14 DAY TRIAL // In addition to several new features, such as the Start menu, multiple desktops, and a notification center, Windows 10 will also bring users native support for MKV and FLAC files, two of the formats that have until now been available only through third-party apps and codecs.
Windows 10 Technical Preview build 9888, which got leaked earlier today, was expected to come with support for these two formats, but we can now confirm that Windows Media Player still needs third-party add-ons to work with them.
As you can see in the photo gallery below, FLAC and MKV files do not work right now and skipping the errors isn't possible, as it happened in Windows 10 Technical Preview build 9860. Microsoft, however, confirmed that these two formats would be supported in Windows 10, so expect future builds to come with several improvements in this regard.
Still no Windows Media Player improvements
Windows Media Player is one of the applications that were expected to receive tweaks in Windows 10, but up to this point, no significant update has been made available to users.
In build 9888, Windows Media Player provides the exact same feature lineup as in Windows 8.1 and cannot play the aforementioned formats, while the interface is identical to the one of its predecessors.
Microsoft, however, could indeed implement some changes in future builds, but given the fact that all efforts are now focused on improving the desktop, Windows Media Player might not get anything too exciting too soon.
Consumer Preview in late January
If Windows Media Player can indeed receive some improvements, there's no doubt that the upcoming Consumer Preview unveiling is the right moment to show them to the world.
People close to the matter have revealed that Microsoft is planning to host a dedicated Windows 10 event late next month to present the new Windows 10 Consumer Preview and show what's new for consumers in its operating system, thus switching the focus from enterprises to users.
The event, which will most likely take place in the last week of January, is also likely to bring us the first pieces of news on Windows Phone 10, the next mobile OS version that will be shipped to all devices running Windows Phone 8.
Up to this point, Microsoft hasn't yet confirmed the January event, but the Consumer Preview build is already in the works and is likely to see daylight in the coming months to let users try out the new operating system on their PCs.
