Windows media player is a constant

[SynchroDub]

Originally Posted by Pad

Been using Win 10 for a year now and I think it's really good. Have no problems running any programs. I've also been running it without third party anti-virus software and not a hint of a bug of any kind (I do have Windows Defender Firewall running). Also Win 10 tells me it is ready to update, but it doesn't reboot on it's own to perform the update.



Agreed - Potplayer is imo the best player out there. I ditched VLC about a year ago when I discovered it and haven't looked back.

VLC used to be great, when there were no other alternatives available. But, over the years, has become slower and slower with each update. And, even the 64-bit version, doesn't use more than 3-4 GB of RAM for hardware decoding. And it still relies on ffdshow and DirectX 9 for hardware/software decoding (which means it will inevitably clog your system up if you try to watch a 4K/HEVC video or even a 1080p m2ts BDRip with it, despite having a beast of a computer). Unlike LAV, which is completely independent and gets updated more frequently and decodes everything with no hassles.

[FrostyQN]

Originally Posted by Pad

Been using Win 10 for a year now and I think it's really good. Have no problems running any programs. I've also been running it without third party anti-virus software and not a hint of a bug of any kind (I do have Windows Defender Firewall running). Also Win 10 tells me it is ready to update, but it doesn't reboot on it's own to perform the update.

I had one issue on my backup laptop that required a reinstall of 10 but I've had no memorable issues on my desktop that's had it installed for at least a couple of years though and gets ran ragged daily. I too am running Windows Defender, and my updates won't install without permission first. I still liked 7 better but all the horror stories I keep hearing 10 never seemed to materialize for me.

Originally Posted by SynchroDub

VLC used to be great, when there were no other alternatives available. But, over the years, has become slower and slower with each update. And, even the 64-bit version, doesn't use more than 3-4 GB of RAM for hardware decoding. And it still relies on ffdshow and DirectX 9 for hardware/software decoding (which means it will inevitably clog your system up if you try to watch a 4K/HEVC video or even a 1080p m2ts BDRip with it, despite having a beast of a computer). Unlike LAV, which is completely independent and gets updated more frequently and decodes everything with no hassles.

VLC is my main video player. works better than WMP or MPC, and pretty much everything I download is HEVC and I've had no issues.

[firekind]

I bought a new computer. Big old bastard. The size difference between now and 10 years ago if fucking ridiculous. WMP is back to being great again. It's just insane how little is in new computers compared to then. We very quickly forget.

[SynchroDub]

Originally Posted by PennyPurehart

VLC is my main video player. works better than WMP or MPC, and pretty much everything I download is HEVC and I've had no issues.

Depends if those files you download are encoded in mp4 or mkv at low bitrates.
Those files surely will play without any hiccups. But try playing a proper full-bitrate 4K HEVC or even a standard 1080p H.264 video ripped from a Blu-Ray, that range between 22-35mbps for 1080p and 55-72mbps for 4K HEVC with HDR on it. Even if they're encoded in MKV, and you have HW acceleration turned on, they will stutter. Even if you have a good GPU and SSD drive.
Hence why for all my Blu-Ray rips I prefer MPC-HC and LAV. I have yet to experience any stutters or frame drops with MPC-HC.

[FrostyQN]

My apologies...I didn't realize you were one of those "anything worth doing is worth overdoing'" guys.

[SynchroDub]

Originally Posted by PennyPurehart

My apologies...I didn't realize you were one of those "anything worth doing is worth overdoing'" guys.

Oh, no problem, mate
It's not like you stabbed me or anything else. No need to apologize
I'm always very open and friendly.
But, yeah. If you're very serious about HTPC, or you use your PC as one, you definitely need MPC

[carolina73]

Different strokes for different folks. Apple makes products for people that want to use a systen and put in no effort. Microsoft saw a large chunk of the market shifting back to Apple so they shifted their product to be more automatic and remove/reduce the flexibility that we once had. If you want plug in and no choices then buy Apple.
Just download another program that are free in most cases. Someone suggested KMP. I use BSPlayer (despite the name) but there are several others available.

[Scorpeon]

One of the first things I do on any new PC is download an alternative. VLC, PotPlayer, Media Player Classic, or even a potato would be better than using WMP.

[zzyeahok]

redsox1211,

Originally Posted by redsox1211

I love how EVERY program on windows 10 doesnt work, yet they keep begging us to upgrade to it, im generally curious when they realize in January of 2020( the date support for windows 7 ends) what Microsoft will do when they see it still has 36% share of users, its at 39% now, so they are estimating it will go down a few spots but still, they are gonna face the reality that millions of PC'S esp home users are going to be unsupported based on their scare tactics to get us to upgrade, like honestly, i have the 100$ or whatever it is to upgrade today if i wanted to buy windows 10 home, but every article i read just tells me the supports are awful, the screen turns blue, and lets not forget that it restarts the computer BY ITSELF when updating, rather than let you choose, aka, as windows 7 does.

I've been a Windows Beta tester probably for almost as long as I can remember (at least XP but probably earlier). But Windows 10 was it for me. No longer. MS released the final version of Win 10 way, way too early and there were a bunch of us that constantly told them not to do it. But did they listen to us? Obviously not. They just didn't care if average users had BSOD's all day long or their apps just didn't work well (if they worked at all).

I still have Win 7 installed and have to use it once in a blue moon. Mainly only for a few specific programs like AutoCAD or a very few others. Otherwise now I use Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon around 99% of the time. And more than happy with it. I'd recommend it to anyone who's fed up with MS.

But more specific to the thread, I'm kind of surprised nobody's mentioned trying the K-Lite Codec Pack. I've used it in Windows for years and much preferred it over VLC. They updated quite often and rarely had any problems I remember. I can't use them in Linux but if you're using Windows give them a try.

http://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

I would try the Standard or Full versions, they've always seemed to work for me. But they also have Basic and Mega versions which might work for you. "Basic" was a little too basic for me and "Mega" was a bit too much for me. So give the other two a try.

[FrostyQN]

Originally Posted by zzyeahok

But more specific to the thread, I'm kind of surprised nobody's mentioned trying the K-Lite Codec Pack. I've used it in Windows for years and much preferred it over VLC. They updated quite often and rarely had any problems I remember. I can't use them in Linux but if you're using Windows give them a try.

I've got both.

Problem for me is the lack of real audio control with MPC so I have VLC installed as well. I'm a bit deaf so cranking it up a little higher works for some content.