Alternatives to AVPlayerHD

[rirawin]

Can anyone upload the local version?

I brought avplayer so its under my account but I can't download it anymore and I really want it back.

[007p]

So I'm guessing that avplayer got too good for its own good and apple removed it since it was fast becoming the 'go to' app?

It got removed quite a while ago, any new news regarding it?

I'm glad I still have it for both ipad and iphone, even transferred them off my old pc, even got the old vlc! But this is getting annoying.

How is the old app on the new iphone 5?

[yegon]

Originally Posted by 007p

How is the old app on the new iphone 5?

Works fine but obviously doesn't take advantage of the new res.

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by 007p

So I'm guessing that avplayer got too good for its own good and apple removed it since it was fast becoming the 'go to' app?

It surely wasn't Apple. I think they do know that the iOS platform is severely handicapped (compared to, in hardware-assisted media playback, superior OS'es like Symbian or Android) because of the huge restriction of not letting devs use direct hardware acceleration for H.264 for non-native containers. I don't think they would want to further chase away power users (people not (only) wanting to play back movies purchased from the iTunes store) from the platform.

It got removed quite a while ago, any new news regarding it?

I'll let you all know when it's out. (I'm in a mail correspondence with the devs.)

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Originally Posted by rirawin

Can anyone upload the local version?

I brought avplayer so its under my account but I can't download it anymore and I really want it back.

Won't work as it's signed - you wouldn't be able to deploy it on your iDevice.

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Originally Posted by cooa99

Hi guys,

I have an ATV2 & ATV3 and noticed today that Buzz player does not airplay well with ATV3.

only the sound can be heard on ATV3 but ATV2 airplay works fine....

Anyone with ATV3 issues?

As I've pointed out in my review of Buzz 4.0, AirPlay support is problematic (I've only tested it on the ATV3; dunno why it's working on your ATV2. Is the latter JB'n?) Let me cite the dedicated part of the review:

The still-existing bugs & problems

a.) Still no support for MKV's with DTS audio tracks

b.) Still no support for non-mirrored AirPlay playback for software decoded videos. Anything software-decoded can only be displayed using the mirrored mode of AirPlay (after you explicitly enable mirroring on top of connecting to the AirPlay target), which means there won't even be a semi-16:9, somewhat wider display, unlike with AVPlayerHD or HD Player Pro.

When connected to an Apple TV (or another AirPlay receiver) without mirroring, only content played back in hardware is displayed. (Then, it's the hardware player component that senses the TV being connected and not Buzz Player., which is completely unaware of the TV being present.) This also involves hardware-decoded MKV files. Of course, the well-known problem of complete playback restart upon switching to a new, decoded MKV chunk is still present (for example, give a try to the Kung Fu Hustle intro MKV test video – it'll drop you out back to the main menu of the ATV at 0:14 before the end of the file), rendering MKV playback completely useless on a large screen over AirPlay.

Wired TV connections work as expected (the entire screen is used; both HW- and SW-based decoding work flawlessly, including MKV playback – something where HD Player Pro fails at, as is explained in yesterday's update of my article initially published the day before yesterday etc.), including selecting the output resolution.

[lotorus]

AnyPlayer seems to be a worthy alternative. I haven't clocked much time with it, as AVPlayer is to hard to abandon.

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by lotorus

AnyPlayer seems to be a worthy alternative. I haven't clocked much time with it, as AVPlayer is to hard to abandon.

Sorry for being a bearer of bad news, but I don't think AnyPlayer's decoder performance is in any way can be compared to AVPlayer.

I've thoroughly re-tested the current version and found out that it's equally bad (very low-performance decoders, no hardware MKV acceleration etc. etc.) as was the one I reviewed in late May. Let me cite my full review:

Quick review: video player AnyPlayer(HD) updated, boasts better performance

So far, I haven't dedicated a separate article to AnyPlayer (AppStore link) because I didn't consider it a viable alternative to the most powerful players in the AppStore (It's Playing, GoodPlayer, AVPlayerHD / ProPlayer, BUZZ Player) or, for jailbroken iDevices, Cydia (XBMC, RushPlayer+).

