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4.7 star rating
0
What is the best alternative to Kodi?
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MPV
All
10
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Integrates with streaming services
When used with youtube-dl.
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Con
Minimal theme support
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Top
Pro
Needs no additional codecs
Everything MPV needs to play media files is contained within which means no outside codecs are needed.
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Top
Con
Lack of a typical GUI can be jarring to some
The minimal interface comes at the cost of beginner-friendliness. You need to know keyboard shortcuts by heart, settings are set in text files, right-clicking won't bring up a menu, etc.
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Top
Pro
Minimal interface
Click to open files and get Video with sound (and passthrough of codecs like DTS etc) for a perfect cinema experience. Works okay for many files. Default window is not much more than a title bar - and if you drag/resize the window it resizes the video and leaves no empty areas. There is no visible control or display unless you use mouse/keyboard over the window. This is the best player to use unless you're going for a media center (then use MPV based Plex Media Player to display and play the Plex Server library).
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Pro
Up to date
Always up to date, rapid development.
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Pro
Extremely responsive
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Pro
Caches livestreams
Intelligently caches livestreams and enables jumping within the cached stream.
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Top
Pro
Fast
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, Android
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Experiences
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1444
86
VLC
All
18
Experiences
Pros
13
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
Free, open source, and cross-platform
VLC is licensed under the CC-SA v3.0+ and available on Windows, OSX, and Linux with source code available here.
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Top
Con
Not really meant to be a music player
VLC is made to be a video player. Therefore, it won't carry out actions such as managing your music library.
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Top
Pro
Simple to setup and use
VLC is an incredibly robust application but very simple on the surface. It makes playing music simple, yet still manages to give the user all the tools he/she wants in a music player.
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Top
Con
Lacks libraries and advanced music player features
VLC is a media player first and foremost. There is no library management (aside from playlists), limited usage of tags, and no rating system. VLC is best at playing a file directly from a folder, but falls behind when it comes to helping you manage or find good songs in your music library.
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Pro
Very versatile and easy to use
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Top
Con
Absence of personalization
VLC Player has only one basic interface in white or black, and overall personalization opportunities are quite narrow. Unfortunately, you're pretty much stuck to the default look.
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Top
Pro
Doesn't require additional codecs
Everything VLC needs to play media files is contained within which means no outside codecs are needed. This makes it one of the most hassle-free music players as it can play virtually anything as soon as it's installed.
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Top
Con
Contains some insignificant but irritating flaws
Despite all keyboard shortcuts, the width of the picture can't be controlled by trackpad. Besides that, the VLC start-up window doesn’t open at the same place or the same width at which it was previously closed.
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Top
Pro
Tons of advanced settings
Besides basic configurations, video player has an extensive amount of adjustable settings.
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Top
Pro
Doesn't manage your music library for you
You organize your music into folders any way you want. Want to play an album? Drag and drop. No tags, no confusion, no fluff. Easy.
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Top
Pro
Can be almost completely keyboard-driven
VLC includes keyboard shortcuts for most actions. The video player can be controlled with simple and customizable keyboard commands.
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Top
Pro
Surprisingly Lightest on Resources
Yes. Lightest. Even better than the ones known to be light. Both when playing music, only a single song or when playing a video. Either in terms of Ram and Cpu. Compared with almost all, including the ones from Windows like mpc-hc .. or light ones from Linux like Alsa Player, Audacious, SmPlayer .
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Top
Pro
Can play every format video available (as of 2017)
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Pro
Includes Blu-Ray playback support
Blu-Ray playback support was added on July 13th, 2014. It allows playing back DRM-free Blu-Rays with the help of libbluray, libaacs and libbdplus.
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Pro
Supports a GUI interface and an ncurses terminal interface
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Top
Pro
Can easily stream music across your home network from any device on the network
Using sftp/ssh music (and videos) can be streamed from any server on the network to any device running VLC. VLC can also be used as a webcam for streaming and snapshots. Amazing all in one package
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Top
Pro
Large amount of extensions
VLC has a large amount of extensions.
