Why does Android have such a poor media player?

[Laramie]

I didn't really have issues with the music player. But compared to my old iphone, and my wife's ipod touch, Android handles video HORRIBLY.

Now with the huge screen on the Droid X, and the Fascinate hopefully coming soon, these phones are just begging to be used as media players.

When I had my original iphone, ANY video that was mp4 would load and play immediately. Audio/Video stayed synced and it was a pleasurable experience.

When I first got my Droid, I loaded some videos. Most didn't play at all, and others were audio only. There were all .mp4 files that would play fine on my old iphone.

How can the media player be so bad? I did try the Double Twist media player from the market, and it seemed better, but it's still a ways off.

I can handle not being able to sync media as easily as you can with itunes, but playing videos really shouldn't be a painful experience.

Any hope that Google will improve the media playing capabilities in Android?

[dezymond]

I agree that the media player on Android isn't very user-friendly, however, it's not as bad as you make it seem. I've had much worse, i mean i bought a SLVR when it first came out from Moto, but it's definitely not as good as i think it could be.

i hope there's a software update or something that allows us to play all sorts of formats.

[smilepak]

go to the app store download DoubleTwist

If you have iTune on your PC, download the PC version DoubleTwist.

It will allow you to easily sync iTune library to the Droid and play on DoubleTwist player on the droid.

[dezymond]

go to the app store download DoubleTwist

If you have iTune on your PC, download the PC version DoubleTwist.

It will allow you to easily sync iTune library to the Droid and play on DoubleTwist player on the droid.

he already mentioned Double Twist.

and he's used to his old iphone so i would imagine that DoubleTwist doesn't provide the same type of experience.

Apple got the media UI down. I personally dont like it, but i can see why the millions of ipod owners do.

[Laramie]

I agree that the media player on Android isn't very user-friendly, however, it's not as bad as you make it seem. I've had much worse, i mean i bought a SLVR when it first came out from Moto, but it's definitely not as good as i think it could be.

i hope there's a software update or something that allows us to play all sorts of formats.

I don't find the user end of it that bad, what makes me mad is when I try to skip to a forward point in the movie and I get a force close. Or I have to tweak the settings on my .mp4's just to get them to work properly. I find the Audio/Video not syncing pretty annoying.

I have since sold my Droid with plans of getting a Droid X. But after reading of the low speaker volume problem on the X, I think I'm going to see if I can hold out for the Samsung Fascinate.

I always ripped DVD's using handbrake to put on my Droid. I recently purchased DVDcatalysts program, so i'll see if that helps with getting videos to sync properly and not cause FC's.

[dezymond]

I agree that the media player on Android isn't very user-friendly, however, it's not as bad as you make it seem. I've had much worse, i mean i bought a SLVR when it first came out from Moto, but it's definitely not as good as i think it could be.

i hope there's a software update or something that allows us to play all sorts of formats.

I don't find the user end of it that bad, what makes me mad is when I try to skip to a forward point in the movie and I get a force close. Or I have to tweak the settings on my .mp4's just to get them to work properly. I find the Audio/Video not syncing pretty annoying.

I have since sold my Droid with plans of getting a Droid X. But after reading of the low speaker volume problem on the X, I think I'm going to see if I can hold out for the Samsung Fascinate.

I always ripped DVD's using handbrake to put on my Droid. I recently purchased DVDcatalysts program, so i'll see if that helps with getting videos to sync properly and not cause FC's.

I never had a force close issue, then again i never had a full movie on my phone either. longest video content i have on my phone are like 2-4 episodes of Top Gear and never had a FC. To me it sounds like your mp4 files have some sort of error or don't work too friendly with the phone, settings too high on the file?

I use the stock media player if that makes any difference...

[tiggerxplur]

download rock player arm7 from the market the UI blows but its a good media player that plays every video file (or just about every thing) its like vlc player on android

[johfiner]

Are you kidding me? I recently had a long flight and filled the SD card with a bunch of tv shows and movies, all of them different formats. Maybe I just converted them all correctly (I used the program's iPod Touch profile with a higher resolution), but everything worked perfectly...

The interface leaves a bit to be desired, but it plays movies perfectly. I'm not sure what you're complaining about...

[ntrddragn]

it could be the conversion rate of those mp4 that cause it to be out of sync. i have full movies,anime,tv shows which i convert myself and they work great. i also download ipod videos in mp4 and m4v format which also works great. Im using the stock player also. you might want to check out the audio/video section also.

[kodiak799]

When you d/l a movie or tv show from ITunes, I'd expect it to sync well with the IPhone.

A hacked, pirated or ripped movie on the Droid? Yeah, I'd expect some issues when done wrong.

Haven't played much video. Had an old Ipod. I have no complaints about playing music on the Droid (I've always stuck with mp3's ripped from my own DVD's). I use tunewikki, but it plays mp3's flawlessly.