Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Video playback is a confusing mess. For most people the player to be used is defined not by personal preference, but by the type of file.
What is the best media player to download to view attachments with videos, Real? Quicktime? Windows media?
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How about all of the above?
The problem is that as the recipient you don't have a whole lot of choice. It's the sender that determines the format that they send you, and you'll just have to have a player that understands it.
And not all players understand all formats.
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Sadly, the world of video in particular is a confusing mess of formats and options. If all you're trying to do is view a video that someone else has provided, it's complex enough. Heaven help you if you want to try and produce a video.
For playback, to keep things the simplest:
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Like I said, that's the simple path. While it results in three different media players on your machine, it usually works.
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But recall that I said it's a complicated mess.
What's really happening for most media players is that they don't understand anything at all, in and of themselves. They rely on "codecs" (coder/decoders) that are installed on the system to actually understand the various media formats.
So naturally when you install the Real player, it also installs codecs that understand Real formatted files. Similarly when you install QuickTime, it installs codecs for QuickTime formatted files.
It's even possible that, after installing various media players you may find that some can actually play the formats of another.
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There are some alternatives.
One of the classic alternatives is Media Player Classic. Designed to look like an older version of Windows Media player, you can set it up to play all three. That, of course, is best done by installing the separate applications anyway, after which their codecs become available to Media Player Classic.
But at least you can use a simple and consistent user interface regardless of which format you're viewing.
For codecs there are both Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative which provide codecs that can add Real media and QuickTime support to other players without having to download the "official" versions of those applications. This is a common way to add Real and Quicktime support to Media Player Classic, for example.
There are two issues with Real and Quicktime Alternatives: typically they're not quite as full featured as the originals and it's not clear whether they're actually legal.
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My recommendation for the average user is the simple one: install each player as you need it. (My personal preference is to then immediately disable the start-up programs that each of these programs adds. Those add no value, in my opinion.)
If you'd like a single user interface to handle all formats once the various official players are installed, then download Media Player Classic to act as a front-end.
Article C3015 - May 6, 2007
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
DO NOT put quick time on a PC its a venerability, consider your selves warned. Real player is bloatware and why use up all your time and effort with all the drama.
If you have an ipod use winamp because you can easily manage your music without having to completely re-sync
My recommendation to you is a simple download and use the recommended settings on the Klite mega codec pack.
here is the download page
http://www.codecguide.com/download_k-lite_codec_pack_mega.htm
And this is what it offers
Contents of K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
Below you can find a list of all components that are included in the pack. Please note that not all of these components will be installed. There are some groups of two (or more) components that share a similar purpose. During installation at most one component from each group can be selected. So for example, at most one MPEG-2 decoder can be installed. Furthermore, some of the included components are not needed by the average user, and therefore they will not by installed by default. The installer is fully customizable, so you can let it install exactly those components that suit your specific needs.
Contents of version 6.1.0:
Player:
* Media Player Classic Homecinema [version 1.3.2086.0]
* Media Player Classic Homecinema [version 1.2.1008.0]
* Media Player Classic [version 6.4.9.1 rev. 107]
ffdshow:
* ffdshow [revision 3487]
* ffdshow VFW interface
DirectShow video decoding filters:
* XviD [version 1.2.2]
* DivX [version 6.9.3]
* DivX H.264 [version 1.2.1 build 9.0.1.21]
* On2 VP7 [version 7.0.10.0]