Today's update boasts better performance (as usual, click the image for a bigger version!):



so I took the time to update my previous (so far, internal, albeit you can also access it in the dedicated column in the under-construction version chart of my forthcoming iOS Multimedia bible) notes on the app's behavior.

To make it short: unfortunately, it seems there isn't any performance fixes, at least not any I could notice. For example,

1, the Full HD MKV files (with H.264) still play decidedly slower than with AVPlayerHD / ProPlayer (which boast the best Full HD software decoder). Not even 720p (see the Harry Potter test video) H.264 is decoded properly in software.

2, quarter-FHD-resolution WMV files, while play back pretty good (but, with the VC-1 Advanced, WMA Pro test file, with some stuttering at the end) are still suffering from the same low-color-resolution bug I've pointed out in my WMV bible

3, the MSMPEG4 decoder is still as bad as used to be and WAY worse than that of the best players (see my post HERE for a list)

4, still no ASS subtitle support, still no OGG support, still no embedded subtitles for TS (DVB) files (at least they do work for MKV's), still no audio track selection, still no volume / brightness boosting, still the same problems with accessing UPnP shares as before etc.; that is, no new functionality / bugfixes of major bugs at all.

There is only one pretty much unique feature in this app, the color saturation change. However, now that It's Playing (which also has saturation setting, even when playing back H.264 streams in hardware!) has been fixed and made one of the best players, I simply don't see any point in not preferring it to AnyPlayer(HD).

All in all, stay away. It's simply not as good as the best players out there and definitely NOT worth its price tag.

[kaniSS]

Originally Posted by Khryz

I was just searching for this today too, wanted to grab the iPhone version. I have the iPad version though, so I hope it returns soon as well.

GO into your appstore and under updates click on purchases and download it to your phone.

[007p]

Originally Posted by Menneisyys2

I'll let you all know when it's out. (I'm in a mail correspondence with the devs.)

So for sure it will be back? Obviously what it will be like / when is unknown, but at least it will come back at some point.

Sorry to be a bother, any way to find out more about this Dolby / Ac3 issue? Tried a few quick google searches but didnt find much. Is it just ios this is effecting? Other mobile platforms? What about standalone media players (plugged into tv), i.e. 'media jukeboxes' - popcorn, dune etc. ?

[milkmandan]

Originally Posted by Menneisyys2

They stated they are trying to get the player back to the AppStore. I bet the case is the same is the recently-removed players (HD Player Pro, yaPlayer).

Thanks for keeping us updated Menneisyys2. Also the "Media player news (13/Nov): new versions / tests / removals of many players" post was really helpful. I downloaded iMedia Player as a temp fix for the missing AVPlayerHD and it has been fantastic so far on the iPhone5. Been able to watch all my mkv 10bit h264 anime without a hitch. Subs are not stylized, but i DGAF.

Again thanks~ hopefully we get AVPlayerHD back soon!

[lotorus]

I just got an email reply from Eplayworks:

Until we resolve the major patent issues,
From Apple's consulation, we have decide to take AVPlayer, AVPlayerHD remove from AppStore.
Currently we can't promise how long, but we will do our best to come back with a solution.

If you want to download previous AVPlayer version, refer to following link.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH1706?viewlocale=en_US

At least people who have purchased it in the past, can still access it on their new devices. (i haven't verified this works)

[johan67]

Firstly I would like to thank Menneisyys2 for all his feedback.

This whole thing from Dolby is really strange. I have tried to find more info on the web but thus far this thread has been the one with the most info.

Some questions still remain:
-Why is Dolby going after iOS? I've checked "BUZZ Player" on the Google Play Store, and it still has AC3 support.

-What about Windows? Will they be going after VLC and other players on that platform as well?

Hopefully the guy at Dolby that hates Apple can get over his problems.

[007p]

Originally Posted by johan67

-What about Windows? Will they be going after VLC and other players on that platform as well?

I cant find much about it either.

But I would guess going after windows - vlc and other players would be extremely pointless, on iOS, if something isnt on the app store, the only other option to get that particular app onto your phone means you have to jailbreak. Windows/PC on the other hand...

