Best Free Media Player
Finding an all-in-one media player used to be impossible. In the past you needed to use several separate programs to play MP3 files, streaming media from Real, Mpeg files, Quicktime movies, CDs and DVD discs, but with the advent of Microsoft's Windows Media Player (WMP), all of these media types could be played in one player. Over a period of time, however, WMP for XP and Vista has become bloated and isn't compatible with all of the available file formats. WinAmp, which began as an mp3 player, now plays almost everything, although it uses a lot of system resources and may contain adware if you aren't careful on the installation. iTunes has become more prevalent on many PCs due to the almost universal reach of the IPod, but it also uses a lot of resources and is processor intensive. So I've done some major research to find alternative media players capable of playing all of these media formats, including digital music, video, CD, and DVD, while still being light on resources. I was impressed with what I found. Not only do these programs replace WMP ITunes and WinAmp, but they also exceeded their functionality. The products that I've reviewed here are capable of playing multiple types of media files, including various digital audio and video formats, CDs, and DVDs. They are also easy to install and use and are light on system resources.
NOTE: Some of these programs may require additional codecs for expanded functionality. For more information about codecs, including what they do, legal issues and download links, see the article, "Understanding Codecs".
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My thanks to everyone who suggested The KM Player, especially subscriber Sandeep, whose comments were helpful in creating this review. |
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This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Joe Bennett. Registered site visitors can contact Joe by clicking here.
Product Specifications:
Media Player Classic:
Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli2/
Download Link: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=205650
Author: Gabest
Current version: 6.4.9.1
Version date: 04-Apr-2008
Download file size: 2.12 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 95-Vista
Additional required software: None
64 bit version available: No, this program will not run in a 64 bit environment
Portable version available: Program is Portable
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevant information:
- No installation required.
- Can be run from a flash drive.
- "Understanding Codecs" can be downloaded here: http://www.techsupportalert.com/dr/understanding-codecs.htm
- Additional software to enhance Media Player Classic can be found here:
- ffdshow: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm
- Real Alternative: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm
- QuickTime Alternative: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm
- WinAmp Alternative: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Winamp-Alternative-Download-23376.html
The KM Player:
Website: http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/index.php
Download link: http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8351
Author: Pandora TV
Current version: 2.9.3.1428
Version date: 16-Dec-2007
Download file size: 13.5 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 98-Vista
Additional Related software: None
64 Bit version available: Unknown
Portable version available: Yes - Available here
Non-English languages supported: Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Portugese
Other relevant information: None
VLC Media Player:
Website: http://www.videolan.org/
Download link: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
Author: The VideoLAN Team
Current version: 0.9.2
Version date: 15-Sep-2008
Download file size: 13.81 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 98-Vista, OS x, Various Linux distros
Additional Related software: None
64 Bit version available: Unknown
Portable version available: Yes - Available here
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevant information: None
GOM Player:
Website: http://www.gomplayer.com/main.html
Download link: http://www.gomplayer.com/download.html
Author: Gretech Corp.
Current version: 2.1.9.3754
Version date: 28-Mar-2008
Download file size: 4.48 MB
License: Free - GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating systems supported: Windows 98SE-Vista
64 Bit version available: No, but this 32 bit program will run in a 64 bit environment
Portable version available: No
Additional related software: None
Other relevant information: None
Related Topics:
- Best Free CD/DVD Burning Software
- Best Free Audio/Video Format Conversion Program
- Best Free Video Editor
- Best Free Streaming Media Recorder
- Best Free Audio Editing Software
- Best Free Screen Session Recorder
- Best Free Digital Image Viewer


My personal favorite is 

Another good alternative is
Delicious
Digg
Technorati
you need to evaluate foobar ( foobar2000.org )
it has all the tools that a music player can have but it is lightweight and free.
The products reviewed here can play almost any type of media (Audio files, Video files, CD, DVD, etc) without taking up the resources that WMP takes up.
Foobar 2000 plays only audio and has no support for any type of video playback. It may very well be a great audio player, but audio-only software is not within the scope of my reveiws here.
