Review: CorePlayer (CoreCodec Strikes Back)

Posted by: dgoldring on Oct 15 2006 - 35,401 views

At long last.  It has finally arrived.  After months of waiting, the time has finally arrived.  This is the most eagerly anticipated multimedia event since Anakin Skywalker donned the black armor at the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, to become Darth Vader (sorry if I ruined the end of the movie for you, I thought you knew, honest, I thought everyone knew.)  On October 16, 2006, Corecodec, at long last, will release its much anticipated media player, CorePlayer 1.0 (according to its website, the release will begin at 3:00 p.m. EST).  Just like the Star Wars movies, the question on everyone’s mind is: will this live up to the hype?

Special Note: Before I start my review, I just want to mention that this review was based on the CorePlayer Technology Preview.  The Technology Preview is a fully functioning version of the CorePlayer program, but with some features removed or disabled.  As such, not all of the features were available for review.

Installation and Registration: Installation of the Technology Preview required the use of 7zip, a file compression program to unzip the desktop installation package.  7zip was easily available, however, as a free download.  It is unclear, whether the final version will be compressed in this manner.

Ultimately, CoreCodec plans to release two different media players.   On October 16, CorePlayer will be released for portable devices.  On December 4, CoreCodec will also release BetaPlayer.  BetaPlayer is a less robust, open source, free derivative of CorePlayer.   There will also be a limited-time trial version of CorePlayer, known as CorePlayer Free.

In order to register CorePlayer, you will have to be connected to the Internet during installation to download the key.  CorePlayer will also need to "phone home" periodically in order to download additional updates. 

Overview: As I mentioned, CorePlayer is the culmination of the development CoreCodec has been engaged in for over two years.  It is based on improvements to the same platform which led to BetaPlayer and TCPMP, both of which were long heralded as the best media players on the market.  The result is a feature rich, but resource tiny, media player which allows the user to control all of the important variables, to create exactly the media experience you need.

The initial release of CorePlayer is for portable devices (Windows Mobile, Symbian, Smartphone, and Palm.)  In the coming months, however, CorePlayer will be released for virtually every operating system currently available (Windows XP/Vista, Linux, Macintosh OS X)

Two years ago, when CoreCodec started building their own media player, they created some extremely lofty goals for themselves: to create a media player that could play anything, on any operating system, and take up almost no space on any device; and to do all of this with a promise of, "simplicity, efficiency, and unlimited end user power."  I will leave it to you to determine whether CoreCodec achieved these goals with CorePlayer 1.0.

CorePlayer will also continue to grow after the initial release.  Over the next coming months, users will be introduced to a myriad of new features such as: CoreSync/CoreTunes, Seek and Share, and CoreCast. 

Video: TCPMP has long been considered the "gold standard" of video players for the Pocket PC.  One of the reasons for this is its "best in class" video codec library (a codec is what makes the player able to recognize a particular media format).  With this release, CorePlayer expands upon the codec formats available in its TCPMP library, for a virtually universal ability to play any video file, regardless of the format. Those who have become used to using TCPMP will not be disappointed by CorePlayer’s video playing capabilities.  Those who are not familiar with this program, or who used a different program for playing video in the past…will likely be amazed by CorePlayer’s flexibility and functionality. 

Audio: Before CorePlayer was released, its predecessor, TCPMP, was well known for its vast library of audio codecs.  One of the reasons I originally started using TCPMP was because of its ability to play Windows Media Audio files; something which few media players could do well.  With this release, CorePlayer expands upon the codec formats available in its TCPMP library, for a virtually universal ability to play any music or audio file, regardless of the format.  This feature, alone makes CorePlayer an indispensable program for even the most discerning audiophile.  However, this is not all CorePlayer has to offer. 

Bluetooth: In addition to being able to play a vast library of audio and video formats, I must be able to listen to and control music and audio over my Bluetooth headphones.  Few media players are able to utilize Bluetooth technology effectively, and of those that can, many have been simply inadequate.   Some would pause playback or drop the signal at the end of every song.  Others would play the music, but could not recognize the control buttons on my headphones.  Still other players would recognize my headphones, but otherwise provide a grossly inadequate signal (such as frequently skipping, losing the signal, or playing only in mono.) 

