It used to be that you needed one program to play MP3 files, another to play streaming media from Real, another to play Mpeg files, yet another to play Quicktime movies, another one for playing CD's and yet another for playing DVD discs. Then, with the advent of Microsoft's Windows Media Player (WMP), all of these media types could now be played in one player, but WMP in XP and Vista has become bloated and doesn't work with all of the types of file formats available. Then came along WinAmp, which started out as a mp3 player and now plays almost everything, but does use up a lot of system resources and can contain adware if you aren't careful on the installation. With the ever increasing popularity of iPods, iTunes has become more prevelant on many PC's, but it also takes up a lot of resources and is processor intensive. So I have done some major research for an alternative media player capable of playing all of these media formats. What I found impressed me becuase they not only replace the functionality of WMP, WinAmp and iTunes, but exceed them as well. The products reviewed here are capable of playing multiple types of media files, including various digital audio and video formats, CD's, and DVD's.
NOTE: Some of these programs may require additional codecs for expanded functionality. For more information about codecs including what they do, legal issues and download links, see the article, "Understanding Codecs".
My personal favorite is Media Player Classic, available for Windows (95 through Vista), MPC looks like the old Windows Media Player v6.4, but that is where the similarity ends. Under the hood, this program packs a lot of features, including codecs for viewing DVD discs, MPEG1, MPEG2, and MPEG 4 video files, MP3 and Ogg files. MPC can also use the QuickTime and the RealPlayer architectures (if installed on the computer) to play their native files. If you really want to extend MPC's functionality while avoiding the installation of RealPlayer, WinAmp and Quicktime, download ffdshow, Real Alternative, QuickTime Alternative and WinAmp Alternative packages. They will make sure there will be almost nothing you won't be able to play. MPC is the only product reviewed here that requires no installation on your PC. This means that it can be run from your USB flash drive as well as your hard drive. (Note: There is some dispute over the legality of Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative codec packs. ffdshow is opensource, completely legal, and should cover almost all of your needs.) |
An excellent alternative to MPC is VLC Media Player. VLC is available for multiple OS's, including all versions of Windows (98 - Vista), Mac OS X, and many varieties of Linux. Most versions will support playback of most video files and DVD discs without the need to download external codec packs, including flv files, which MPC cannot natively play. VLC has another unique feature as well. There are 5 different DVD region codes. DVD's manufactured for one region will not play in players made for a different region. This applies to PC DVD drives as well... until now. VLC plays them all. There is no need for any shady (and possibly illegal DVD region spoofing programs). This is especially nice if you are an international traveler and want to watch a movie on your laptop outside your country. |
Another good alternative is GOM Player. Available only for Windows (98Se - Vista), it also will play most media files, including flv files with it's own internal codecs. If, however, you come across a file it cannot play, it will direct you to the appropriate open sourcecodec to install. The program is a little quirky, though. I tried to play a DVD disc on two different pc's using GOM... On one it would not play it at all (and this was a machine I've been able to play DVD discs on before) while on the other one it played it fine. One very noteworthy feature of GOM player is the ability to play broken media files. According to subscriber Ash, "GOM Player's claim that it can play broken avi files is very true. We have a file sharing network on campus which uses DC++. Usually avi files which are being downloaded stop partway due to too much traffic. GOM Player was able to play every one of those files on my system up to the point where they stopped downloading." |
Product Specifications:
Media Player Classic:
Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli2/
Download Link: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=205650
Author: Gabest
Current version: 6.4.9.1
Version date: 04-Apr-2008
Download file size: 2.12 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 95-Vista
Additional required software: None
64 bit version available: No, this program will not run in a 64 bit environment
Portable version available: Program is Portable
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevant information:
- No installation required.
- Can be run from a flash drive.
- "Understanding Codecs" can be downloaded here: understanding-codecs
- Additional software to enhance Media Player Classic can be found here:
- ffdshow: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm
- Real Alternative: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm
- QuickTime Alternative: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm
- WinAmp Alternative: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Winamp-Alternative-Download-23376....
VLC Media Player:
Website: http://www.videolan.org/
Download link: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Author: The VideoLAN Team
Current version: 0.8.6f
Version date: 02-Apr-2008
Download file size: 9.28 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 98-Vista, OS x, Various Linux distros
Additional Related software: None
64 Bit version available: Unknown
Portable version available: Yes - Available here
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevant information: None
GOM Player:
Website: http://www.gomplayer.com/main.html
Download link: http://www.gomplayer.com/download.html
Author: Gretech Corp.
Current version: 2.1.9.3754
Version date: 28-Mar-2008
Download file size: 4.48 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 98SE-Vista
64 Bit version available: No, but this 32 bit program will run in a 64 bit environment
Portable version available: No
Additional related software: None
Other relevant information: None