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Windows
Reviews:

Zoom Zoom Zoom
Category:
SOFTPEDIA
REVIEWS :: Windows

Zoom Player does it all!

By: Alex Muradin,
Editor, Software Reviews

Zoom Player Standard by InMatrix

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Your Rating   See
Editor's Ratings

Product
description:

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
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.

Version reviewed:
4.51 Final

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.

DOWNLOAD
Zoom Player Standard    SHARE
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A REVIEW

Zoomtastic

Judging by the
simplicity in its design, one wouldn't know some
of the intricacies buried within. Zoom Player
Standard focuses on the needs of every downloading
fanatic out there that likes to watch media on
their PC’s. I became quite annoyed with the lack
of codecs that my own media player had and
desperately needed an upgrade. I focused on Zoom
Player after a friend of mine told me that it can
basically play almost any file type out there, so
I was curious to see what the hype was
about.

The install was quick and painless
and I soon got down to the essentials of what
makes Zoom Player so popular.

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.

Check out some
screenshots below.

Editor's ratings:

User Interface:
Features:
Ease of Use:
Price/Value:
OVERALL:

16th of November
2005, 07:29 GMT | Copyright (c) 2005 Softpedia |
Contact:

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Zoom
Player Standard 4.51 Final - OPINIONS AND REVIEWS

Pages: 1

Zoom
Player Standard 4.50 Final

Reviewer: RandySavage

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me | PM
me

Read
all my reviews (151)

Date:
2005-07-05, 17:55 GMT
Version: Zoom
Player Standard 4.50 Final
Overall
rating:
(Excellent)

GUI:    Features:
Ease
of use:    Value:

This is probably the best video player
you'll find.

It is packed with more
features than any other player I've seen. This,
unfortunately, can make the application a little
complex, but those willing and able to dive into
the intricacies of directshow video playback will
be rewarded with the the best video around. Or no
video if you mess things up.

Not for the
shy, or the weak. Zoom player is for the
poweruser.

Zoom
Player Standard 4.50 RC2

Reviewer: Josemi

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me | PM
me

Read
all my reviews (6)

Date:
2005-06-23, 12:57 GMT
Version: Zoom
Player Standard 4.50 RC2
Overall rating:

(Very Good)

GUI:    Features:
Ease
of use:    Value:

WMV version is Pro, not
free.

Zoom
Player Standard 4.50 RC2

Reviewer: Josemi

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me | PM
me

Read
all my reviews (6)

Date:
2005-06-23, 12:52 GMT
Version: Zoom
Player Standard 4.50 RC2
Overall rating:

(Very Good)

GUI:    Features:
Ease
of use:    Value:

Incorrect version number. It's 4.03
instead. There's also a Zoom P S WMV
version.

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to top

Pages: 1

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Player Standard 4.51
Final

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