Codec Free .EXE Movies

excellent
key review info
application features
  • MakeInstantPlayer uses Mplayer with a graphical frontend as its core media player which directly translates into a powerful multi-format player.
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MPlayer for Windows is definitely one valuable element in movie watching. Now that it has an interface it is more appealing to the users than ever. I still have the GUI-less application at home and I use it whenever GOM Player refuses to play something. It asks you no questions, it can either play the video file or not. You do not need any video codec installed on your computer as the filters it comes equipped with do their job perfectly.

Now that it has an interface, MPlayer can be used by a whole lot more users. MPlayer is used in many video playing applications and now MuldeR has come up with a new use for the application. It is used to create self-running executable files. These are simple .exe files that instead of archiving code lines it compresses a video file and MPlayer.

MakeInstantPlayer is also free and the interface is extremely easy to use. Its purpose is to create self extracting and self running videos. The user practically wraps the video file into an executable and once launched, the movie will start playing in MPlayer.

Installing the application is no hassle at all as all you need to do is extract the executable to a convenient location. There are no registry entries to clean after uninstall (simply delete the directory from your computer).

The interface can be handled by absolutely any type of user, no matter the skills or the knowledge. All the options are in plain view and the preview window gives you a chance to learn in advance how the final result will look like.

Some of my friends asked me if MakeInstantPlayer affects the quality of the video in any way. There is no such thing as the program includes all the video file in the executable and adds the necessary data to make it play with MPlayer.

The program's window allows the user to browse to the source file (my tests included DivX format, VOB, AVI, MPEG, MP4 and WMV) and the output file location, set the splash screen (very useful for personalizing the movie file) and configure the behavior of the player before and after the playing of the video file.

It seems that there are no limits in what concerns the size of the logo but there are some restrictions in what concerns the image format. MakeInstantPlayer works fine with JPG, JPEG, GIF, ANI, BMP, ICO, EMF and WMF image formats. The default logo is the MPlayer one. Tampering with the image files in the "installation" folder leads to an error that prevents the program to launch. I tried changing the ICO file (it is displayed in the icon of the resulting executable file) and the logo with no result.

The behavior of the video player when the movie is played includes making it stay on top of the other windows you may have opened and looping the movie. These actions can be achieved by simply checking the corresponding boxes. Additionally, you can configure the way the movie opens in MPlayer, that is in fullscreen or compact mode. After the movie is finished, the user can give the command to MakeInstantPlayer to automatically close. Playing the file over and over again (looping) until the player is closed is available in MakeInstantPlayer.

A very interesting option is the addition of codecs in the resulting executable file. Enabling this option leads to a bigger file in the output and is not always necessary as MPlayer is included in the archive and the only video issues it may present are related to WMV9 and RealVideo and a few more formats. Only for these proprietary video formats it is required to include additional codecs. The developer recommends to avoid such formats and keep Codecs setting disabled as MPlayer works in most cases absolutely fine without additional codecs installed.

In the lower part of the application window there are the three buttons that help you control the program and give it the command to proceed with making the executable, previewing the file before creating it and quitting the application.

MakeInstantPlayer succeeds in turning the video file into an executable. The resulting file includes MPlayer so there is no codec problem to be solved. The process does not take too long (a 1GB VOB file took about two minutes to complete).

For more advanced users there is a log file that records every action of the application: script processing, naming of the output result, icon and logo applied to the resulting file, etc. you can practically see everything the program does with your file. However, despite the functionality of the software there are some minor mischiefs to be solved by the developer. From time to time, the software seems to delay the application of the actions. It freezes for a time (about 10 or 15 seconds) and then comes back to life. This is not a big problem as the application is good enough for the user to overlook this aspect.

The Good

MakeInstantPlayer moves incredibly fast. Every operation applied to the video file is recorded in the on-screen log file.

Having MPlayer as engine permits the software to work with a large number of video formats. The user can add a splash screen to personalize the file.

The resulting file will be playable on absolutely any computer without the need of codecs to be installed.

The Bad

A few hangs from time to time, but in very short time it comes to its senses.

The icon of the executable cannot be changed.

The Truth

The software can be out to good use with a little work. Think about making a video presentation of your company. You simply create the executable file and an autorun for the disc and that is it. The movie will be played with absolutely no hassle.

TIP: when playing the .exe movie be sure that there is enough space on the system drive because MPlayer will create a temporary folder and the movie will be played from there.

user interface 5
features 5
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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