Microsoft to abandon Mac player?

If you’re taking suggestions, I’d like to chime in: MP4 is cool, but I think Flash video would be the most seamless solution. I love how Google Video, for example, works effortlessly on every platform I use it on: Windows, Mac and Linux.

Yeah, Flash is the best solution when it comes to integrating video into a web page. Works perfectly on any platform and any browser.

I’ve never used Flip4Mac, but if it means that I can view Windows Media files in QuickTime without any issues then that means I need one less player on my Mac. Which is good for novice users since it’s less confusing.

Right now, I have VLC, QuickTime, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player all installed on my Mac, with each playing a different subset of media formats. It would be nice if I could just have one.

(Incidently I have 3 of those on Windows too, RealPlayer being the exception since I use Real Alternative instead).

You DRM people are crazy. I refuse to purchase products that use DRM that isn’t trivially crackable. Avoid DRM – don’t scream that you want it.

We’re lucky to have a media framework like QuickTime at all since M$ once put pressure on Apple to “knife the baby” (kill quicktime). Yet another example of how M$ is anti-consumer.

Quicktime plugins is the right way to support media formats on the mac because then the formats are usable in all apps. So maybe this is M$ waking up and realizing that the baby is now a strapping young warrior.

I’m a Mac user but I use WMP all the time. I love watching videos online and I’d say 50% of them are WMV’s. The player doesn’t really suck it’s just simple, but if anything I’d say Microsoft could win some hearts by improving it.

I used to use The Microsoft Media Player, but with their decision of send us (Mac users) the Flip4Mac plug-in, it is nice to have just one player for all my video collection.

This kind of decisions are quite difficult to understand, because Roos was on the stage tell us that the MacBU was going for another 5 years, and then they cut one application, you didn’t realize if Microsoft is focusing just on Office (Office Pro Includes Virtual PC and any version on Office includes Messenger)

Supporting Windows Media via a QuickTime plug-in is a much better state of affairs. The Mac version of WMP is horrible.

But the real question is if it will be possible to provide the DRM and “Plays for Sure” functionality.

You wouldn’t feel so badly about it if you ever had to actually use WMP for Mac. I’m sorry, it’s just not a good piece of software, nowhere near the quality of WMP for Windows. Flip4Mac with Quicktime is pretty much better in every concievable way. Now that it’s free for decoding, there aren’t many compelling reasons to use WMP, and probably not many compelling reasons for MS to continue developing it.

“Flip4Mac with Quicktime is pretty much better in every concievable way.”

Except where it counts the most: DRM.
If you can’t open the file because of DRM, it doesn’t matter how much “better” the player might be, does it now?

Anona: You didn’t have access to WM DRM in the previous state of affairs, so a better playback experience for in-the-clear content is still a better experience.

I’ll say it again: Flip4Mac with Quicktime is pretty much better in every concievable way than WMP for Mac. Neither of them have ever been able to play DRM content, so that’s a canard.

“You didn’t have access to WM DRM in the previous state of affairs”

That’s NOT factually true.

Jose, I learned that this app actually wasn’t part of MacBU. It was part of the Windows Media team.

ever get them to start blogging?

WMP 9 for MacOS X had support for DRM up to version 1.3. It’s not much, bu it’s better than nothing. Of course, most site use at least DRM 7 nowadays but still.
Flip4Mac simply does not support DRM…

Maybe with Google hiring many Mac developers they’ll pick up Microsoft’s slack in the media player arena. Oh no wait, it’s WMF files right? Oh, they won’t care either. Stick with H264 format. Come on Channel 9, when are you gonna give it to us?

In correction to my previous statement, DRM v2 has never existed for the Mac platform. That’s the DRM that powers all the subscription services like Napster and Yahoo; it’s also the DRM powering all current pay-for-download services that are PlaysForSure compliant. As well as the previously cited Movielink (and CinemaNow). That I know of, no new DRM implementations are using the old stuff because the new stuff is better in a number of ways.

Whether MS drops support for Windows Media Player v9 for Mac in the not too distant future, it is still available for now and probably will be in the timeframe that any of the supported formats are still relevant.

Jose, I learned that this app actually wasn’t part of MacBU. It was part of the Windows Media team.

That’s somehow news to you? Oy Vey, that’s not surprising. The WM team has always been willing to let the Mac BU catch hell for their substandard work. What I would hope is they work with the Flip4Mac people to get more current WM support.

Yes, I know, that’s never going to happen. BallmerGates wants you to have to be on Windows to have anything but a craptacular WM experience. I’d say it will happen at the same time as they put Office on Linux. Same day even, i’ll call it:

The Fifth of Never.

Flip4Mac is a great step forward. The new QT 7.0.4 created a conflict that caused Safari to crash, but that was identified in the first day and a new version of F4M made available immediately.

Other bugs, for the most part, aren’t bugs. I think people confuse compatibility with certain web links not working as bugs, when in fact there are many different media protocols, formats and nertwork variances which will take some time to accomodate on the F4M side.

DRM? Compatibility IS coming. Every manufacturer of software has a feature request list. F4M is no different, and it will add the most desired features.

The latest version of Flip4Mac still crashes Safari. All you have to do is hit the back button on the browser and you get an immediate crash. This is consistently reproducible. I’m unimpressed with Flip4Mac’s quality control. Didn’t they test it at all?

>The latest version of Flip4Mac still crashes Safari

Unfortunately, version 1.0.x was pretty much the same. I experienced numerous crashes and other glitches with it :-\

The 2.0.1 v Flip4Mac has not crashed on me yet, seems lik ethey have solved the problem. Some online content does still not stream…

No crashing of Safari with my 3 Macs and Flip4Mac. If you can reproduce a problem, send the details to support@flip4mac.com. Personally, I love the fact that Telestream is so approachable with issues.