Zoom Player is a robust Media and DVD Front-End Player. Zoom Player was designed to be simple at first glance while being remarkably dynamic and flexible when used to its full potential.
Zoom Player was designed to be simple at first glance while being remarkably dynamic and flexible when used to its full potential.
Zoom Player works in two modes.
A Media mode which can play any file supported by DirectShow (any file which plays in MediaPlayer) and a DVD mode which uses pre-installed DirectShow DVD filters to play DVD content.
It supersedes media player in all it'sfunctions and provides several important functions that media player lacks. Zoom Player provides special zooming functions to improve TV-Output quality by eliminating overscan.
Some features:
- New Enchancement to the Skinning code, allowing you to specify a negative group value to make sections of the skin only activate if the specified skin group is disabled.
- The "fnPLItemUp" and "fnPLItemDown" functions which allow you to move items up and down within the Play List have now been assigned keyboard macros of "Alt+PgUp" and "Alt+PgDn". These functions have also been extended to update the Play List Navigator, so that you can now re-order items within the Play List using a remote.
- The Play List Navigator has been enhanced to accept the Navigational Insert key to toggle selection of the currently highlighted play list entry. This ties into the above functions to allow you to re-order multiple items at once. The color used for file selection is selectable under "Advanced Options / OSD / Navigators".
- New Button on the Station Editor allowing you to play a new station by appending the station to the play list instead of clearing the play list.
What’s Better About Zoom?
Right from the start, I noticed why Zoom had such a following. It actually TELLS YOU what might not work properly on your system. I was in awe. This was the first time that any player has told me from the start that I could potentially have problems playing certain filetypes.
My amazement continued since it even offered where I can grab the codecs! I had nearly forgotten all about my Windows Media Player until a little window popped up at the bottom right of my screen saying that I could now upgrade to the next version… thanks but no thanks.
As for the player itself, they’ve kept it simple to use. All the necessary buttons are there, including an extension to playlist and equalizer. A big help to any user is that it’s rooted with shortcuts. You’re even given the options to change some around.
In the options menu, there’s a direct link to Zoom Player’s site where they give you detailed instructions on how to better configure your system for the ever growing numbers of Media and compression types. Zoom Player definitely shows its users the platinum card when it comes to help. They’re truly in it for the users, something which is rarely seen these days in the software industry let alone in other media players.
I was looking at some of the options when I noticed that these options were for the intermediate users, so I wanted to see what a power user’s options menu looked like. After I hit the advanced options tab, I was… slightly overwhelmed to say the least. Power users, eat your heart out! Because you’re about to take a step inside the candy store.
Values, OSD and color controls, aspect ratios, playback features and resolution manipulation is right at your fingertips. Now the tough part is to actually figure out what everything does.
For people who want to personalize their players to look pretty, Zoom allows you to do just that. It supports a number of different type of skins suitable for any user.
What I didn’t like about Zoom Player Standard was that I had to buy the Professional version to use some of its more practical options. Next time I'll get the trial version of Zoom Player Pro, so I can get more options (even if it's for a limited time). You can’t switch to DVD mode unless you purchase their product on Standard and some of the options were made unavailable.
I felt as though there was a lot more I could have done with Zoom Player, since its support for power users is so high. It definitely handles a lot while giving the users a lot of features. I guess I just need to use it more.
The Good
It tells you what you’ve got, what you’re missing and where to get it. It supports many codecs and is completely based around the user’s needs.
The Bad
You have to pay for the really good stuff.
The Truth
For what Zoom Player Standard offers with their free version, it’s still worth the download. Get every codec you’ve ever wanted and play it all on Zoom Player Standard. Even if you don’t use Zoom Player, it’s a great tool to have since it tells you which codecs you need and even gives you the option of downloading them. The user’s needs come first and it has great support. I’d definitely recommend this as a download. But if you want to see what Zoom Player is truly made of, try out their Pro version.
Download zoom player trial version here
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