Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
REVIEW: New Versions of Multimedia Players VLC, nPlayer and AVPlayer(HD)
- Thread starter Menneisyys2
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I still see it in the App Store if I do a search.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nplayer-hd/id731430753?mt=8
Lolz... he put it back and Apple haven't noticed this... shame on both... I post an alert ASAP.
Thanks Menneisyys2 for your reviews. Just wondering if you have any relationships with any of these developers whose apps you review?
You mean whether I'm in mail conversation with them? Yes, with the majority of them (in this case, of the three reviewed apps, with the nPlayer / AVPlayerHD folks).
I'm in no way affiliated with them, however. Neither have I received nPlayer / AVPlayerHD as gifts (via a redeem code) - I've purchased both apps myself from the AppStore. That is, I can be unbiased when reviewing them.
Last edited:
Definitely! After all, it was the player I've recommended the most (in addition to AVPlayerHD) before nPlayer's emerging.
Do any of these have a s shuffle file option like stream to me does?? i see so much praise of VLC by people and of plex yet last time i used them they were slow, have no way to shuffle files, and VLC from what i can tell takes forever to convert a file then play it. stream to me does things great but i don't like the interface
I bought nplayer based on Menneisyys2's recommendation. Looks good so far.
A few minor annoyances for file transfers over SMB:
1) I'm seeing WiFi transfer speeds of only 4 MB/s over 802.11 N. Is this typical?
2) You can't queue file transfers. You have to wait until one is done before you do another.
3) You can't multitask during transfers. So while it's going, you can't use your iPad to do other things. I assume this is an iOS limitation that nplayer can not get around.
A few minor annoyances for file transfers over SMB:
1) I'm seeing WiFi transfer speeds of only 4 MB/s over 802.11 N. Is this typical?
2) You can't queue file transfers. You have to wait until one is done before you do another.
3) You can't multitask during transfers. So while it's going, you can't use your iPad to do other things. I assume this is an iOS limitation that nplayer can not get around.
BTW, do / can you have jailbreak? If you do, there's an arsenal of tools to help:
- iFile: transfer the file in a queuing-capable SMB downloader and, finally, just cut/paste the files right on the device, using iFile, to quickly move them around. Even tens of Gigabytes of files can be transferred in 1-2 seconds this way; I very frequently do this.
- Background Manager: to send nPlayer to the background, while it's still transferring.
Of the two, I'd prefer the first because of the queueing capabilities.
Of the most recommended players, nPlayer, AVPlayer(HD) and GoodPlayer. (Of course, the usual stuff applies: don't use GoodPlayer for hi-res progressive H.264 MKV playback or AVPlayer(HD) for, say, DVB TS files with bitmap subtitles.)
In AVPlayer(HD), in the filelist view, tap the search icon at the bottom (see the green rectangle below) and, then, tap Random (see the red rectangle below):
After this, when you move to the next video, the order will be the just-randomized one.
This also means you'll need to do the same each time you need to re-shuffle the videos.
Shuffling in nPlayer is done in exactly the same way: randomize the order of playback and, then, start playing. In the screenshot below, I used the same color codes to denote the order of taps you need to do:
In GoodPlayer, you can more easily configure shuffle in the global Settings:
It's Playing doesn't support shuffling, it seems.
(All apps have been tested with their last version.)
You shouldn't listen to them - they don't necessarily have the necessary knowledge to properly evaluate a player. As I've pointed out in all my articles, even the latest version of the iOS port of VLC is significantly worse than the best other players out there, except for some specific areas like audio playback.
Last edited:
My initial test results (more later):
Pros
By default, deinterlaces interlaced content (simple deinterlacing not incurring major speed hits)
Proper scrubbing
1/8...8x speed change, even when doing any kind of HW decoding
Significantly better MKV remuxing performance than with 3.8 now it isn't significantly worse than, say, nPlayer, AVPlayerHD or HD Player Pro
Significantly lower battery usage than with previous versions; however, it's still about double of that of other high-end players in the test setup
Cons
No bitmap subtitles are supported in DVB .TS files only teletext ones
No dynamic aspect ratio switching in DVB .TS files
DVB .TS file A/V synchronization problems as with nPlayer. (GoodPlayer, VLC and AVPlayerHD plays the same movies just fine, w/o any problems)
No styled AAS subtitle support only unstyled (but, at least, they aren't messed up)
While DSP's don't add much to the battery use (about 17%), DSP's in competing players add even less (nPlayer: 0%)
No iOS versions supported prior to iOS6 won't run on, say, the iPad 1, unlike version 3.8
Guys,
I've just posted a lengthy article / speed & TV output & AirPlay & battery use comparison on all the reviewed players (and some more) to
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1679716/
It's a VERY long article but, as usual with my in-depth roundups, contains tons of first-hand info you won't find anywhere else. Let me only cite the verdict:
Should you need the best speed and you don't need the best bitmap (e.g., DVD) subtitle support? Get AVPlayer, particularly if you have a VERY slow iDevice.
