Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with player

Does this thing play WMA-Lossless as lossless?

noelpratt2nd — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:28:45 -0800

Hi, I have a new Cowon iAUDIO 9 portable. The lossless files I rip from Windows Media Player end up the same size on the device after synced. However, the device doesn't have a way to check the bitrate of any song. But it's acknowledged (not yet directly to me by the slow-to-reply makers in South Korea) that the device does NOT support WMA-Lossless, only everybody's precious FLAC. It will PLAY WMA, but usually on players like this the bitrate is 320. Well, I'm starting to convert to FLAC with Foobar after a few days of waiting, including tagging w/ Mp3tag. A long process for my 3,000 ripped CDs...

So, am I wasting my time? In other words, if the size is the same, can the bitrate nevertheless sync as reduced? If not reduced, then maybe someone needs to tell the buyers of this discontinued item that it's actually playing losslessly without needing to convert to FLAC. Thanks.

I dated a bad boy and now I don't know how to get over him.

Likeashadow — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:24:44 -0800

I recently dated this guy whom I have to admit I liked him a lot for the sex in spite of everything else I hated about him. He is your definition of a player, he is hot and cold, talks to you one weekend, and not talk to you the next. After three months of hot and cold behaviors, I have finally decided to let him go but inside I am still hurting. Any heart to heart advice? I fell for the sweet words at the beginning, things like "I have never met a girl like you," "I want you to my future wife," "I am falling in love with you," etc and etc, and his extreme good looks. That was over 3 months ago. Now it seems like he only contacts me for booty calls. I cut off the interaction as soon as I realized that was all he wanted.

Admittedly, I am a little heart broken. I want to move on but I see him a lot at work. I know I fell in love with his d*ck (I just got out of a relationship and I was looking for a little bit of fun)... He is still nice to me at work. He won't talk to me much outside of work these days but he still stops by my office to say hi. It is hard for me to not feel anything when I see him.

if you have been through similar situations where you fell for the wrong person (guy or girl), what do you do to wean yourself off of them? What kind of thoughts do you tell yourself in order to move on?

Streaming audio player for Android

aerotive — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 17:09:16 -0800

Anyone know of an simple, reliable audio player for Android that can stream audio from a regular URL, and will continue streaming with the screen off? Firefox often crashes when I try this, and Chrome stops when the screen turns off. None of the audio apps that I have can open plain URLs, and the video players either don't work with audio only or stop with the screen off.

Prefer something free but will pay for something really good. Built-in bookmarking would be nice too.

Best portable MP3 Player for audiobooks

pyro979 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:37:30 -0800

So, I'm an audiobook junky and my current mp3 player is starting to go. My past few MP3 players have been various models of the SanDisk Sansa lines (e260, Fuze) which I've been moderately happy with. I'm not confident that the new Fuze+ models are particularly good based on the reviews. So I turn to the green for advice. Important: Battery life, good audiobook controls, reasonable size, cheaper is better.

Preferable: at least 4GB or expandable SDHC memory. The more durable, the better (I'm rough on my electronics).

Not so important: Music controls, doesn't have to be latest model, software for syncing doesn't matter so long as I can mount the memory, included headphones aren't important.

Any way to speed up mp3 loading to audio player?

ragtimepiano — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:30:13 -0800

Any way to speed up mp3 loading to audio player? My computer says it will take 13 hours. Is there any way to speed this up? I'm running Windows 7 with 2.0 USB connection. Thanks so much, hive mind peeps.

Basic DVD/Blu-ray player?

curious nu — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:33:52 -0800

Looking for a basic DVD + Blu-Ray player with HDMI. Doesn't need any kind of network streaming (TV and other devices handle that already). Ideally under $100. Am okay with buying used off craigslist or something if the model is known to be pretty reliable. Suggestions?

Network audio player?

scruss — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:48:14 -0800

One of my Soundbridges died. What's a decent network audio player to replace it with? I run a DAAP server feeding two elderly Roku SoundBridges. One of these just failed, and rather than replace it with hardware that's been out of production for several years, I thought I should replace it with something more current.

Can be wired (preferred) or wireless. Don't need video support (so does need a track display). Must must must be able to run from a backend on a tiny SheevaPlug linux server, so no Windows/Mac proprietary DBs, thanks.

How do I stop WinAmp from displaying the song title in the Visualizations window?

Trurl — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:02:08 -0800

How do I stop WinAmp from displaying the song title in the Visualizations window?

