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Categories: Software comparison | Media players

Comparison of media players

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of media player programs. Please see the individual products articles for further information. External links lead to plugins or extensions that add features to that player.

Contents

1 General

2 Operating system support

3 Features

4 Protocol support

5 Audio format support

6 Video format support

7 Container format support

8 Optical disc support

General

Basic general information about the players: creator/company, license/price etc.

	Creator	First public release date	Stable version	Cost (USD)	Software license	Proprietary format
amaroK	Mark Kretschmann	June, 2003	1.2.3	Free	GPL	None
foobar2000	Peter Pawlowski	December, 2002	0.8.3	Free	Proprietary (core), BSD (first-party components)	FPL (playlists)
iTunes	Apple Computer	January, 2001	4.7.1	Free	Proprietary	M4A
jetAudio	jetAudio Inc.	?	6.1.3	Free (basic), $29 (plus)	Proprietary	None
JuK	Scott Wheeler	February, 2003	2.1	Free	GPL	None
Media Center	J. River	July, 2003	10.0.173	$24.98	Proprietary	None
Media Player Classic	Gabest	May 29, 2003	6.4.8.4	Free	GPL	None
MPlayer	MPlayer	September, 2000	1.0pre7	Free	GPL	None
Musicmatch Jukebox	Musicmatch	May, 1998	9.0	Free (basic)	Proprietary	None
MusikCube	MusikCube	?	0.92.2.1	Free	BSD	None
Nero Media Player	Nero AG	January, 2000?	?	Part of Nero Burning ROM	Proprietary	None
QuickTime	Apple Computer	December, 1991	6.5.2	Free (basic)	Proprietary	QuickTime
Quintessential Player	Paul Quinn	?	4.51	Free	Proprietary	None
RealPlayer	RealNetworks	1995	10	Free (basic)	Proprietary	RealAudio, RealVideo
Rhythmbox	Colin Walters	April, 2004	0.8.8	Free	GPL	None
Sonique	Media Science	November, 1998	1.96	Free	Proprietary	None
Totem Movie Player	Totem	July, 2002	1.1.1	Free	GPL	None
VLC	VideoLAN	February, 2000	0.8.1	Free	GPL	None
Winamp	Nullsoft	June, 1997	5.08	Free (basic)	Proprietary	NSV
Windows Media Player	Microsoft	November, 1992	10	Free	Proprietary	WMA, WMV
xine	xine	August, 2000	1.0	Free	GPL	None
XMMS	XMMS	November, 1997	1.2.10	Free	GPL	None
XMPlay	Ian Luck	July, 1998	3.2.0.5	Free	Proprietary	None
Zinf	Zinf	April, 2002	2.2.5	Free	GPL	None
	Creator	First public release date	Stable version	Cost (USD)	Software license	Proprietary format

Operating system support

The operating systems on which the players can run natively (without emulation).

	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix
amaroK	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
foobar2000	Yes	No	No	No	No
iTunes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
jetAudio	Yes	No	No	No	No
JuK	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	Yes	No	No	No	No
Media Player Classic	Yes	No	No	No	No
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	No	No	No	No
MusikCube	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
Nero Media Player	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Quintessential Player	Yes	No	No	No	No
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Rhythmbox	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Sonique	Yes	No	No	No	No
Totem Movie Player	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	Yes	No	No	No	No
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
xine	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
XMMS	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
XMPlay	Yes	No	No	No	No
Zinf	Yes	No	Yes	?	No
	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux	BSD	Unix

Features

Information on what features each of the players support.