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, ChromeOS, AppleTV
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Experiences
Free
634
188
Emby
All
3
Experiences
Pros
3
Top
Pro
Easy to use and configure
But with tons of advanced configuration options available for those that want them.
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Top
Pro
Awesome support
Active and lively support forums where the developers and other users engage to quickly resolve any issues you may experience, which will be few and far between anyway.
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Top
Pro
Live TV and DVR functionality
Add the Premiere option for around $5.00 per month and you get a full featured DVR that will play and record Live OTA TV, IPTV, Cable or Satellite signal and a great EPG (Electronic Program Guide)
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15
0
MPlayer
All
11
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
Needs no additional codecs
Everything MPlayer needs to play media files is contained within which means no outside codecs are needed.
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Top
Con
Not much documentation on the use and configuration
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Top
Pro
Easy shortcut keys
Quick skip ahead buttons and other shortcut keys.
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Top
Con
Contrary to review, some media that play well in vlc does not play in mplayer
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Top
Pro
No bugs , no lag in the video display
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Top
Con
Doesn't support directory playback
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Top
Pro
Works via CLI and has multiple frontends to choose from
Some of the more popular frontends include Deepin Media Player, GNOME MPlayer, KPlayer, KMPlayer, Rosa Media Player, SMPlayer and Xt7-Player.
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Top
Con
Lacks a built-in visualizer
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Top
Pro
Multiple forks
Some of the more popular forks include MPlayer2 and mpv.
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Top
Pro
Nice theme available to choose from
Also, the video window is separate from the main window making it less cluttered while playing audio
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Mac, Linux
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Experiences
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53
11
Roku
All
3
Experiences
Cons
3
Top
Con
Easy to accidentally change channel
It's very easy to accidentally sit on the remote, and stop your video, or exit the channel. Apple Remote does not have this problem.
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Top
Con
Frustrating & complex remote design
For some apps like YouTube, left and right switches videos. While left and right on Netflix will fastforward/rewind. Apple Remote is a better & simpler design, a direction pad & select button is all you need.
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Top
Con
Not a hobbyist platform
It's next to impossible to alter the core of the Roku, like create custom notifications. While new channels can be made, existing ones can't be modified.
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13
1
Plex
All
8
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
Supported on many devices
It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.
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Top
Con
Needs registration
You need a PLEX account even if you use it on your local LAN.
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Top
Pro
Accessible via web browser
A modern web browser is enough to get everything Plex has to offer.
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Top
Con
Proprietary software
Unfree software.
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Top
Pro
Added lots of media databases
Metadata for media files will automatically be updated by using media databases. This provides posters, movie trailers, descriptions, information about actors, etc.
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Top
Con
No gapless audio-playback
Plex still does not support gapless playback of audio files such as mp3 or FLAC.
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Top
Con
Playback error: This server is not powerful enough to convert video
More hardware requirements on Plex due to a useless/non-intuitive transcoder. When using lower spec hardware (eg SBC) Plex will not transcode or play HD+ videos. When compared to other packages (eg Jellyfin which transcodes nicely using FFMeg), Plex falls short on video playback and transcode settings to get videos to play (fastest/lightest option still fails).
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
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Experiences
Free / paid
57
18
Projectivy Launcher
All
10
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
No ads
The new leanback launcher has integrated full screen ads for streaming services.
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Top
Con
Premium version
6.99€ to unlock all features.
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Top
Pro
Non-TV apps
Supports non-TV apps.
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Top
Con
A bit complicated to replace
Like every launcher replacement on androidTV.
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Top
Pro
Can fully replace your launcher
It can intercept calls from your home button and autostart at boot.
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Top
Pro
Supports app channels
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Top
Pro
Shortcuts to inputs
Shortcuts to change input source (HDMI 1/2/3, AV etc).
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Top
Pro
Highly customizable
You can change categories, set the rounded corners, hide applications and more.
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Top
Pro
Includes parental control
A nice feature for families.
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Specs
Supported platforms:
Android TV
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Experiences
Free/Paid
12
0
SmartTube
All
4
Experiences
Pros
3
Specs
Top
Pro
Adblocker
Enjoy YouTube without ads.
