Windows Media Player replacement

For many years I've used Music Collector to manage my mp3 library. Recently, I upgraded to the current version as over the years it's had new features added. By linking my .mp3 album tracks into the database, it can play a single track or a whole album.

It does this by producing a file '[Playlist].m3u'. Windows Media Player is called, with this file, automatically by Music Collector. I had been using Windows XP Pro, and while playing the playlist of numbered tracks in number order, WMP displayed all tracks in order, with the current tack in highlight. After the album had been played, WMP stopped.

I've now had to move to a Windows 7 Pro computer as the current Music Collector wont work on XP.

Music Collector still works as it did on XP for playing music, but the W7 version of WMP has been changed and no longer displays the numbered playlist of tracks. It searches my computer and now adds other tracks from other albums, failing to display details of the .m3u tracks. It plays the contents of the m3u file and then plays random tracks from anywhere on my computer, even those not in the Music Collector database.

Any suggestions to replace WMP (W7) or is an old version's (XP) installation file available anywhere, that will run on W7 Pro 64bit?

Many thanks

Paul Black said:

Hi Landyman,I use VLC, it plays pretty much anything you throw at it

Thanks. I've been using VLC for video for many years, but not thought of it for sound only.

It does exactly what I need - displays a simple play list and moves the highlight down as the next track is played. Stops after the last track.

Does not search my disks to find files I don't want to play.

A small bonus, is that if I select another album before first one has finished playing, it goes into the end of the list.

Ideal.