# Open Source Media Player for Linux



## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 22, 2008)

Well guys i recently installed Ubuntu 7.10 onto my Hard Disk and i am in need of a Good Audio Player for Linux .

I have Already tried Rhythmbox and Totem , the sound quality in both of them is poor and gets distorted when you increase the Volume .

Also the biggest problem i've seen with these Media players is that Their 'seek bar' does not function smoothly .

Suppose i have to jump to a specific portion of the song , say at 50% position when i click the middle of the 'seek bar' it does not jump exactly to the 50% mark , instead it moves in big steps of 5 or 10 and does not exactly gets where i clicked .

On Windows , i use Windows Media Player 11 and i'm looking for a player which can provide good audio quality if not good Library Management Features .

It's sad to say that GNU/Linux , which is a contender in the Desktop arena does not have a single respectable Audio Player compared to the likes of WMP 11 or iTunes.

*farm3.static.flickr.com/2291/2212267642_188d0ba192.jpg

PS: I'm not comparing VLC because it has the same 'seek bar' problem and besides it has absolutely no Library Management System , although sound quality is good .


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## casanova (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Amarok is good. But, I wonder why is this in Fight Club section. Did you mean any offense Zeeshan.


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## RCuber (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

try Amarok , It has good library managment. But you may need to install the kdelibs.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



Charan said:


> try Amarok , It has good library managment. But you may need to install the kdelibs.


Yes i know about Amarok but it is KDE only and i'm on Ubuntu .

Although i can install the KDE Libraries but this will unnecessarily bloat my system and the Download size for all the KDE Libraries + Dependencies is too much .

Any good player for GTK ?

BTW , Amarok is the only player in OS World which does not have the 'seek bar' problem.



casanova said:


> Amarok is good. But, I wonder why is this in Fight Club section. Did you mean any offense Zeeshan.


Knowing that a certain member will jump into this thread and start flame wars , i started it in Fight Club .


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## MetalheadGautham (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Xine ftw...
VLC is another must have.
MEncoder/MPlayer just for last ditch use.
kill totem.
Kaffine rocks.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Mate i'm looking for a GTK Media player with Library Management Features , neither of the above provide this .


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## kalpik (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Tried Exaile?


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## Ravirdv (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

try Exaile!  it works gr8!


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## QwertyManiac (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Yep, Exaile's your Amarok for GNOME/GTK


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## infra_red_dude (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Exaile, Listen, Songbird. Try any of these


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Thnx for Exaile , am gonna install it When boot into Ubuntu .

BTW , does exaile support all the propreitary codecs which are installed when you select to install "Ubuntu Restricted Extras"

Also , hoping that Exaile does not have the 'seek bar' problem that other players(except Amarok) suffer from.

Exaile's Interface looks very clean and usable , impressive .


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## infra_red_dude (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Yes, if you haf all the codecs exaile will play everything fine. You can also install Plugins. Lotsa useful plugins, shoutcase, streamripper, IM sync etc.


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## Hitboxx (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

There's so many, Exaile, Amarok, Muine, Banshee, Listen, Songbird, Rhythmbox, Gtkpod....

Seek bar problem..?! Who says its a problem? Please unlearn Windows before you doubt things in Linux, it isn't an alternative to Windows.

EDIT: Started the post early but submitted late.


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## infra_red_dude (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



Hitboxx said:


> Seek bar problem..?! Who says its a problem? Please unlearn Windows before you doubt things in Linux, it isn't an alternative to Windows.


While I agree that things in Windows/Linux are not same at least in this respect I prefer the Windows method, personal opinion of corz.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



infra_red_dude said:


> While I agree that things in Windows/Linux are not same at least in this respect I prefer the Windows method, personal opinion of corz.


Yup .

@hitboxx
The Seek bar is the best method to move when playing a Movie or Song .

Although i now use VLC Keyboard shortcuts while watching movies , i prefer to use the SeekBar while playing songs coz it's so deceptively simple and useful.

I'm saying is that the Seek Bar implementation in VLC/Totem/Rhythmbox is not up to the mark .


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## kalpik (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Yes, it supports all the codecs from ubuntu-restricted-extras. And im not too sure about the seekbar problem, but i guess exaile also has it  Though i dont really think its a major issue (IMHO ofcourse, maybe a big issue for you!)