* WebM VP8 [version 0.9.8.0]
* MPEG-2 (Cyberlink) [version 8.4.0.1408]
* MPEG-2 (Gabest) [version 1.0.0.4]
DirectShow audio decoding filters:
* AC3/DTS/LPCM (AC3Filter) [version 1.63b]
* Vorbis (CoreVorbis) [version 1.1.0.79]
* AAC (MONOGRAM) [version 0.9.6.0]
DirectShow audio parsers:
* FLAC (madFLAC) [version 1.8]
* WavPack (CoreWavPack) [version 1.1.1]
* MusePack (MONOGRAM) [version 0.9.2.0 | 0.4.0.0]
* Monkey's Audio (DCoder) [version 1.0]
* OptimFROG (RadLight) [version 1.0.0.1]
* AMR (MONOGRAM) [version 1.0.1.0]
* DC-Bass Source [version 1.2.0]
* AC3/DTS Source (AC3File) [version 0.7b]
DirectShow source filters:
* Haali Media Splitter [version 1.10.175.0]
* AVI splitter (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
* MP4 splitter (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
* Matroska splitter (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
* Ogg splitter (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
* MPEG PS/TS splitter (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
* FLV splitter (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
* CDXA Reader (Gabest) [version 1.3.2076.0]
DirectShow subtitle filter:
* DirectVobSub (a.k.a. VSFilter) [version 2.39.5.3]
* DirectVobSub (a.k.a. VSFilter) [version 2.33]
Other filters:
* Haali Video Renderer [version 1.10.175.0]
VFW video codecs:
* XviD [version 1.2.2]
* DivX [version 6.9.2]
* x264 [revision 1659]
* On2 VP6 [version 6.4.2.0]
* On2 VP7 [version 7.0.10.0]
* Intel Indeo 4 [version 4.51.16.2]
* Intel Indeo 5 [version 5.2562.15.54]
* Intel I.263 [version 2.55.1.16]
* huffyuv [version 2.1.1 CCE Patch 0.2.5]
* DivX [version 3.11]
* YV12 (Helix) [version 1.2]
ACM audio codecs:
* MP3 (Fraunhofer) [version 3.4.0.0]
* MP3 (LAME) [version 3.98.2]
* AC3ACM [version 1.5]
* Vorbis [version 0.0.3.6]
* DivX WMA [version 4.2.0.0]
Real Alternative:
* RealMedia codecs [version 12.0.0.756]
* RealMedia plugin for Internet Explorer
* RealMedia plugin for Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape/Opera/Chrome
* RealMedia DirectShow splitter [version 1.3.1967.0]
Tools:
* Codec Tweak Tool [version 4.4.4]
Posted by: TheProphet at July 10, 2010 10:51 PM* Win7DSFilterTweaker [version 3.2]
* MediaInfo Lite [version 0.7.33]
* GSpot Codec Information Appliance [version 2.70a]
* VobSubStrip [version 0.11]
* GraphStudio [version 0.3.2.0]
* Haali Muxer
* FourCC Changer
* Bitrate Calculator
Ever heard of the KMplayer (not the kmplayer of linux). This player is for windows. It has a huge range of options. Its the all in one player. It plays flv, rmvb, ram, rm, wmv(which vlc sometimes fails), mkv(vlc fails sometimes), ogg, ogm, and every other format out there. You can even book mark a part of the video instead of the entire video. How cool is that? It also has an in built online subtitle finder if when configured proper is very helpful. The decoders are not registered in the system registry, and all setting option are stored in a seperate file.It is the best for subtitle handling(way better than vlc-any version). Last but not least, the video quality, its unbeatable. You can change every aspect of the video to your will. A very versatile player. Definitely a must.
Posted by: Saravanan at September 10, 2010 10:58 AMI used to find The KMPlayer the best of the pack (yeah, WMP, RealPlayer, Real Alternative, Quicktime are simply no comparsion). Its sound is especially rich and authentic, its interface intuitive, very friendly, and extremely convenient.
But now, I discover one that is even better: XMP (Xunlei Media Player)! It is as versatile and user-friendly as KMP, but at the same time much better than the latter when it comes to media that are critically resource-demanding, like HD videos, mtc, mkv files etc. It is especially true when your system resources are in the tight.
The major shortcoming --- and it is a "big" one --- is that it comes in a Chinese interface, becos it is developed in China. So, if you happen to know Chinese, XMP is highly recommended. You need to try it to believe!
Posted by: kwokshsee at November 6, 2010 5:53 AMVLC is best but some files may be work bad video perfomance permanent in vlc
Posted by: arthas at March 7, 2011 8:46 AMInteresting debate here. The very first media player i started using was VLC. Used it for around 2 years. Had problems with frame rate and stuff. Then i switched to MPC. The interface was pretty boring after using it for a couple of days. Then i found KMPlayer and thought it would be my default media player like forever. But the updates came crawling after 2010. Then i found an article at Gizmo's Freeware Reviews for Best Free Media Player http://www.techsupportalert.com/best...eplacement.htm that rates PotPlayer as the best pick and tried it and now am absolutely in love with it.
Posted by: Reethu Jose at September 6, 2011 11:05 PMIt was developed by KMPlayer creater after he sold KMP.