dplayer

There are various audio players which managed to build quite the reputation over the years. Chances are you don’t really need a great variety of features for playback sessions. In this regard, dplayer comes as a lightweight alternative with a built-in browser for fast audio directory selection and intuitive set of controls.

First of all, you need to make sure that Java Runtime Environment is installed on your computer for everything to properly function. On the other hand, dplayer can work right after download, so you can store it on a thumb drive to use on other computers besides your own. What’s more, usage doesn’t affect registry entries, keeping the target PC clean.

The visual design is pretty intuitive, with a classic window frame wrapped around the set of features. The taskbar is where playback controls and sliders for volume and content navigation are found. A built-in browser lets you easily jump to the location of audio files, which are enlisted in an organized table upon selection of the source folder.

During playback, the application can be minimized to the tray area, with a menu providing quick access to controls. These are also managed from the main window. Unfortunately, the application does not come with support for hotkeys, and using a multimedia keyboard doesn’t have an effect either.

The playlist you create is saved for the next time you run the application. It can’t be saved to file, and you can’t load existing playlists either. However, it completely relies on MPlayer to be able to read songs, and it doesn’t come with it inside the package.

Taking everything into consideration, we can state that dplayer comes with good intentions, but without stand-alone functionality overall practicality has a lot to suffer. Identifying songs can take a little while, and the lack of hotkey commands becomes a little frustrating, even though controls are accessed from the tray menu.