Which VIDEO app and why?

[ericesque]

From the man that brought you such popular threads as: What music app and why? AND Fav music app pollified...

Which video app and why? (with new and improved grammar!)

After the success of my music threads (Listen is a wonderful app!), I decided to pursue a good video player. I think that the music app thread has become a very useful resource for information and comparisons of players. I'm hoping this can become the same for video apps.

What does it for you when it comes to video players?



I'm thinking a poll thread will follow because I am unaware of the many choices.

[croak77]

Xine. Cause I use KDE and it fits in well with Kaffeine and Amarok.

[GuitarHero]

I find Totem fits my needs.

[jpkotta]

I've always been a fan of xine (as in xine-ui).

[FISHERMAN]

I haven't found my ideal video player yet.
VLC looks promising but has troubles with subtitles.
Totem(-xine) hasn't got enough options.
and MPlayer is a 2window application(personally I don't like this).

So I use use MPlayer as browser-plugin to play web-videos.
And for off-line video viewing I switch between those 3.

[Iandefor]

xine is my favorite. It handles just about every file format I've ever had occasion to throw at it, and it works :).

[Jasper Houtman]

Mplayer (without gui) for embeded video:
win32 codecs & firefox plugin wil play everything. Had to set up mms and rtsp manualy in about:config though after that all streaming video works perfectly :) Ow and also had to set the video to x11 didn't work with xv.

Totem Xine
Use it to watch dvd's
Installed libdvd... (can't comeup with the correct name)
Now plays all my dvd's without problems.

Realplayer
Use this for shoutcast, for some reason seems to handle those streams better than mplayer (don't know why.)

VLC
Installed just in case my constant tinkering breaks my video (again) VlC has it's own codecs and will play 90% of file types without a problem.

[PatrickMay16]

I used to use totem-xine the most, but in recent months I've come to prefer mplayer (run using command line).

[Jasper Houtman]

I used to use totem-xine the most, but in recent months I've come to prefer mplayer (run using command line).

Works a lot faster without a gui, I prefer running it from te command line aswell. That also makes it ideal to use as an embeded video player.

[OffHand]

VLC plays (almost) everything so I use VLC.

[ericesque]

It seems that nobody is seriously passionate about a specific video app. Am I to assume this is because there is a lack of quality video apps?

I've heard Xine, VLC, and mPlayer. I'm confused as to whether totem-xine is a separate app or just another name for xine.

So far I like mplayer, but I should give VLC a try here.

[Engnome]

From the man that brought you such popular threads as: What music app and why? AND Fav music app pollified...


Maybe you should make a pollified version of this thread to?

on topic: I use whatever works. I have yet to find one I really like. I demand to much. I play many types of different file types, .mkv .ogg .rm .wmv divx h246 (or whatever it's name was) and they all have to work. I have an external screen and sometimes that bugs something and X goes nuts :( The files also have multiple subs and audio tracks so it's tricky getting it the way you wan't So far mplayer can do most of these things however it's not always obvious how to for instance change subtitles. You'd might think it's under subtitles in right click menu...no. Those are for dvds... Preferences? no. They are hidden behind J (the default keyboard shortcut)

[qyot27]

I use mplayer. I had already tested out some of my encodes on the Win32 version and liked the way it operated, so I just use it when on Linux (although the Win32 version does tend to experience less lag...I think it's because of DirectX acceleration being available). I can't fullscreen things without lag or play H.264 in real time*, but part of that's because my computer is 5 years old (although I don't know what the fullscreen issue stems from).

*and since I have no clue if or how I could get CoreAVC to work using WINE, that kind of cuts that idea off at the knees.

[banjobacon]

I've heard Xine, VLC, and mPlayer. I'm confused as to whether totem-xine is a separate app or just another name for xine.

Totem can use either gstreamer or Xine for its backend. It uses gstreamer by default, but can use xine by installing the totem-xine package (totem-gstreamer is uninstalled automatically). Xine can play some videos that gstreamer cannot, which is why many people switch to it.

I use Totem (with the Xine backend), and use VLC for videos that Totem can't play.

[%hMa@?b<C]

cinelerra is my fav video app. It is straightforeward, and POWERFUL!

[Sammi]

I can't find cinelerra in the repos, and I think I have about all of them enabled.

[Piggah]

I myself like VLC quite a bit. I use it almost all the time.

[ericesque]

Engnome, I do plan to make this pollified. I was actually expecting more options to be available. I may give it a little more time for other options to surface before I do the poll though. Still, with only 5 options, it almost doesn't seem poll worthy...

[bensexson]

VLC. There are demux and access modules for my hacked Tivo and it works with everything I throw at it.

[qyot27]

I can't find cinelerra in the repos, and I think I have about all of them enabled.
1) It's an editing software, not a media player.

2) I remember something about it getting into Backports, but otherwise I think there were some .debs floating around here somewhere, and you can always get the source from the official site (http://heroinewarrior.com/download.php3) (I thought I remembered an RPM of the program on that page, which could then be converted with alien, but it seems to be gone now - or I'm just not looking hard enough).

