Which Media Player/s...(Question)

  • Thread starter Thread starter alpha
  • Start date Start date
A

alpha

Over the years i have dowloaded half a dozen different media players to
play all sorts of file types before i found out what a codec was.

What is the minimum amount of players needed to run 99% of all file
types?....is it possible just to have 1 0r 2 players and a big
collection of codecs?

any recomendations on which is/are the best players to keep if i want
as big a file type coverage as possible and plan to download movies and
binaries???

thanks in advance if anyone can advice......... A.
 
Over the years i have dowloaded half a dozen different media players
to play all sorts of file types before i found out what a codec was.

What is the minimum amount of players needed to run 99% of all file
types?....is it possible just to have 1 0r 2 players and a big
collection of codecs?

any recomendations on which is/are the best players to keep if i want
as big a file type coverage as possible and plan to download movies
and binaries???

thanks in advance if anyone can advice......... A.
Click to expand...

The minimum number you would need should be 1. It may, however notbe
the ideal. I have a couple installed, but my choices does not reflect
the opinion of the majority of the people.

I like Zinf for audio and MPC for video

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Know Christ, Know Peace - No Christ, No Peace
Remove .yourhat to reply
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Svante said:
Media Player Classic is a very good codec based player for video:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli

Then just download a codec pack like this:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Codec_Pack_All_in_1.htm

For audio I recommend XMPlay as it has for example gapless playback
that none of the codec-driven players I know supports:
http://un4seen.com/xmplay.html
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Exactly what I'm running right now. I really like
XMPlay and use the "Windows Classic" skin as it's the easiest to read
and use.

For playing DVDs in MPC, do the following:

View/Options/Player

Checkmarks under "Open options" by:
"Use the same player for each media file"
"Launch files in fullscreen"

Checkmarks under "Other" by:
"Show controls in fullscreen for" and "0" (auto-hide)
"Exit fullscreen at the end of playback"
"Remember the last window position"
"Remember last window size"
"Store settings to .ini file"

YMMV.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls.
No adware, cdware, commercial software, crippleware, demoware, nagware,
shareware, spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez
please.
 
alpha said:
What is the minimum amount of players needed to run 99% of all file
types?....is it possible just to have 1 0r 2 players and a big
collection of codecs?
Click to expand...

1, probably. I still like to use at least two different players for video
and audio file types, but this is more related to the user interfaces than
file format support. For audio I use WinAmp, and for video I mainly use VLC
Media Player, with Media Player Classic as a last resort.
any recomendations on which is/are the best players to keep if i want
as big a file type coverage as possible and plan to download movies
and binaries???
Click to expand...

If you would like to just stay clear of all codec related problems, you may
like VLC Media Player (http://www.videolan.org). It does not use external
codecs at all. Instead, support for the most important file types are built
in.
 
Over the years i have dowloaded half a dozen different media players to
play all sorts of file types before i found out what a codec was.

What is the minimum amount of players needed to run 99% of all file
types?....is it possible just to have 1 0r 2 players and a big
collection of codecs?

any recomendations on which is/are the best players to keep if i want
as big a file type coverage as possible and plan to download movies and
binaries???

thanks in advance if anyone can advice......... A.
Click to expand...

Install K-Lite Mega Codec pack
http://www.k-litecodecpack.com/
Install Media Player Classic
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=84358

You won't find anything this combo won't play.

regards

Dud
 
André Gulliksen said:
1, probably. I still like to use at least two different players for video
and audio file types, but this is more related to the user interfaces than
file format support. For audio I use WinAmp, and for video I mainly use VLC
Media Player, with Media Player Classic as a last resort.


If you would like to just stay clear of all codec related problems, you may
like VLC Media Player (http://www.videolan.org). It does not use external
codecs at all. Instead, support for the most important file types are built
in.
Click to expand...

I just gave this program a shot. It wouldn't open up a DVD I wanted to
play until I noticed that under File/Open Disc... the default location
is in the "D:" drive. My computer has the DVD player in the "F:"
location. Once I changed that, then the DVD opened and played great.
However, I notice that when I shut the program down and then reopened
it, the default location of the DVD player has returned to the "D:"
location.

I was able to change this behavior simply by doing the following:

Go to "Settings/Preferences/Input/DVD device" and change the default to
"F:" (no quotation marks) and press the "Save" button.

The interface is a little hard to get used to, but the program has some
really nice features:

- doesn't require installing (although you can download an install file
if you like)
- nice fast forward and reverse, unlike Media Player Classic)
- does a good job with subtitles
- the "Extended GUI" under "Settings" is EXCELLENT!!!

and seems to be very stable (I'm actually playing a DVD with Mozilla
open and as I type this.)

I haven't figure out whether or not it does bookmarks, but with a
progress slider bar just like the one in Media Player Classic, you can
actually do without them. It would be nice to have bookmarks, but...

Since "VideoLAN might disappear due to patent legislation", it might be
a good idea to download this one before it gets away.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls.
No adware, cdware, commercial software, crippleware, demoware, nagware,
shareware, spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez
please.
 
John said:
I totally agree. Exactly what I'm running right now. I really like
XMPlay and use the "Windows Classic" skin as it's the easiest to read
and use.

For playing DVDs in MPC, do the following:

View/Options/Player

Checkmarks under "Open options" by:
"Use the same player for each media file"
"Launch files in fullscreen"

Checkmarks under "Other" by:
"Show controls in fullscreen for" and "0" (auto-hide)
"Exit fullscreen at the end of playback"
"Remember the last window position"
"Remember last window size"
"Store settings to .ini file"

YMMV.
Click to expand...

