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Zoom Player by InMatrix.Com |
Check the size, check the features!! Zoom Player has squeezed performance into every kilobyte of code. It's a multimedia player and a front end for your DVD drivers too, giving you the control you may be looking for. Take a look! :) |
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570K HERE! |
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Zoom Player by InMatrix.Com In the years of 2K+, computers and multimedia go hand in hand. You almost can't have one without the other, not at home anyway! In the freeware circle, there are a number of packed players that give you lots of things to do with your files, they also take up lots of space on your hard drive, not to mention the processing power that's needed to run the things. Well, listen up!! If you like your MP3's, movies, DVD's (using you're existing DVD filters) and other great pieces of play, Zoom Player will take them and give you the control you need to enjoy them to their fullest, all for a measly 570k of download!!! Platform ........ Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000, NT and XP Web Site.......... The web site is in blues and grays, with a font that's bright and easy to read (sans serif I believe). The Zoom Player freeware is just one of a few of their programs which are also highlighted in their site. They offer five mirror sites for the download and there are even url's to former versions of the program, just in case you need one. Nice layout and good navigation. Downloading........ Size Downloaded: about 600k Size Installed: approx. 2.12 megs. It doesn't seem to enter any files into the windows directories. As mentioned above, you can choose from five mirror sites plus four sites for the older versions if you need them. Installation.......... The downloaded file is an .exe install so just find the location of the file and click on it. After agreeing to an End User Licensing Agreement and making choices from a user window, the files are placed accordingly. Here's a pic of the choice menu in the installation:
Help Files.......... Except for the whatsnew.txt and readme.txt files in the installation directory, all of Zoom Players help is directly online. This is a bit troublesome for someone who doesn't have internet access and has had this freeware program given to them however, the program is basic enough that after a day's worth of playing, the average user will have a good idea of it's features. Hitting the F1 key brings up the options window where you make your settings choices. If you ARE online, you can hit the FAQ, Context Help, or the Online Help buttons to get the direction you need. There is also a very active forum for this freeware on their web site, available if you register (free). Here are a couple of pics of the options window showing you just some of the many settings you can make:
Interface ........... Zoom Player allows the use of skins for it's interface. The installed program comes with a basic skin however there are a number of other skins available from the pages listed on Zoom Player's main site. Here's a pic of one of the downloaded interface that I liked:
A really great skin that this program offers is the “ultra-minimalist”, which give you the display screen with a very thin border. All features must be obtained from the right click menu or you can bring up the “control bar” by double clicking on the screen. This bar has all of the basic control features that show on some of the other more noticeable skins. Here's a pick of the ultra-minimalist skin with the control bar showing.
Features ........... Zoom Player is not only a great multimedia player for .mp3's and other multimedia files, it will also work as a DVD front end player provided that you have the proper DVD filters already installed on your machine. As per their web site, all DVD filters available must be purchased and are NOT for free, hence the reason why they do not provide them. Their web site is nice enough to give three available links where you can purchase these programs. As a multimedia player, Zoom Player is excellent. There are many, many features to Zoom Player and rather than explain each of them, I'll list them as they are listed on their site! For the media features here they are: Extensive play list support. Per-File Chaptering system. File definition system allowing you to save pertinent information about played file which can be recalled the next time the file is opened. Easy access to popular audio/video interfaces such as DivX/MPEG4 dialogs, DirectVobSub language selection, TFM Audio Filter 10 band Audio Equalizer, etc... Fast forward support for all Media files (as long as your CPU can keep up). Manual Graph construction on a Per-Extension basis. Manual DirectShow filtering system allowing you to force specific filter into the DirectShow FilterGraph. Folder Images for Audio Files so you can have the Album image appear while listening to the music. Enhanced Play Back control allowing you to control what actions are taken when playback ends. MP3 ID3 information visualization. Customizable, including screen position, display order, smart display (only show entered information). Support for advanced file formats (such as OGG/OGM) including Chaptering, Subtitles and multiple audio and video tracks. Rewind support in all