WMV files don't play as expected when clicked in IE8

Question

When I'm browsing a site that contains .WMV (Windows Media Video) files, when I click on them, they;re supposed to play in Windows Media Player. But, on my system (W7 Ultimate x64) they don't. Instead, I get a browser error:

Internet Explorer cannot display this web page

Here's an example of a WMV file that causes the problem: http://ecn.channel9.msdn.com/o9/learn/videos/Office2010-RoadmapUnit-DevelopingOffice2010Customizations/Office2010-RoadmapUnit-DevelopingOffice2010Customizations_2MB_kit.wmv

The URL of the .wmv file appears in the address bar, so it's finding the file OK. It seems like IE just forgot how to launch Windows Media Player. Any ideas how I fix this?

Answer 1

The browser won't (and should not) play a media file unless it is in an appropriate embed tag. I think the problem is on the web-site's end.

A pain-free solution would be to just right click on the link, save target as, then watch as usual.