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



kalpik said:


> Yes, it supports all the codecs from ubuntu-restricted-extras. And im not too sure about the seekbar problem, but i guess exaile also has it  Though i dont really think its a major issue (IMHO ofcourse, maybe a big issue for you!)


Lolz yeah coz i constantly switch to different parts of a song or only want to listen to the chorus of the song , then i just click on the Seekbar and it gets there .

It Works Fine in WMP/Amarok and the pointer moves exactly where i cliked . But in VLC there's a major error of 5-10 Seconds and that gets really irritating(specially while long programming sessions , coz then i have to move back and forward using the keyboard shortcuts to get to the exact location)


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## QwertyManiac (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

I think its a GTK issue rather than code's? Scroll bars have always been only increment-able by a constant and not fluidly I think?


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## Hitboxx (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Ok I need to reassess something, apparently Songbird pwnz all irrespective of platform, yes I mean WMP and iTunes. Just tried the pre-developer version now, it rocks.

*i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb178/ferrous_cranus/Screenshot-29.png


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## New (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Open Source Media Players can't come near Closed Source in terms of futures...


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## infra_red_dude (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Yeah hitboxx, hoping for stable release soon  Has many quirks for me right now


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## Faun (Jan 22, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Ubuntu:
Exaile for audio

MPlayer for video (Totem works well too)

XP:
Foobar 2000 for audio

JetAudio 7 for video (and for rest KMplayer)


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

I've got my Answer : Exails .

It's the best OS Media Player i've seen , even Amarok is a bit crowded , Exaile Interface is , as i might say "Perfect" .

The battle for Open Source Video Player(with Full-Screen GUI) rages on


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## vish786 (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

but of all what is this thread doing in Fight club ?

Edit: wonders abt actual intentions.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



vish786 said:


> but of all what is this thread doing in Fight club ?
> 
> Edit: wonders abt actual intentions.


pr@k@ is in shameful misery for 2 days . It's the reason why this thread hasn't been turned into fight club material .


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## gxsaurav (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Yeah...Missing the fat cat a lot..


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## vish786 (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



Zeeshan Quireshi said:


> pr@k@ is in shameful misery for 2 days . It's the reason why this thread hasn't been turned into fight club material .



so tats the whole pt make it into another battlefield...


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## Faun (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



gx_saurav said:


> Yeah...Missing the fat cat a lot..
> 
> *img112.imageshack.us/img112/2061/346catticked2rb7.jpg
> 
> Thanx charan for making this


good skills...and attitude.
keep it up


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## mehulved (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



gx_saurav said:


> Yeah...Missing the fat cat a lot..
> 
> *img112.imageshack.us/img112/2061/346catticked2rb7.jpg
> 
> Thanx charan for making this


You provoke people this way, then people complain that I ban you. I won't do anything directly but am going to report this post. Let the admins handle it.


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## gxsaurav (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Mehul, don't compare. Even Linux users provoke us Windows & Mac users with there lies & DRM DRM DRM DRM,.....if you find this provocative then we also find that provocative. Would u plz find a solution to his problem too...


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## FilledVoid (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

I use Exaile and Amarok. It satisfies all the needs of what I would probably use in WMP or any other player for that matter. As for the thread .... 



> Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test


Yay another one of these. Its more than obvious why the thread was started. As far as this thread is concerned it highly depicts on the maturity of certain posters here. 

By the way gx if the cat was in reference to the avatar he has, then definitely your Professor icon from the PowerPuff girls degrades you more.

To get my point across clearer.

*img209.imageshack.us/img209/5909/horselo7.th.jpg


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Actually i was expecting some members to come up and start fighting(as usual) so i created thread in Fight Club with the above title in advance.

But it seems no one started flames so everything fine


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## mediator (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

@Zeeshan : The thread title is very misleading! U've been told of so many "open source media players" for KDE and then for Gnome. Your conclusions 



			
				zeeshan said:
			
		

> "It's sad to say that GNU/Linux , which is a contender in the Desktop arena does not have a single respectable Audio Player compared to the likes of WMP 11 or iTunes."
> 
> "Yes i know about Amarok but it is KDE only and i'm on Ubuntu"
> 
> " BTW , Amarok is the only player in OS World which does not have the 'seek bar' problem."



These conclusions of urs do not make sense!

If u knew about amarok, then u shud have opted for KUbuntu. If u wanted one for Ubuntu, then u shud have searched or posted in OSS section.

If today I get Vista home, how wud u conclude if I start whining that VISTA HOME BASIC doesn't have necessary networking features, servers and if "closed source world of VISTA is totally pathetic/useless"?

