When using Windows Media Player 11 to play a downloaded or streamed podcast, audiobook, or other multimedia file mostly containing voice, you may find problems with the speaker's speed. Some speakers talk so slowly they can bore you to tears; others may speak so fast that their words seem to fly by.

To help solve these problems, you can adjust Windows Media Player 11's playback speed.

Via the keyboard

Fast playback speed: Ctrl + Shift + G

Normal playback speed: Ctrl + Shift + N

Slow playback speed: Ctrl + Shift + S

When in Skin Mode

1. Right-click Windows Media Player 11.

2. Select "Play Speed" from the pop-up menu that appears.

3. Select "Fast", "Normal", or "Slow".

When in Full Mode

From here you can make further adjustments to the playback speed.

1. Click the "Now Playing" button.

2. If a menu bar is not visible, right-click the Windows Media Player 11 title bar to open a pop-up menu, or press the Alt key.

3. Select menu option "View" - "Enhancements" - "Play Speed Settings".

4. You should now see a "Play Speed Settings" panel.

- Click "Slow", "Normal", or "Fast".

- Or, move the slider to the left to slow multimedia playback, or move it to the right to speed it up.

As a reference:

"Slow" speed is 0.5
"Normal" speed is 1.0
"Fast" speed is 1.4

If you're having trouble moving the slider, uncheck "Snap slider to common speeds" to allow speed changes across the slider bar. Note that some files may not correctly play at speeds less than 0.5.

(Note that Windows Media Player 11 does not distinguish between multimedia files containing spoken words and music. You may have fun experimenting with some songs, creating 'slow jams' by decreasing their playback speed.)

Note: for the Windows Media Player 10 version of this tip, visit Windows Media Player 10 Audio Tweaks: Adjust Play Speed for Voice, Audiobooks, and Podcasts.

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