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A decent built-in MP3 player for a reasonable price. Media players: why they are needed and how to use them

For one reason or another, many web designers use video players on the pages of their website. Online video no longer needs to be presented to web developers or ordinary users. Online video players provide you with a flexible and creative approach to implementing your own broadcast of video files on website pages. You can add an endless number of videos and sort them as you wish (by album title, artist name or release year), it all depends on your preferences. You can place absolutely everything on the pages of your website or blog, from a simple video fragment to an HDTV.

Today there are hundreds of thousands of media resources. We decided to make the search process easier for you and have put together a selection of the best video/media players available on the web absolutely free. Below you will find a collection of free video players for your website that you can use to improve your site's productivity.

Free video players for your website

Given the increasing requirements for useful applications online, we try to regularly delight you with something new, and today we have put together a selection of free applications on video topics. Please note that this list is not sorted by quality or level of application. So, let's get started with the collection of applications that any designer, developer or freelancer may need. You just need to read some instructions and you can start using it. In our article today you will find a selection of free video players with detailed descriptions.

Flowplayer is a web video player that is distributed from source code. You can use it to embed videos into your own websites. The application is designed specifically for website owners, developers and serious programmers. Using this application, you can create a player with a custom design and place it on your website.

Properties:

*free
* ability to develop your own player in a few minutes
* Smooth as silk - the player is optimized to work in a web environment. The progress bar moves very quickly and smoothly. There are also two auto-hide effects: “fade” and “slide.”
* Ability to run a stream different ways– RTMP or HTTP protocols with many services such as lighttpd, Apache, nginx or IIS; or stream your video files through Akamai, Amazon Cloudfront, Highwinds, HDDN, SimpleCDN and many others.
* Advanced Web Standards – Flowplayer is designed with Flash technologies, which guarantees that 90% of Internet users will be able to view your video files. The player also has a unique JS API built into it, which can change the way you interact with Flash.

Installation:


Video LightBox is a JS application that allows you to easily embed videos into your website, web page or blog. All the work requires a few clicks, and you don't even have to understand the code.

Video LightBox is distributed absolutely free of charge if used for non-commercial purposes. For use on commercial websites, you will have to pay a small fee for a license. Video LightBox Business Edition also gives you the option to remove the source watermark.

Properties:

* ability to embed flv, mp4, 3gp files
* ability to add videos from Youtube, Facebook, Google Video, Metacafe, Vimeo, MySpace
*versions for Mac and Windows
* compliance with XHTML
* automatic creation of thumbnails
* ability to add a description
* numerous design themes
* built-in FTP server

Installation:


JW Player is a flexible flash video player. It supports almost any FLV, H.264, MP4, MP3, AAC, JPG, PNG and GIF format. It also supports various streams and playlist formats (RMTP, HTTP, etc.), as well as an advanced javascript API.

Properties:

* You can change the appearance of the player
* Good system Plugins – With plugins you can implement almost anything. You can develop your own plugins using the Developer SDK and additional resources, or read already ready-made plugins like Analytics, Viral, Adtonomy, Rate It and so on
* Easy video management

Installation:

This instruction will walk you through the installation process of JW Player for Flash v5. To get started, download the archive from the website.

Step 1: Upload the player files to the website - copy the player.swf, yt.swf and swfobject.js files from the archive to the website. Also make sure that you have uploaded all the necessary video files, songs or images to the site.

Step 2: Paste the player code into HTML – In the HTML page, paste the lines of code provided below. Note: If you are placing files in different directories, make sure you specify all directories in the code.

The player will show in this paragraph




var s1 = new SWFObject("player.swf","player","400","300","9");
s1.addParam("allowfullscreen","true");
s1.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always");
s1.addParam("flashvars","file=video.flv");
s1.write("preview");

Note that the flashvars parameter above contains player configuration variables through which you can manage plugins and themes. For quick setup Use FlashVars. Simply select an example, specify the variable you want to use, and paste the code into the page. It's simple.


GDD FLVPlayer is free feature playing FLV/mp4 (MPEG-4 files optimized for flash) files. With GDD FLVPlayer you can play video files with ease and you don't need any additional knowledge of Flash development tools.

Properties:

* fully customizable control panel
*opportunity to post your own FLV files or mp4 in a few clicks
* add video to any Flash projects in a second
* ability to add your own intro or advertising signs
* ability to use your own logo in the player
* ability to set any video size
* everything is absolutely free
* no special programming knowledge required

Installation:

Installation and operating instructions + GDD FLVPlayer are available.


