replacement for wmp?

[DWFII]

Somewhere on these forums I saw several recommendations for software to replace wmp.

I'm looking for an application that is preferably freeware that will work as good or better ...maybe address some of the problems people are having with wmp (I haven't run across any myself but my wife plays music constantly).

Any ideas?

 

[rider68]

A Great Music Player

Somewhere on these forums I saw several recommendations for software to replace wmp.

I'm looking for an application that is preferably freeware that will work as good or better ...maybe address some of the problems people are having with wmp (I haven't run across any myself but my wife plays music constantly).

Any ideas?

Hi you could try VLC it's an open source software, i have used it for years,
VLC media player - Open Source Multimedia Framework and Player

Best Regards

 

[Jonathan_King]

VLC is good, but why not use WMP? It works great for those that don't have problems with it . Seriously, WMP is good.

 

[Capt.Jack Sparrow]

Yup .. WMP 12 is really good
VLC and K-Lite Codec with MPC is also a good option

 

[noobvious]

Somewhere on these forums I saw several recommendations for software to replace wmp.

I'm looking for an application that is preferably freeware that will work as good or better ...maybe address some of the problems people are having with wmp (I haven't run across any myself but my wife plays music constantly).

Any ideas?

foobar2000, MediaMonkey, WinAmp, and J.River MediaJukebox are quite popular for freeware.....I've used foobar in the past, and I use Mediamonkey currently. I only watch DVD's with WMP12.
http://www.mediamonkey.com/information/free/
http://www.winamp.com/
http://www.foobar2000.org/
http://www.mediajukebox.com/

 

[whs]

Look under Audio and Video. There is a whole collection.

 

[DWFII]

Thanks to all...that gives me a place to start. I liked the loks of VLC and Jet-something-or-other.

As I said, I don't use WMP much but just in case...

 

[Capella]

VCL uses more memory: on one of my media files, it uses 100 mb while on the wmp, it only uses 30
VCL also uses more processor utilization.
Windows media player uses the new media foundation and is MUCH more efficient with resource usage

 

[manchot]

i just default vlc because i'm too lazy to open stuff in wmp and then reopen it in vlc when i find out it won't play. if your system is struggling with video playback then maybe vlc isn't your best choice... otherwise for the lazy person that just wants pretty much everything to play correctly the first double click i think vlc is the way .

 

[whs]

VCL uses more memory: on one of my media files, it uses 100 mb while on the wmp, it only uses 30
VCL also uses more processor utilization.
Windows media player uses the new media foundation and is MUCH more efficient with resource usage

I may have a problem of comprehension, but why would anybody worry about RAM usage these days. I just put an additional 1GB into a friends older system - cost of the operation was $20,85 including shipping. And when you are watching a video, you usually don't do anything else on your system anyhow (that is different with music though).

 

[Capella]

VCL uses more memory: on one of my media files, it uses 100 mb while on the wmp, it only uses 30
VCL also uses more processor utilization.
Windows media player uses the new media foundation and is MUCH more efficient with resource usage

I may have a problem of comprehension, but why would anybody worry about RAM usage these days. I just put an additional 1GB into a friends older system - cost of the operation was $20,85 including shipping. And when you are watching a video, you usually don't do anything else on your system anyhow (that is different with music though).

The length of time required to load in more memory slows the startup of the program. The efficiency of the program can make the program more responsive and faster. The fact that it uses more memory, I take it to mean that it isn't efficiently using all the resources it took in windows 7. Windows media player utilizes the media foundation which is more responsive and efficient and is thus faster and more reliable. I also like the ribbon strip (integration) and the nice blue interface.

The only advantage to vcl is the ability to play any files. I only need .avi, .mkv, and mp4. avi and mp4 are already supported. mkv i can get from the divx codec which is also based on windows media foundation. Thus, vcl for me is useless.

 

[whs]

Sparkie, you make some good points. My comment was meant in a more generic way. But given a fast modern processor, lots of RAM and an SSD for the system, the difference is probably hardly noticable. However, for someone who operates on a vintage system, those arguments are useful.

 

[valtonray]

VLC is great for video but i've always thought that it sounded kind of flat when playing music. try winamp or media monkey. but they are right WMP 12 is a great program and if it's working for you why not stick with it/.

 

[whs]

VLC is great for video but i've always thought that it sounded kind of flat when playing music. try winamp or media monkey. but they are right WMP 12 is a great program and if it's working for you why not stick with it/.

There are effects, filters and an equalizer in Tools. If it sounds "flat", you can change it there.

