Open Source Media Player for Linux

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

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 .

 

[casanova]

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.

 

[RCuber]

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.

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

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.

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.

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 .

 

[MetalheadGautham]

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.

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

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 .

 

[kalpik]

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

Tried Exaile?

 

[Ravirdv]

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

try Exaile! it works gr8!

 

[QwertyManiac]

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

Yep, Exaile's your Amarok for GNOME/GTK

 

[infra_red_dude]

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

Exaile, Listen, Songbird. Try any of these

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

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 .

 

[infra_red_dude]

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.

 

[Hitboxx]

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.

 

[infra_red_dude]

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

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.

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

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

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 .

 

[kalpik]

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!)

 

[Zeeshan Quireshi]

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!)

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)

 

[QwertyManiac]

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?

 

[Hitboxx]

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

 

[New]

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...