Some time ago I posted this introduction to free software, promising a series of articles about good free products available for all your computing needs. The promised posts have been slow in coming, but the next in the series is ready for release! You can find other posts in this series here.
This post will lost a couple of free alternatives to popular media players, such as Windows Media Player and iTunes.
Free vs. Free
Of course, WMP and iTunes are both free, aren’t they. Yes they are in the sense you don’t have to pay for them. But both are tightly controlled by companies that want to sell you there products, and there is therefore a cost attached. WMP, for example, requires you to buy a license for DVD playback. You probably didn’t know this since the cost of the license is embedded in your Windows installation, but it’s true. If you’ve ever had to re-install Windows, only to find that DVDs no longer play, you propbably had occasion to learn this. iTunes also has its problems (what software doesn’t), but prime among them is DRM. When you buy Music off of iTunes it is protected in such a way that it only plays on products you own. This is fine, most of the time, but what if the store in question stops supporting your music? Or what if you want to play your music on another product? Bottom line: it’s still their music!
Really Free Media Players
So here are a couple of selections if you want alternatives to iTunes or WMP.
- VLC Media Player. This little guy plays every media type imaginable: DVDs (out-of-the-box), mpegs, windows media, mp3s, etc. Let’s put it this way: I never encountered a format that it can’t play. This should be on your computer, if only to be able to play anything you want to. But in addition, VLC offers powerful conversion tools and other handy features, making it an all-in-one media management solution. Want to play a file that a friend sent you that’s in same weird format? Try VLC. Want to convert a DVD so it will run on your iPod? VLC can do that too! Want to setup a server to stream music to your friends on your own personal internet radio station? Well, you get the idea. One disadvantage: VLC lacks a good media library, so it won’t be your default music player.
Songbird (get the 1.0 release here). Songbird can be your all around iTunes replacement. Simple, pretty, with lots of plugins to help you get it running just the way you want. I’ve been using it for awhile, and since it is now out of Beta it is ready for the masses. It’s based off of Firefox, with all the advantages of a built-in web browser, infinite plugins, and open-source code. Great for the iTunes user, and it runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Interested? Check out this review.- Foobar2000. An excellent Music player and media manager, especially for the advanced user who knows what words like FLAC, ogg, and bit-perfect mean. It has plugins for almost everything, including your ipod.
It’s not the prettiest (though recent versions are much improved), but it does everything, including rip your CDs with double-check for accuracy and automatic replay-gain scanning! It is a Windows app, but runs on Linux perfectly using WINE. - Others: There are a couple of other media players that those comfortable with experimenting can take a look at. First, Amarok, which runs on Linux and apparently on Windows (though I have not gotten the latter to work). Winamp is also popular, though I haven’t used it in years.
Other Free Media Tools
The software above is great for playing videos or music, but you might also need tools to manage your files. Here are some that I use.
- Handbrake. All-in-one video converter. Allows you to convert one video format to another, with a special emphasis on easily turning DVDs into iPod videos. You can find other media converters, including some that circumvent copy protection, here.
- Orb. Share your music with your friends.
- CDBurnerXP. An all-in-one CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray burner. A simple tool for what should be an easy job.
- Other video tools: check out this post for more converters.
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