	Audio playback	Video playback	Outbound streaming	Skinnable	Media Database
amaroK	Yes	Partial ¹	Yes	Partial ²	Yes
foobar2000	Yes	No	No ³	No ⁴	Yes
iTunes	Yes	No ³	Yes	No	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	No ⁵	Yes	Yes
JuK	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
MusikCube	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Nero Media Player	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	Yes	No ⁶	Partial ⁷	No
Quintessential Player	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Rhythmbox	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Sonique	Yes	No ³	No	Yes	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Winamp	Yes	Yes	No ³	Yes	Yes
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No ⁸	Yes	Yes
xine	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
XMMS	Yes	No ³	No ³	Yes	No
XMPlay	Yes	No	No ³	Yes	Yes
Zinf	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
	Audio playback	Video playback	Outbound streaming	Skinnable	Media Database

Note 1: Basic support with NMM .

Note 2: Context Browser uses CSS.

Note 3: Plugin available.

Note 4: UIs may be switched. Shares Windows' themes by default.

Note 5: jetCast (free) needed [1].

Note 6: Avalible with Quicktime Streaming Server [2].

Note 7: Only the media creator can create skins.

Note 8: There is a separate tool available [3].

Protocol support

Information about which internet protocols the players support, for receiving streaming media content. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	HTTP	RTSP	MMS
amaroK	Yes	?	Yes
foobar2000	Yes	No	No
iTunes	Yes	?	?
jetAudio	?	?	?
JuK	?	?	?
Media Center	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	?
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	?	?
MusikCube	Yes	No	No
Nero Media Player	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	Yes	No
Quintessential Player	?	?	?
RealPlayer	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	Yes	Yes	No
Sonique	Yes	?	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	Yes
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	?	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes
XMMS	?	?	?
XMPlay	Yes	?	?
Zinf	?	?	?
	HTTP	RTSP	MMS

Audio format support

Information about what audio file formats the players support. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	Lossy compression						Lossless compression
	MP3 ⁹	WMA	RealAudio	Vorbis	AAC	AC3	APE	FLAC	ALAC
amaroK	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
foobar2000	Yes	No ¹⁰	No	Yes	Yes	No ¹⁰	Yes	Yes	No ¹⁰
iTunes	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
JuK	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	No ¹¹	No ¹¹	No ¹¹	Yes	No ¹¹	No ¹¹	No ¹¹
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MusikCube	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No
Nero Media Player	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes
Quintessential Player	Yes	Yes	No ¹²	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
Sonique	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
VLC	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Winamp	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No	No ¹³	No ¹³	No ¹³	No ¹³	No ¹³	No
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
XMMS	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
XMPlay	Yes	Yes	No ¹²	Yes	No ¹²	No ¹²	No ¹²	No ¹²	No
Zinf	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
	MP3	WMA	RealAudio	Vorbis	AAC	AC3	APE	FLAC	ALAC

Note 9: Because of the software patent issue, more free software had dropped support of MP3.

Note 10: 3rd party plugins are available.

Note 11: The playing compatibility of Media Player Classic depends on the availability of DirectShow, QuickTime, RealMedia and Shockwave filters. There are two distributions known as QuickTime Alternative and Real Alternative which bundle the required QuickTime and RealPlayer components without the need to install the corresponsing players.

Note 12: Available via plugins [4].

Note 13: The playing compatibility depends on the availability of DirectShow filters.

Video format support

Information about what video file formats the players support. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	MPEG-1	MPEG-2	MPEG-4	WMV	RealVideo	Theora	Flash
amaroK	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
foobar2000	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
iTunes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
JuK	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Media Center	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	No
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	No ¹¹	Yes	No ¹¹	No ¹¹	No ¹¹
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
MusikCube	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nero Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	No
Quintessential Player	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
RealPlayer	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	?	Yes
Rhythmbox	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Sonique	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Winamp	Yes	?	?	No	No	No	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No ¹³	Yes	No	No ¹³	No
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
XMMS	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
XMPlay	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zinf	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
	MPEG-1	MPEG-2	MPEG-4	WMV	RealVideo	Theora	Flash

Container format support

Information about what container formats the players support. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	OGM	Matroska	MP4
amaroK	?	?	?	?	?	?
foobar2000	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
iTunes	?	?	?	?	?	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	No ¹⁴	No ¹³	No ¹³	No ¹⁴
JuK	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	?	?	?	?	?
MusikCube	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nero Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	No	No	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sonique	No	No	No	No	No	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
XMMS	No	No	No	No	No	No
XMPlay	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zinf	No	No	No	No	No	No
	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	OGM	Matroska	MP4

Note 14: Requires QuickTime 4 or higher.

