Slashdot Mirror

Let me see if I got this straight: You are using Windows "classic" ala the Windows 95 GUI, and are actually bitching that something has a GUI that isn't from the stone age? Wow, I thought your kind died off with Win2K. Meanwhile the rest of the world, be it Windows, OSX or Linux, has actually moved away from the Win95 GUI into desktops that...oh what is the word...oh yeah, don't SUCK. Have you ever even TRIED the modern GUI in Windows 7? Breadcrumbs, the new taskbar, useful gadgets, it is all really nice and actually makes things easier which is why everyone moved away from win95.

But tell you what, since the Hairyfeet supports the right to be weird, allow me to introduce you to Evil Player for your audio needs and K-Lite Mega for your video needs. Evil Player has NO GUI, simply a box you drag and drop your audio in, uses less than 40Kb, and fits in great with winClassic, and K-Lite has Media Player Classic Home Cinema, which has the GUI of Media Player 6 (which fits perfectly with classic) and which I've found does hardware acceleration much better than VLC. If you have a GPU from this century you'll find MPC:HC accelerates all the major formats quite nicely. Unless of course you are still using windows Classic because you are on win98 or Win2K, in which case may God have mercy on your poor unsupported soul.

All you need are 2 things.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack:
http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm
It includes Media Player Classic...

AND some HD videos in almost ANY codec.

Enjoy!

----------------------
This is nothing more than an advert for a $10 codec!

Installing quicktime puts some stupid icon in the systray that annoys you every now and then. If you're not careful while installing quicktime, you might get itunes bundled along.

It seems that you are on a Windows system; you need to install QT Lite.

Quicktime Alternative, FTW.. No iTunes, no iPhone, no iToilet...

Even better, VLC media player. Hardly a need to install anything! http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Install both, FTW (including Media Player Classic Home Cinema, which is bundled with Quicktime Alternative). MPC-HC and VLC use different decoding frameworks, so they don't interfere with each other. Some stuff works better on MPC-HC (hardware accelerated decoding) and some stuff works better on VLC (broken/incomplete files). However, Apple's Quicktime is definitely NOT needed to play back non-DRM's video on Windows.

I'd rather not get into a K-Lite vs CCCP war, but I prefer CCCP plus QT Lite.

Quicktime Alternative, FTW.. No iTunes, no iPhone, no iToilet...

Even better, VLC media player. Hardly a need to install anything! http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Install both, FTW (including Media Player Classic Home Cinema, which is bundled with Quicktime Alternative). MPC-HC and VLC use different decoding frameworks, so they don't interfere with each other. Some stuff works better on MPC-HC (hardware accelerated decoding) and some stuff works better on VLC (broken/incomplete files). However, Apple's Quicktime is definitely NOT needed to play back non-DRM's video on Windows.

I'd rather not get into a K-Lite vs CCCP war, but I prefer CCCP plus QT Lite.

I'm not sure if it's actually necessary to have quicktime in order for itunes to do many of the basic things like download podcasts or sync your music/videos but it's probably necessary to play music and videos on your PC. In any case iTunes will complain if quicktime is not found.

I hate the full quicktime so I install quicktime alternative then extract the itunes installer using winrar. The itunes installer will extract to several separate installers including iTunes and Quicktime. Delete the Quictime installer and install iTunes.

I haven't tried this with the latest version of itunes but it worked with the version I installed late last year.

You're preaching to the choir. I only use the Apple Updater to update Safari, as I've been testing webpages I design in Safari since 3.0 beta for Windows came out. I also have Mozilla 2.0.0.12, Opera 9.26, and both IE6 and IE7 installed (using Multiple IEs).

I have to ignore those irritating updates for Quicktime and Quicktime + iTunes every time they come out. If I want to play Quicktime videos, I use QT Lite.

K-Lite Basic gives you just enough to play common DivX/XviD files (including subtitled videos) using Windows Media Player, plus a few utilities for identifying/tweaking codecs.

K-Lite Standard (recommended by GP) replaces the XviD codec with ffmpeg, includes Media Player Classic, and supplies enough filters to play back DivX/XviD, Quicktime, Real Media, MPEG-2, MP4, h.264, Matroska, AAC, and Ogg.

The Full, Mega, and Corporate versions of K-Lite bundle way too many codecs, tools, and options for most users. All those redundant codecs and utilities tend to interfere with each other and cause more problems than they solve.

K-Lite Basic gives you just enough to play common DivX/XviD files (including subtitled videos) using Windows Media Player, plus a few utilities for identifying/tweaking codecs.

K-Lite Standard (recommended by GP) replaces the XviD codec with ffmpeg, includes Media Player Classic, and supplies enough filters to play back DivX/XviD, Quicktime, Real Media, MPEG-2, MP4, h.264, Matroska, AAC, and Ogg.

