Rockfella
Active Member
Right after buying a TV and getting a table made I wanted a player that worked nicely with a MCE remote. I have finally zeroed down on XBMC as my default HTPC software.
I tried these:
Coral Win DVD:
Pros: Popular? 3D support.
Cons: Not free, Too slow, takes minutes to start playing movies. Didnt work properly in the first run post installation, pc restarted and defragged hdd. Enough for me to dump it. I dont care if it is world famous. It is junk loaded with bloatware for me. Plays most of the file types but not all! Separate mounting software like Virtualclone needs to be installed to play bluray ISOs.
Total Media Theatre:
Pros: Popular, 3D support.
Cons: Again not free, I didnt headbang with it much because I found power DVD better. Separate mounting software like Virtualclone needs to be installed to play bluray ISOs.
PowerDVD:
Pros: Popular, 3D support, Faster /snappier than the above mentioned players. GUI is user friendly (for me, as compared to TMT and Coral)
Cons: Not free, takes 400MBs+ when installed! Doesnt play all file types. Separate mounting software like Virtualclone needs to be installed to play ISOs.
XBMC:
Pros: Free, light (set-up file is only 60mb), snappy, works nicely with a 6 year old MCE remote. Almost no lags (your mileage may vary, I am on AMD dual core nothing juggernaut about my pc) Setting library is super easy. Rarely crashes, plays ISOs without mounting software!! (This was a big surprise!) If I press skip key on my remote it plays the next 30/40GB+ ISO instantly! Picture quality is good if not as good as other players! (Might be just in my head) Plays ALL files that I have tried till now! Nice skins available. Funtional add-ons available, tried one for subs, works great, downloads subs on the fly. Supports HD Audio pass-through (obviously on supported hardware, I am sure other mentioned players support pass-through too.) Highly customizable.
Cons: No Full 3D support yet but it is improving with time. Gotham (latest release) has 3D support but not full fledged (I am a noob when it comes to 3D, yet to explore fully)
Cant think of any other con. Looks beautiful so I tend to browse through media library often and more than required lol.
Please share your feelings/thoughts.
- A happy HTPC user.
:yahoo:
I tried these:
Coral Win DVD:
Pros: Popular? 3D support.
Cons: Not free, Too slow, takes minutes to start playing movies. Didnt work properly in the first run post installation, pc restarted and defragged hdd. Enough for me to dump it. I dont care if it is world famous. It is junk loaded with bloatware for me. Plays most of the file types but not all! Separate mounting software like Virtualclone needs to be installed to play bluray ISOs.
Total Media Theatre:
Pros: Popular, 3D support.
Cons: Again not free, I didnt headbang with it much because I found power DVD better. Separate mounting software like Virtualclone needs to be installed to play bluray ISOs.
PowerDVD:
Pros: Popular, 3D support, Faster /snappier than the above mentioned players. GUI is user friendly (for me, as compared to TMT and Coral)
Cons: Not free, takes 400MBs+ when installed! Doesnt play all file types. Separate mounting software like Virtualclone needs to be installed to play ISOs.
XBMC:
Pros: Free, light (set-up file is only 60mb), snappy, works nicely with a 6 year old MCE remote. Almost no lags (your mileage may vary, I am on AMD dual core nothing juggernaut about my pc) Setting library is super easy. Rarely crashes, plays ISOs without mounting software!! (This was a big surprise!) If I press skip key on my remote it plays the next 30/40GB+ ISO instantly! Picture quality is good if not as good as other players! (Might be just in my head) Plays ALL files that I have tried till now! Nice skins available. Funtional add-ons available, tried one for subs, works great, downloads subs on the fly. Supports HD Audio pass-through (obviously on supported hardware, I am sure other mentioned players support pass-through too.) Highly customizable.
Cons: No Full 3D support yet but it is improving with time. Gotham (latest release) has 3D support but not full fledged (I am a noob when it comes to 3D, yet to explore fully)
Cant think of any other con. Looks beautiful so I tend to browse through media library often and more than required lol.
Please share your feelings/thoughts.
- A happy HTPC user.
:yahoo:
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