M.C. Media Player is a media player developed in Flash that allows you to embed video, audio, and even images into your web pages. The application is free for both commercial and personal purposes.

IN this moment There are 2 versions of the player available: MC Classic (formerly known as the 720*360 version) and MC Altair (beta).

MC Altair – version is a single file player, which is very easy to set up and design. It supports FLV and H.264 formats (progressive download and RTMP stream).
MC Classic - initially there was only this project, but now it has already been suspended and is unlikely to ever be developed further.

Properties:

* customizable interface
* can work both on the MC Media Player server and on your own
* scalability

Installation:

A special one is available on the player’s website, through which you can develop your own player.


Video Player Pro is another useful free tool, which is easy to customize and add to your own website. It is free if you use it for personal purposes.

Properties:

* combines all your videos and presents them in one attractive collection
*Video Player Pro comes with different versions, which differ in the features required on your personal site
* watch videos in the form in which they are most convenient to view
*no Flash programming knowledge required

Installation:


VISCOM Web Player- This free platform an independent web video player that you can easily embed into your own website, blog, forum, or myspace account and so on.

Properties:

* support for playing videos in flv format on your website
* playlist support xml format, so you can add multiple videos
* enable/disable thumbnail list
* full screen mode support
* support for auto-switching to the next video in the playlist
* support for display aspect ratio control
*no special programming knowledge required
* decoration skins included High Quality


SS4UPlayer is a flexible video player for web pages that supports playback directly from the stream, or the progressive download method. Works like Windows systems, and on Linux. Supports FLV, 264, MP4, MP3 formats. The player has many flashvar settings that can be controlled via JS. You can completely change the look and feel through an XML-based theme system.

Properties:

* start/pause, progress bar, timer, full screen mode, volume level, preview
*you can upload a personal logo
* full Flash AS3 with classes and packages
* ability to download videos using flashvars in JS or via XML file
* XML based playlists
* support for both streaming and progressive downloading
* possibility of design according to your own preferences

Installation:

A complete manual is included in each player zip file. Or you can.

09. Anarchy Media Player - no longer exists


Anarchy Media Player is designed specifically for those who are accustomed to convenience and ease of use. With its help, you can easily place video or audio on your site, and this content can be played directly from the site pages. The application is distributed under the GNU General Public License.

Installation:


SublimeVideo is an HTML5 video player that allows you to easily embed video into any web page using the latest web standards.

Browser developers are still working on development full support HTML5 video specifications, so this browser This is still experimental and will not work in all browsers. But in the future it will definitely be possible to use it in all browsers.

SublimeVideo will soon be released completely free of charge (at least the version intended for non-commercial purposes).

Properties:

* ability to scale across the entire size of the viewing window in the browser
* full screen mode
* advantages of HTML5 video - no plugins, no dependence on Flash. You can also jump to any part of the video without the buffer loading delay
* separate javascript library

Free video player plugins for Wordpress blogs


WP Media Player is a Silverlight-based plugin for Wordpress that allows you to embed multiple players on a single blog page or page. It can be used both to play your own video files and to play content from third-party video servers.

Properties:

* 6 themes
* video view statistics
* all required player functions
* ability to configure and design several browsers on one page separately
* video upload interface is built into the post submission form in WordPress

Installation:


A Wordpress plugin that allows you to add videos (and other media files) to your Wordpress website. There are many functions and options available that you can edit. Installation is very simple and you do not need any special knowledge. You can also easily remove this plugin, it does not require a database. Version 5 provides full support themes, integration with Google Analytics, as well as the ability to display advertisements with LongTail Solutions.

Properties:

* opportunity full editing appearance
* Google Analytics in conjunction with video files
* ad support enabled with LongTail Solutions
* meets XHTML standards
*does not require a database
* Playlists, RSS, ATOM, XSPF, RTMP
* ability to integrate widgets

Installation:


Anarchy Media Player 2.5 for Wordpress will play you any document with a link to a file in mp3, flv, Quicktime mov, mp4, m4v, m4a, m4b, 3gp, as well as Windows wmv, avi and asf file on your website page. Wordpress versions also add buttons to the post editor and you can add swf files and dcr, as well as videos from YouTube, Google Video, iFilm, DailyMotion, Revver, Metacafe, MySpace, Apple iTunes iMix and GoEar.

