Windows Media Player (WMP) plays audio and video files. It sometimes looks rather basic when compared with rivals, such as Apple iTunes, but there’s more to WMP than meets the eye.

One of its best features is the ability to download add-ons such as ‘skins’ that customise the look of WMP, and ‘visualisations’ that provide graphical accompaniment for music you play. But the most sophisticated add-ons are the ‘plug-ins’ that provide all sorts of entirely new features. These extras are easy to install, and most are free.

Here’s our guide to boosting the power of WMP. We’re focusing on WMP 10 but many of the demonstrated techniques are available in earlier versions.