VLC media player?

[1002Richards]

Hi,
If I were to use VLC media player would I be able to uninstall:
Windows Media Player
QuickTime Player
and Inter Video WinDVD

and still be able to watch movies, listen to music as I do now but with only one programme on my laptop instead of 3?

I'm new to this and don't want to make a mistake!

Thanks for your advice.
Richard

[Darkbee]

This Chart shows which mediums and formats that VLC supports.

The short answer to your question is yes, you could uninstall the three programs you mentioned and use VLC to retain the functionality of the three programs combined.

It supports DVDs, Audio CDs and Mov files (QuickTime MOVies) among the many many others.

VLC isn't necessarily the best out there but it is a steady workhorse and I like it a lot. I also like the fact that it is available for many different platforms like Windows, Mac and Linux, so if you get used to using it on one platform then you will be instantly at home on another platform should you ever come across it.

It wasn't exactly clear in your original post but it doesn't sound like you necessarily need a portable media player, just one that has all of the functionality of the three programs you mentioned. If that is the case then you should keep in mind that this forum is specifically for portable applications (of which there is a portable version of VLC). You might not need such a specific forum, just a more general Windows help type forum. Unfortunately, I don't know of any. Having said that, I don't want to scare you away, generally the people on here are quite friendly and will always try to point you in the right direction.

[1002Richards]

Darkbee,
Many thanks for your reply. I prefer to run a very minimalist laptop and if there are progs that I can run from a flash drive I prefer to use them. I was thinking of having just one portable prog as opposed to three 'fixed' ones. Next time my laptop crashes & I have to re-install progs I'll go for VLC or similar.
I do enjoy portablefreeware- visiting it daily and regularly download progs to try; keeping some but not others ...
Thanks again for your help.

Richard

[Darkbee]

You might also want to check out MPlayer if you're looking for something more lightweight. It certainly supports all of the movie formats you're after (and like VLC... and then some) and I'm fairly confident it supports audio CD too (what media player that was worth its salt wouldn't!).

Now if you're talking about minimalization to the extreme then how 'bout trying a whole new operating system. I'm currently running Puppy Linux from an old IBM, and it runs pretty slick with just about all the applications I could ever need all in less than 70MB. In fact, if you run the 'live' version from CD (and your laptop has 128MB RAM) then the entire thing can run entirely in memory. It's very user friendly and has a look and feel similar to Win95, so Windows users should feel reasonably comfortable right off. You can try out Puppy Linux via the Live CD without even touching your hard drive, by loading it directly off the CD. This is a neat feature because, if you try it and you don't like it, then nothing on your hard drive has been touched and you can simply reboot your computer straight back into Windows. If, on the other hand, you find that you really love it, then there are various installations options that range from simply creating a file on your existing Windows drive, to the bold choice of dedicating an entire partition or hard drive to Puppy.

[Darkbee]

@Andrew

Incidentally, I noted that the official MPlayer website offers a GUI based MPlayer version for Windows, but the GUI version I downloaded some time ago was not from the MPlayer website. Is this a different GUI, from the ones listed in the PF database? Perhaps, it would be easier for users to stick with official distributions, with the option of using other GUIs if they so wish.

These are the GUI versions in the PF database:
MPlayerGUI
MPUI
rulesPlayer

and the download listed on the MPlayer official site is here:
MPlayer 1.0rc1 Windows GUI

[1002Richards]

Darkbee,
Many thanks for those 2 suggestions that I'm off to have a look at.
Puppy Linux looks particularly interesting as I'd toyed with the idea of Linux and this would be a good way to try it without making major changes.
Richard.

[Firewrath]

theres also KMPlayer
and DSL, which is a 50meg Linux that can be run from a Live-CD,

[Fluffy]

@Andrew

Incidentally, I noted that the official MPlayer website offers a GUI based MPlayer version for Windows, but the GUI version I downloaded some time ago was not from the MPlayer website. Is this a different GUI, from the ones listed in the PF database? Perhaps, it would be easier for users to stick with official distributions, with the option of using other GUIs if they so wish.

These are the GUI versions in the PF database:
MPlayerGUI
MPUI
rulesPlayer

and the download listed on the MPlayer official site is here:
MPlayer 1.0rc1 Windows GUI

I've tried the official MPlayer GUI for Windows, but it leaves MUCH to be desired. Perhaps in the future it will get better but for the time being, you're much better off using MPUI.

[Darkbee]

theres also KMPlayer
and DSL, which is a 50meg Linux that can be run from a Live-CD,

I didn't mention KMPlayer since I would not class it as lightweight, although I gather from this forum that it has quite a following.

As far as DSL goes, it was the first live CD I tried and it really did impress me but as far as a novice/beginner Windows user goes transitioning to Linux, Puppy is far friendlier (I mean... who doesn't love puppies!!!). It's worth noting too that the goals of Puppy and DSL are different... DSL is meant to be as small as possible and generally be used as an emergency OS, whereas Puppy is trying to be a minimal, yet fully functional, desktop replacement.

Don't get me wrong, DSL is good, I just think for the average Windows user, it can be a little bit of a scary experience. Worth mentioning, all the same.

[1002Richards]

Firewrath & Darkbee,
amazing ... thanks. Just had my first run with Puppy Linux and will try out DSL and the others over the next few days.
Really intrigued by running an OS on a disc and will explore these further - particularly how to connect to internet.

Thanks for letting me know about these
Richard

[Darkbee]

There's actually a whole slew of them but Puppy and DSL are probably the most popular among those who have slower/older machines. Ubuntu, Mephis, ALinux, Slax, Knoppix are to name but a few. However, these tend to be much bigger and are more aimed as a Windows competitor, rather than just an alternative. I have promised myself that I'll try Ubuntu one of these days, which is probably one of the most up and coming full-blown desktop OSs in the Linux community.

If you want to try out some of these then have a look at:
Frozen Tech's list of live CDs
or also pay a visit to DistroWatch.com

Happy playing!

[1002Richards]

darkbee,
Thanks again. I've spent many happy hours today checking things out and seeing what'll work for me & what won't.
Your help & that of firewrath & Fluffy much appreciated.

Richard

[Darkbee]

... of course I don't want to completely scare people away from Windows, otherwise there'd be no purpose for this website! However, these days it seems common for people to have Linux on their older, less powerful laptops and then use Windows on their desktops. With more and more software becoming cross platform like Firefox and Open Office, this is really becoming a viable option that ensures that people feel at home using either operating system.

[webfork]

Thank heaven for RulesPlayer. Has made my life infinitely easier. Thanks to whoever got that going.

[Zach Thibeau]

Sorry I doubled post the one I wanted is on page 2 but when my page reloaded firefox quite on me and it just reloaded posting page