Absolutely, you're not alone in noticing that Windows Media Player can sometimes fall short with newer media formats on Windows 7. While it’s a decent enough player, technology has indeed moved on and there are some mighty alternatives out there that could enhance your media playback experience.
One of the most popular and robust options is VLC Media Player. It's free, open-source, and supports a vast array of file formats right out of the box without the need for additional codecs. VLC also runs very smoothly on older systems like Windows 7.
Another solid option is KMPlayer, which also supports a wide range of audio and video formats and provides good customization options if you like tweaking playback settings.
If you're specifically looking for something that can handle music files really well, then Foobar2000 is another excellent choice. It's highly customizable and light on resources.
To update or optimize your current Windows Media Player, you could try updating to the latest software version available for Windows 7 or installing necessary codecs to support more file types – K-Lite Codec Pack is one such comprehensive set of codecs that integrates well with any media player you use on Windows.
Remember to download any software from its official website or a trusted source to avoid potential security issues!
