OStatic

Miro Media Player Gets an Overhaul

Open source media player Miro is out in a new version 2.5, downloadable for Windows, the Mac, and Linux. Miro has long been well-liked as a way to collect and view timely video content, as well as manage video libraries. There are many enhancements in the new version, detailed here, but two of the new features that have jumped out at me as I've used the new version are audio podcasts available through Miroguide (a really nice way to navigate to content from all around the web and sample offerings that you may like), and smarter handling of BitTorrent files, especially videos.

Miro 2.5 is fast to download and install. It includes an overhauled internal database, so you may have to wait a few minutes for any existing video and music libraries you have to be incorporated with the new version. Once it's installed, you can watch videos from around the web, including downloading YouTube video, subscribing to video RSS feeds, or you can check Miroguide for shows or podcasts you may be interested in. The video content at MiroGuide is divided up into categories ranging from News, to Music, to Technology, and much more.

There are many interface enhancements in the new version of Miro, and it definitely looks more slick than version 2.0 did. Working with YouTube files and BitTorrent video files is faster and easier than it was before. The application is also much snappier than it was before.

I still reach for VLC Media Player when I want an open source player that I know will handle almost any video file format that I throw at it. It's out in a much overhauled new version as well, and is particularly good for broadcasting video content online. However, the community behind Miro has wisely focused it on playing and organizing video and audio content from all around the web, especially videocasts and podcasts. It really shines at that, especially this new version.  

 

• video
• miro
• bittorrent
• podcasts
• media player
• VLC

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