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Top
Pro
Many settings
It has many settings and features the original YouTube version lacks.
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Top
Pro
Multiple accounts
You can easily use multiple Youtube accounts.
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Specs
Supported platforms:
Android TV
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Free
10
0
iTunes
All
19
Experiences
Pros
13
Cons
6
Top
Con
Heavyweight
With each update, iTunes appears to get bigger and bigger, though adding little more value, especially for the user who just wants to listen to and organize music.
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Top
Pro
Can create a playlist based on rules
There is a feature included in iTunes called Smart Playlists that allows the user to create playlists based on criteria such as BPM, Genre, Artist, Album, Plays, Rating, etc.
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Top
Con
Unfortunately required to fully manage iPods
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Top
Pro
Can automatically create playlists based on a chosen song
There is a feature called Genius included in iTunes that allows the user to select a song and create a playlist based on that song. It will analyze the music library and choose songs similar in tone to the one chosen.
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Top
Con
Buggy iTunes app
Immediately after the worldwide launch of Apple Music, a new version of iTunes was released (12.2). Many users have reported issues with this release, such as music lists getting mixed up, music having wrong metadata, etc.
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Top
Pro
Syncs across devices
Synchronization of playback information, podcast subscriptions, and settings is possible in iTunes. It can also automatically download purchases made on other devices.
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Top
Con
Duplicates media files
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Top
Pro
Airplay support
Streaming audio to all Airplay enabled devices within WiFi range is permitted by iTunes. It's also possible to select more than one device to play a song at the same time.
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Top
Con
Album organization can be fragmented
Songs purchased from the same album at different times will be added as separate albums.
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Top
Pro
Can auto-import CDs
The user can set up iTunes in such a way that media (from CDs) can be automatically imported once a CD is inserted. This also comes with customizable import settings (bitrate, codec). Additionally, iTunes can automatically fetch track names from the Internet.
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Top
Con
Authorization limit
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Top
Pro
Built-in parental controls
iTunes parental controls can be used to deny access to certain parts of iTunes such as podcasts, internet radio, store, or shared libraries, as well as restricting access to media that has a certain rating or warnings.
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Top
Pro
Can autopull information about songs
Track names and album artwork can be automatically obtained by iTunes.
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Top
Pro
Sleek interface
The interface of iTunes presents a flat, clean design with playback controls at the top-left, search at the top-right, and a row of ways to categorize available media beneath that. It can also be minimized to take up much less space. The minimized interface is called the Mini Player and it can be set to display on top of all other windows. It's possible to show iTunes on top of all other windows when playing movies as well.
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Top
Pro
iTunes store has a huge selection of media
The iTunes store offers a huge catalog of videos, songs, and podcasts.
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Top
Pro
Advanced podcast management
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Top
Pro
iCloud integration
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Top
Pro
Internet radio
A music streaming service called Radio is available in iTunes. It creates stations based on chosen genres, songs, or artists and requires Apple ID for access.
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Top
Pro
Ability to add RSS feeds
The ability to add RSS feeds in iTunes keeps the user informed of the latest web content.
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Experiences
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66
65
mp3blaster
All
3
Experiences
Pros
3
Top
Pro
Awesome sound quality!
Absolutely beats the quality from SMPlayer with mpv in the background.
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Top
Pro
Robust playlist support
mp3blaster has great playlist support, especially when compared to other terminal music players as many don't have playlist support at all.
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Top
Pro
Shrotcut keys shown at the top of the app
mp3blaster, by default shows the shortcut keys at the top of the player, making it easy to see how to control the app.
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8
0
Synology Diskstation
All
4
Experiences
Pros
4
Top
Pro
Complete multimedia platform
The DSM includes packages for audio, video and picture services. You can organize all you media within the Diskstation and access it with your browser, the network, FTP, WEBdav and much more. You can even stream your media via the Internet.
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Top
Pro
Easy-to-use interface
Every Synology Diskstation is shipped with the DSM, the Linux based interface. You can access it via your browser and configure and administer the Diskstation. There are a lot of different features for a lot of problems who want to be solved.