AIMP 2.50 came out. Awesome music player. I ditched Winamp for it.
Sourceforge doesn't say MPC is Vista compatible, it doesn't work for 64-bit, it's no longer being developed... scrolling arround I could find another project, Media Player Classic - Homecinema which is actively being developed (by the same developers) and doesn't have those problems.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpc-hc/
I've used it myself on a Vista pc and it works fine.
As for the development status, at one point it was showing as active, but now shows as inactive, yet the latest release date for this program is October 5, 2008. The status may yet change again to active. We will have to see.
That being said, the link you provide to mpc-hc would be good for those with the 64 bit version of Windows Vista, as there is a package specifically designed for that, though they clearly say that it is still in alpha and some features are not working.
If the status of the guliverkli 2 project doesn't change in the near future, I will probably switch the link to the MPC_Home Cinema Edition.
Thanks, your reviews are also very enlightning indeed. I'm sticking with VLC 0.9.4 but it doesn't seem able to play *.FLV videos ?
To reply to my question, I just found this topic:
Flash Video Files (.flv)
* Flash Video support has recently been added (provided through ffmpeg) - to view .flv files you will need version 0.8.4a. Download and install the latest version here.
* VLC still has problems with a few .flv files. If you have problems playing a file in VLC you might be able to change it to an avi using ffmpeg. See Fixing .flv to .avi with Ffmpeg.
* VLC 0.8.6 provided enhanced Flash Video support on all platforms, so it is probably worth to update if you experience problems with prior releases.
http://wiki.videolan.org/Common_Problems
I downloaded an .flv from Youtube and VLC plays it, although errors are being displayed and quality is not so good. The problematic .flv I have must have some sort of protection, I can't extract any metadata from it, and not even FLVPlayer is able to play it; believe it or not, apart from browser, I'm only able to read it with... Irfanview plugin. Not even MCPlayer, WMP or Winamp can handle it.
Cowon's Jet Audio is also a good player and its core files are free. Their is a fee on the extras.
Lol, I can swear when you install it, it says it's name; K-Mutlimedia Player. Not willing to re-install to find out, haha. Maybe for a new version I will.
KM Player stands for K-Multimedia Player, not Korean Media Player.
KM Player is by far the best. I thought VLC was, but not anymore, haha.
Really?
There are Countless sites naming K-MPlayer as the Korean Media Player:
1)http://www.frihost.com/forums/vt-82592.html
2)http://www.techtree.com/India/Reviews/Korean_Media_Player_KMPlayer/551-81933-607.html
3)http://www.g4g.it/2008/03/17/kmplayer-korean-media-player/
4)http://forums.opensuse.org/1792538-post1.html
Just a few of them, because I couldn't list all of them...
But who knows?
Maybe, they are All wrong, and you are Right...
On their forum they have a posting that includes:
KMplayer (x)
KM Player (x)
KM player (x)
KMPlayer (x) ---> KDE frontend for mplayer which has nothing to do with KMP
Korean Media Player (x)
The KMPlayer (o) - Complete and official form
KMP (o) - Abbreviation of K-Multimedia Player
K-Multimedia Player (o)
Kang Multimedia Player (o)
I assume the "x" to mean those terms are incorrect and the "o" to mean it's OK.
Relax guys!
Both GOM and KMPlayer are Korean players. (Or not?)
If KMPlayer is
K-Multimedia Player,
Kang Multimedia Player
and not Korean Media Player
is of minor detail.
The issue is one: KMPlayer is EXCEPTIONAL!!!
This from the KMPlayer forum:
"I'll let you know some behind stories of KMP. The full name of KMP is a K-Multimedia Player. The "K" of KMP simply indicates the initial character of the developer's family name(Kang)."
http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141
So, all these sites naming it Korean Media Player are WRONG.
Either you are Right or they are!
Let's bring charges against them!
Oh...wait a moment!
Let's shoot them!
Perhaps this is a good time have this discussion in the Debating chamber. The name is not important. What is important is that it is good software.
