UPDATED: Media Playback

[RahulB]

Hello this is my first thread in the forum so I didn't know where to post.. anyway here it is..

MEDIA PLAYBACK ( MAINLY FOR VIDEO )
------------------------------------------------
Playing media files can be cumbersome, with confusing collection of codecs, filters and what not... so considering that here is a post on the software you can use..

VLC Media Player
--------------------

Choice of a lot of people and rightly so, plays almost everything out of the box, without the use of any external codecs..

NOTES
--------
PROS:
- VLC uses the awesome FFMpeg library for playback so quality is great.
- VLC is self contained, doesn't require codecs.
- VLC is not based on DIRECTSHOW.
- Co-exists peacefully with other players and doesn't mess up your Directshow filters.

You can play almost everything with this player, its a no fuss player.

CONS:
- As it is not based on DIRECTSHOW, it doesn't take advantage of full options provided by the OS ( Renderers, filters, etc )
- VLC is not a universal decoding library, you cannot use it system wide for everyplayer out there.
- Directshow decoders give better quality output ( however most people will never notice the difference
- Doesn't work with system codecs, even if you change that in settings.
- GPU acceleration is dodgy, doesn't work properly, so those wanting to reduce CPU overhead for your playback VLC doesn't cut it.

*** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED *** for everyone and those who are afraid CODEC Packs will mess up their registry.

Download at:VideoLAN - Official page for VLC media player, the Open Source video framework!
==================================================

For those of you who want something more powerful, here is a alternative

DAUM POTPLAYER ( My defualt Player )
---------------------
KMPlayer is dead as in dead, the original other left the development long time ago and its development has stopped, its developer however started another project called POTPLAYER, which is in my opinion KMPlayer improved+features.

It uses ffdshow for playback and has its own filters etc for playback.., though based on directshow, it doesn't do any registry damage because of the way it is designed ( sandbox ), so don't worry...

It has plethora of features, pointing them out one by one will fill pages... here is a short summary.

- DXVA accleration
- Comes with all Renderers ( EVR CP, MADASHI, VMR ), etc.
- Plays almost everything, just like VLC..
- Very high quality playback
- Very customisable
- Both 64-bit and 32-bit versions available..
and many more....

Those of you use KMPplayer will right at home with this player, it has almost same design and interface.

*** TOP RECOMENDATION *** for everyone, easy to use, might be little intimidating for starters ( you have VLC for them ), filled with features...

*** NOTE ***
************

This is a Korean player in Korean ( pun ), so don't download from offical website, dvbsupport has been providing a english version so download that..

During installation uncheck Potplayer Live Files, it is a unecessary component used by DAUM LIVE SERVICE ( Korean ), so makes no sense for us...

Disable automatic updates because it will turn your player back into Korean...

64-Bit version doesn't get updated often, example you will see updates for 32-bit almost every 3-4 days ( betas ) but don't fret, 64-bit gets updated eventually after 1-2 weeks.. don't worry...

For those on Winx64 who like bleeding edge releases, you can install 32-bit, no problems

Here is the official doom9 forum page for Potplayer:PotPlayer x86/x64 (aka "KMPlayer Reloaded") ..in english now! <skin update 09/09/11> - Doom9's Forum

Easy download links:

PotPlayer 1.5.30502 Beta - VideoHelp.com Downloads
DVB Support

************************************************** ***************

CODEC PACKS
----------------We all know what these are, so I am not going to explain them...

K-Lite Mega Pack is a very good option ( Directshow based )

- You can configure it to run system wide ( Using Win7 DS Tweaker )
- Excellent playback
- Comes with Media Player Classic Home Cinema
- Comes with FFDShow so all your codecs are covered
- Comes with splitters to split your video files
- Automatically configures Media Center you use it too.
- 64-bit available

NOTES
--------
- Recent versions of come with LAV Filters... ( NEW )
**** LAV FILTERS ****
- LAV Filters is a collections of tools ( splitters, decoders ) based on FFMpeg library intended for high quality playback
- It consists of following parts

- LAV Splitter ( x86 and x64 )
- LAV Video Decoder ( x86, x64 and a CUDA Decoder )
- LAV Audio Decoder ( x86 and x64 )

Together these play almost all the formats which FFMpeg can flawlessly, however it doesn't have many postprocessing filters like FFDShow yet ( LAV is a new project ), so if your main purpose is only playback, LAV filters are fine, but if your main purpose is post processing then you stick to FFDShow during installation...

