Microsoft’s super-expensive DVD Player app available in the Windows Store for Windows 10 users has just received an update on machines running preview builds of the operating system and enrolled in the Fast ring, before the company eventually pushes it to all users at a later time.
Windows DVD Player version 10.16102.10081.0 continues to be available for $15 from the Windows Store, which is quite unexpected given the fact that it’s a Microsoft app and because it does pretty much the same thing as all the other freeware solutions on the market.
What’s new in this version?
Microsoft says that this new version comes with a feature that automatically reads the DVD when a new disc is inserted into the drive and the app is already running, as users previously had to refresh it manually every single time when they put a disc in the unit.
Furthermore, the company has refined the playback bar by moving less-used actions in the three-dot menu, while the overall design is inspired from the Movies & TV app. When there’s no DVD in the drive, the playback bar is automatically disabled.
There are also some basic keyboard shortcuts, such as pause and play with the spacebar, double-clicking for full screen and escape to go back to window mode.
As you can see, these are just basic improvements that many people expected to be there from the very beginning, but Microsoft seems only now to understand that it’s really awkward to sell an application for $15 without actually offering a good feature package.
The Windows Media Player was available for free for users who upgraded from a Media Center edition of Windows, but everyone else had to pay $15 to get it from the Store. And unfortunately, many did, even though the same features, and a lot more than that, are already part of freeware solutions that are available for download right now.