First gen Apple TV--a robust media player?

zardoz — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 05:03:19 -0800

I have some questions on what a first-generation Apple TV can or can't do. I have a 720p capable HDTV. I have a media player that connects via HDMI. On my iMac, I have various ripped (and otherwise) video files I play on the TV, in 720p. The media player can connect via network cable to my iMac, but that connection works only intermittently. There's also a USB port, so I usually copy video files from my iMac to a USB drive, then play it on the media player. Problem is for a 4 or 5 gig video file, it takes upwards of 30 minutes just to copy to the USB drive. It's a pain, so I'm looking for something less awkward. Incidentally, I do not have Wifi so that is not a factor with this at all.

I am considering buying an Apple TV (secondhand), but I wonder if it's a good choice. I have video files of various flavors--.mkv, .mp4, .mov, etc. Will a first generation Apple TV play all those files? Also, I need movies to play with Japanese subtitles--these are .srt files. Can Apple TV handle Japanese subtitles?

Ultimately, I want to know if the Apple TV can play in 720p resolution. From the research I've done, it looks like it can't, but the seller insists that it can--this is a potential craigslist purchase, btw. So I'm a little confused. Is jailbreaking an option? Any advice you can give would be really helpful.

Is he worth dating or do I just keep on stepping?

Chelsaroo650 — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:06:53 -0800

Is this guy yankin' my chain so-to-speak? So I've been having a string of fun, casual dates and there was one guy I've been talking to for about a month now. I find myself strangely attracted to him? We've only had one date, due to work interfering, there is some distance, etc. He seemed all butterflies and smiles when we first met and during the first two weeks. After our first date he was ready to see me again quickly and wanted me to meet his parents? Apparently he is religious; he is 24 and still a virgin (intends to be until marriage). He goes to church every Sunday. I suppose I'm okay with it. Well, he wanted me to drive to see him which is about an hour's drive. Well I was moody (I have PMDD) and got upset because I was the one who had to drive all the way and I thought maybe it would be awkward to meet all those people so soon. I told him that but maybe not so sweetly, not bitchy, just bold and honest.

So all the sudden, his tone by the end of that week changed. He suddenly wasn't so into talking to me. He also would make plans with me, then go golfing right until the last minute of 5 o'clock and then say I could come over. He is on a dating site. I figured he had met somebody else. I told him I believed so, which he did not like. He said I was acting like a nut. Really, I wasn't; guys date around... duh! He also told me he felt questionably about my "look." I have a Bettie Page-ish dark hair, bangs, red lipstick, pale skin thing going on. Most of the time, I'm told it suits me incredibly well. Although some guys want the tan, blonde type. I took a picture in a dressing room and was actually wearing my colorful work attire, and sent it to him. I am aware I am not the normal girl, but I am still feminine and not THAT crazy with my dress. He told me I looked like Lady Gaga and said "I hope you didn't buy that." I OWNED it. Which, maybe I am too upset about because he's usually polite, he offered to pay for my gas if I drove out there, he said he knew I was a different kind of girl but said he just didn't know what to expect out of me.

So we're in this limbo. He started saying things insinuating he had forgotten how I looked (which I guess is normal when you haven't had a date in three weeks) and went from being sure, to being unsure. Like he said he goes from wanting to be alone to being lonely but is totally open to a relationship or even marriage. Then the next week he's saying come out here (last minute!) or calls me, or sends me "Hey beautiful" and junk. He did make plans with me for this Friday in advance, at my request. Just seems like ever since I laid down the law and whatnot about what I do and do not find acceptable, he's been shocked... but is still coming back for more? It's weird, I'll get testy with him telling him he needs to be more respectful and he won't get mean or anything he just does whatever and he's back for more. It's a strange thing... Is he just a no-go or am I being too harsh which is making him doubt me?

Alternatives to iTunes

wrok — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:25:57 -0800

What's the best non-intrusive MP3 playing software on OSX? I really just hate iTunes and it's ilk (i.e. all media players ever) for trying to 'manage' my 'library'.

I'm looking for something like Foobar2k, or old, classic Winamp. I like Quod Libet, but it's a bit crashy on OSX. I would consider MPD if there was a good frontend suggested. I'm not looking for VLC, I'm not a huge fan of the interface for file lists.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Don't say "ITunes"

drjimmy11 — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:47:21 -0800

I need a music player for Mac OS that emulates Windows Winamp. I just switched to a Macbook. I like music. On Windows I love Winamp- mainly for the fact that I can browse my library in an intelligent way (filtering by artist, then album, then song), and then drag these songs onto a "now playing" list.