How r the terms closed or open relevant here? Don't u think its better be "Gnome" or "Kde specific" if u want one for either?

Besides I never had that "seek bar" problem save in VLC and "always" had in WMP/WInamp/Media Player classic on Windows when playing movies. WMP literally hangs, while winamp takes ages! Try it on Xine/Mplayer/Kaffiene and it so real time!

Try to make some meaning of what u r posting. Its either ur quality of posts or technical terminology that is deteriorating at a fast pace! 

And about ur problem, I think closed source media players are no better according to the definition that u gave to the thread!!



			
				gx said:
			
		

> Mehul, don't compare. Even Linux users provoke us Windows & Mac users with there lies & DRM DRM DRM DRM,.....if you find this provocative then we also find that provocative. Would u plz find a solution to his problem too...


DRM DRM DRM and the larvae inside the closed source box, MS jokes and puny allegations towards OSS etc can all make it FIGHT CLUB, but what has the term "fat cat" and that childish pic anything to do here?  

And I hope the "provocations" aren't taking so much toll on the head of Win Fanboys, that they have lost the ability to comprehend what "provocation" means. Now what else can @praka say, when windows updates itself without users knowledge even after turning off autoupdate or if an original Xp system gets deactivated after WGA check?? "Try again"?? User-friendly or User-headache?

@Zeeshan : Please understand what "Fight Club" is! Its not a place to start with ur ignorance, else u can place it in chit-chat! 



			
				zeeshan said:
			
		

> But it seems no one started flames so everything fine


I'm quite free/bored rite now, but don't expect flames from meh!


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

@mediator 

Mate please read the whole thread , i knew About Amarok but as GNOME is bundled with most major distros now by default , so i wanted one which worked on GNOME . Also , you quoted my first posted , Read the one about Exaile .

As for the 'Seek Bar' problem well i've experienced it on VLC/Totem/Rhythmbox
but never on WMP(10,11)/Amarok/Exaile .



mediator said:


> I'm quite free/bored rite now, but don't expect flames from meh!


Noow you're talking !

BTW: Im' only doing an Objective Comparison of Media Players and no fanboyism , many members would agree that they have experienced the 'Seek Bar' Problem on VLC/Totem and whereas Amarok/Exaile work perfectly fine . So try not to be a Fanboy and look at things the right way .


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## mediator (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



> As for the 'Seek Bar' problem well i've experienced it on VLC/Totem/Rhythmbox
> but never on WMP(10,11)/Amarok/Exaile .


Thats a silly old windows fight => "You experienced a hang, but I did not"!! If u wanna continue on that basis, then I call for a quit n request u to grow up!!



> Mate please read the whole thread , i knew About Amarok but as GNOME is bundled with most major distros now by default , so i wanted one which worked on GNOME . Also , you quoted my first posted , Read the one about Exaile .


Don't u think it wud have been wise to put a thread title accordingly?? 

"I knew about servers, IIS, Aero etc. But I was wondering if its bundled with VISTA HOME BASIC"....Lets start a FIGHT CLUB THREAD coz I'm confused and haven't done my homework??



> BTW: Im' only doing an Objective Comparison of Media Players and no fanboyism , many members would agree that they have experienced the 'Seek Bar' Problem on VLC/Totem and whereas Amarok/Exaile work perfectly fine . So try not to be a Fanboy and look at things the right way .


Yep, many wud have agreed with @praka too. Its time win-fanboys start seeing it the right way and put some senses so as to start a meaningful thread in the prestigious FIGHt CLUB, if and only if they know what they r talking about!!

I'm still wondering why u started this thread when u knew bt amarok? U r not child either that by now, u still have no clue in which section, which thread to start and for what purpose!!

And yes, please make me see things 'the right way'! Neways did u even read the link I marked?? Try not to be a fanboy!! Stay sharp, B# !


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



mediator said:


> Thats a silly old windows fight => "You experienced a hang, but I did not"!! If u wanna continue on that basis, then I call for a quit n request u to grow up!!


 I never said that these players hanged , did I ?

I only said that that it was a Genuine User-Interface implementation problem in the Applications and not a performance problem .



mediator said:


> I'm still wondering why u started this thread when u knew bt amarok? U r not child either that by now, u still have no clue in which section, which thread to start and for what purpose!


This thread might not currently be fit for the Fight-Club but it will be once we're done with each other.!