Installation:


Another tool for integrating video into a website - it includes full functionality required for a video player. You can upload or record video files directly into a message, edit and mix content using the online editor, activate comments on videos, sort content, create playlists, and so on.

Properties:

* ability to upload, record files from a webcam and import files directly into a blog post
* ability to activate user comments
* manage and monitor video files via the control panel
* ability to activate advertising in videos
* full admin panel
* supports more than 150 audio, video and image formats

Installation:


Are you tired of saving video files from sites like YouTube? Then this plugin is for you.

Just click on one of the buttons that this plugin adds to the editor panel, and then paste the video link - it's as simple as that. You have full control over how the video is displayed (width, height, colors, location on the page). Your site will even remain valid XHTML, unlike the code provided by other sites.

Properties:

* format support: Flash Video Files, QuickTime, Generic
* currently supports several large projects such as YouTube, Google Video, DailyMotion, Vimeo and so on.

Installation:


Smart Youtube is a Wordpress plugin that allows you to easily integrate Youtube videos into your posts, comments and RSS feeds.

The main goal of this plugin is to correctly embed videos from youtube into your blog posts. The video will also display correctly in the RSS feed.

Properties:

* easy to integrate video into messages
* support for modern high quality protocols (360p/HD/720p)
* ability to customize video (borders, colors, full screen mode)
* support for deep links (starting from &start=time variable)
* works on iPod and iPhone
* providing a panel with widgets for working with video
* valid XHTML

Installation:


The plugin is designed to easily embed videos into your blog posts. Videos can also be integrated with third party resources(YouTube, Google Video and many others), or they can be uploaded to a server or to remote resource. If necessary, a link to the source portal can be generated. The link text can also be edited. Videos can be integrated via WYSIWYG editor. The plugin generates XHTML valid code and works with Wordpress 2.5.

Properties:

* format support: flv, swf, mov, qt, wmv, mpg, mpeg, mpe, asf, asx, wax, wmv, wmx, avi.
* currently support video portals: YouTube, Google Video, dailymotion, MyVideo, Clipfish, Sevenload, Revver, Metacafe, Yahoo! Video, ifilm, MySpace Video, Brightcove, aniBOOM, vimeo, GUBA, Garage TV, GameVideos, vSocial, Veoh, Gametrailers.

Installation:


The plugin is JW FLV MEDIA PLAYER 5.1 and allows you to easily embed video, audio or flash files into your Wordpress blog posts.

WordTube supports the format streaming video(.flv or .swf), MP3 and JPG, GIF or PNG audio files. With this plugin you can embed files into your blog using the tag or playlist tag.

You don't need to change the WYSIWYG editor mode or have any special HTML knowledge. You can simply display a media file (such as an FLV file), or a playlist containing all your media files.


The SeeTheFace plugin for Wordpress will allow you to turn your text blog to the video site.

With the help of Siteclip users, you will be able to use video message recorder and filters. Moreover, the mechanism behind SiteClip allows you to integrate it with any website, regardless of its level of complexity. SiteClip can be embedded in an online store, an educational or news site, a community, and so on.

Installation:


FLV Embed is a Wordpress plugin that simplifies the process of adding FLV files to your blog pages. You will have to pay a license to use the plugin for commercial purposes. If you want to learn more about FLV and why you should use this format, a man named Jeroen has written an excellent article that you can find on this site.

Properties:

* Forces the use of standard plugin tags
* The easiest way to integrate FLV files
* High degree of mobility and expansion
* Complies with XHTML standards (this is for those who care about validity)

Installation:

Click here to view the installation guide.

Have we missed something?

Perhaps we missed something when selecting and writing this article. Please, if you have information that is not in this article, share with us in the comments.

To make watching movies or listening to music on your computer truly comfortable, you need to download a truly high-quality player. Below is a selection of really cool players for Windows that you should definitely try.

08/21/2018, Anton Maksimov

SMPlayer is a free MPlayer-based player with built-in codecs that allows you to view any video format and play music. It supports playing videos from YouTube, loading subtitles from public sources, supports covers and is fully Russified.

