How to Use Media Player Classic

Media Player Classic was developed as a streamlined alternative to Windows Media Player. The software has a similar appearance to an old version of Windows Media Player, but Classic hosts a number of features more in-line with modern media players and is less demanding on your CPU than Windows Media Player. Media Player Classic built a huge following online with its compact structure and variability and has become a fixture of community-built codec packages. Media Player Classic is easy to use, and this guide will give you an overview of its features.

Things You'll Need

• Internet connection 100 MB of free hard drive space

Instructions

1. 

   Visit free-codecs.com and click "K-Lite Mega Codec." Codecs are used in video player software to interpret video and audio for playback. If you do not have the proper codecs, neither the video nor the audio will function when you load the video. The K-Lite Mega Codec Pack gives you a variety of codecs and players, including Media Player Classic, that are capable of using them.

2. 

   Click "Download K-Lite Mega Codec," then click any of the links to download the codec package. Under the list of features included with the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, you will find two versions of Media Player Classic, regular and Home Cinema. This guide focuses on the regular version of Media Player Classic. The download is around 19.4 MB.

3. 

   Install the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack (version 4.9.5 in this guide). Select the Regular version of Media Player Classic during installation, then stick with the default selections.

4. 

   Type "mplayerc" without the quotes into the Start Menu "Run" field, then press enter to run Media Player Classic. The K-Lite installer does not create a desktop icon for Media Player Classic by default.

5. 

   After the program launches, click "File" on the menu bar. The File menu contains the following options:
   Quick Open File: opens the My Documents folder.
   Open File: gives you two fields in which to enter the video file's location and any accompanying dubbing file. If you do not know the location of the file, click "Browse" to search your computer.
   Open DVD: opens the DVD folder if one exists.
   Open Device: opens any input devices connected to your computer.
   Open Disc: reads whatever is in your disc drive if available.
   Close: collapses the File menu.
   Save As: saves an opened video under a new file name.
   Save Image: takes a screen shot of a video. The renderer, part of the software that interprets the video, might not allow this option.
   Save Thumbnails: saves thumbnails created from the video. This feature is not available under certain rendering parameters.
   Subtitle Database: allows you to search for, upload and download subtitles for your video if available.
   Properties: gives you information about the file currently playing.
   Utils: holds a DMS converter. DMS is a file extension for streaming video.
   Exit: exits Media Player Classic.

6. 

   Click "View." The View menu presents options for what Media Player Classic shows. The features are:
   Caption&Menu: Deselecting "Caption&Menu" hides the top part of the window and the menu bar.
   Seek Bar: hides or reveals the time-line bar below the play window.
   Controls: hides or shows the player controls.
   Information: used during full-screen mode to reveal playback controls, Statistics and Status.
   Statistics: shows frame rate, Sync Offset and other playback information.
   Status: tells whether the video is playing, paused or stopped and shows current run time. Clicking the speaker icon toggles mute.
   Subresync: used with separate subtitle files.
   Playlist: displays a playlist.
   Capture: functions when a capture device is present.
   Shader Editor: lets you define what shaders are active. Shaders are instructions for rendering video.
   Presets: a list that dictates how much player and file information is shown.
   Full Screen: expands the screen to maximum display.
   Zoom: lets you zoom in on video.
   Video Frame: lets you alter the size of the playback window and aspect ratio.
   Pan&Scan: further options for viewing video.
   On Top: sets Media Player Classic to always be in the forefront or behind other active programs.
   Options: opens more options for Media Player Classic.

7. 

   Click "Navigate." The Navigate menu is active only if you have a readable DVD in your disc drive. The standard DVD menu controls are found in the Navigation menu.

8. 

   Click "Favorites." The Favorites menu gives you options for creating a list of your favorite video and audio files and linking to them. You can also organize your list of favorites through the Favorites menu.

9. 

   Click "Help." The Help presents a list of links for additional assistance and trouble-shooting for Media Player Classic.

   There are a slew of options in the player, but you can always double-click on any an audio or video to get the most out of Media Player Classic.

Tips & Warnings

• Installation for K-Lite will not proceed if Mozilla Firefox is running. Installing K-Lite over another codec package will cause conflicts that might prevent codecs from functioning. K-Lite defaults video associations to Media Player Classic, but this can be changed during installation.

References

• Media Player Classic, project page
• Free-Codecs.com
• File-Extensions.org

Resources

• Combined Community Codec Pack
• Windows Media Player