This seems so intuitive and well-done that everyone should be copying it. They're not. Songbird comes close, but there is no "now playing" list. You have to put things on a playlist, which you can't really see until you're playing it. I am aware of extensions but the one I added which claimed to help with this was buggy and impossible to use.

Mac Winamp seems to be a joke with almost no options. Either it was always that way or they recently ruined it. I would use an older version if it emulated the Windows version, but I can't find one.

I will not use iTunes. Is there a decent choice for Mac OS, or should I run Windows Winamp in Parallels?

Once more with feeling: I will not use iTunes.

Simple way to watch HD movies on my TV?

zardoz — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:14:36 -0800

I want watch on my TV the videos that are on my computer. HD (720p) format. Video streaming of content not necessary. What is the easiest and cheapest way to go about this? Actually, I already know how to do this, but I want to know even more. Currently I am using this Buffalo LinkTheater player, which involves me copying video files on my computer via a USB flash disk, and walking it over to the player in the living room. The walking part is no problem, but the copying is rather annoying; it's slow as hell, and takes up to ten minutes to copy a multi-gig video file.

So, what are my other options? My TV is 720p HD (not 1080p), and I would like a way to more easily watch videos from my computer. Is Apple TV the way to go? Roku, Tivo...I only vaguely know about these. Hell, a modified XBox? I should add I don't have wifi at the house, but I may get that in the future.

Playing music from an android device through my stereo, recommendations please!

aqueousdan — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 05:30:23 -0800

I just hooked my android phone up to my hifi. The default music player is ok but I feel I may be missing out on something. Streaming apps seem flakey. I would like recommendations on playing/managing/enjoying music through my android device. I would mainly like to be able to enjoy my mp3 library but I would also like recommendations for sites that can stream a whole load of music while I chill out. My favourite is the Jazz radio station on Last.fm but I have to pay to listen to Last.fm on my android phone (i'd rather not pay!) I currently have that setup with an old laptop but the phone would be far handier!

I'd also like a player that would allow me to tinker with the audio levels, it sounds a bit muddy at the moment.

Is he a player or am I nuts or both?

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:01:03 -0800

What should I do about this romantic episode? I met this guy at a festival. He was super good looking and came up to me, directly asked for my phone number right off the bat. I got the impression he was a real smooth operator, but I liked it and I have been lonely for SO F’ING long because I live in a really remote, foreign area where there are not many single men that I can talk to. We danced and kissed. He got in touch with me the next day and we hung out. Great company, kissing, etc, and then we parted ways. We hung out a few more times, it was awesome. He made some grand professions about how much he liked me, how he wanted to have a LDR, how great he thought I was, etc. I figured he wanted to just get laid and laughed it all off. He was just so attractive (I am not unattractive, but like I said, there aren't many guys around here), and it seemed so fast, so I figured it could not be genuine. I’m also pretty skeptical of men in general, I know. I do have trust issues, etc, that I'm working on.

Eventually, we did sleep together. I figured it was kind of over then, because it seemed like that was what he was after only, but he continued. He said he was going to call me every day and that this was the start of “something good.” I remember being fairly mystified and speechless. He said, “Let's see.”

I was trying to put it all out of my mind, but, like I said, it’s a cold and lonely world here. So, I called him myself the day after he left. We had about a twenty minute conversation in which he said that he liked me so much, he was thinking of me, that he was going to come visit, I was going to come to where he lived, etc. I didn’t hear anything from him for two days, so texted him something conversational. He didn’t answer. I then just asked him if he was a liar through text. He said he didn’t know what I was talking about, he really liked me, he wasn’t seeing anyone. The next day, I texted him a small thing again. He responded by calling me, but I missed the call. I called him back twice but he didn’t answer.

Since then, nothing. It’s been a week. I feel pretty embarrassed, especially since I called twice, so I haven’t initiated any contact. He hasn’t called me or anything, either.
I can’t really figure out if he is a douche or if I am a crazy, or both. I want to trust my gut, which says he was messing with me, but I don't know.

Why would a guy say such things and then not pursue? Did I scare him because I called him and I didn’t give an opportunity? Was I trying too hard and being too cynical at the same time? Should I have a conversation with him, or just let it go?

Connecting LG DVD Player to Mac

dearleader — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:54:18 -0800

I've got LG BD 390 Blu-Ray networked DVD player. Wondering if there's a way to stream/share movies (in various formats) from my Mac wirelessly to the DVD player. Not sure if this requires special software, etc.

