6 Commercial Android Video Players

A built-in video player has been included in the base Android operating system ever since Android 1.5 (Cupcake) was released back in April 2009. That player offered video playback for MPEG-4 and 3GP formats. However, even with the latest releases of Android for smartphones and tablets (Gingerbread, Honeycomb respectively) many users find the built-in player to be inadequate, due to support for a limited number of video formats, being unable to watch high definition video even on dual core processors, and generally deprived of features.

Unsurprisingly, with a collection of more than 300,000 Android apps available, the Android platform has plenty of choices when it comes to alternative video players, both of the free and paid variety. We have scoured these third party apps, identifying 6 of them to see how they performed. All of the video players have been tested on Android smartphones and tablets, but we have concentrated on their performance on tablets, in particular the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, if only because the larger screens on tablets are more suited to watching videos.

The Honeycomb release of Android (3.0, 3.1 and 3.2) does not have an option to turn off the bottom task bar. This is a deliberate decision by Google to stop users being left stuck in an app. However, it is an unwelcome distraction when watching video, especially considering that the Honeycomb release is designed for tablets. Of course, it is possible to remove the task bar if you root the Android tablet, but this act invalidates the warranty of the device, the device may be bricked, and it circumvents the security restrictions imposed by the Android operating system.

The standard video app that comes pre-installed with Honeycomb reduces the task bar to five unobtrusive dots, which whilst does not completely hide the task bar does make watching video enjoyable again. However, the pre-installed Honeycomb video app is deficient in many areas.

The only video formats supported natively by Android are .3gp and .mp4. The Samsung Galaxy Tab supports WMV9, WMV8, WMV7, H.264, MPEG4, H.263, and VP8. Given that many popular video formats are not supported natively, some people may be attracted in using conversion software (QQPlayer app springs to mind). However, it is time consuming re-encoding video. A better solution is to use a different video player that has better native support for video formats. There may still be a need for conversion though as the Tab is unable to play 1080p video.

To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have focused our attention on 6 video apps. Hopefully, there will be something of interest here for anyone who finds the built-in Android video player to be somewhat lacking.

So, let's explore the 6 video apps at hand. For each application we have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot of the software in action, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant resources and reviews. We give our highest recommendation to MX Video Player Pro and DicePlayer.

Return to our collection of Android Group Tests, identifying the finest free Android software. Readers may also be interested in our comprehensive collection of Linux Group Tests.

Last Updated Sunday, October 02 2011 @ 04:08 AM EDT