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Top
Pro
Enterprise features like LDAP and Active Directory support
There are a lot of features that helps you to implement the Diskstation into your IT infrastructure. The Diskstations support LDAP and Active Directory to connect to existing servers or host a new one.
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Top
Pro
Access your data everywhere
It doesn't matter where you are: you can access ll your data via the internet using the Synology Cloud Services. Another feature is the Dropbox-like client-based sync between your Diskstation and various devices like your Mac, Windows PC or even your smartphone.
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7
0
Android TV
All
6
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Con
Your privacy is for sale with this solution
A lot of data is collected about what you are watching - depending on your TV - your voice is recorded (if it has a microphone) or you are observed watching TV (if it has a camera). That data is sent to the manufacturer, Google and 3rd party companies that you never even heard of. This is all done by presenting you a wall of lawyer-gibberish that no one reads and everyone just agrees to because all they wanna do is watch TV.
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Top
Pro
Easy to use
It is bare and easy to use.
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Top
Pro
Sideloading of apps
You can sideload apps.
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Top
Pro
Can run Android apps
It can run all Android apps, however, you might need a mouse.
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Top
Pro
Built-in Chromecast
Android TV has Chromecast built-in.
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Specs
License:
Apache 2.0, GPL 2.0(Linux Kernel)
Based On:
Android Open Source Project (AOSP)
Default Desktop Environment:
Leanback Launcher
Init-System:
Android init
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51
2
MythTV
All
8
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
2
Top
Pro
Watch and record analog and/or digital TV, including HDTV
Pause, skip, and rewind live TV shows. Completely automatic commercial detection/skipping, with manual correction via an intuitive cutlist editor. Intelligently schedules recordings to avoid conflicts. Parental controls to keep your kids out of the good shows.
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Top
Con
Complex setup
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Top
Pro
Flexible client/server architecture
Allows multiple frontend client machines to access content served by one or more backend servers
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Top
Con
Documentation could be better
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Top
Pro
Watch and archive DVDs
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Top
Pro
Plugins can extend its capabilities.
Intergrate your home cctv system with MythZoneMinder.
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Top
Pro
Listen to your digital music collection
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Top
Pro
Support
There is a seemingly endless supply of knowledgeable MythTV fans in the various interest groups that are ready to share their thoughts on any problems you might encounter.
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Experiences
Free
21
1
Sayonara
All
8
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Looks really cool, and does have cover art
It is so flexible it respects your local theme, or can be set to a theme, very slick, independent dark mode. And yes, it does show your cover art!
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Top
Con
Playlist driven play back
If you install Sayonara, hook it up with your music directory, and want to have it play by clicking a music file and let you surprise yourself with its shuffle... it won't. It will play that double clicked song, but then just plain stop untill you double click that next one. To have it just play through your collection, you first have to make a playlist, and only then let Sayonara play that (randomly). No deal breaker, but certainly an non-intuitive hassle preventing "click that in my library, play and don't bother me no more".
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Top
Pro
Closes to panel while playing...
It closes to the icon (tray) on your panel, while it keeps playing. Clicking the icon you can open it again, or pause/ stop/ play it there. Great to get it out of your way when you're working with cool sounds in the background.
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Top
Con
Dynamic playback
Sayonara works with a dynamic mode shuffle method, that quite often eliminates any surprises and comes with "the same" suggestions when your collection is smaller. It can be switched off though (bottom left switches, under your playlist) if you don't like it. All the options will require you to "look into it" though, since it is somewhat confusing...
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Top
Pro
Does conky...
If you are one of those who like to close your player to panel and see what it plays in your conky? Sayonara can do that over dbus, whether you like just artist and title, a progress bar, or even the cover art in your conky.
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Top
Pro
Many plugins standard
Has many plugins out of the box, e.g. internet "radio"streams, equaliser, sprectrum analyser, bookmarks, audio converter, broadcast, playlists, lyrics for the song you're playing, and more. It's the full music enjoyment experience. If you like minimalistic, Sayonara can do that too.
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Top
Pro
Sorts by the users options
Has everything you may need onboard.
