ReactOS Forum

1) MPC is a free(libre) software player with a similar style to Classic Windows Media Player.
2) MPC may have stopped its development. If ReactOS Team continues to develop it, it can continue MPC and make ReactOS have a relatively complete media player.

So I think fork Media Player Classic as ReactOS Media Player is a good choice.

I think this was discussed before.

It was discussed before at length and it came to little conclusion, some wanting to bundle VLC, others wanting to bundle classic media player - an open source tool that has recently received some attention.

The nub of the problem is this:

Windows has a default media player provided as a core part of the system. It is not just a media player, being so tightly integrated into Windows it is used by (some/many?) apps to produce the sounds and video that emanate from normal program usage.

Note that on Windows, ActiveX/COM allows access to system level components and one of those components that is defined as a system level resource is the windows media player (WMP). COM allows programs to make calls to WMP to allow them to play embedded videos or audio tracks within their applications without having to design their own player and bundle their own codecs. The use of WMP means that a far greater range of codecs will be available and the chances of being able to play a particular type of file are increased. Without such a player these Windows applications will not function as intended.

See the description here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/window ... ject-model

ReactOS is not a straight o/s without any whizzes or dongles, ie. it already has such bundled apps as games and the ReactOS version of paintbrush. So, the concept of bundling apps is already set, ie. it is perfect;y OK to have apps bundled with ReactOS and ReactOS will have them when released. It is just a matter of which applications are bundled.

A Windows Media Player type application would be very useful, in fact essential to replace the windows media player that came bundled with Windows, it will need to be a straight drop in replacement for WMP.

Indeed, users expect the basic components of an o/s to be present and although RAPPS allows users to install the components they need, some applications are integrated into the o/s far more than others. I would suggest that it is time to re-open this debate and consider using the open source Media Player Classic as ReactOS own embedded version of WMP and to ensure that active X/COM controls can see Media Player Classic just as WMP is disclosed as the default media player in Windows.

Well put. It seems like if we use an existing one, it would need forked and modified to provide the necessary infrastructure so that it can be closely integrated. Of course, that might mean it is easier to write from scratch.

Agreed but writing a media player is not an insignificant task and the ReactOS devs can be better put to finishing the o/s.

MPC looks like a media player that ReactOS could use. It is written in C++ and is open source. It seems to me that the only thing missing from Media player classic is the active X control that allows programs access to its functions. With that control in place it might be a perfect drop-in replacement for WMP.

Even if the (as yet unwritten) MPC active X control has a different name perhaps there could be a small stub that captures any calls to WMP and redirects them to the default media player? - or perhaps the WMP control names could simply be re-used, not my area of expertise but it seems possible.

I think this needs to make it onto JIRA as a formal request. Shall it be you or I to raise it Purple?

dizt3mp3r wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 12:34 am I think this needs to make it onto JIRA as a formal request. Shall it be you or I to raise it Purple?

I think post to the forum can get a wider reading and reply than JIRA.

dizt3mp3r wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 1:58 pm Agreed but writing a media player is not an insignificant task and the ReactOS devs can be better put to finishing the o/s.

MPC looks like a media player that ReactOS could use. It is written in C++ and is open source. It seems to me that the only thing missing from Media player classic is the active X control that allows programs access to its functions. With that control in place it might be a perfect drop-in replacement for WMP.

Even if the (as yet unwritten) MPC active X control has a different name perhaps there could be a small stub that captures any calls to WMP and redirects them to the default media player? - or perhaps the WMP control names could simply be re-used, not my area of expertise but it seems possible.

Okay.I understand·

njlyf2011 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:48 am I think post to the forum can get a wider reading and reply than JIRA.

No, that is not the point. Jira is for reporting bugs or desired features, and the developers rarely look in here. So you want to get it before the eyes of those going to code it. It doesn't need an audience any wider than the developers, and a reply won't code it any faster.

And Diz can raise the issue if desired. I try to rarely report any bugs or feature requests. I still feel the burn from several reports back. Someone misunderstood my clear explanation as bringing up another bug, when it was another aspect of the same one and would have to be taken into account while testing as it was interfering with testing the bug in question. The one who fussed at me is gone, yet I still haven't reached the point of letting go as I know I need to.

PurpleGurl wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:31 am

njlyf2011 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:48 am I think post to the forum can get a wider reading and reply than JIRA.

No, that is not the point. Jira is for reporting bugs or desired features, and the developers rarely look in here. So you want to get it before the eyes of those going to code it. It doesn't need an audience any wider than the developers, and a reply won't code it any faster.

And Diz can raise the issue if desired. I try to rarely report any bugs or feature requests. I still feel the burn from several reports back. Someone misunderstood my clear explanation as bringing up another bug, when it was another aspect of the same one and would have to be taken into account while testing as it was interfering with testing the bug in question. The one who fussed at me is gone, yet I still haven't reached the point of letting go as I know I need to.

Okay.

Therea are N versions of Windows without media player. They could behave the same way as in N versions if we stub it out and use a different media player as full-functioned one.

I'll raise it.

Raised - https://jira.reactos.org/browse/CORE-15418?filter=-2

As mentioned by elhoir - JIRA is not the place for such discussions. If you'd like to propose it in one go, I suggest going the mailing list way or keep discussing this topic until a developer either takes interest in it or gives a final word on it.

The mailing list in question would be: ros-dev.