Please recommend a reasonable-priced turntable to me with a bunch of specified characteristics

Your Time Machine Sucks — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:34:25 -0800

Please recommend to me a new turntable with the following qualities: sounds great to a non-audiophile, less than €400, available in Europe, has a 33/45 switch and auto-stop at the end of the side, and 33cm or less in depth with the cover off. Well, it's basically all in the question, but I will elaborate a tiny bit. I'm in Germany, need to find a turntable for a gift that I can easily obtain here and get service for here for less than €400. New is required, this needs to be a low-maintenance present and if it misbehaves there needs to be an existing corporation or responsible dealer who will fix it under warranty.

The ears listening to it will be sharp but not obsessive, so ordinarily something like the Pro-Ject III or a Rega or a Music Hall would be ultra-perfect, except that it won't be a good present to the receiver if it doesn't have a 33/45 switch and auto-stop at the end of a side, which none of their sub-€400 turntables have.

And, last but not least, it has to fit fully inside a space which is 33cm deep with its dust cover off, which is a bit unusual.

None of these specs are optional (or, at least, if any of them were, I would be able to find a match on my own). I have absolutely nothing against mass-market models if they sound decent. Do you have any suggestions for me? Much appreciated.

What WinAmp equalizer setting will most emphasize the bass guitar?

Trurl — Sat, 14 May 2011 16:03:21 -0800

What WinAmp equalizer setting will most emphasize the bass guitar? As if isolating it for study. Not to enhance pleasure listening.

WinAmp's equalization bands are 70, 180, 320, 600, 1K, 3K, 6K, 12K, 14K, 16K.

[If there are any plug-ins that will help, I'd try those.]

No wireless? No problem. Less space than a Nomad? Fine. Lame is out of the question though.

lekvar — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:10:51 -0800

I'm looking for the MP3-player equivalent of the boom-box, a player that has built-in amp and speakers. Can you recommend one? The hypothetical player would be fore my seven-year-old who has a remarkable knack for breaking things. I'm fairly certain the common solution of portable player plus external speakers would end in tears. She's old enough to need something just as tough as, but more fully-featured than, "My First MP3 Player."

FM radio would be a plus, but not strictly necessary.

Can I have advice on buying a portable media player?

crawltopslow — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 07:51:30 -0800

Can I please have advice/recommendations on buying a portable media player? (preferably non- name brand). My main usages will be watching poker training videos (available in mp4 and WMV formats), and reviewing poker hand histories which are in a txt format. Presumably I want a player with a long battery life (is 8 hours too much to ask?) So I'm looking for something that does these things, but I don't need it for anything else, (no wi-fi, 3G etc). Something that will suit my needs but won't cost a whole lot.

Do they actually make Blu-ray carousels?

Johnny Assay — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:40:44 -0800

My beloved CD/DVD player (a five-disc carousel model) conked out last night after eight years of faithful service. I'd like to get one with much the same functionality to replace it, but apparently things have changed drastically in the home video market since 2003. Who knew? Help me figure out what kind of machine I need to buy. My current setup is that all audio (CD, DVD, over-the-air TV audio, Roku, and until recently an Airport Express running AirTunes) is fed into an amplifier and then to a standard set of stereo speakers. Video (DVD & Roku) are fed to the video input of a standard-def TV. The dead machine is a Toshiba SD-2815, a five-disc DVD carousel. It's my only way to play CDs, and I don't currently have the capability to send my entire library (~300-400 CDs) to my stereo via WiFi, so I'd like to still have a way to play physical discs. And since I use it for playing discs, the carousel feature, where I can load multiple discs at once, is pretty sweet.

I'm assuming that it's not worth it trying to repair this machine (though correct me if I'm wrong), so that means I need to get a replacement for this one. However, I also know that Blu-Ray is the wave of the future, and I can see myself upgrading to a HD set within the next 3-4 years (though probably not within the next 12-18 months.) In rough order of priority, then, I would like my replacement device to have:

The ability to play standard DVDs.
The ability to play CDs.
A carousel or other disc-changing capability.
The ability to play Blu-Ray discs.

I spent a little time looking at the Best Buy website last night, but they don't seem to have something that satisfies all four of these criteria (at least, not for the $200-300 I'm willing to spend.) Do I have to cross one off of this list? If so, which one should it be? If not, where should I be looking for a wider selection of devices?