06/15/2018, Marcel Ilyasov

There are a great many audio, video and media players in the world, which largely duplicate each other’s functionality and often differ only in design. But there are still products that have their own “zest”, thanks to which this or that player wins over the public. AVS Media Player is one of the players that has its own characteristics; it is a very good media player with a large number of settings and wide capabilities. It allows you to view great amount video formats (avi, wmv, mpeg, Video CD, dvd, 3gp and many others), audio (mp3, flac, aif, cda), images (jpeg, png, pcx, psd).

Type Flash Built-in memory 32 GB Memory card support one microSD slot Screen Screen

Almost all modern players are equipped with screens. For comfortable viewing For video, it is recommended to choose players with a large screen. Some miniature players do not have a screen. Players are often equipped touch screen. Control from such a screen is intuitive and convenient.

LCD color, touch, diagonal 4.3 inches.

Screen resolution 272x480 Number of shades 16.7 million Interfaces Connection to computer USB 2.0 Interfaces Modern digital players can be equipped with a variety of interfaces. Wireless Wi-Fi interface can be used to transfer audio files from a computer to a player. Bluetooth is usually used to connect to the player wireless headphones or speakers. A line output may be required to connect the player to a high-quality Hi-Fi amplifier. Some player models have video outputs that allow you to display images from the player on big screen

Line-in (recordable) Formats supported Audio formats supported

If you have a music archive that is compatible with Apple devices, then when choosing a new player, you should choose among models that support the AAC format. If you plan to purchase a Hi-Fi player, then it is recommended to pay attention to support for formats that provide compression without loss of quality - FLAC and APE. Glossary of terms for the category Digital players

MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, APE, WAV Video formats supported WMV, SWF (Flash), ASF, AVI, WMV9, XviD Subtitle formats SMI Support graphic formats JPG Power Batteries proprietary Li-Pol Maximum operating time 110 hours Operating time in video mode 13 hours Charging batteries from USB Charging connector type proprietary Housing Dimensions (WxHxT) 72.5x114.9x12.2 mm Weight

Additional Information G-sensor; equalizer JetEffect 5.0; sleep time 600 hours; sound features: EQ filter (function fine tuning each equalizer band); BBE ( sound effect for crystal clear sound); Mach3Bass (deep and melodic sound low frequencies); 3d Surround (three-dimensional sound effect); MP Enhance (technology for compensating audio loss during compression); reverb (artificial echo function to make the sound even more realistic)

Before purchasing, check the specifications and equipment with the seller.

A year ago, my inexpensive CD player broke. The rovnyak fulfilled its warranty and broke down. All that's left is the radio. But I also wanted to listen to my own (favorite). I came across Ali on this device. This is a device that can decode MP3 with fairly good quality; you can also listen to the radio with it. The remote control also works. I studied all its technical specifications and decided to buy it. Moreover, the price is ridiculous. But I bought it on Ebay, it’s even cheaper there. If anyone is interested, let's go.
First, let's see in what form my parcel arrived.





The device is small in size and easily fits in your hand. Parcel weight 54g.


On the window protective film(everything is as it should be).
Matchbox for comparison.

These are the connectors you will need to connect to. The package contains only the remote control and the MP3 player itself. You will have to connect using “your” wires. If you don't have such connectors in your storage room, you can simply solder the wires.


There are a minimum of buttons on the front side. To tune radio stations you will need a remote control. There were no instructions included with the module, so I'm trying to figure it out at random.



This device also has a clock, but when the power supply is removed, it resets to zero. Using the remote control buttons, you can select the track number or the number of a memorized radio station... There is even an on/off button (on the remote control). You can also disable it on the module.



The remote control is powered by a CR1220 battery. It is included in the package.


As we can see, the model of my player is ZTV-CT02CA-V1.0. The module has a built-in 12V to 5V stabilizer. There are other models, for example ZTV-CT02E (without stabilizer, only 5V). Be careful (this is for those who want to buy).


The board is inserted into the grooves and pressed using two self-tapping screws.

As you can see, there is space for a connector for power from 5 volts. This is for those who want to power their device from 3.7V-5V.
The player's device has been studied. Let's move on to my CD player.


That's how he was.


Disassembled.






I cut a hole on the front side with a utility knife.


The block is pressed in and there is no need to tighten it.




Inside view.