Installation instructions:
In the splitters section use LAV only.
K-Lite installer doesn't give option beyond H.264/AVC for LAV so you will have do this after installation, this can be done using the bundled CODEC TWEAK Tool...

**** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ****

Download at:Codec Guide: K-Lite Codec Pack - Windows 7 codecs
64-bit users install the 64-bit and 32-bit version (safe ), reason for this is that, some applications like explorer and media center are 64-bit so 64-bit decoders are required ( 64-bit explorer's thumbnail generation ) while WMP and most other 3rd party software is 32-bit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All the above tools in the pack can also be installed seperately, this is quite easy, but the configuration can be cumbersome.... This post as you can see become very large so that is a subject of another post...

NEXT Post: Some useful tools you can use for with the Pack... FFDShow and LAV configuration, manual installaion...

Please comment and notify where I am wrong...
And bear this long post... I wanted to do justice to this topic....

Video Encoding Post: Video Encoding: For Beginners

[Krow]

Nice post. Thanks for taking time to share your feedback. A sincere request. Please reduce the font size of the enlarged parts in the post. I skipped a lot of the post because these were distracting. Downloading the PotPlayer now. Didn't know that KMplayer was dead.

[RahulB]

There you go Krow, thanks for the feedback, will further improve the post by improving the presentation and word structure

[Krow]

PotPlayer looks good. Need to fiddle with it a little more. Thanks again.

[RahulB]

Potplayer Basic Installation Guide

Step 1.) Download the installer appropriate to your OS ( 32-bit or 64-bit )

Step 2.) Update DirectX

DirectX Web Installer: Download: DirectX End-User Runtime - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details

DirectX Offline Installer: Download: DirectX Redist (June 2010) - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details

Step 3.) Run Potplayer installer, uncheck install live files option, and complete the installation.

Potplayer Initial Basic Configuration

Step 1.) Run PotplayerMini.exe in Administrator Mode.

Step 2.) Press F5 to bring up the preferences panel, on bottom left you will find button called Initialize, click it. This will reset it, close the player and again start it in administrator mode.

Step 3.) Right Click to bring the menu and change the skin, to Potplayer New Original En ( English Translated ), it is called something like that.

Step 4.) In the preferences dialog, under General uncheck Run multiple instances
- Under filter settings in Video Decoder, click Built in Codec settings and enable DXVA ( Works only with EVR ), also enable mutli-threaded decoders ( called Type 1 or Type 2 ) for every format except MPEG-4 ( To maintain seekbility )
- Under Video change your renderer if you want to ( Use VMR9 if red appears pinkish, skintones appear pinkish ) *** HAPPENS DUE TO BAD GRAPHIC DRIVERS and IN SOME DELL LAPTOPS ***
- Under Change VMR/EVR Scaler: P.S 2.0 Bicubic -0.75 ( Graphic Card should support Pixel Shader 2.0 ro higher )
- Under Colorspaces check High Definition Conversion
- Change YCbCr <-> RGB - Autoselection
- Change YCbCr Conversion - Region Wide
- Change YCbCr <-> RGB Conv. - Computer Monitor

You can export these settings through the export dialog..
Tinker More and enjoy ( Still Tons of Stuff left )

----------------------------------------------------------------
I have collection of 10 or so great skins, how do I upload the to the Forum.

This should get you through, tinker more and enjoy

[topgear]

nice post RahulB and thanks for the info on the POTPLAYER - as for me I'm still on KMplayer 3.0.0.1442 - time for upgrade to POTPLAYER aka KMPlayer Reloaded

[Zangetsu]

Excellent post RahulB..

I am using PotPlayer & its very good alternative to VLC & MPC...

I use it when MPC fails...

