I installed Windows Media Player from Apps & Features from Optional Features and now the old reference works and the code enters debugging without the error: "WMPLib not found" as it's found in the old reference.

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There is a System.Media.SoundPlayer class that plays sound files or streams.

It is part of System.dll under .NET FrameWork (no extra reference needed); it has been moved to System.Windows.Extensions.dll under .NET 6 (which needs you to add a reference).

ADDED:

you can also use P/Invoke to call on the native method sndPlaySound inside winmm.dll

The code below should give you a starting point, I use it for playing sounds from embedded resources:

/// <summary>
/// Synchronously play a sound resource from the assembly that also includes type.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="type"></param>
/// <param name="resourceName"></param>
public static void PlaySound_old(Type type, string resourceName) {
    try {
        // inspired by http://www.bobpowell.net/playsnd.htm
        if (type == null) type = typeof(LP_Resource);
        resourceName = type.Namespace + ".resources." + resourceName;
        Stream stream = type.Assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName);
        int len = (int)stream.Length;
        byte[] buf = new byte[len];
        stream.Read(buf, 0, len);
        GCHandle handle = GCHandle.Alloc(buf);
        IntPtr ptr = Marshal.UnsafeAddrOfPinnedArrayElement(buf, 0);
        int res = sndPlaySound(ptr, 4);   // SND_MEMORY
        handle.Free();
        log("Played sound " + resourceName);
    } catch (Exception e) {
        log(resourceName + " failed: " + e.Message);
    }
}

[DllImport("Winmm.dll", CharSet = CharSet.Unicode,
     CallingConvention = CallingConvention.StdCall)]
internal static extern int sndPlaySound(IntPtr buffer, int dwFlags);

Alas, that too only handles .wav sounds.


ADDED2:

the only way I've found so far to play MP3 from C# is using WMPLib:

WMPLib.WindowsMediaPlayer player = new WMPLib.WindowsMediaPlayer();
player.URL = absoluteFilePath;
player.controls.play();

which needs an absolute file path (like C:\...\filename.mp3) or an actual URL.
I see no way to play a sound resource, without temporarily creating a file that is.

In order to use WMPLib, one has to add a reference:
- references
- add reference
- COM
- search "Windows Media Player", the tooltip should mention C:\WINDOWS\system32\wmp.dll

:)

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