Optical disc support

Information about what optical discs the players support. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	Audio				Video
	CD	SACD	DVD-Audio	HDCD	VCD	SVCD	DVD	HD-DVD	BD
amaroK	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
foobar2000	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
iTunes	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
jetAudio	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
JuK	?	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
Media Center	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	Yes	No	No
Media Player Classic	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
MPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Musicmatch Jukebox	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
MusikCube	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Nero Media Player	?	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
QuickTime	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Quintessential Player	?	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
RealPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	?	?	Yes	No	No
Rhythmbox	?	No	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
Sonique	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
VLC	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Partial	Yes	No	No
Winamp	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Media Player	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
xine	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
XMMS	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
XMPlay	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Zinf	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
	CD	SACD	DVD-Audio	HDCD	VCD	SVCD	DVD	HD-DVD	BD

Metadata support

Information about what metadata formats the players support. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	ID3v1	ID3v2	APEv2 tag
amaroK	No ¹⁶	No ¹⁶	?
foobar2000	Yes	No ¹⁵	Yes
iTunes	?	?	?
jetAudio	?	?	?
JuK	No ¹⁶	No ¹⁶	No
Media Center	Yes	Yes	No
Media Player Classic	?	?	?
MPlayer	?	?	?
Musicmatch Jukebox	?	?	?
MusikCube	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nero Media Player	?	?	?
QuickTime	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	?	?	?
RealPlayer	?	?	?
Rhythmbox	?	?	?
Sonique	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	Yes
VLC	Yes	Yes	No
Winamp	Yes	Yes	?
Windows Media Player	?	?	?
xine	?	?	?
XMMS	Yes	Yes	No
XMPlay	Yes	Yes	Yes
Zinf	Yes	Yes	No
	ID3v1	ID3v2	APEv2 tag

Note 15: 3rd party plugin is available.

Note 16: Support of ID3v1, ID3v2 and Vorbis comments is handled by an external library called TagLib [5].

Subtitle support

Information about what subtitle the players support. DVD subtitle is not listed as the players either have to support all DVD features or none. External links lead to information about support in future versions of the browsers or extensions that provide such functionality.

	Bitmap	Text
	VobSub (.idx+.sub)	Substation Alpha (.ssa)	SubRip (.srt)	Sami (.smi)	RealText (.rt)
amaroK	No	No	No	No	No
foobar2000	No	No	No	No	No
iTunes	No	No	No	No	No
jetAudio	No	No	No	No	No
JuK	No	No	No	No	No
Media Center	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	No ¹⁷	No ¹⁷	No ¹⁷	No ¹⁷	No ¹¹
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Musicmatch Jukebox	No	No	No	No	No
MusikCube	No	No	No	No	No
Nero Media Player	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	No	No	No	No	No
Quintessential Player	No	No	No	No	No
RealPlayer	No	No	No	No	Yes
Rhythmbox	No	No	No	No	No
Sonique	No	No	No	No	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes	No	Yes	No	No
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Winamp	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Media Player	No ¹⁷	No ¹⁷	No ¹⁷	No ¹⁷	No
xine	No	No	Yes	No	No
XMMS	No	No	No	No	No
XMPlay	No	No	No	No	No
Zinf	No	No	No	No	No
	VobSub (.idx+.sub)	Substation Alpha (.ssa)	SubRip (.srt)	Sami (.smi)	RealText (.rt)

Note 17: For Windows, support of many subtitle formats can be added by installing VobSub .

External links

Media Player/Encoder Comparison

Categories: Software comparison | Media players

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Contents Page

10-26-2009 08:16:03
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