I've a couple of announcements to make. Firstly I've updated the standard player see details below. I've also chosen to release a version for beta users who wish to try the first version with Media Foundation support. The reason this isn't being released as a standard update is explained below.
Firstly the update to The standard version.
3.24
Fixed Zoom and Volume cross over issue.
Updated Help screen.
Now the Media foundation release.
3.3
Whole new Video plugin system. This will add support for media foundation codecs on Windows 8 and 10 but will remove support for directshow codecs on those two platforms. Windows 7 will continue to run on Directshow codecs.
This is a very big update. This is a brand new plugin by the same people who did the previous plugin, it should be quicker and better and open up a lot more options for future builds. The only problem is that it currently removes directshow codecs from windows 8 and 10 and replaces it with Media Foundation support. The developers of the plugin (Renderheads) are working on Direct show support for all platforms but currently this isn't the case in this release.
This causes a bit of a quandary for me as this release is probably the fastest version of the player so far and should open up default support without the need for installing new codecs on Windows 8 and 10. However to roll it out as a replacement for the previous version of Whirligig may change the way it works for current users where files that worked before stop working. I could avoid allowing anyone to use it until Renderheads add direct show support to all Windows versions but I do not know how long that will take.
So my decision is that the Early Access standard version of the player will be using the original video plugin, which will require the user to install codecs to get beyond the native windows codecs (which are pretty much limited to avi).
I am going to offer this release as a beta option for the hardcore experimenters. To do this right click on Whirligig in steam, go down to properties and select the betas tab, then in the drop down select Whirligig-media-Foundation-edition.
Please find below a description of the supported formats in this build. Be aware anyone who wishes to try this version, this is a beta of an Early Access. I have implemented the new plugin and tested it on my system and it works well. My system however is windows 7. I will be doing further tests on Windows 8 and 10 systems in time and hopefully working my way through any issues that I come across. If you do choose to try this version and have problems please tell me so I can fix them as soon as possible.
So for Windows 7 it continues to be Directshow codecs support so all the same rules apply from the previous version. For Windows 8 and 10 Media Foundation rules apply. I've included below an extract from the Renderheads manual that should help to show what video files will be compatible.
---extract from the Renderheads manual regarding support from media foundation---
Supported Media Formats
In general the most common format that is supported are MP4 files with H.264 encoding for video and AAC encoding for audio. This format is supported across all platforms though not necessarily all bitrates and profiles.
Container support:
Windows 8
MPV
MP4
AVI
ASF/WMV
MP3
WAV
Windows 10
MPV
MP4
AVI
ASF/WMV
MP3
WAV
MKV
Audio Codec support:
Windows 8
Mp3
AAC
WMA
MIDI
µLAW
ADPCM
Linear PCM
Windows 10
Mp3
AAC
WMA
MIDI
µLAW
ADPCM
Linear PCM
FLAC
Video Codec support:
Windows 8
H.264
H.263
MJPEG
WMV
VP8 (Yes with codec)
VP9 (Yes with codec)
DV
Uncompressed RGBA
Windows 10
H.264
H.263
MJPEG
WMV
VP8 (Yes with codec)
VP9 (Yes with codec)
DV
Uncompressed RGBA
H.265
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There will most likely be bugs but I hope you agree that it is a good idea to allow you to try this version. Hopefully this reveals a whole load more improvements for the future and a smoother and easier experience for you right now.
Hope you all continue to enjoy using Whirligig.
Happy watching
Phil