Alternative Media Players
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BSplayer
BSplayer is windows player for playing back a wide range of media files, including mp3, avi, asf, wmv, wav and mpeg video files or any other file for which you have a codec. If you want to playback a file format that is not installed by default, BSPlayer would require you to install the necessary codec. A good thing about the BSPlayer is the way it handles subtitles. It allows you to change the subtitles position, color, font, transparency, just about anything related with the subs. Supported subtitle formats are: MicroDVD, SubViewer, SubRip. The official website of the program is https://www.bsplayer.com. Another nice thing about it is the Drag and Drop feature allowing you to play a given file just by dropping into the icon of the application or its window. Also, the BSPlayer does not use much of the processing power, so it is suitable for all those who use slightly less capable computers. Its latest version allows you to create your own media compilation in a very easy manner. You can sort the content in playlists, which enable you to work with files faster and more easily. If you are missing a given codec, you will most likely find it here: http://www.bsplayer.com/en/bs.player/product/frequent_questions/?faq=29#question27.
VLC
VLC is known as the cross-platform media player and streaming server. It is available for Windows, MAC OS X and almost all Linux distributions. This media player can read various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg and many others) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. One feature that makes it standout is the Flash Video, allowing you to playback Flash files that you have downloaded from one of the many video sharing websites. The source code of this application can also be downloaded at the official website - http://www.videolan.org/. For the full list of codecs that it supports, check out here http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html.
GOM
The GOM is a highly underestimated media player, but has more functions then the majority of its competitors and on top of that it’s FREE. You can download it at http://www.gomplayer.com/main.html. This is a really great application, an absolute must have. GOM Player supports most popular codecs (AVI, DAT, MPEG, DivX plus many more) with its own embedded codec system so that you won't have to look for appropriate codecs every time you can't play a certain video format. For those codecs that require a license that cannot be distributed, GOM will automatically lead you to an open-source codec web-site. It also allows you to watch video files while you are downloading them! This is because of GOM's registered patent for playing broken AVI files and files that are still being downloaded. It also supports subtitles, you can create your own skins for it, set shortcut keys, VMR modes and detailed resolution.
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