Showing posts with label Media Players. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media Players. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

DivX Player - Video Player

Some of you have, no doubt, come in contact with a little error when you try to play a video file that says that your video player requires an additional plugin (codec) to play that file. DivX is that plugin.

DivX. The theme this week is video players. DivX is another free application (not open source) that pretty much plays every video format. (There is also a paid version which goes beyond playback and will actually convert video files.) DivX is very similar to VLC player so mostly everything I say about DivX is true of VLC. Some of you have, no doubt, come in contact with a little error when you try to play a video file that says that your video player requires an additional plugin (codec) to play that file. DivX is that plugin.

Coincidentally, DivX has updated its main package very recently and now is at its 7th version. So be comforted in knowing that the video player has gone through plenty of versions and is very stable. In additional to it being a video player itself, DivX also allows other video players to play files that couldn't play them before. Specifically, DivX enables Windows Media Player and Quicktime to play .avi files and other files similar to it, including DivX's own file format: .divx.

The benefits of DivX player:
  • It's a truly all-in-one player. It plays almost every movie file out there (but, it doesn't play EVERY file like VLC does)
  • The player is stylish. When you play a movie with DivX, it dims the rest of your screen to give you the "lights off" effect. It has a pretty sleek interface and just feels like a really professional application.
  • If you use a PC, DivX is even better. The player feels a lot better than Windows Media Player and its a lot lighter on the system - takes less time to load and shut down, uses less resources
In general, DivX is just a solid video player that I would suggest to anyone that routinely watches .avi and .mpeg4 specifically. However, I stand by my earlier comment that VLC Player is the best video player. DivX is a good alternative though.

Mac/PC Download here.

Monday, March 9, 2009

VLC Player - I can't believe I haven't mentioned it before

I really can't. VLC Player is a video player that basically plays every video file out there... Quite literally. It plays files from normal mpeg 4 and AVI files to VOB files (files ripped from DVD's). It is a cross platform application - available on Mac, PC, and Linux. If you are wondering what all this means: its a program that plays movie files on your computer - not DVD's, but other files that you would normally open with Windows Media Player or Quicktime.

Best of ALL: its open source and free. Amazing.

To tell you a bit about the applications popularity, the site claimes (and even boastfully displays) that it is downloaded 2.5 times per second. In total, it has been downloaded a total of 45.5 million times.

Why I use it:
  • Its FREE
  • Its Open Source
  • It plays EVERY video file I have ever come in contact with
  • It is lightweight and easy to use. This means that it opens quickly and does not use as many system resources (RAM and Battery Life) as other media players.
  • It goes fullscreen on my TV when my laptop is connected.
  • It has a cone as its icon

The cone thing may not seem to matter, but did you see what the little devil could do?


PC download here. Mac download here. Linux download here. If links are broken here.

Anyway, I love it and I hope you will love it. Its not a flashy program but who cares right - I mean use what is best, not what seems best.