[MaximB]

totem - for full lenght movies
Mplayer - very fast player , good for viewing movies that you haven't fully downloaded - it plays them all
the 2 drawbacks for Mplayer are
1. two windows
2.I did not find a way to disable screensaver when playing movies (anyone knows ???)

[qyot27]

2.I did not find a way to disable screensaver when playing movies (anyone knows ???)
−stop-xscreensaver (X11 only)
Turns off xscreensaver at startup and turns it on again on exit.

[Terracotta]

Kaffeine with xine. Works with almost all videofiles thrown at it, and at least the volume diminshes everything, instead of just the main slider in kmix/alsamixer, compared to xine-ui. (love that about amarok too, compared to xmms). Kmplayer as file-browser/konqueror plugin (needs a decent volume slider, same problem as xmms and xine-ui).

[ericesque]

It's official, video apps for linux are lacking.

[gingermark]

My favourite frontend at the moment is Kaffeine 0.8.1, which used with xine is excellent. My only complaint is that the integrated file-browser is a little bit too simple (no bookmarks etc).

xine-ui was my favourite for a long time, before Kaffeine 0.8 came out.

I also like *******, for trying to do something slightly different.

MPlayer seems to always lose audio / video sync, but is good to keep around if I ever come across an odd format xine cannot play.

And VLC would be a contender if it had a playlist.

On my current system I have installed: KPlayer, KMPlayer, RealPlayer, MPlayer, *******, Kaffeine, VLC & xine-ui. Granted, I don't use them all, my point was I don't think video players for Linux are lacking, unless by "lacking" you mean "in early development".

If a player plays all my regular media and DVDs with menu support, then there isn't really much more I want a video player to do. And pretty much all the players I have come across do this, so I am quite happy with the Linux players available.

[ericesque]

I suppose your assessment of my meaning for 'lacking' would be correct.

It just seems that there is no real killer player. The only distinction between the various players seems to be the certain critical feature that it lacks.

Suppose I'll have to do some serious video watching *SIGH* to get to the bottom of this ;)

[Luggy]

Totem isn't bad, usually gets the job done.
But for most things I perfer Mplayer.

[siimo]

gXine rocks! =;

[Pekkalainen]

Kmplayer has some things that Mplayer lacks and intergrates fine in Konqueror. It is my player of choice, kaffeine does the job fine sometimes though.

[yaztromo]

mplayer

Seems to support every file format I throw at it.

I need something that works flawlessly with subtitles and mkv files (since I'm one of those anime fanatic types) and mplayer does just that.

[kwalo]

I've been using mplayer from command line for a long time. It's the fastest player I've found. If you don't like this two windows in gui version, use command line instead! it's the easiest way to do.

I've tried xine also. Sometimes it's better to use xine for dvd's (menu support), but mplayer still is #1 for me!

The only reason I keep totem is because it makes thumbnails. I don't like it's GUI I prefer mplayer's single window with movie only.

[ComplexNumber]

the best is VLC because it plays everything and anything.

[plb]

Mplayer and sometimes VLC.

[jethro10]

Wow,

I'm such a basic user in most respects, perhaps one of the 'Converts' linux is always after.

My favourite player is whatever Ubuntu chose on installation. I think its totem?
As far as built into the web browser, I have no idea what it is.

J

[Reshin]

Mplayer. Nice, light, works great from command-line and I love the shortkeys

[kwalo]

the best is VLC because it plays everything and anything.
"Everything and anything" can be played with MPlayer, xine, and gstreamer (totem). It's matter of codecs, not player.

[%hMa@?b<C]

i like xine a lot, although i generally use Totem or Mplayer

[plb]

"Everything and anything" can be played with MPlayer, xine, and gstreamer (totem). It's matter of codecs, not player.

Yeah but it's a pain to get some things to work in xine/gstreamer...for instance vcds in bin/cue format...I'm not even sure gstreamer can do this yet? I've been using mplayer for the past 7 years and haven't looked back

[qyot27]

"Everything and anything" can be played with MPlayer, xine, and gstreamer (totem). It's matter of codecs, not player.
And in mplayer's, xine's, and VLC's cases, the codec library is the same - all of them use ffmpeg's libavcodec libraries by default. Otherwise, the difference is in how the interface is handled, and by that I mean both how the playback components talk to each other, and how those same components correspond to the GUI, if one chooses to use it.

[Mayfairy]

"Everything and anything" can be played with MPlayer, xine, and gstreamer (totem). It's matter of codecs, not player.

And that's why I chose SMPlayer. I was really delighted to notice I could find a great frontend for MPlayer that has integrated video and controls windows.
Somehow Totem can't play everything properly and Xine gives me weird mosaic stuff and distorted colors when playing WMV files.
Mplayer does everything properly, now with a special frontend (http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/index.php).
I've read somewhere that (S)MPlayer allows some integrated video editing programs too, but I've yet to try that.