Windows 11 New Media Player Uses 3.5x More RAM, Charges for Popular Video Codecs

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Alternatives to Windows Media Player

  • Many commenters say they never use Windows’ media player, preferring VLC, mpv, MPC-HC/BE, PotPlayer, SMPlayer, and platform-specific wrappers (e.g., IINA on macOS, mpv-based frontends).
  • MPC-HC/BE are praised for a lightweight, “classic” UX and good codec/HDR support; VLC is seen as the mainstream default despite some UX and memory-usage complaints.
  • Old codec packs like K-Lite/CCCP are remembered fondly; today, bundled codecs in players (via ffmpeg/libav) largely replace that need.

Codec Licensing and HEVC/AC‑3

  • HEVC and some Dolby formats have long required paid add-ons in Windows; this isn’t new.
  • Some argue Microsoft should just pay licensing costs (as Apple reportedly does) since Windows is not free software.
  • Others point out patents apply even to open-source codecs; vendors still owe royalties, and some Linux distros avoid shipping patented codecs by default.
  • AV1 is raised as a royalty-free alternative, but there’s concern about legal challenges threatening that status.

Memory Usage and Bloat

  • New Media Player reportedly uses ~3.5× the RAM of the legacy player while idle.
  • One camp sees this as part of a larger pattern of Windows bloat: many processes, high baseline RAM usage, and pressure on 8 GB systems as RAM prices rise.
  • Another camp argues that a few hundred MB for a media player is negligible compared to modern workloads (browsers, IDEs) and that user impact is minimal.

Implementation Details: Native vs Web

  • There is confusion about tech stack; multiple comments clarify the current Media Player is C# with UWP/WinUI XAML, not HTML/JS, and is a rebranded Groove Music/Zune lineage.
  • Some still criticize Microsoft for not showcasing lean, high-quality native Windows apps and for frequent framework churn (WinForms/WPF/UWP/WinUI).

Broader Views on Windows

  • Several posts frame this as another example of “enshittification”: resource-heavy apps, paywalled codecs, and perceived neglect of user experience.
  • Others defend Windows’ dominance due to backward compatibility, professional software availability, and support ecosystem, while Linux is praised but seen as fragile for desktops.