And jeez what happened to it anyways? It actually used to be pretty decent back in the 98/XP/7 days :(

  • @rtxn
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    1 month ago

    aplay: “Hey kid… wanna listen to the sound the Linux kernel makes when you push it through the sound card?”

  • @[email protected]
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    1 month ago

    “Oh no, I can’t play this modern video file using a codec that’s literally been around for more than 10 years unless you pay me $0.99 for a codec pack…”

    Every single time I forget to change it and I want to play an h265 file from my phone.

    • @[email protected]
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      871 month ago

      Enshitification is what is happening, the original windows video player was way more capable than this modern garbage.

      • @shneancy
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        181 month ago

        sometimes i forget the “new and improved” version exists, i switched my default to the old media player years ago

      • GreatAlbatross
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        101 month ago

        It’s also partly the patent holders for H.265.

        H.264 had a license fee, but it wasn’t ridiculous. It was jacked up for 265, to the point that a lot of software houses no longer bundle the 265 decoder license.

        It annoys me too: Security cameras often use turnkey H.265 encoding packages rather than more open codecs, which makes dealing with the files using FOSS more of a pita.

      • @Serinus
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        61 month ago

        I think this part actually isn’t enshittification. I think this is being legally cautious, as you probably should be when you’re Microsoft.

    • @blackjam_alex
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      531 month ago

      From Wikipedia:

      The VideoLAN software originated as a French academic project in 1996. VLC used to stand for “VideoLAN Chad” when VLC was a chad from the VideoLAN project. Since VLC is no longer merely a chad, that initialism no longer applies.

  • @Retrograde
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    1081 month ago

    If something doesn’t open in VLC, you can usually safely assume the file is corrupt lol

  • @[email protected]
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    1061 month ago

    VLC represents what the internet could have been and what it should have been.

    Wish we could start again with a new internet.

    • @ours
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      851 month ago

      It’s because Jean-Baptiste Kempf is a GOAT and said “non” to fuck-you amounts of money to sell out VLC.

      I don’t know if I’ve had the strength to say no to that much money and obviously, that kind of cash has corrupted all but a few bastions of what makes the Internet an awesome place.

      Shoutout to Raymond Hill of uBlock Origin fame and all those supporting the lists it depends on. Some many adblockers sold out (including the original uBlock) but he champions on making the Internet a remarkably better place when used. Dude even refuses donations (says list maintainers deserve it more).

      • @[email protected]
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        1 month ago

        Best way to reward them would be to be like them. I’m sure they too long for world where people act with integrity

      • @madcaesar
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        11 month ago

        So serious question, why not take the money, become ultra rich, then immediately start a nonprofit to recreate VLC Origin

        He gets to be rightfully rich, and he funds and protects a free project.

        • @[email protected]
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          21 month ago

          I would imagine whoever bought it would write a clause to say he can’t create anything similar in future.

        • @ours
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          21 month ago

          In those times there had been more than one popular free app that suddenly started installing crap on user’s machines.

          I guess he just didn’t want to become attached to junkware being installed on people’s machines.

          I don’t have the details but may they wanted to buy the source code from him and close it?

        • @ShunkW
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          11 month ago

          Because people would immediately call him a sell out. And because it then would be the property of whatever company, and he could be tied legally from recreating it.

    • @[email protected]
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      111 month ago

      I hadn’t thought of it in these terms. Sometimes, someone says something profoundly true and you just have to stop and reckon with it. Fuck RealPlayer and all the other crap (RealPlayer may have been the first (popular) app to deliberately trick people into enabling stuff (hidden checkboxes)). What if capitalism hadn’t happened to the internet.

  • @Tin
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    1 month ago

    Windows Sound Recorder used to open literally anything - text documents, pdfs, images, executables, DLLs, and attempt to play them as audio. Photoshop files make especially interesting noises through it. I used to use it for samples. Got some great noisy stuff that way.

      • @Tin
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        1 month ago

        I have the album I made with them! Some of the tracks are solely composed of Sound Recorder playing non-audio files, but every track contains samples created that way. The quality isn’t the best, this is a CD rip because I’ve long since lost the original files, but since it’s experimental industrial noise, the audio quality doesn’t hurt much I guess.

        https://soundcloud.com/themachinal/sets/the-machinal-disturbance

    • @ShunkW
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      121 month ago

      I used to do this with audacity. It’s fun to open an image, and apply some audio filters to it, then export it. Makes for some interesting photo fuckery results.