The Full, Mega, and Corporate versions of K-Lite bundle way too many codecs, tools, and options for most users. All those redundant codecs and utilities tend to interfere with each other and cause more problems than they solve.

For Windows users, I think K-Lite (which bundles Media Player Classic and ffmpeg) is a better solution than MPlayer or VLC (which both include ffmpeg). Since Media Player Classic uses the DirectShow architecture and native Windows UI elements, it seems to offer a smoother experience (e.g. scrub bar) than multi-platform players like VLC and MPlayer.

The heart of K-Lite is the DirectShow implementation of ffmpeg, with other filters/tools for common video features that ffmpeg doesn't cover well (e.g. subtitles). So I think ScrewMaster is basically agreeing with you (recommending ffmpeg), but recommending (for Windows users) a better video player (Media Player Classic) and a few additional Windows tools (in K-Lite).

AnyDVD + Handbrake + VideoLAN

Not a bad recommendation. However, I'd go with AnyDVD + K-Lite Mega Codec Pack + MPlayer (included.) This will play encrypted DVDs, but also has the advantage of playing just about anything else included Quicktime and Real.

The obvious solution for Windows users is to uninstall the QuickTime player and replace it with QuickTime Alternative, which comes with the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack.

http://www.codecguide.com/about_mega.htm

QuickTime has always been trashware: An invasive, unreliable resource hog, and in Windows it steals file associations and kills (among other things) user access to U.S. Patent office graphic files. Worst. Media. Player. Ever.

There is absolutely no excuse for Linden using this crap, unless perhaps they are paid by Apple. They can and should dump QuickTime in favor of any FOSS media player -
unless of course that would cost them more in lost revenue from Apple, than in lost revenue from SL losers.

I dunno how well this works on Vista, but the Mega Codec Pack works great on XP: haven't yet found anything I can't play using it. Includes Real Alternative too, I believe.

QuickTime Standalone or better, QuickTime Alternative v1.81 (a recent project went dead according to Codec Guide):

QTA (2)
Saturday - June 9

Some news websites have written that QTA is doomed because we removed links to it. However, we have no control over what the creators of QTA do. Even if they would decide to stop making new versions, which is likely to happen, this does not automatically mean that there won't be any trimmed down mods of QuickTime available in the future. Creating such a pack is no rocket science. So anyone with a few ounces computer skills can make something similar. In fact, many of such packs already exist.
QTA
Monday - June 4

Download links to QuickTime Alternative have been removed at kind request of Apple. Even though this site does not host any downloads, we have have decided to just remove all links, even indirect ones, and get on with life. QT is a slow and sometimes also buggy piece of software anyway.

The K-Lite Codec Pack is fully capable of playing .mov files. In fact, HD trailers will play with much better performance with the open-source decoders that are included in KLCP than with QuickTime Player.

However, playing QuickTime content inside your webbrowser requires QuickTime to be installed. We will soon provide a detailed guide describing how you should install and configure QuickTime for the best user experience with the least annoyances.

Those who seek QTA can find it on dozens of other websites. There also exist several other packs containing QT components, just to name a few: QTLite, Vista C.P., ACE M.C.P., Storm C., MUSK C.P., Satsuki QT module, and even a binary C.P. addon for MPlayer.

I suggest you try the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack. Aside from letting you delete the two spawns of Satan (otherwise known as Quicktime and Realplayer), you can download streaming files -- including the *.qtl file. Or watch it streaming, for that matter.

you pay, you get added crap. you *cough* and you get the movie without crap. interesting dilemma.

No dilemma. No dilemma at all. The only reason there isn't more downloading going on is because there aren't more people that know how to do it. I mean, my goodness, if everyone that had a broadband connection knew how to install a BitTorrent client, head over to TorrentSpy or Mininova or The Pirate Bay and download stuff and knew about codecguide.com's Codec Packs so they could play all that media without any problems on their Windows boxes, why, I think we'd see a lot more people watching crap-free entertainment.

You see, these are people that have long been accustomed to selling whatever they please, because they knew we had no choice but to accept it no matter how they chose to present it. If we wanted a movie, we took whatever they threw at us. That's changed, for now, and lawsuits, the DMCA and the rest aside, I don't think they've fully come to grips with that.

don't you love it, when you but a DVD, you get all the bonus commercials you HAVE to see before you can start the movie?

I've bought a lot of DVDs over the past eight or nine years. Lots of them. I like movies, I do. But I have to say, watching purchased DVDs has become similar to the experience I get at the local movie house: i.e., disappointing and not what it used to be. And both groups complain that sales are down. Cripes, what does it take to give these people a clue? The media companies dis their customers when those customers have alternate means of receiving their products (in this case, means that provide no revenue) and they expect sales to increase? Give me a break.