[red dragon]

Nice post Rahul.
Can you add media playback up on Macs also in your first post?
It will be of great help.

[meetdilip]

Anything in Pot player that is not in VLC ? Can anyone post a screen shot please.

[RahulB]

For Macintosh VLC Media player is the best,

Get it from: VideoLAN - Download official VLC media player for Mac OS X

The architecture of MAC OS X differs from Windows so it is impossible to port players based on directshow to the platform...

Also note that Quicktime on MAC OS X is actually a great application....

VLC should handle all your playback needs.

[topgear]

Another Good Media Player I can recommend is GOMPlayer

[red dragon]

Originally Posted by RahulB

For Macintosh VLC Media player is the best,

Get it from: VideoLAN - Download official VLC media player for Mac OS X

The architecture of MAC OS X differs from Windows so it is impossible to port players based on directshow to the platform...

Also note that Quicktime on MAC OS X is actually a great application....

VLC should handle all your playback needs.

Quicktime is fine...but Perian is still buggy with it.

[RahulB]

Perian does throw lot of problems... with Quicktime, I know many people who don't want to use Quicktime on their Mac because the have had very unpleasent experience with Quicktime on Windows, they just install VLC... Its all Apple's fault for writing such a shitty implementation on Windows....

[dashing.sujay]

Today I noticed that potplayer doesn't appears in win+tab list.

[RahulB]

Are you sure, it appears in mine

[dashing.sujay]

I'm damn sure. Actually I feel it doesn't runs as a "window" coz if if you try win+M, all programs minimise except potplayer, but if you do win+D, then as expected all programs are minimised and desktop is shown.

[RahulB]

I tried win+m and it minimized in Mine ..... Did you initialize it first after installation... I am sure there must be some setting inside potplayer which does it

[dashing.sujay]

Did you initialize it first after installation

didn't got.

I haven't done anything with settings.

[RahulB]

Dude I am not sure what the problem, try reinstalling it, it works perfectly fine in my PC... Follow the instructions in the post for Potplayer configuration, hope it works...

[dashing.sujay]

Well, I'm not facing any problems, actually the way its behaving, its more of a good for me , so better leave it that way .

[RahulB]

Cool...... Enjoys itss

[topgear]

installed it yesterday ( 64 bit version ) but I feel like KMPlayer is still better for me - will tinker with POTPLAYERs settings more to make it suit better for me

[RahulB]

Well topgear, KMPlayer's development stopped long time ago, the original developer sold it to Pandora, it has become buggy with time with no new features added... Potplayer is by the same developer, and it is actively developed.... If you think of it its interface is very similar to KMPlayer... I guess you will just have to get used to it...

[topgear]

^^ Never faced any kind of bugs with KMplayer - it ran all of my DVD and other multimedia files without any single issue so far.
BTW, it's not so long time ago that KMplayers development has stopped - the last version ( KMPlayer 3.0.0.1442 r2 ) was released on only two months ago :
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/kmplayer.htm

I liked portplayer but like WMP it's showing now playing media files list on the right pan - I liked the KMplayers single window interface more and some shortcut keys are not similar to KMplayer - that's why I aid I need to tinker more with portplayer's settings so that I can get a KMPlayer like feeling while using portplayer

[RahulB]

The last version was just a bug fix, nothing new... Author YoungHuee Kang left KMPlayer long time ago.... Potplayer adds better sandboxing and filters.... The right playlist pane is dockable.. just take your cursor to the right side of the screen and a thin sidebar will appear with a arrow, click to undock the playlist pane...

[topgear]

^^ ok .. thanks for the tips - will try them

[onlytanmoy]

lovely post Rahul...truly Daum Potplayer is a marvel...in fact it's my default player as well for watching movies.

[dashing.sujay]

Its creating a zZz sound at full volume in my laptop, while wmplayer doesn't; neither VLC. I noticed that this zZz sound comes when the volume is high enough to cross laptop speaker's hardware volume level, which I've tested in VLC by increasing the volume upto 200% which is nearly more vol than hardware level; and a little zZz sound comes out, but very low as compared to potplayer.