I must say I like RealPlayer and the RealVideo format for streaming A/V.
My experiences seem to be like this:
RealPlayer:
• Runs quickly, never crashes.
• Supports QT components + RealMedia.
• Simple single window interface and heads-up controls when full-screen.
VLC:
• Slow to launch. Displays annoying error window whenever it gets a
chance.
• Supports QT components + probably some other stuff that I don't use.
• More complex dual window interface. (triple if you count error panel)
• Error window always appears over the video playback window, handily
obscuring the thing you're watching.
QuickTime Player:
• Full screen mode disabled since QT 3.0 (1998), making this useless.
(restored in the past few weeks!)
Microsoft Media Player:
• Version 9.0 can only play 35% of the wmv files I come across, and
is now abandoned.
• Not in the least bit stable.
Flip4Mac (wmv component for QuickTime)
• Plays about 70% of wmv files I come across, so better than
Microsoft's own programme.
• Also not stable, can crash QuickTime player, VLC and RealPlayer.
Ogg codecs, DivX, XviD etc. (Perian, DivX components):
• Never seen them used for streaming media.
H.264 (QuickTime native):
• Only runs on one of my machines as all the others are too slow to
decode it in real time.
RealMedia:
• Changes down (usually) and up (if lucky) during mid-stream smoothly
depending on bandwidth.
• Drops video frames to preserve audio continuity (vital if you're
trying to hear what's being said during network spikes)
- Nicholas.
On 24 Jul 2007, at 14:21, Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley wrote:
> Nope. VLC
player (
videolan.org) can play that .ram file. And convert
it to .ogg.<<
It doesn't work for me and have the latest official version of VLC
with all the relevant codecs installed. Listen Again has never worked
with free software; I'm sure there's a petition about it somewhere.
The BBC did trial streaming Vorbis for a few of their programs for a
while but gave up on it.
Yours,
Joe.
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- Nicholas.