Koala Player XP (formerly Koala Film Player XP)

Koala Player XP is a compact application that enables you to watch movies and to listen to music on your desktop. It is designed to provide you with a good visual quality and a superior performance compared with the Windows Media Player.

The program is based on the DirectShow core and is able to open most of the popular file types including AVI, MPG, WAV, MP3, WMV, and AC3. Although it can play audio files, the application is optimized for watching movies and also supports a large number or subtitle formats.

It provides you with the basic controls for playing the movie and enables you to customize the output window by changing the size and the aspect ratio. The speed controls allow you to slow down the playback on certain scenes if you want to observe the images in detail.

The subtitles can be synchronized with the movie without modifying the files. You just need to use the keyboard shortcuts in order to make a time correction. If you need to increase the font or to change the color, these options are available in the context menu that provides access to all the program's features.

Although the program includes tools for fixing the index of AVI files, it lacks the basic ability to capture a specific frame. However, the support for remotely controlling the player through WinLIRC is a nice addition to the player.

If you are having problems in locating the controls or find them too small you can personalize the interface by using the skin support. The default package includes more than fifteen alternatives such as Linux or Mac and can be extended by the user.

During our tests, the app loaded and played multiple files without encountering difficulties. It required insignificant resources and had no impact on the computer performance.

Overall, Koala provides you with a highly customizable solution to play video files and to transform your computer into a media center.