It would surprise me if Sony executives ever got down from their ivory towers (or whatever the obviously isolated spot where they store their upper management) and spoke directly with typical consumers of their products to see what, if anything, said people like about Sony products. Oh, I'm sure Sony's marketing drones have plenty of "focus groups" and "surveys" and all the rest of the trappings of modern marketeering ... but they don't seem to be paying much attention upstairs.

Media Marketing Rule #1 should be "if the customer BUYS THE DISC it should PLAY."

This is not rocket science. This is about good business. It's about continuing to have a business.

Unfortunately I had started to use WMP because most of the other programs are crap or I need four seperate ones to do everything WMP does.

Also, my wifes phone requires me to use WMP to sync the music on the phone.

Is this some kind of pun from Novell considering this is an article about RealNetworks after all?

Among other things, does this mean that Real Alternative will soon be legitimate?

Under Linux, your favourate player will handle it. Under windows, you can use Real Alternative and QT Alternative to avoid the malware.

Under Linux, your favourate player will handle it. Under windows, you can use Real Alternative and QT Alternative to avoid the malware.

So install Real Alternative instead.

although I think we already have plenty of Real alternatives, so Real can go play with their DRM in their own little corner. Bye, Real.

PS to the Wintrolls: feel free to apply for a Darwin Award by pointing to this.

You might want to try Media Player Classic and QuickTime Alternative.

Forgot to mention the url, http://www.codecguide.com/about_real.htm

I use and recommend to everyone the K-Lite Codec Pack for all your Windows Media needs.

Along with everything else, the Mega Codec Pack includes "Windows Media Player Classic" which despite the name isn't anything to do with Microsoft, though it does clone the interface of Media Player version 6.

I carry the Mega Codec pack around with me on a USB Stick, you can install just one thing or you can install everything. Media Player Classic has built in support for a lot of things (I think including DVD Playback) so I'm sure it'll fit your needs exactly. If it doesn't by itself, the Mega Codec Pack includes plugins for just about any codec you'd ever need, including a DVD Decoder.

I really can't recommend the family of K-Lite codec packs enough, especially the Mega becasue you don't need to install Real Player or Quicktime anymore! It'll install cut down versions of them that have just the bare bones dll's, enough for MPC to play Quicktime/Real clips without needing all the bloat those programs bring on their own.

Give the site a look over, I'm sure it's probably what you're looking for. The Mega pack might be overkill for you, but Media Player Classic I think suits the bill perfectly.

Tim

[Sorry for the double post, I accidently posted this without being logged in. Duh]

I use and recommend to everyone the K-Lite Codec Pack for all your Windows Media needs.

Along with everything else, the Mega Codec Pack includes "Windows Media Player Classic" which despite the name isn't anything to do with Microsoft, though it does clone the interface of Media Player version 6.

I carry the Mega Codec pack around with me on a USB Stick, you can install just one thing or you can install everything. Media Player Classic has built in support for a lot of things (I think including DVD Playback) so I'm sure it'll fit your needs exactly. If it doesn't by itself, the Mega Codec Pack includes plugins for just about any codec you'd ever need, including a DVD Decoder.

I really can't recommend the family of K-Lite codec packs enough, especially the Mega becasue you don't need to install Real Player or Quicktime anymore! It'll install cut down versions of them that have just the bare bones dll's, enough for MPC to play Quicktime/Real clips without needing all the bloat those programs bring on their own.

Give the site a look over, I'm sure it's probably what you're looking for. The Mega pack might be overkill for you, but Media Player Classic I think suits the bill perfectly.

Tim

They're not open-source, but Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative include the codecs without the crufty players: http://www.codecguide.com/about_qt.htm http://www.codecguide.com/about_real.htm

They're not open-source, but Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative include the codecs without the crufty players: http://www.codecguide.com/about_qt.htm http://www.codecguide.com/about_real.htm

Quicktime Alternative

Real Player is actually fairly competent on Win32 if you install it in the form of Real Alternative. Its effectively Real Player without the ad/spy/bloat ware and Media Player Classic bundled in a Win32 installer that Your Mumma could install. Very nice.

Just noticed that the same folks are doing something called Quicktime Alternative. Must give that a try too :-)

Real Player is actually fairly competent on Win32 if you install it in the form of Real Alternative. Its effectively Real Player without the ad/spy/bloat ware and Media Player Classic bundled in a Win32 installer that Your Mumma could install. Very nice.

Just noticed that the same folks are doing something called Quicktime Alternative. Must give that a try too :-)