forkyfork

I'm in the process of a writing an article that suggests freeware alternatives to Windows Media player. So.. I ask, what specifically do you NOT like about Windows Media Player? Some stuff I've already come up with..

• No OGG (or other media file) support
• No auto-shut off/timer/alarm
• Poor button mapping
• Uses a lot of memory
• No bookmarking mp3 files
• No skinning (at least not until SPB themes came along)

Okay.. GO!!

EngrPaul

Pros-
I only need it to play WMAs and WMV.
I can save RAM space by not installing something else (at least with WM2003).

Cons-
Lack of playlist management
Not many features
Not flexible
No pause stills with WMV

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Jukov

I know I know!
Lack of media player!
Let's face it MP is a piece of c*^p, if there was a way to delete it from my Axim I would do it ASAP.

joedoe101

Pro- It looks nice ;)
Con- Doesnt support many extensions...
No skinning...Wasnt the old version able to be skinned?

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forkyfork

Originally Posted by EngrPaul

Pros- I only need it to play WMAs and WMV. I can save RAM space by not installing something else (at least with WM2003). Cons- Lack of playlist management Not many features Not flexible No pause stills with WMV

Can you elaborate on "lack of playlist management". I've actually had little experience with it, but from what I know doesn't it scan your mp3s and put them into groups?

EngrPaul

Yes, if that is the way you want your playlists organized, it's fine. Otherwise, you're SOL without a separate playlist editor.

Originally Posted by forkyfork

Can you elaborate on "lack of playlist management". I've actually had little experience with it, but from what I know doesn't it scan your mp3s and put them into groups?

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OddbOd

• Cannot be removed/replaced without hacking the Axim's ROM
• Additional playback formats cannot be added
• Over-reliance on having WMP installed on your PC
• DRM licensed content can only be transfered via Activesync which is very slow compared to using a card reader
• Only the ASF container is supported
• The skinning system is (was) poorly thought out, just to cover the most common devices it is necessary to create the same skin 5 times - Portrait QVGA, Portrait VGA, Square, Landscape QVGA and Landscape VGA - removing this from WMP 10.1 was not all bad!
• WMP 10.0 searches every directory available looking for skins including network shares which can cause your PDA to lock-up completely, even a storage card with a lot of directories is slow to search, this could have been avoided by specifying a single common location for skins.
• Streaming from VideoLAN to WMP Mobile in ASF format doesn't work, this problem is not caused by VideoLAN as versions prior to 9.0 on the desktop version of WMP exhibit identical behaviour.

That's all I can think of at the moment, I may add more later.

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forkyfork

Originally Posted by OddbOd

Cannot be removed/replaced without hacking the Axim's ROM Additional playback formats cannot be added Over-reliance on having WMP installed on your PC DRM licensed content can only be transfered via Activesync which is very slow compared to using a card reader Only the ASF container is supported The skinning system is (was) poorly thought out, just to cover the most common devices it is necessary to create the same skin 5 times - Portrait QVGA, Portrait VGA, Square, Landscape QVGA and Landscape VGA - removing this from WMP 10.1 was not all bad! WMP 10.0 searches every directory available looking for skins including network shares which can cause your PDA to lock-up completely, even a storage card with a lot of directories is slow to search, this could have been avoided by specifying a single common location for skins. Streaming from VideoLAN to WMP Mobile in ASF format doesn't work, this problem is not caused by VideoLAN as versions prior to 9.0 on the desktop version of WMP exhibit identical behaviour. That's all I can think of at the moment, I may add more later.

Wow!! That's quite a list.

Thank you very much! :approve:

raskren

Biggest drawback for me is that it will not stream video or audio from network shares without "mounting" a network drive with a 3rd party app.

ironhelix

simple i dont use the application.

-no play list editor (as mentioned)

-horrible upgrade process

ultimatly its M$ lost as most people revert to a third party application

to play media's.

psionandy

The random play.. isn't random. Seems to always play in the same order

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Pocketbrain

It isn't TCPMP.
'nuff said, end of thread.

awdark

WMP is great! Its one program that I haven't bothered using since it was updated.

Playlist management.
Videos dissapear to blackness o_o
Cant map buttons properly.
Clunky interface.
I have media players that play smoother, look better, and overall works better (gsplayer/betaplayer)

methcatus

this webserver is too small to start a thread like this...

forkyfork

Originally Posted by awdark

WMP is great! Its one program that I haven't bothered using since it was updated. Playlist management. Videos dissapear to blackness o_o Cant map buttons properly. Clunky interface. I have media players that play smoother, look better, and overall works better (gsplayer/betaplayer)

Hahah.. I love the sarcasm. :)

Thank you, this was also very helpful.