Random last points:

I'm not yet ready (due to the amount of time & money it would require) to completely cut the cord and go to a digital media center; right now I'm just looking for a replacement for my defunct machine.
A lot of Blu-Ray players seem to have built-in WiFi capability these days. This isn't strictly necessary for me, as I just bought a Roku about a month ago.
I'd like to not have to buy two separate boxes to get the functionality I want, since the cabinet space I currently have is limited. I can make space if I need to, though.
I don't have cable and don't intend to get it any time soon.

So, AV mavens of MetaFilter: any thoughts?

Are there stand-alone .srt players for OSX?

matrushka — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:47:59 -0800

Hulu is often great with the closed captions, but sometimes they're a day or week behind on adding them, or there's a set of bad captions. Is there some sort of .srt player for OSX that hovers over whatever video app you're using? (for Windows users I found this: http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/subtitle-player-to-play-srt-files-over-any-movie-that-lacks-subtitles/)

A better iPad audio scrubber?

bonobothegreat — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 06:03:06 -0800

I'm trying to find an ipad app that'll allow me to replay small, short sentences from a recorded screenplay. I'm working on a storyboard and need to examine the inflection of different lines on a prerecorded, 10 minute dialogue track. I've tried iTunes and the native player in my dropbox player but find that the "sound bar" contoller is too short to get the control I need to re-find the beginnings of sentences I'm examining. I've used QuickTime on my laptop because I can stretch the play window out the full length of the screen and this make it a lot easier. I mostly need to repeatedly rewind 5 seconds or so (not more) without accidentally losing my place

Ideally, it would be great to see a section of the sound file waveform but an accurate, short rewind is the real thing I'm after and not a fine editing tool. Ive found the app store is a bit like the Canadian netflix browser -kind of opaque and it suggests a lot of junk.

Which MP3 player?

Marky — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 18:29:35 -0800

Which MP3 player? (Narrowing down details inside) My job is requiring me to listen to some lectures. They're MP3's, but run 4-5 hours long. Listening in 20 minutes chunks will be OK, but of course there are problems...

My car has an aux audio input, as well as a power outlet, so hooking it up is no problem. I have a little "stick" style player, which is fine for random music but shuttling 2 hours into a 4 hour cut by holding down a little button is a giant pain. The player resets to the start every time I plug the power into the car.

So I'd like a player that has a slider to advance the playback to where I left off. I don't need video, the smaller the better, 4gb storage is plenty. Cheaper is better as well.

Best PMP with a voice recorder?

bluefly — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:58:58 -0800

Can you recommend a portable music/media player that has a built in sound recorder as well? Must be really easy to use. I got my mother an iPod nano for Christmas last year, but she went back to her 4 year old SanDisk player because it had a recorder in it (also, she liked that it took regular batteries, but I think I've disabused her of the notion that that's an advantage). That player has now conked out. What should I get her to replace it? My mother still has a lot of CDs, so it should be really simple to get music from CD to player. She's fairly familiar with Windows Media Player and iTunes, so something that works with either of those without a lot of configuration would be best (she uses Windows 7 if that matters). It needs to be small enough to fit in her pocket (the iPod Touch is too big for that). I've never used a portable player that wasn't an iPod, so I'm at a loss of what to get her. I'd like to keep it less than $120.

Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with player

Does this thing play WMA-Lossless *as* lossless?

I dated a bad boy and now I don't know how to get over him.

Streaming audio player for Android

Best portable MP3 Player for audiobooks

Any way to speed up mp3 loading to audio player?

Basic DVD/Blu-ray player?

Network audio player?

How do I stop WinAmp from displaying the song title in the Visualizations window?

First gen Apple TV--a robust media player?

Is he worth dating or do I just keep on stepping?

Alternatives to iTunes

Don't say "ITunes"

Simple way to watch HD movies on my TV?

Playing music from an android device through my stereo, recommendations please!

Is he a player or am I nuts or both?

Connecting LG DVD Player to Mac

Please recommend a reasonable-priced turntable to me with a bunch of specified characteristics

What WinAmp equalizer setting will most emphasize the bass guitar?

No wireless? No problem. Less space than a Nomad? Fine. Lame is out of the question though.

Can I have advice on buying a portable media player?

Do they actually *make* Blu-ray carousels?

Are there stand-alone .srt players for OSX?

A better iPad audio scrubber?

Which MP3 player?

Best PMP with a voice recorder?

Does this thing play WMA-Lossless as lossless?

Do they actually make Blu-ray carousels?