You're only acting fanboyish , i only started a side-by side comparison and i knew that people like you would jump in without even reading the whole thread and posting fanboyish remarks , i guess i was right !


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## mediator (Jan 23, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



> I never said that these players hanged , did I ?


U don't understand examples well, do u?



> I only said that that it was a Genuine User-Interface implementation problem in the Applications and not a performance problem .


Well, then I guess the whole family of windows* has some "Genuine User-Interface implementation problem" that gives users a headache.

What u have experienced, isn't experienced by me save on VLC and in plenty on windows media players like I said and by some punk in the link I provided and may be by many others across the globe!



> This thread might not currently be fit for the Fight-Club but it will be once we're done with each other !


This thread is stewpid & illogical! ONce we r done with each other, it might be fit for chit-chat as I'm sure many others r laughing at the logic behind ur reasoning and may be on the title of the thread too mismatching the content of it!!

You shud have posted it in OSS section. I request u to read again what each section of this forum stands for and understand its meaning clearly and may be enlighten us then in ur own words, not less than 150, of what u understood by it!


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## infra_red_dude (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Frankly I'd say Zeeshan did the correct thing. Its not about Win vs. Lin here. Many mebbe fanboys of amaroK, some exaile, some VLC etc. Now as everyone knows the OSS would surely be compared with closed source ones and the "ever-popular and predictable" fight would've started!

Fortunately Zeeshan was wrong this time and its peaceful. So instead of creating a din over this its better if we ask the mods to move it to the appropriate section.

Regarding the seek issue... Thats how its implemented in GTK. You can't actually call it a flaw based on how Windows works. Just coz it works so in Windows doesn't mean it should work the same in GTK. So its not a "Genuine User-Interface implementation problem". Thats a completely bad way to put things and only leads to provocation and flames.

But I, with Zeeshan, prefer the Windows way. Exaile doesn't use the range widget for seeking. Instead it uses the Progress bar and hence works the Windows way.

Nothing wrong with what Zeeshan did or said and nothing wrong what mediator pointed out.

Peace guys....  

Zeeshan, you may also wanna try songbird.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



infra_red_dude said:


> Regarding the seek issue... Thats how its implemented in GTK. You can't actually call it a flaw based on how Windows works. Just coz it works so in Windows doesn't mean it should work the same in GTK. So its not a "Genuine User-Interface implementation problem". Thats a completely bad way to put things and only leads to provocation and flames.


 Actualy Windows Too doesn't provide a Fluid SeekBar , windows developers have to implement a custom Seekbar for multimedia apps .

Both win n GTK scrollbars function exactly the same . But for Multimedia Application developers have to implement custom ones .

So the "Genuine User-Iterface Implementation Problem" was directed towards the Developers of OSS Players(VLC/Totem) not GTK


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## shantanu (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

GX_saurav : user banned for a week..


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## RCuber (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



shantanu said:


> GX_saurav : user banned for a week..


he did say it was my work.. it was me who did that pic. 
I take responsibility for the picture. its up to you to decide what to do next.


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## praka123 (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

^Ahh!its funny eh?who posted what matters!

Exaile,Rhythmbox fits fine for my needs


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Exaile's Awesome 9.5/10 but Rhythmbox tries to do everything and miserably.


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## iMav (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

an artwork resulting in banning of a member ... great we all curse the activists for destroying public property and art galleries whilst we do the same here .... great and that too in a fight club thread .... way to go!!!

PS: dont ban me for posting this please


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

Specially the Artwork did not contain any derogatory term.

It only contained the terms which the intended user Openly and Actively Supports


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## shady_inc (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*

The best part about Exaile is, it hardly takes any time to start.WMP and Winamp take lot more time than Exaile for start-up.AmaroK too starts up pretty quickly even on a Gnome Desktop.


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## Faun (Jan 24, 2008)

*Re: Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test*



shady_inc said:


> The best part about Exaile is, it hardly takes any time to start.WMP and Winamp take lot more time than Exaile for start-up.AmaroK too starts up pretty quickly even on a Gnome Desktop.



ftw


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## gary4gar (Jan 25, 2008)

about do you think about media players.
most people like VLC, but i like mplayer+jazzy skins = no brainer 

but i still forward & backward features, that progresive ones found in cd/dvd players


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## praka123 (Jan 25, 2008)

^VLC is not playing fine for me in Debian Sid.For video,I use Xine-ui and gmplayer.even totem-gstreamer is nice


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## khattam_ (Jan 26, 2008)

Amarok + Xine work fine for me...