I wonder if that's why it seems like only iOS is effected, since that's the only real platform they could 'police' it on.

[rirawin]

Holy crap!

Got my ipad4, goto itunes to dl my previous dl apps an avplayer is there and it works!!.

[yoot123]

latest version of iMedia Player no longer supports ac3 .

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by yoot123

latest version of iMedia Player no longer supports ac3 .

Yup - too bad they haven't warned the updaters at all. Nevertheless, earlier (pre-1.1) versions have had equally great codec support - no wonder I heartily recommended it back then. That is, if you do need AC-3, you can safely use the pre-1.1 versions.

[lbatista]

It's a shame they retreived "AVPlayerHD" from the App Store.

I have it on my IPad 2 and its the only Video Player App that play's any MKV in 720p resolution. It supports hardware decoding and multitasking decoding. Its these 2 options combined that make it play those HD videos in perfection.

And it's so easy. Just download the MKV and insert it into the IPad with drag'n'drop in iTunes. And without waiting 2 or 3 hours for a conversion from mkv to mp4.
I think mkv videos are Apple's weakest point and don't understand why they insist on mp4 and mov when almost every HD video in the internet is mkv matroska. And if the iPad 2 can decode these videos with hardware decoding why don't they explore this capability and give their clients what they want?

I also liked "It's Playing" App but some updates made this app unable to play 720p MKV videos on my Ipad 2. It's a shame.

Still to find a better player than AVPlayerHD and hope it returns soon to the App Store. I have many friends that would like to download it.

[yoot123]

does anyone know if avplayer will ever be back ? also will there be any video apps left that play mkv with ac3 . thanks

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by yoot123

does anyone know if avplayer will ever be back ?

See the above mail except: definitely not in the near future.

Originally Posted by yoot123

also will there be any video apps left that play mkv with ac3 . thanks

MKV + AC3? Jailbreak and use RushPlayer+ or XBMC or, if you don't jailbreak, purchase It's Playing ASAP, while it's still at version 3.7.1. (The next version may drop AC-3.)

[CyberMew]

Originally Posted by Menneisyys2

See the above mail except: definitely not in the near future.



MKV + AC3? Jailbreak and use RushPlayer+ or XBMC or, if you don't jailbreak, purchase It's Playing ASAP, while it's still at version 3.7.1. (The next version may drop AC-3.)

It's Playing got updated to 3.8 about 8 hours ago with the codecs removed.

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by CyberMew

It's Playing got updated to 3.8 about 8 hours ago with the codecs removed.

Bad news...

[007p]

Some more info here;

http://www.itsplayingapp.com/audiopatent.html

Restricted Audio
From version 3.8 onwards, we have been forced to disable It's playing access to AC3, EAC3 and MLP encoded audio. AC3 is a widely used format present, for example, in DVDs. The reason for this restriction is that It's playing's usage of the open-sourced, free, FFmpeg decoding library has been seen as an infringement of AC3 patents by the holders. Many other open-source and closed-source applications are using this technology. We are striving to overcome this issue as soon as we can and will post information here as it becomes available.

[yoot123]

its playing and yplayer no longer support ac3. is there anyway to make dolby stop this madness .

[Menneisyys2]

Originally Posted by yoot123

its playing and yplayer no longer support ac3. is there anyway to make dolby stop this madness .

Jailbreak and use RushPlayer+ or XBMC...

[cvs]

The other thread mentions CineXPlayer.
Is that still a good alternative?

Are the claims of the dev true that they will not drop AC3 support?
Seems they now support MKV, do we know if it can play 720p and 1080p as well as the AVPlayerHD?

[007p]

Originally Posted by cvs

The other thread mentions CineXPlayer.
Is that still a good alternative?

Are the claims of the dev true that they will not drop AC3 support?
Seems they now support MKV, do we know if it can play 720p and 1080p as well as the AVPlayerHD?

They wont drop ac3 afaik, they have support of some kind from dolby so they are covered.

That being said, just looking through the reviews suggests that mkv playback is not good, to the extent that some still dont even work.