In the past, I had a great deal of success playing music on TCPMP with my Bluetooth headphones.  Thus, it was with high hopes that I tested CorePlayer with my Bluetooth headphones.  The stereo signal was crystal clear.  The hardware controls on my headphones worked perfectly, and I was able to play, pause and control the volume from my headphones.  (I should mention here that WM2003SE and WM5 do not contain high quality audio drivers (A2DP and AVRCP) in their Bluetooth packages.  Thus, in order to use Bluetooth headphones effectively with any media player, these drivers must be downloaded separately.)

Universal Skins: Let’s be honest, everyone has a different opinion about what their media player should look like when they turn it on.  Big buttons, small buttons, visualizations, album art, and more.  No matter how you design an interface, there is no possibility of satisfying all of the people all of the time.  I am, however, pleased to note that CorePlayer offers a solution to this problem, with its Universal Skins.

As I mentioned, CorePlayer will ultimately be released for virtually every portable and desktop operating system available today.  Universal Skins allows you to create a single user interface for all of the supported platforms, within a single skin file.  What this means is that by creating a skin one time, you can make CorePlayer look and act the same on every platform.

Unlike many skinnable programs, which only allow you to modify certain, predetermined settings, Universal Skins allows you to change anything within the media player.  Don’t like the way the media library loads?  Skin it.  Don’t like the look or feel of the options menu, playlist, user interface, or anything else?  Skin it.  Anything and everything within CorePlayer is fully skinnable. 

Unfortunately, when I received the technology preview, the Universal Skins feature had not been completed.  I was disappointed not to be able to test this out, because — like many of you — this is the feature I have been waiting for since I started using TCPMP.

Seek and Share: Seek and share, which is expected to be included in a subsequent version 1.4 of CorePlayer, will allow users to communicate with other CorePlayer users over a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN) such as via Wifi.  Users will be able to search through other users’ libraries (seek) and play (share) their audio and video files.  A feature like this works best when, in addition to connecting to other users, it also provides a central repository or library of video and music files.  Although CoreCodec advertises a new feature called CoreTunes Desktop Media Library Manager Integration, it is not clear exactly what this feature will entail, or how it will interact with the Seek and Share feature.  It is difficult to imagine a feature like Seek and Share without a central library or online store for users to access.

CoreCast: Again, this feature is not scheduled for inclusion in the initial release, but should be included in a subsequent release, probably as soon as version 1.2.  CoreCast is CoreCodec’s answer to Podcasting. 

CoreCast is built around freeware elements (CorePicture, Ogg Audio, and Matroska containers) to allow users to create broadcasts which can then be downloaded by other CorePlayer users. 

One concern I have is whether the market, in general, has a need or desire for a new online broadcasting format.  Podcasting has already become such an ingrained means of broadcasting media online, it is not at all clear that there is room for another broadcast format.  At this time, however, little is known about this new feature, including whether it will be able to play existing Podcasts, or whether it will be limited to CoreCasts created with the soon to be released CoreCast Producer; and likewise, whether other media players will be able to receive CoreCast broadcasts.  Because of the lack of specific information available at this time, it is difficult to analyze whether CoreCast will replace Podcasting, supplement Podcasting, or become the handheld equivalent of the Betamax tapes. 

Conclusion: I can’t say whether CoreCodec achieved its goal of creating an entirely universal media player, with a promise of, "simplicity, efficiency, and unlimited end user power."  I can say, however, that CorePlayer has definitely lived up to its hype.  For those of you who liked TCPMP, you will love CorePlayer.  For those of you who have never used one of CoreCodec’s media players, you will be shocked and amazed by CorePlayer’s ease of use and vast functionality.  The flexibility of this player alone puts it among the best players available today.  To those of you who have been anxiously awaiting this release, I can only say that CorePlayer is now ready to take you to a galaxy far, far away.

CorePlayer is available from the CorePlayer web site.  It costs $24.95, but will be initially offered at a discounted price of $19.95. 

[tags]CorePlayer, CoreCodec, TCPMP, Media Player[/tags] 

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