 

[mikey63]

I used to use WMP 11 + K-Light codec pack before I upgraded to windows 7. I don't like how it's harder to get to the video options in WMP 12, so I started using VLC. it doesn't look as pretty as WMP, but for me it seems to open faster and plays everything.

After reading Sparkie's posts, I just compared the resource usage between VLC and WMP 12 with a 169mb AVI file I have.

VLC used about 46mb of memory when playing, and WMP12 used about 37mb. Not really that much difference, IMO.

Also VLC used 1%-4% cpu utilization while WMP12 used about 6%-9%. so VLC may use a bit more momory, but the cpu usage was lower. Seems like a wash really.



Edit: and I use WinAmp for mp3's. I have a couple of plugins that really make it sound better than the other two programs.

 

[whs]

WMP12 used about 6%-9%

That is relatively high. But it depends on the CPU you have. I noticed that sound effects in "Sounds" can increase the CPU utilization quite a bit.

 

[valtonray]

it really all just comes down to what you want from a media player... do you want one that excels at playlists, tags, visualizations, do you want a vidoe specific player? there are numerous excellent options avaible and everyone has their preference.

 

[Capella]

I used to use WMP 11 + K-Light codec pack before I upgraded to windows 7. I don't like how it's harder to get to the video options in WMP 12, so I started using VLC. it doesn't look as pretty as WMP, but for me it seems to open faster and plays everything.

After reading Sparkie's posts, I just compared the resource usage between VLC and WMP 12 with a 169mb AVI file I have.

VLC used about 46mb of memory when playing, and WMP12 used about 37mb. Not really that much difference, IMO.

Also VLC used 1%-4% cpu utilization while WMP12 used about 6%-9%. so VLC may use a bit more momory, but the cpu usage was lower. Seems like a wash really.



Edit: and I use WinAmp for mp3's. I have a couple of plugins that really make it sound better than the other two programs.

I was playing h.264 200 megabyte file. I ran wmp12 then vlc. I noticed that vlc used much more resources than wmp12.
Maybe one of reasons for the dramatic resource difference might have been that I only started vlc around 3 times. Maybe it needs to be cached by superfetch or something like that? :sarc: In wmp, I used it for months.
Vlc has its own benefit, I can admit, after I examined the features of the program. It can definitely give more information about the video audio and subtitle in a media container.
But wmp is still better and faster imo. Try vlc with h.264 and see what you get. Make sure you use the directshow codec with vlc and media foundation with wmp.

 

[mikey63]

I'll have to try some h.264 720p content when I get home. The file I played last night was not HD, so that can definitely make a difference. I'll report back what I find.

I just wish wmp12 had a single button shortcut to the video options like wmp11 did. One click and I could adjust the colors/contrast before I went to full screen mode (though I usually just left the adjustment pane open so it was always there). I hate how in wmp12, I have to right click to get a pop-up menu and then find the correct option to get the video adjustments to come up. If the darn thing stayed open, I wouldn't mind, but it gets closed every time you close wmp. There used to be a hack that would let you install WMP11 on Windows 7, but it no longer works, or at least doesn't work for 64bit. If I knew how to mod the wmp skin, I would put a button in wmp12 that would pull up the video adjustments!

Also, I think I am going to try Shark's codec pack as well, looks pretty nice.

 

[mikey63]

ok, I played a 904mb 720p mp4 file that is encoded to H.264/MPEG-4 AVC1 codec in a Sony PSP mp4 container, according to G-Spot.

when playing full screen here is what I found:
VLC ------------ 80mb ram, 16-20% cpu usage - smooth playback
WMP12 64bit--- 80mb ram, 1-5% cpu usage - slightly choppy playback
WMP12 32bit--- 65mb ram, 1-5% cpu usage - slightly choppy playback

Note that 64bit wmp uses the same memory as VLC, though 32bit used less. I don't know why wmp was getting choppy playback, so I uninstalled K-Light, and installed Shark's windows 7 codec pack. Still had the choppy playback, even after trying different settings in the H264 tab.

I'm not sure why it's not playing smoothly. This file does stream smoothly through my xbox 360 though.

Here is a link to the file on Vimeo. Scroll down, and there is a torrent you can download.

The Third & The Seventh on Vimeo

http://www.temporarygate.com/TheThird&TheSeventh.mp4.torrent

Any ideas?




EDIT: Ok, I think I got it. I wasn't hitting the "save all settings" button on the misc tab in Shark's settings screen. after I did that, and changed everything to ffdshow in the "swap" tab, I got silky smooth playback in WMP12.

BUT... now with a proper codec, WMP12 is using 103mb of ram and about 15-18% cpu.