A broken CD player has a +8V and +12V output. Connected to +8V. I'll explain why. The maximum current the MP3 module consumes when reading from a flash drive is 100 mA. 8V-5V=3V voltage drop on the module stabilizer chip. 3Vx100mA=0.3W - the stabilizer chip (78M05) will dissipate - this is normal.
If you connect a CD player to the +12V point (actually there is +13.5V), the power dissipation of the MC 78M05 will increase to 0.85 W, which is significantly worse for this MC stabilizer.


I soldered a connector to the antenna input so that it could be disassembled if necessary.


Everything is prepared, all that remains is to connect.

Here I have described it for those who decide to buy. Everything will be easier. The seller has a different photo of the product. By the way, there is a +5V output on another connector (white).


I would like to draw the attention of those who want to power the module from 3.7-5 volts. There is NOT a protective diode installed on the board (see photo). If the polarity is reversed, the module may be damaged.
A special feature of this module is the absence of a final amplifier, i.e. There is a regular line output that connects to the regular line input of a CD player. Since the device was purchased solely for the reconstruction of a CD player, I do not need an amplifier. I will use my native one. The CD player does not have a line input. Therefore, I will connect to the volume potentiometer.
But this is how I connected it. I set the capacitors to 47 microfarads plus the module. I'll explain why. If you measure the voltage at the linear output of the module with a multimeter +1.6V. If you measure the voltage at the input of a CD player, it is about +0.2V. The plus is where the voltage is higher (this is understandable).


The linear output was connected using a shielded wire (from old supplies), put in heat shrink so as not to “short-circuit” anything. We connect the screen to the body at one point (I hope this is also clear).


I collected this whole canoe in one evening, I really wanted to listen. And I was not disappointed. The sound quality of the Radio was a pleasant surprise. Even my wife noticed (she is completely calm about music). Caught a lot large quantity stations. The sound quality is noticeably different better side. I'm not a music lover. But I can tell whether it’s better or worse. I tested the MP3 player. Very satisfied. I connected the flash drive. Opens not only files, but also folders. If you insert a flash drive while listening to the Radio, music from the flash drive automatically starts playing. Connected the phone. I found music there too. I didn't connect an external hard drive, sorry. I didn’t want to format 500GB into FAT with data loss. I listened to files 128-256-320kbit/s. He reads everything. Set the clock. It's difficult without instructions, but possible. When the power is turned off, the clock is reset to zero. To be honest, they are not needed. I inserted a flash card, it also reads 32GB. I haven't figured it all out yet. But what I have is enough to say: VERY satisfied!

At the end of the review, I would like to draw your attention to the features of the module.
*MP3 reads 128-256-320kbit/s (checked).
*A flash drive formatted in NTFS is not readable, only FAT (checked).
*Reads 4-8-32GB flash drives (tested).
*Current consumption in Radio mode is 46mA, in reading mode from a flash drive 100mA (measured).
Now let's conclude.
Minuses.
- There is no description of how to control the player module (I haven’t figured it all out yet).
- No rewinding by track.
- Does not remember the stop location in the track (starts playing the track from the beginning)
- The IR receiver is set deep. I was bending.
Pros.
+ Very low price.
+ Appearance (I think it fits in well).
+ good Radio 78.5-108MHZ (much better than that what was in the CD player)
+ Availability of remote control
+ Good mp3 playback quality.
+ Availability line input(do not use)
+ Clock (I don’t use it)
+ Equalizer for several settings (not found yet).
+Remembers the track number where he stopped.
And in the end, for those who want to watch the video, you yourself understand that the sound quality is impossible to convey. You can just look at general form device, its operation with the remote control and buttons.

What are media players? Why are they even needed? What they can do, how to use them and why they are MORE CONVENIENT and BETTER than anything else (BluRay, DVD, CD). - read more about this.
Media player is a player for videos, music and photo albums (photos).

The media player plays files containing video, music or photos. The better the player, the more different file formats he supports. Taking advantage the best models you can completely forget about the word “format”: just select and launch movies, music, photo albums using standard buttons on the remote control - just like on the old familiar BluRay, DVD, and CD players.

Why do you need a media player?

Because it is much MORE CONVENIENT than everything else that came before it - CD players, DVD players and BluRay players.