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## Faun (Jan 26, 2008)

gary4gar said:


> about do you think about media players.
> most people like VLC, but i like mplayer+jazzy skins = no brainer
> 
> but i still forward & backward features, that progresive ones found in cd/dvd players


yeah i like *MPlayer *in linux and *KMPlayer *in windows


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## MetalheadGautham (Jan 31, 2008)

@Zeeshan, regarding post #one

regarding the way you call WMP11 and iTunes "respectable", I would just like to point out that there are two parties: one who like light weight high quality audio players, and others who think that organising media files in the library is difficult, and who think that if the media player takes 30mb ram, its not bad.

Sadly for you, and luckily for me, most linux devs are the former type.

Personally, I really really loath WMP and iTunes, thanks to the fact that they take a loooooooong time to start, they lack simple interfaces, and the library is just not good enough when you compare it to my personal unique sorting and arranging techniques. Hence, atleast in windows I am sticking with FooBar2000, which has folder view for library, and if modded a bit, it becomes perfect for me.

And as for the distortion, its a problem some face even in windows.I don't face it in rhythembox(which sucks. Banshee is a better choice) and Totem, I get the same in VLC. I think recompiling the kernel with all the drivers, and optimising all the settings manually will help.

Try installing PulseAudio for a change. It is supposed to have better sound quality than ALSA, OSS, JackAudio, ESD, Direct Audio, etc and its made for Gnome.

If you don't like to have both KDE and Gnome, you can't gain much eXperience in linux. I suggest you try Xfce(sudo apt-get install xubuntu-desktop), Gnome(sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop), KDE(sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop), and also other window managers like IceWM and FluxBox. I heard that FluxBox needs lighter resources than Xfce(hello gaming!), but I am not sure of IceWM.

And yes, SongBird is the new up and comming media player for linux. As of now, it is in alpha state, and really sucks. But its soon going to get better. Sadly, it uses the GStreamer Engine instead of the FFMPEG or Xine Engine for playback. Its planned to have a built in tabbed web browser, ability to retrieve multimedia content from the internet, play nearly every format, appeal to apple/microsoft lovers, still look good to hardcore linux users, have library, radio, podcasts, have a built in stream ripper within the browser, emulate wmp/real/qt/mplayer/vlc plugins for the browser, so as to play a file, which is embedded within a webpage that plays with wmp in windows, using songbird in its browser.

But I warn you, never touch such media players with heavy features till they reach Version 0.8 if you need something thats stable.


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## mediator (Jan 31, 2008)

^^Pulse audio is totally amazing and gives 5.1 surround better than traditional alsa. But still I guess it is in its nascent stages coz I had to fight when installed it on mah old system. It worked flawlessly on my new one!!


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## gary4gar (Feb 1, 2008)

mediator said:


> ^^Pulse audio is totally amazing and gives 5.1 surround better than traditional alsa. But still I guess it is in its nascent stages coz I had to fight when installed it on mah old system. It worked flawlessly on my new one!!


now ALSA is being replaced by Pluse in most future versions of popular distros


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Feb 1, 2008)

@mediator , Gary , Gautham . Thanks for suggesting PulseAudio guys , i was really irritated with ALSA as volume was always distorted and the master channel did not have any effect on Volume .

@MetalheadGautham , mate WMP 11 takes 2 Seconds to start on my system (684 MB,P4) you wouldn't call that slow .

Also , I've tried organizing files using folders for a lot of years , but when your collection grows nio Hundreds of GB's(mine's 135) then folder management can be a problem .

That's when managing using ID3 tags is a boon . and wouldn't YOu like your CD Albums covers displayed so that you can easily choose your album n then play it's contents .

I personally like the WMP 11 Lbrary feature a lot and the fact that it runs perfectly fine on my Ageing system , confirms that it has good performance too .


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## gary4gar (Feb 1, 2008)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:


> @mediator , Gary , Gautah . Thanks for suggesting PulseAudio guys , i was really irritated with ALSA as volume was always distorted and the master channel did not have any effect on Volume .
> 
> @MetalheadGautham , mate WMP 11 takes 2 Seconds to start on my system (684 MB,P4) you wouldn't call that slow .
> 
> ...


well if you like windows, then use it, where is the Problem


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Feb 1, 2008)

gary4gar said:


> well if you like windows, then use it, where is the Problem


Actually i was asking for the Best Linux Player . 

