Expert Blogs
UPDATE (08/Oct/2012): I've found another, compared to both FCPX and AE, far cheaper – and very capable! - solution. QuickTime 7 Pro (basic, free player link; Pro page link), if you do purchase the Pro license, allows for iterating over the top (but not the bottom!) field instead of the blending of two fields, just like FCPX. (Note that Window > Show Movie Properties is only available after registering the Pro version.
Today, I've browsed the AppStore for new multimedia player releases I hadn't heard of. Around the 80th position (that is, back down on the second page), I've noticed a brand new app, “nPlayer”, promising a lot of niceties. I've immediately purchased and started testing it.
Today, let me review two new multimedia players iMedia Player and Movie Player HD+. The former is free and Universal; the latter is $1 and has only an iPhone version.
As usual, I've updated the main chart (the latest version is HERE; look for the two new columns currently "C" and "D") of my forthcoming Multimedia bible with information on these players.
iMedia Player (AppStore link)
UPDATE (21/Dec/2012): it's BACK! See THIS. Original article: I've recommended AVPlayer (HD) in several of my articles as a player with an excellent video decoder and feature set and one of the most recommended, best titles for iPhones and iPads alike. Unfortunately, it (both the small-screen and the iPad versions) has been recently removed from the AppStore. I've talked to the developer. Currently, it's unknown when AVPlayer(HD) is put back to AppStore - it won't happen in the near future (1-2 weeks), that's for sure.
UPDATE (11/Oct/2012): HERE, I've reported on the brand new (4.0.2) version's vastly reduced MKV hardware playback compliance now that AC-3 support had to be removed from the player. Please read it so that you can know when to use the new version for MKV playback and when not. (Generally, not for anything Full HD and containing non-AAC audio tracks.)
Original article:
UPDATE (19-Sep-2012): as promised, I've thoroughly tested the brand new TV output support.
1.) with wired connections (that is, via the VGA or the HDMI connector – I didn't test the RGB / composite ones), TV out works with the following types of videos:
a.) ones that aren't supported by the iDevice's hardware decoder (they aren't H.264 videos) and, therefore, can be played only via software decoding,
b.) ones that are supported by the HW decoder AND they're ALSO in one of the iOS-friendly formats (MOV / MP4 / M4V)
In yesterday's article, along with a lot of benchmark data, I've explained the advantages of optimizing your iOS- and Apple TV-native (that is, MP4, MOV or M4V) video files, should you want to stream it or watch it from a, head seek-wise, inherently slow(ish) medium like an optical disc or a traditional hard disk.
I've been asked about the brand new (THIS and THIS MR threads announcing the player have been started yesterday by the developer) “yaPlayer” player so I very thoroughly tested it. The AppStore description introduces the player as follows: “yaPlayer has the best performance and gorgeous interfaces than any other available video player!” so I was eager to find out whether it's true.
You may already have noticed the word “Optimize” in the most popular video remuxing tools: Subler, iFlicks etc. In this article, I elaborate on when you will want to use it.
Some apps like the above-mentioned iFlicks doesn't let you disable it. Neither does the current beta of another highly recommended remuxer, MP4Tools. The, currently, probably most recommended remuxer, Subler, however, forces you to manually optimize if you want.
HERE, the developers stated RockPlayer2 is “the best media player on iOS” and “plays everything, playback is fluently, image quality is excelent and it brings so many innovative experiences” (direct quote).
The app is HERE and is free. If the in-filelist and during-pausing ads annoy you, you can remove them via a $5 in-app purchase. (No ads displayed during playback.)
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