      • @Tin
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        31 month ago

        Oh, I didn’t know audacity would do it. Well I know how I’m wasting time at work the rest of this week…

    • irelephant 🍭
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      81 month ago

      I cant remember the command now, but there was one on linux which let you play anything, I remember /usr/bin/ls sounded nice.

    • @[email protected]
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      31 month ago

      I used to write dark ambient and noise records as a hobby. I got some of my best samples from that method.

  • @[email protected]
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    511 month ago

    Windows media asks you to pay Microsoft for a decoding license if you try to play an HDR video.

    • @Killer
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      41 month ago

      I think it does it for hvec too

      • @LifeInMultipleChoice
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        Looks like your right, included by default:

        MPEG-4, H.264, H.263, VC-1, Windows Media Video (WMV), DV, VP8, Motion JPEG

        Then they have add-ons in the store, the HEVC I believe said was a dollar to use on 10 devices with that account. that’s terrible

  • @[email protected]
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    431 month ago

    I forgot that VLC wasn’t standard. 😂 I looked at the other icon and thought “wait what’s that?”

  • @Lasherz12
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    421 month ago

    I still find it strange that windows media player classic consistently works better than every new media player they’ve introduced since. It seems like if you make OS’s you cannot simultaneously make a good media player, eg. Quicktime/itunes/wmp/groove

    • @[email protected]
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      151 month ago

      TBF iTunes is a terrible player but made the shit loads of money so I guess they achieved what they set out to do.
      And I would argue iTunes is the reason for newer media player versions being shit since of course MS saw that there was money to be made and tried to do the same.

      • @Lasherz12
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        31 month ago

        Very true, unfortunately if something makes money other companies will line up to copycat even if the real product is licensing they don’t have full access to.

    • @[email protected]
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      81 month ago

      I had somehow forgotten all about the existence of QuickTime, and now I’m having flashbacks of the Wild West Web and Real Player…

        • @[email protected]
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          11 month ago

          Hold on, I need about 12 minutes to render your video and even then it’s going to be at postage stamp sized resolution and sound like someone stuck a brick in a blender.

      • @Lasherz12
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        41 month ago

        Oh no, real player has plucked a chord in me I’ve long forgotten about too lol.

          • @Lasherz12
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            21 month ago

            Not yet, I had to start over because I clicked a new spot in the video before it loaded, and that is a mortal sin.

    • @[email protected]
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      31 month ago

      It works better because everything else is geared towards maximum monetization to the direct detriment of the user and the UX. Those alternatives suck simply because “working better” on its own is financially worthless to those selling this shit.

    • @[email protected]
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      11 month ago

      Everything that Microsoft has tried to improve has ultimately gotten worse. I recently installed Windows 2000 in a VM to install a similarly old game and it was kinda jarring how well it just worked and how much it didn’t suck compared to a fresh install of Windows 10 or Windows 11. Obviously there were some very dated concepts especially related to networking (it clearly was designed for a world where a lot of people only plug their computer into a phone line for dial-up, or just directly place their desktop on the internet with a public IP, and letting it listen to a DHCP server and connect to an existing network was weirdly obscured)

  • @[email protected]
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    To watch this new type of hvec media you need this free codec.

    Wait did we say free i mean

    There is a paid version next to the free one.

    You can pay here, that other one is for retail and industry please dont use it, only use the paid one.

    Your hardware doesn’t support the free codec according to the error message we gave it. Hand over your money to install this identical approved one please.

  • @dustyData
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    261 month ago

    Thanks for mentioning the name because I honestly didn’t know what software the second icon was supposed to be.

      • Poplar?
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        1 month ago

        Share why you use mpv specifically for movies?

    • @[email protected]
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      21 month ago

      I don’t know about windows, but on linux if you don’t need and of VLC’s advanced features, MPV is significantly faster, takes nearly half the cpu on my setup for the same quality.

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 🏆
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    1 month ago

    VLC is so much better than the solution I was using before it. Windows Media Player Classic with the Mega Codec Pack downloaded from a super shady warez website.

    VLC has always just worked. Never had to fuck with settings or download extra shit. Dealing with codecs and different formats was such a pain in the ass until VLC came along.

    • Malta Soron
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      141 month ago

      Yeah, I remember everyone recommending K-Lite codec pack. But it didn’t work for me, so I used the Combined Community Codec Pack.

  • @daggermoon
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    161 month ago

    For real though. I have yet to find a file VLC can’t play. I have some old 8-bit .au files that play perfect. It even supports really obscure proprietary codecs from 20 years ago.

    • LucasWaffyWaf
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      31 month ago

      VLC is the only android app I’ve found that still supports tracker MODs, absolutely required for my music listening.