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Specs
License:
GPLv3
Release Date:
2011
Development :
Open Source
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Experiences
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40
2
JustStream
All
8
Experiences
Pros
8
Top
Pro
Mirror MacBook on Apple TV
Many people prefer to use Apple hardware with the company’s own software. This is also the case when they mirror MacBook on Apple TV.
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Top
Pro
Supports Screen mirroring Mac to Sony TV
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Top
Pro
Chromecast Mac Streaming and Mirroring
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Top
Pro
Supports Mirror Mac to Roku Smart TV
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Top
Pro
Supports Mirror for Samsung TV
Cables are a thing of the past. Thanks to JustStream, you can mirror Mac to Samsung Smart TV wirelessly and easily.
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Top
Pro
Additional External Audio
If a video file has its audio stored in a separate file, don’t fret. JustStream can open them both, and you can even adjust the audio delay.
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Top
Pro
Complete Subtitle Support
You can expect JustStream to run any common subtitle file. Better yet, you can add external subtitles to your videos and stream like that.
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Top
Pro
Create Streaming Playlists
Collect multiple files into a playlist and keep them running back-to-back without having to switch them manually. Forego all interruptions!
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Experiences
12.99$
4
0
Raspberry Pi
All
3
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Not just a Media Center
You can use it for surfing the web, play retro games, and host your own.
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Top
Con
Lack of 4K support
The max video output is 1080p. Edit: Raspberry Pi 4 now supports dual 4K displays. More at : https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/
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Top
Pro
Customizable
A lot of Media Center OS to choose.
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15
1
yarock
All
9
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
5
Specs
Top
Con
Doesn't support playlist files
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Top
Pro
Easy to switch between different collections
Yarock's database supports multiple music collections, which can be switched between easily.
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Top
Con
No working packages
Almost impossible to get it to install and work.
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Top
Pro
Does not meddle with your tunes
If you have spent your precious time crafting your music collection the way you like it and don't want any 'jumped up alarm clocks' renaming and altering your tags, Yarock is a good choice for you.
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Top
Con
No ability for mass tag correction
In yarock, album covers can't be added to the files, meaning there's a lack of music fingerprint technology.
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Top
Pro
Multiple views
Yarock offers multiple views when browsing one's music collection, including artist, album, or track.
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Top
Con
Lacks music fingerprinting ability
This application does not have any music fingerprinting abilities such as musicbrainz, which limits the apps usefulness.
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Top
Con
UI may be confusing
First-time users may find the UI un-intuitive.
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Specs
Platforms:
Linux
License:
GPL v3
Price:
Free
Status:
Active
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Experiences
Free
13
1
Mellow Player
All
4
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
2
Top
Con
QML
It written in Qt-QML which ignores all Human Interface Guidelines and make the app look like a web page.
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Top
Pro
Native
It is written in Qt so it requires less resources than a web browser or an electron application.
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Top
Con
Not native
It's using qt5-webengine which is not much different from electron / a webbrowser.
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Top
Pro
AppImage
It is available as AppImage so you can easily try it.
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free
12
1
Rage
All
3
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Lightweight
A very lightweight media player, with almost no dependencies.
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Top
Con
Customization is hard
Customization is done in efl which uses a C-like syntax.
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Top
Pro
Fully customizable
Since it is written with efl there is basically everything possible that you can imagine.
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Free
11
1
BSPlayer
All
4
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
1
Top
Pro
Free version available
There is a free version of BSPlayer available that is limited in features but a good way to test the app or have a simpler version of the app for those that don't need all paid features.
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Top
Con
Chromecast does not load subtitles
While the Chromecast support is experimental currently it does not cast subtitles (unless hard coded) which can be a problem for foreign movies that rely on them.
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Top
Pro
Hardware accelerated playback
BSPlayer has the built in option to hardware accelerate all video playback, which means smoother playback of videos as well as lower battery use.
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Top
Pro
Chromecast support (experimental and paid)
The paid version of BSPlayer has experimental support for Chromecasting, which will allow any content the player can play to be cast to any Chromecast compliant device or app.
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11
1
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