what is the best out and out media player

[prozac5000]

VLC for those huge mkv files (High Definition Anyone?)
Windows media player for your average avi file
winamp for music
real player for those pesky rmvb and rmb files

anything else worth mentioning?

I rate VLC as the best hands down as it can play just about anything!

 

[mickey megabyte]

for movies i use kmplayer, similar to vlc, it's free and plays near-enough everything without needing (but can use if required) external codecs.

i prefer it to vlc as it has better subtitle support (i watch a lot of foreign films), it lets me use my extra mouse buttons as rewind/forward buttons, powerful capture options, and is oh-so configurable.

i use winamp for playing music - mainly because i use my own custom skin, auto-tag and i like the milkdrop visualisation at times.

i don't think i've used windows media player for years...is it any good yet?

 

[Antman]

JetAudio

QuiMP

 

[hybridfan]

Foobar for music
Media Player Classic for movies
Windows Media Player for BBCiPlayer shows.

 

[Bearlout]

kmplayer

 

[matt_0978]

VLC for those huge mkv files (High Definition Anyone?)

...

i beg to differ, now i know a lot of us (sevenforummers) aren't the biggest fans of codec packs but when i played a matroska file in windows media player with shark 007's codec pack installed it played flawlessly, on the other hand vlc's handling was rather choppy.

 

[FZ21Z]

Winamp for my audio, and Windows Media Player for video, because with a codec pack installed, it plays pretty much everything.

 

[Tews]

VLC for those huge mkv files (High Definition Anyone?)

...

i beg to differ, now i know a lot of us (sevenforummers) aren't the biggest fans of codec packs but when i played a matroska file in windows media player with shark 007's codec pack installed it played flawlessly, on the other hand vlc's handling was rather choppy.

+1 for Sharks Codec Pack!!!

 

[TheSchaft]

+1 for Sharks Codec Pack!!!

I'll second that. I used K-Lite for quite a while, and had some problems with earlier versions of Shark007's codecs, but the latest are rock solid.

I strongly recommend them - no additional players to mess with.

 

[Corpsecrank]

Personally for video I use Media Player Classic. I use that because it always works and it is extremely simple by design.

But for audio I use Creative Media Source because I have a Creative X-Fi sound card. However if I did not have that I would use Winamp Pro mainly because it has plugins for anything you want to do.

You can use whatever you want. Most of it is personal preference so use what you are familiar with or like using. All media players are general equal because much of what your seeing or hearing is dictated by the codecs you have installed and the quality of the file your playing.

The exception to all of this is the standard windows media player. The one that is built in and comes with windows. I have had issues with it especially related to licensing of files I wanted to play. When it cannot find a license and it tries to obtain one it has issues. Because of that I avoid using it. Also even with correct codec the player sometimes refuses to properly handle the file not sure what is up with that. But bottom line it is buggy so I avoid it.

 

[harpua]

For video: Media Player Classic - Home Cinema x64 (with AC Filter as external audio filter).

For audio: AIMP2 (latest rc version) (you winamp users should give this a try out).

They are both free and awesome, imo.

 

[Sefyu]

Music: WMP, but I think I'm about to switch
All video: MPC-HC 64bit + ffdshow 64bit

I think I'll revert to 32bit versions of MPC and ffdshow, because the're quite buggy and I don't really thing these programs benefit from being 64bit.

 

[A320]

For audio: AIMP2 (latest rc version) (you winamp users should give this a try out).

I switched from Winamp to Aimp2 and loved it back then but now, mediamonkey doesn't even make me want to look for other audio management software anymore. Does everything except wipe your ass and manages all my ipods as well.

 

[skunksmash]

''MPC'' is my media app of choice.....

i also use ''Winamp'', the visuals are superb.

 

[thefabe]

For dvd I use power dvd 8 . Just out of habit I guess i have always used thier programs. And since I'm not an audiophile (hope I spelled that correct) I just use the same program, it plays and that's all I care about. I have a pretty powerful speaker system and since I live in a apt. complex and have been bashed for loud music I just plug in my over price Bose comfort headphones and I'm satified.

 

[ilesal]

A simple media player that plays everything you throw at it without additional codecs is
Kantaris Media Player

http://www.kantaris.org/?page_id=17

 

[Horny Dog]

For music I use Musicmatch Jukebox 7.2 and for movies I use The KMPlayer.

 

[Sefyu]

Why do you guys need codec packs? ffdshow + AC3filter plays everything I need.

 

[valtonray]

i like VLC but since playing with windows 7 media center it's growing on me, i've got a massive library of movies in lots of formats and so far WMC has handled everything quite well, not perfectly but it's nice and the interface makes navigation much more pleasant. i have movie posters set for every film so it looks amazing and actually makes browsing my collection more enjoyable. my only real gripe so far with it is lack of support for netflix(it's coming i know, but patience is a virtue i lack.) and that the volume is disappointing, a problem i dont have in VLC. now i am looking for a new music player, vlc sucks with music it makes it all sound so flat and lifeless, wmp is limited, winamp doesnt seem to have many features compared to the other players and i've never thought itunes played well with windows.

 

[Antman]

I like JetAudio.