A reader commented on our article about picking default programs in Windows 1`:
“The problem is; What do I pick and if it’s ok? Microsoft would prefer we stick with their defaults. I have seen different references to that effect. Before WIN 10, Media Player was it for playing music. And also, what about playing videos, like youtube, or inserted videos in news emails. How to analyze that function and what works best for that. Thanks.”
Good question! The simplest answer is you find out by trying. Windows 11 will not let you pick a program that can’t perform the task as a default. You couldn’t set Word as your web browser. When you select a function, you’re only given the choice of apps that can manage the task.
If you don’t like how an app works, switching back is a very simple process.
As far as playing videos, YouTube videos are played by your browser and most videos you see in emails are actually playing from their servers and not a video player on your PC, so you’re actually playing it in your browser. For downloaded videos, the built-in video player for Windows is fine, but I happen to love the free VLC player which can handle almost any video format including DVDs.
Microsoft does prefer you use their products, but your PC isn’t going to explode if you don’t. In some cases, their default may work better. If you find that to be the case, switch back to it.
If you forget which apps are the defaults, you can go ahead and just scroll down and reset everything to defaults.