Joe
I installed Media Player Classic, plus Real Alternative 1.8.4, QuickTime Alternative QT Lite 2.7.0, WinAmp Alternative, and ffdshow rev 2094 2008-08-30. For someone non-technical, that's a lot of work and a lot of separate downloads/installation. Plus each codec installation pops up a screen asking for various options to be set, which is darned confusing.
I wonder if it might have been simpler to install Windows Essentials Codec Pack http://www.mediacodec.org/ ?
Does anyone know about that one? It includes Media Player Classic plus codecs to play most media types, including RealNetworks audio/video, QuickTime, etc.
If that one package does everything that's needed, then maybe that would be a better recommendation for those who want to use Media Player Classic than installing all those separate codec packages.
VLC is the best option. Its handles everything and only 1 download.
What specifically makes VLC better than KMPlayer?
-About 2-3 weeks ago, VLC relesed version 0.92.
This version was unstable (bugs, frozen windows etc.)
-As a result, they released version 0.93 now.
I hope they fix all issues...
Now, they release v0.94.
They keep fixing the errors and bugs...
Media Player Classic: how to display track listing of Audio CD?
I installed Media Player Classic along with Real Alternative, QuickTime Alternative QT Lite, WinAmp Alternative, and ffdshow. I wanted a player, plus codecs, that would play virtually any media format without using a lot of resources. This works well, thank you.
One hitch: when I play an audio CD in Media Player Classic, I don't see a playlist. In Windows Media Player, playing an audio CD also displays a full list of all tracks on the CD with their titles, artist and duration, and highlights the currently-playing track. Is there any way to enable that functionality in Media Player Classic?
To show the current track plus its duration, click View > Playlist on the menu.
The only downside to this program is that it does not have CDDB support, so track names and artist information will now show in the playlist on this player. I consider this a small detail though because it plays everything I've ever thrown at it without problems and to be honest, I don't listen to many CD's on my computer any more.
Hope this helps.
Joe
Thank you. I've never heard of the term "CDDB support", so that's really useful information.
I think that future product reviews should specify whether CDDB support is included or not, as if you play a lot of audio CDs that is an important feature.
I'm going to look for a player that has good CDDB support for playing audio CDs, but I'll continue to use Media Player Classic for other stuff.
Thanks!
Thanks for the informative review of The KMPlayer. I think it might also be worth mentioning that this player allows you to record ("Capture") audio streams as mp3 files. As I understand it, you get to save the data originally streamed to your computer rather than what goes into your sound card (as with MP3myMP3 suggested on the Best Free Streaming Media Recorder page). So you won't be recording breaks for buffering or extraneous beeps and pops from other programmes.
I tested the VLC 0.9.2 version.
Compared to KMPlayer, VLC Remains a 'Poor relative'.
Some nasty Bugs -Still- Remain!
Hi,
I also notice that the new VLC starts much slower than the old. I guess I will check out KMPLayer. However, without VLC my MacMini would be useless serving my HDTV. But its a different version for Mac still.
Best regards,
George
George,
give a try to the Korean Media Player (a.k.a. KMPLayer).
I have test every player without finding a better one!
Take my word on it.
Just be patient with the many options offered by KMPLayer.
Devote some time to learn/configure KMPLayer. Rewards will be great!
What were the bugs? I think the new interface is great! Much more intuitive than the previous versions...
But one thing is really strange. When it plays flv files the colours are totally wrong.
Just try to select some Extra -Extensive- settings
dealing with Video (Color), Audio (Equilizer), Image (Rotation) etc.
It becomes frozen and crashes (the famous Debug window)!
KMPlayer remains the Best Media Player!
Way better than WMP 11, Zoom, BSPlayer, Kantaris and the rest ones!
Firefox + WMP + K-Lite Codecs is all I seem to need.
This includes the free IPTV service my ISP offers, the ISP said I'd have to install VideoLan but I could not make that work anyway - so I tweaked the KLite stuff, behold free TV over the wire in my browser, but nothing I'd want to watch, mainly foreign language news services.
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