I Already use WMP 11 for Windows , the main point of this thread was to Find out the Best among the Open Source Plaers .

Which i think is Exaile .


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## MetalheadGautham (Feb 1, 2008)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:


> Actually i was asking for the Best Linux Player .
> 
> I Already use WMP 11 for Windows , the main point of this thread was to Find out the Best among the Open Source Plaers .
> 
> Which i think is Exaile .


OK, fine, you love automatic organising, but in my case, I immidiately transfer files as I receive them in appropriate folders, and also use shortcuts to my advantage. So in simple words, I don't face that last minute mountain of arrangement. Just like studies, in music files arrangement too you need to start organising right from the begining if you want to keep things fine. Remember that for later.

And yes, WMP11 needn't be as fast on all systems. 2 seconds ? Have you tried WMP6.4 ever ? What about MPUI ? Anyway, as you are satisfied with WMP11 and love its features, I forgive you. Use what you like.

But please don't say that "I am looking for the best linux media player" when you want a good library. Tastes differ, and such statements will cause flame wars and guys will be banned the same way gx_saurav was.

You can hunt the net for some media library plugins for existing software like xine. I heard of a program that has a very good explorer like media library, and it plays them using a custom backend like xine. I forgot its name, and if I remember it, I will post its name here. You don't need to go looking for out of box features in linux. In our world, we intergrate stuff ourselves. So you can try to use a third party media management tool, which will surely be much better than an indivudual software with all features.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Feb 1, 2008)

My Media Lirary is Arranged Properly ander the Following FOrmat

Artist/Album/Song .

I just drop my songs onto the music folder n WMP 11 Automatically categorizes them .

I used to do it manually before , but now WMP 11 does it for me , including renaming songs in my desired format .

As for the Library Management part , I'm sure the developers of Multimedia Apps are working on making Library management plugins for their apps and integrate them into the default app coz honestly , nowadays almost all Multimedia Apps need a library management efature with the ever increasing sizes of our libraries .


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## MetalheadGautham (Feb 1, 2008)

Zeeshan Quireshi said:


> As for the Library Management part , I'm sure the developers of Multimedia Apps are working on making Library management plugins for their apps and integrate them into the default app coz honestly , nowadays almost all Multimedia Apps need a library management efature with the ever increasing sizes of our libraries .


I beg to differ.
not all multimedia apps have developers working on library management. I know lots of inside information in software like VLC, and I can guarentee that the devs are more worried about the format support and output quality. Then comes stability. then user interfaces. then other functions. the media library is only developed due to request/effort from a (relatively)small community of lazybone helpers. Besides, we have everything here in modules. So you can install exactly what you want. And Media Library is seldom a thing thats always used by users. Infact, my VLC is so light, and fast, only because I removed unnessary components from it.

And yes, luckily for you, CloudStalker from VLC Forums is one guy intrested in a good eye-candy media library in VLC, and thanks to his photoshop work, which is being used as a guideline, j-b, the main developer for VLC's new QT4 interface, is making a good Media Library for VLC version 0.9(still in nightly builds). So congratulations, VLC is also going to have a good media library.

*forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=35494


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## FilledVoid (Feb 2, 2008)

> That's when managing using ID3 tags is a boon . and wouldn't YOu like your CD Albums covers displayed so that you can easily choose your album n then play it's contents .



You do know you can do ID3 tag management in Amarok or any of those programs as well right? Or how about a program for that itself look for Picard. 



> Actually i was asking for the Best Linux Player .



Open Source Media Players vs Closed Source : The Final Test   

Your initial title suggests otherwise. There is not such thing as the best Linux Player. Thats like asking whats your favorite brand of cereal. Some like Amarok, some Exaile , some Listen etc If your asking for someone to review the various types then thats going to take a very long time since there like dozens of them out there.


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## Zeeshan Quireshi (Feb 2, 2008)

That title was for the Original Fight-Club thread , the title different now if you care to take a look .


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## FilledVoid (Feb 2, 2008)

> That title was for the Original Fight-Club thread , the title different now if you care to take a look .



Let me bold what I said for emphasis. 



> *Your initial title suggests otherwise.*


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## ray|raven (Feb 2, 2008)

Why isnt anyone suggesting MPD?
IMO MPD+Sonata  > Exaile.
You guys should give it a try.


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