with them).  Recently some have been discovered to place anti-piracy malware on user PCs without user knowledge or permission.

Your drive may also be bad or misconfigured.

Dell

[roccusraiser]

I'm using WMP to burn disks.  I cannot find anything on the menus to adjust what format I burn in.  I've tried turning MPU on and off, but still the disks don't play in systems where they used to play.

Where do I find this default format and its alternatives?

[Dell4700]

Standard CDA Disks

I'm assuming you want to create a standard audio CD that can be played in any CD player (home, auto, etc.) or see below for mp3 CDs.

If this is so, the burner (disk recording application) must be able to write in standard CDA format (the audio is in PCM).  It must also be able to convert whatever your source file encoding is to this format.  Most files are stored as WAV, mp3 or wma formats.  To do this conversion you must have CODECS (compression/decompression programs) installed, usually in DLL (dynamic link library) form, that handle your specific formats.  Most burner applications come equiped with all the normally needed CODECS and do the conversions and writing seamlessly.

Occassionally the CODECS can be corrupted, sometimes when updating/upgrading or reinstalling an application.  Your WM burner for example.  I would retry the update or restore your system to a previous known working date.  If this doesn't fix your problem, make sure your options in your WM burner are set to write CD's (default) unless you are trying to make mp3 disks.

Burning mp3 CDs in Windows Media Player:

WM 9 does not normally include the CODECS for burning mp3s.  They can be purchased from MS.  WM 10 includes these CODECS.  Update to the latter if you want to burn mp3s.

Options for setting the defaults can be found under the Burn Tab, right-click on Tools, left-click on Options.

Hope this helps!

BTW:  I still recommend using something else for your burner application (NERO, Roxio, etc.).  Big Bill may not approve of what you're doing someday, then you'll be stuck with whatever he forces you to do.

Dell