Should you need great (albeit not the best) speed and you absolutely need bitmap (e.g., DVD) subtitle support? Get nPlayer.
Should you need great network streaming support, even on the expense of the frame rate? Take a look at nPlayer or It's Playing Pro.
Should you need DTS support? Hope you've purchased HD Player Pro while it was still available see the Appendix immediately below. Otherwise, remux the file by adding a two-channel AAC audio track to it, unless your iDevice is jailbroken (then, use the jailbreak-only RushPlayer+). Remuxing is, actually, one file drag and three clicks with MKVTools or MP4Tools, as has also been explained in my today's quick tutorial HERE.
I've just posted a lengthy article / speed & TV output & AirPlay & battery use comparison on all the reviewed players (and some more) to
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1679716/
It's a VERY long article but, as usual with my in-depth roundups, contains tons of first-hand info you won't find anywhere else. Let me only cite the verdict:
Should you need the best speed and you don't need the best bitmap (e.g., DVD) subtitle support? Get AVPlayer, particularly if you have a VERY slow iDevice.
Should you need great (albeit not the best) speed and you absolutely need bitmap (e.g., DVD) subtitle support? Get nPlayer.
Should you need great network streaming support, even on the expense of the frame rate? Take a look at nPlayer or It's Playing Pro.
Should you need DTS support? Hope you've purchased HD Player Pro while it was still available see the Appendix immediately below. Otherwise, remux the file by adding a two-channel AAC audio track to it, unless your iDevice is jailbroken (then, use the jailbreak-only RushPlayer+). Remuxing is, actually, one file drag and three clicks with MKVTools or MP4Tools, as has also been explained in my today's quick tutorial HERE.
Thanks for the constant updates Menneisyys2.
I've DLed N Player and have started using it more and more. BUT, I have noticed that some older files which play in Cinex (.mov) won't play on nPlayer. Mainly teaching videos which I can easily DL again from Youtube. But still quite puzzling.
I'd like to see nPlayer make their fast and slow playback speed buttons work a bit better. It's a bit jerky ATM. If the altered speed of playback was smoother it would be a very handy teaching tool.
I'd also like to see them show full screen music artwork on the screen for songs via iTunes and in general a better music control scheme.
Personally I find the nPlayer TV output playback better on older TVs. Cinex often pushed the entire video to the right by about 15 percent. Don't know why, but nPlayer doesn't do this.
I've DLed N Player and have started using it more and more. BUT, I have noticed that some older files which play in Cinex (.mov) won't play on nPlayer. Mainly teaching videos which I can easily DL again from Youtube. But still quite puzzling.
I'd like to see nPlayer make their fast and slow playback speed buttons work a bit better. It's a bit jerky ATM. If the altered speed of playback was smoother it would be a very handy teaching tool.
I'd also like to see them show full screen music artwork on the screen for songs via iTunes and in general a better music control scheme.
Personally I find the nPlayer TV output playback better on older TVs. Cinex often pushed the entire video to the right by about 15 percent. Don't know why, but nPlayer doesn't do this.
UPDATE:
after talking to the nPlayer folks, I've re-tested nPlayer after changing the Settings > Video > Renderer For Hardware Decoding setting from the default OpenGL ES to Quicktime. The new setting is as follows (annotated with a red rectangle):
This made playback as fluid as that of AVPlayerHD, even on the lowly iPad 1. (I will also publish a video showing this.)
Unfortunately,
- visual DSP's (brightness etc.) are not available in this mode; that is, the "Color Adjustment" menu item will be gone in the runtime settings menu. Note that the most useful and non-visual DSP, volume boosting, will remain.
- users aren't told to switch to this mode in the app itself. I've mentioned this (users should be displayed a dialog at least once, telling them to switch to QuickTime mode for the best playback speed) to the dev; hope they'll add this to the next version.
Here it is:
http://youtu.be/JeqEXxjEnwE
More info in my just-posted update: https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/18453229/
No such app exists - that is, an app that "has it all".
Basically, these are the top picks:
- nPlayer: generic playback but NO DTS and NO MKV / MTS over AirPlay. Also has MPEG2 / TS synch problems.
- RushPlayer+: JB only; that is, won't run on 95% of iPads. Best for DTS and/or MKV playback. Free.
- Infuse: best for non-mp4/m4v/mov AirPlay playback. MKV playback is marred on iPad 1.
- VLC: free. Non-hardware-accelaratable and/or special formats' playback.
airplay not important for me
don't like jb
so nplayer think was the best whats your idea about avplayer?
AVPlayerHD is great too. Speed / battery usage-wise, it's the same as nPlayer. Get it if you don't need for example VobSub bitmap support and/or network streaming and/or volume boost and/or want to save some money.