media formats. Auto-Play Media CDs on insert. .......... and for the DVD format, here's the list: DVD Front-End navigation using any DirectShow compatible combination of DVD Decoder filters. Automatic and Manual DVD Graph Construction with many pre-built profiles for easy selection and registration of filters. DVD Overlay Color control including an easy to use on-screen interface (For cards that support it, tested on Radeon series). IRE-0 overlay setting (Tested on Radeon series). Smart DVD bookmark system. Auto loading of selected bookmarks on Play to bypass previously seen DVD menus. Auto saving last disc's position for automatic resume at later times. Auto saving of disc definition file which includes a per-disc setting for later use (Aspect Ratio Video Position, Overlay Colors). Ability to assign DVD-Insert notification to Zoom Player or any other program. Multiple play speeds including manual specification. DVD Path definition for use with hard disk playback (with supporting filters). Preferred DVD Menu Language selection. Preferred DVD Audio Track selection by Language, Number of Channels and Audio Format (AC3/DTS/ETC...). Preferred DVD Subtitle selection. Replaceable background image for Stop Mode. Temporarily disable Auto-Play to prevent programs such as PC-Friendly popping up. DVD Trailers interface allowing you to play trailers prior to starting the movie. Automatic Aspect Ratio, Video and Blanking Position depending on the DVD type (Fullscreen, 16:9 Letterbox and 16:9 Anamorphic) ........... and the following are system wide features (for both Multimedia and DVD): Works with most windows operating systems, including NT4. Light-Weight and doesn't take over your system. Fully dynamically skinned (includes two minimalistic skins for less screen clatter). Dynamic range of Aspect Ratio settings including non square pixels relative adjustment, manual Fit-To-Rectangle Aspect Ratio, Anamorphic Aspect Ratio and even a Custom user-specified ratio. Easy control of Video Size and Positioning to reduce image overscan when used in conjunction with a TV-Output device. 10 Manual presets for use with Video Positioning (can also be used with multi-monitor setup for advanced positioning). Fully keyboard mapped feature-set covering every function used by the player (useful for Remote devices). Programmable keyboard interface which can include chaining of multiple functions to one key. Advanced mouse controls with per-button function allocation including a wide array of wheel supported features (useful for remote mouse controls). Dynamic Control Bar for easy navigation while in full screen mode, complete with selectable on-bar features. 3-Mode time skipping programmable navigation speeds for quickly seeking forward/backward within the time-line. Duel Context Menus with extensive support for both DVD and Media modes. Extensive command line support. Blanking support to cover up non-black area of encoded Video (useful for widescreen DVDs or badly encoded media files). Configurable On-Screen-Display. OSD Navigation systems for Files, Blanking, Bookmarks, Chapters and Play Lists (in addition to the editor interfaces). Smart hiding of the Windows Task Bar. LCD Communication API supported by popular LCD display drivers. Girder Control File export for maximum control through a remote device. Interface for controlling aspects of the PowerDVD and WinDVD DVD filters. Customizable Context Menu interface. DirectShow filter registration service. Yeah I know, I'm a bit lazy just copying from their site, but there so much to this freebie that I didn't want to miss anything. Do I use it!? You bet your bottom dollar I do! This is a great program and seems to work so much better and faster than the media player that comes with any of the Windows operating systems. What I've really enjoyed about this program is the ability to stop DEAD any motion that shows on the screen just by clicking on it. For some strange reason, previous versions of the Microsoft player used to do it, but the more recent versions don't. That was driving me nuts!! Honest!! Another great feature is the ability to jump to different parts of the video or even to fast forward or run in slow motion. I've found this great for reviewing finer details in video (such as Movie Mistakes!!) that might have been missed in regular motion. The play list editor screen is simple and easy to read and use. Add a dir, add files, listing, sorting, play selected............ ah heck, here's a pic:
.........and here are a couple of pics showing more skins for Zoom Player just to give you an idea of what's offered with this freeware:
Problems....... Other than the fact that the help files are mostly online, this program is well worth the download. Just a note, I DO NOT have the DVD drivers installed on my machine so I COULD NOT test the aspect of this freeware. I am hoping that Zoom Player's ability to provide a reliable DVD player as stated on their web site is true! For .mp3's, .avi's, .mpg's and so on, it's great and works flawlessly for me. In Closing .......... Honestly, I was getting just soooo tired of the Microsoft Media Player. I've tried WinAmp's 3.0 but being in beta and not having all of the features working really bummed me out. With Zoom Player, I've found just what I need to enjoy my multimedia files without all of the bulk of the other players. Buzzy J |
