Video Playback

[ricky.patel89]

Hi,

I just bought a new iPad 4th Gen. I'm trying to play videos on it, but I'm completely lost on how to do it. I know there's loads of video player apps out there, but I'm just wondering which would you would recommend.

I've been looking at CineXPlayer and Buzz Player. I would like the option of playing 1080p videos and making the most of the retina display.

Thanks in advance

 

[Menneisyys2]

Hi,

I just bought a new iPad 4th Gen. I'm trying to play videos on it, but I'm completely lost on how to do it. I know there's loads of video player apps out there, but I'm just wondering which would you would recommend.

I've been looking at CineXPlayer and Buzz Player. I would like the option of playing 1080p videos and making the most of the retina display.

Thanks in advance

First and foremost, the built-in, stock Videos player is pretty decent unless

- you need fancy stuff like DSP's

- you hate the way videos are synchronized in iTunes

- you plan to play back non-native (mov / mp4 / m4v) formats.

If the third bullet describes your case, a word of warning: 1080p playback is NOT recommended with non-native (mov / mp4 / m4v) formats on a non-jailbroken device. Unfortunately, Apple heavily restricts AppStore apps, making them unable to utilize hardware acceleration for video playback, resulting in choppy, stuttering video playback of 1080p videos.

So, tell us:

- what format are your videos in?

- if they aren't in native (mov / mp4 / m4v) formats, are you ready (do you have the storage to keep a copy of the videos if you don't delete the original ones) to convert them?

 

[ricky.patel89]

Thanks for the reply.

I agree with the 2nd point, I'm not really a fan of how videos are synchronised with iTunes.

I play usually .avi, .divx, .mp4 & .mkv.

I preferably want a player where i don't have to convert the files, where I can just transfer them over to my iPad and just play them.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Thanks for the reply.

I agree with the 2nd point, I'm not really a fan of how videos are synchronised with iTunes.

I play usually .avi, .divx, .mp4 & .mkv.

I preferably want a player where i don't have to convert the files, where I can just transfer them over to my iPad and just play them.

Well, you, in some way, WILL want to convert those .avi, .divx, .mkv files - it's only .mp4 ones that can be played back using hardware acceleration and without considerable lagging / stuttering, assuming 1080p videos. ("Thank" Apple for their absolutely silly restrictions...)

If you do convert (either remux or completely reencode) to iOS-native formats, there will be a lot of excellent players to choose from. I, personally, use It's Playing the most because of its excellent subtitling and DSP capabilities. However, GoodPlayer, yaPlayer, HD Player Pro, BUZZ Player and some other players are also worthy players if you know what formats they play the best.

 

[ricky.patel89]

So is there no way I can just transfer the files over, no matter what format and just play them?

Sorry for all the questions, this is new to me.

Thanks

EDIT: If I were to convert to an iOS native format, could I just not use the standard apple "Video" app? Also what do you think of CineXPlayer?

 

[Menneisyys2]

So is there no way I can just transfer the files over, no matter what format and just play them?

Sorry for all the questions, this is new to me.

Thanks

You can but, assuming they're 1080p, shouldn't unless you can put up with stuttering, desynch issues etc. with ALL non-native formats.

There is simply no way of playing back those files - this is why you should first consider converting them. In most cases, remuxing will do just fine, which is a very fast process.

 

[ricky.patel89]

So which player would you recommend, I'm currently looking at Buzz Player, GoodPlayer & CineXPlayer?

I like the look of the interface on CineXPlayer, but Goodplayer looks a lot more robust. Any advice?

 

[Menneisyys2]

So which player would you recommend, I'm currently looking at Buzz Player, GoodPlayer & CineXPlayer?

I like the look of the interface on CineXPlayer, but Goodplayer looks a lot more robust. Any advice?

GoodPlayer is generally GREAT and extremely versatile (one of the best apps streaming- and compatibility-wise) but it can't play non-native 1080p videos well, most importantly MKV's.

BUZZ Player supports some MKV's much better than GoodPlayer and also pretty robust. However, it does have its share of problems; for example, the MKV DTS bug.

Currently, until the Retina bug is fixed, I don't recommend CineXPlayer HD for iPad 4 users. (See https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1478727/ )

Generally, a combination of players is what needs to be used as there isn't "absolutely the best and most compatible" of them.

 

[ricky.patel89]

Does GoodPlayer make use of the Retina Display?

 

[Menneisyys2]

Does GoodPlayer make use of the Retina Display?

It does. However, its H.264 decoder is weak so you really won't want to use it for MKV playback.