Alternative to VLC for Windows 10

Hi, apologies if there already is a thread on this - anyone know of a good reliable alternative to VLC player?

It freezes between chapters on my DVDs and it kind of sucks when I'm watching a film on my desktop PC 2nd screen. (At home I play DVDs on the DVD player (still have one of them)

I am the kind of dinosaur who still plays DVDs and I don't do Netflix etc etc so that's not an option or alternative.

 

Before looking for an alternative try for the latest upgrade. Under Help or Tools. Windows latest upgrade messed with VLC but they have since fixed it.

 

SMPlayer with mpv backend

 

That will hopefully work at home. Will give that a try. I use videos at work with my students to show techniques or just artist talks and our new employers have tied Windows 10 down so much you need a 10 page document to apply for any new software and 4 pages for an upgrade to existing software

Re my reply to Kumabjorn - I'll try this at home if it's for Windows 10?

 

Unfortunately, many IT staff view that as only method of gaining control over Windows. They'll rather watch the Microsoft Follies than participate.

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Why not try the portable version? You can get it here https://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/smplayer_portable and you can get Media Player Classic here https://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/mpc-be-portable and here if you want the original theme different maintainer https://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/mpc-hc-portable . Provided you can access a USB drive you should be good to go. You can use the applications as standalone apps, or use the PortableApps Platform https://portableapps.com/download .

 

Genius. So with this, I can watch a commercial DVD with no freezing / stuttering and I bypass the IT lockdown of my PC desktop at work?

 

There is no guarantee it will work because it will depend on the policies that your IT department have configured. It's worth a go and if it works don't make a noise about it. There's a chance that they monitor running applications, in which case they will become aware that you have run the application/s...something to consider if there are IT rules in place that state you can't run unapproved executables or words to that effect.

I rarely come up against a policy that blocks portable applications, but it can be done. The other thing with applications available on the portable apps is that they should leave no trace/footprint on the host machine. There are a couple of exceptions afaik so it's best to read the information on the PortableApps website. The other handy thing is the applications update through the platform if you use it. Sometimes the updates take a little time to get out there which can be a minor pain if you want to use a new feature. The other really cool thing is that you don't have to reconfigure the apps if and when you rebuild your machine, plus of course you can move the usb drive between machines. You don't have to install the apps to a pen drive you can use an external hard drive. You can also install the platform on the primary hard drive...apps will also run independently and directly from the primary drive, assuming portability isn't a requirement.

I couldn't say if the videos you want to play will work flawlessly or not? You would need to put them to the test.

 

Don't sweat it mate. If it works it works, if it doesn't then hey-ho. We got taken over by a college who used to work with the MOD and everything had to be screwed down tight.

That contract is gone but the IT philosophy remains the same. These guys absolutely believe in base level Desktops with a 7 year life span so there are all sorts of horrors for me in the future where creative computing ability is concerned.