I retract the recommendation of MPC and now prefer VLC Media Player.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls.
No adware, cdware, commercial software, crippleware, demoware, nagware,
shareware, spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez
please.
 
"I totally agree. Exactly what I'm running right now. I really like
XMPlay and use the "Windows Classic" skin as it's the easiest to read
and use. "


Already got media player classic......now i have to decide between
these two codec pack recommendations:

Install K-Lite Mega Codec pack
http://www.k-litecodecpack.com­/

or

Then just download a codec pack like this:
http://www.free-codecs.com/dow­nload/Codec_Pack_All_in_1.htm
Click to expand...

do you know which is the better one???

cheers.........A
 
John said:
Since "VideoLAN might disappear due to patent legislation", it might
be a good idea to download this one before it gets away.
Click to expand...

Say what? Disappear? All of it, or just some of the features?
 
"I totally agree. Exactly what I'm running right now. I really like
XMPlay and use the "Windows Classic" skin as it's the easiest to read
and use. "


Already got media player classic......now i have to decide between
these two codec pack recommendations:

Install K-Lite Mega Codec pack
http://www.k-litecodecpack.com­/

or

Then just download a codec pack like this:

do you know which is the better one???

cheers.........A
Click to expand...

K-Lite without a doubt. The Mega Pack includes Real Alternative and Quick
Time codecs. The latest version and info is available here:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack.htm

regards

Dud
 
["alpha"; Fri, 15 Apr 2005 11:09:47 GMT]
What is the minimum amount of players needed to run 99% of all file
types?....is it possible just to have 1 0r 2 players and a big
collection of codecs?
Click to expand...

You only need one or two players -- one all-in-one or else an audio player
and a video player. I recommend the latter. For video, I recommend Media
Player Classic; for audio, foobar2000. Both are powerful.

One note: weighing down your system with video codecs isn't the most
efficient method of doing things. Consider downloading what you need as you
need it, using tools like VideoInspector
(http://www.kcsoftwares.com/index.php?vtb) to determine what codec is needed
for a specific video.

J44xm (http://j44xm.2ya.com/freeware.html)
 
alpha said:
Already got media player classic......now i have to decide between
these two codec pack recommendations:

Install K-Lite Mega Codec pack
http://www.k-litecodecpack.com­/

or

Then just download a codec pack like this:
Click to expand...


I have no experience with K-Lite, but the experience I do have with various
codec packs is that they tend to introduce more problems than they solve.
They conflict with each other and other existing codecs, clogging down the
system etc. Besides, they are not time proof. If you always need the latest
and hottest codecs then you will have to reinstall the pack whenever a new
kid is on the block.

You are probably better off just installing a base set of codecs, and then
add to them when necessary. For a base system XviD, ffdshow and AC3 should
probably cover at least 80% of your needs. On top of that you can add
Vorbis, Matroska, Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative. If you
discover that you have media files that do not play back with this
combination there are always tools to determine which codecs are being used,
some of which have been suggested in this thread already.
 
alpha said:
"I totally agree. Exactly what I'm running right now. I really like
XMPlay and use the "Windows Classic" skin as it's the easiest to read
and use. "

Already got media player classic......now i have to decide between
these two codec pack recommendations:

Install K-Lite Mega Codec pack
http://www.k-litecodecpack.com­/

or

Then just download a codec pack like this:


do you know which is the better one???
Click to expand...

Well, YMMV but my experience has been that the best codec pack is the
Coda pack. It's never caused any problems on any computer on which I've
installed it.

http://jdoe.host.sk/

Regardless, the VLC Media Player is what I recommend now and it
supposedly includes its own codecs. I posted a sort of review for it in
this thread.

By the way, I currently have both the Coda codec pack and VLC installed
and there are no conflicts. Installed the Coda codec pack previously.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls.
No adware, cdware, commercial software, crippleware, demoware, nagware,
shareware, spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez
please.
 
André Gulliksen said:
Say what? Disappear? All of it, or just some of the features?
Click to expand...

Darned if I know for sure, but I presume that they mean entirely.

--
Regards from John Corliss
I don't reply to trolls.
No adware, cdware, commercial software, crippleware, demoware, nagware,
shareware, spyware, time-limited software, trialware, viruses or warez
please.
 
["alpha"; Fri, 15 Apr 2005 11:09:47 GMT]
What is the minimum amount of players needed to run 99% of all file
types?....is it possible just to have 1 0r 2 players and a big
collection of codecs?
Click to expand...

You only need one or two players -- one all-in-one or else an audio player
and a video player. I recommend the latter. For video, I recommend Media
Player Classic; for audio, foobar2000. Both are powerful.

One note: weighing down your system with video codecs isn't the most
efficient method of doing things. Consider downloading what you need as you
need it, using tools like VideoInspector
(http://www.kcsoftwares.com/index.php?vtb) to determine what codec is needed
for a specific video.

J44xm (http://j44xm.2ya.com/freeware.html)
Click to expand...

Only a good idea if you either use a broadband connection or are
prepared to pay for multiple phone calls. I prefer to have the codecs
on hand.
 
In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
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John said:
Regardless, the VLC Media Player is what I recommend now and it
supposedly includes its own codecs. I posted a sort of review for it in
this thread.

By the way, I currently have both the Coda codec pack and VLC installed
and there are no conflicts. Installed the Coda codec pack previously.
Click to expand...

I just downloaded vlc and it looks very good. I have it running and it
has low cpu usage. However it isn't a replacement for mpc. It doesn't
run real media and apparently there are no plans to. I also noticed on
their forum that several users were suggesting mpc for a file several
people were having problems playing.

It looks especially helpful for streaming.
 
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