What exactly is more convenient? Here's what:

1) It is much easier, faster and cheaper to replenish your media collection - a library of films, music and digital photos.
2) Cataloging and searching for works in a media collection becomes much more convenient. One or two HDDs with files are much more compact than racks and shelves. Finding and running the file you need is much easier and faster than going through an archive of disks for a long time. In addition, you can organize information according to any principle convenient for you.
3) Storing information in the form of files is more reliable than on disks (BluRay/DVD/CD).
4) Compared to similar launching of files on a computer, using a media player is much more comfortable! You use it like a traditional player - sitting on the couch in front of a large TV. Agree, THIS is simply MORE USUAL AND CONVENIENT to watch a movie than at a desktop in front of a small monitor, holding the mouse, or than watching from a computer on a large TV, each time going to the keyboard and mouse to control it.

In addition, the player compared to a computer:

  • quiet,
  • more compact,
  • has fewer wires,
  • turns on faster
  • Easily controlled with just one push-button remote control,
  • hangs less often
  • has a user-friendly interface like a familiar player, and not like a computer - you can easily learn to use it like Small child, and an elderly person who grew up in the pre-computer era.

How to use the media player

It depends on the class (capabilities) of the media player you are using. Of all the variety that is now on the market, we can roughly distinguish four classes of media players.

1) Players with a USB port, without a hard drive (HDD), without connecting to local network(without network port).

This is the class of the simplest and most inexpensive models. At the same time, they can work perfectly at the level for which they are intended.

Usage

The player is connected to the TV, media files are recorded on a USB flash drive (or USB disk), which is then inserted into the USB port on the player. We take the player's remote control, find the necessary files on the flash drive, and launch it. We look, we listen - that’s all! Simple and convenient. The player belongs to this category of models.

2) Players with the ability to integrate a hard drive (HDD), without connecting to a local network (without a network port).

These models are slightly more expensive than previous diskless models. They are convenient because you can record and store files on the built-in HDD. If the HDD capacity allows, you can transfer your entire old DVD collection, all music/movies/photos from your computer to it and use only the player. A DVD player with racks of discs can be immediately sent to the dacha: where there is a media player, you will no longer need all this!


Usage

To record movies/music/photo albums on the player’s HDD, just connect the player to the computer as usual external USB drive and rewrite the necessary files. Then the player can be connected to TV - watch movies, listen to music, leaf through photo albums.

In addition, these players, like the previous class of players, are equipped with an external USB port for connecting to them external USB hard drives and flash drives from which players can play files. Many models have a function background music, i.e. when viewing photos can be accompanied by music. The most advanced models of this class can perform operations with folders and files, just like on a computer - copy, move, delete, rename, create new folders - and all this easily with the help of one remote control.

Note

These players (described in points 1 and 2) can only play SD video (cheap models) and SD and HD video (more expensive models). However, almost all new SD models are equipped with an HDMI output, and are capable of outputting an HD signal via component and HDMI outputs, scaling the SD picture to HD.

All media players of the two following classes (points 3 and 4) support real (720p, 1080i/p) HD video.

3) Players with the ability to connect to a local network ( network port), but without Internet access - both disk and diskless models.

The advantage of these players is that, in addition to everything that models of the two previous classes can do, they can connect to a local network and play files from all available network sources- computers, network drives drives (NAS, Network Access Storage), other network players (which have a built-in HDD).


Usage

The player connects network cable to the router ( network router), video-audio outputs - to the TV. Next you need to go to the player settings (setup) section network settings and set the parameters appropriate for your local network. In most cases, the factory settings allow the player to automatically connect to the network immediately when turned on. Next, those drives/folders on computers and network storage devices (NAS) where the media files we need are located need to be assigned a common network access so that they are “visible” from any other network device, for example, from a media player. After this, the media player will “see” all network drives/folders and will be able to play files recorded in them, and not just files from its local HDD or USB drives. The obvious advantages of such a connection are that, firstly, the player has access to many more places where files are located, and, secondly, it is not necessary to copy files to the player (or connect external USB devices to it) - the entire media collection can be stored distributed across several network devices(or on one network server large capacity). For example, if there are several rooms in an apartment or cottage, each of which is equipped with a TV and audio system, it is enough to have only ONE network media server where all films, TV shows (recorded by a TV receiver), music and a collection of photos will be stored. In each room you can use your own network media player and watch something of your own - from the server over the network, without the need to first copy files.

4) Players with the ability to connect to a local network (network port), Internet access and the ability to remotely control (with remote computer) - both disk and diskless.

