Complete OMXPlayer Review: Pros, Cons, and Alternatives

Part 1. What is OMXPlayer

OMXPlayer is an exclusive and free video player software only available on Raspberry Pi. Since the tool is developed and built for the mentioned operating system, its efficiency and speed on hardware running on the platform are exceptional at best. This makes it one of the best options for users of Raspberry Pi, which eventually led the software to become one of the staple tools in the OS that it is available.

The most compelling factor that made OMXPlayer a top pick for Raspberry Pi computers is its solid efficiency and lightweight nature, which make it a perfect option for the limited hardware resources of Raspberry Pi.

Pricing: Free

Part 2. OMXPlayer’s Strengths

Excellent Performance on Raspberry Pi Hardware

Because OMXPlayer was exclusively built for portable and compact Raspberry Pi hardware, the tool’s performance on the mentioned platform was top-notch. This makes it a solid option for Raspberry Pi enthusiasts who love watching high-quality videos up to 1080p, which is a rare resolution for videos played on the Raspberry Pi. OMXPlayer controls are also easy to learn due to its solid community.

Lightweight and Resource-efficient

In addition to its high-quality performance, the OMXPlayer software's lightweight nature and low demand for hardware resources are other strong suits. This is a huge factor for Raspberry Pi's limited nature. Software that can run videos in high definition but is not resource-demanding is a big plus not only for the platform but also for its users.

If you need a lightweight video editor, you should not miss this article.

Powerful for Playback with Various Commands

Since Raspberry Pi is hardware-limited because of its compact nature, the platform often relies on command lines to run the software that is vital to it. An example of this is OMXPlayer software. Despite the lack of a developed graphic user interface, enthusiasts of the platform can still enjoy powerful playback settings with the help of practical commands that can be input into the operating system running it.

Part 3. OMXPlayer’s Weakness

Command-line interface Requires Technical Knowledge

As we mentioned in the software’s strength earlier, playback commands are required to use the software effectively. This makes it automatically demanding technical knowledge, especially if the users want to apply specific adjustments to the video player.

Limited Features Compared to Media Players with GUIs

Despite powerful command lines that can adjust playback settings, other media players with dedicated GUIs can naturally make some adjustments and are much more efficient at that. This lack of GUI and command line exclusivity is a trade-off that OMXPlayer must give up in order to run more efficiently on the Raspberry Pi platform. To get a video player for Windows, Mac or online, check them here.

Not Officially Supported on Other Platforms such as Windows and Mac

Due to the exclusivity of the tool, it made the software not available on other popular platforms such as Windows and Mac. Because of this, experienced Raspberry Pi users transitioning to another operating system might take some time to adjust to other video players that they haven’t used yet in the Raspberry Pi platform.

Part 4. How to Use OMXPlayer on Raspberry Pi

With the main features, strengths, and weaknesses of OMXPlayer now discussed, we can move on to the short guide on how to use the software to watch videos on your computer running on the Raspberry Pi platform. This section of the article will provide a quick step-by-step guide, including the important commands if you want to play videos on the video player program.

Please continue reading below to learn more:

1. On your Raspberry Pi computer, open the command prompt and type the OMXPlayer command line, followed by the media location and the name of the file that you want to watch.

2. Press Enter on your keyboard. This will immediately start the video to play.

3. Once the video is done, an OMXPlayer will leave video codec measurements in the command prompt. You can now close the command line system as usual.

With the video done playing, you can use OMXPlayer to watch any videos saved on your Raspberry Pi computer without a problem. Simply follow the command line mentioned above to start using the video player.

Part 5. OMXPlayer Alternative

Since the complete OMXPlayer review is now done, we can now move-on to the section of the article where we will provide multiple alternatives to it that are available on the more common Windows and Mac operating systems. With that in mind, the fifth part of this article will focus on highlighting AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player and VLC Media Player. Two multimedia player software that are trusted and used by countless users across the Windows and Mac platforms.

We will start first by highlighting the more powerful software among the two, with none other than AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player. Although originally built to process videos saved on Blu-ray DVDs, this software was developed to be versatile enough, making it capable of playing digital files with no problem.

Additionally, the tool is packed with powerful features designed to improve the viewing and listening experience of its users. These include a surround sound system powered by Dolby 7.1 and DTS, together with resolution support for videos up to 4K ultra HD.

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On the other hand, VLC Media Player is another reliable option for users who want to use a more traditional video player that is also capable of playing any video format with problems. In fact, the codec support of VLC Media Player is one of the best in the market making it a solid option for users who want to watch videos saved in uncommon video file format.

Comparison Measurements	AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player	VLC Media Player	OMXPlayer
Beginner-friendly Video Player
Requires Technical Knowledge to Use
Runs on Command Line Tools
Supported Platforms	Windows, Mac	Windows, Mac, iOS, Android	Raspberry Pi
Pricing	Free $15.60	Free	Free
Pros	1. Capable of playing advanced video and audio formats. 2. It can run HD Blu-ray videos with no problem. 3. High-quality audio system powered by Dolby and DTS.	1. Highly customizable due to advanced editing settings. 2. Available on commonly used operating systems.	1. Works efficiently on the Raspberry Pi platform. 2. Its exclusive features makes it a solid option for the platform that it was built for.
Cons	1. New users could mistake it for an exclusive Blu-ray player.	1. Prone to crashes when outdated. 2. Bad sound quality when volume booster is active.	1. Very technical to use. 2. Not available on other commonly used platforms.