This is the most advanced category of media players. They have many options for use depending on the user’s wishes, the equipment he has and (often) the degree of familiarity with the topics “media players / computers / computer networks / Internet”, since a number of initial settings still require some immersion in computer topics. But after the settings are made, anyone can use the player, regardless of the amount of knowledge and age. Media players belong specifically to this class of devices. What such players can do (in the most general terms):

  • play files of almost any format (naturally heavy HD video files of tens of gigabytes);
  • play files - from the internal HDD (if any), from external USB sources (disks, flash drives), from external eSATA drives (some models), network drives (within the same local network), from remote Web servers (via the Internet );
  • download files (movies, music, photos) from the Internet (using the BitTorrent protocol);
  • play IPTV and Internet TV channels;
  • play the contents of popular Web media resources (YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, Yahoo Weather, etc., even viewing email inboxes);
  • perform operations with files (copying, moving, deleting, etc.);
  • have the ability to remotely control (over a network and via the Internet): managing settings, playing files (selecting a file, remote launch, stopping playback), turning on/off, downloading new files from the Internet, etc.;
  • make it possible to install new software, including alternative software, which significantly expands the range of player capabilities.

If there are several rooms (not necessarily located nearby), each of which is equipped with a TV with a media player and Internet access, then you can either run the media player autonomously in each room or manage the entire system of media players from one computer.

From a remote computer you can launch files on each player, stop playback, change settings, turn the player on/off, etc. For example, you have a player at home (it is turned on and connected to the Internet), you are visiting, and so are your friends. There is a similar player (also with Internet access). You want to watch a movie or a photo album, or listen to music that is recorded in your home. What is needed for this? Just connect to your home player and run files from it as from a remote Web resource. In this way, you can easily exchange files with other players owners, without overwriting files - just keep the players online (and know their IP addresses, of course).

How can I add content to my home media library? Here are some of the fastest, easiest and most common methods.

1) Many Internet providers have one or more FTP servers where thousands of videos and music files. Just download everything needed by the computer and reset to the player’s disk (if the player has a built-in disk), or to network folder computer, or to a separate network storage device. Such downloading is free; traffic within the provider’s network is usually not charged.

2) Go to any of the Torrent trackers and just download what interests you. And completely free! Torrent tracker - a Web portal that contains an extensive catalog of films/music/photos/software/games/etc., from where special files are downloaded, which in turn, when opened by a torrent client program, allow you to easily and quickly download the necessary media -files - movies/music/photos/games/software/etc. Popular torrent trackers contain a truly huge database - you can find and download almost any movie (from Hollywood releases to classics and “art house”) or music. The most popular torrent trackers: thepiratebay.org, torrents.ru, tfile.ru, nnm-club.me, rutor.org, etc.

The most advanced players (the category described in point 4) usually have a built-in torrent client. You can launch the file directly on the player, and the player will start downloading on its own, without the help of a computer (naturally, the player must be connected to a working router, and the router to the Internet).

3) Go to any movie or music Web resource that offers a download service (free or paid); files on such resources are often stored on a known file storage http://rapidshare.com (or similar ones) - from there you download using the links indicated on the resource pages. If the download is paid, you are offered to pay via SMS. The amounts are usually ridiculous.

The enormous convenience of media players, their capabilities and flexibility of settings are worthy of several separate articles. A short use of such a device is enough to understand that DVD and BluRay players are already far from yesterday, if not the day before yesterday, and they by and large Not needed. What you REALLY NEED to have at home is the following:

  • HD TV (display, projector) + separate audio system (stereo or 5.1);
  • local network connected by a router with Internet access;
  • at least one computer connected to the local network (for recording new media files);
  • network disk drive (NAS) for storing the entire collection of media files (the NAS role can be performed by the same computer or another computer);
  • media player (disk or diskless); if it has the function of connecting to a local network, then there are much more possibilities;
  • if you watch TV, then you will also need a PVR receiver (satellite, cable or terrestrial, depending on what channels you want to watch), preferably connected to a local network.

On the media player you watch movies and photos, listen to music, watch IPTV and Internet TV channels, YouTube videos, etc. On the receiver you watch TV channels coming from satellites, cable or over the air, if necessary, record your favorite TV shows and films, replenishing the media collection of files.

And this is, in principle, a complete (or almost complete) list of what is needed for complete happiness. If it’s a pity to throw away BluRay and DVD players, you can connect them to the additional inputs of your TV and audio system and sometimes watch/listen to discs the old-fashioned way.


Tue, 2009-09-01 23:00