- Jan 8, 2011
- 22,361
Media Player and Video Formats: A Detailed Battery Life Analysis
Part 1: http://www.techspot.com/article/799-battery-life-analysis-video-playback/
Part 2: http://www.techspot.com/article/799-battery-life-analysis-video-playback/page2.html
Final Thoughts
Vote for your favourite Multi-media player, http://malwaretips.com/threads/your-favourite-multimedia-player.25090/
Part 1: http://www.techspot.com/article/799-battery-life-analysis-video-playback/
Part 2: http://www.techspot.com/article/799-battery-life-analysis-video-playback/page2.html
Battery life is a critical aspect to consider when purchasing a new portable device. Hardware companies are targeting efficiency more than ever, and while battery life has certainly improved in recent years, there’s always more that can be done.
Video playback is one common case scenario where efficiency is crucial and where a lengthy battery life is an infrequently found godsend. Hopping on an intercontinental flight and wanting to catch up on Game of Thrones? The number of episodes you can watch is going to be dictated by your laptop or tablet’s battery life, and of course, settings like screen brightness and background tasks.
But what you may not realize is that the video player itself, and the format your videos are encoded in, can also have an impact on battery life consumption. Or do they?
Video playback is one common case scenario where efficiency is crucial and where a lengthy battery life is an infrequently found godsend. Hopping on an intercontinental flight and wanting to catch up on Game of Thrones? The number of episodes you can watch is going to be dictated by your laptop or tablet’s battery life, and of course, settings like screen brightness and background tasks.
But what you may not realize is that the video player itself, and the format your videos are encoded in, can also have an impact on battery life consumption. Or do they?
Final Thoughts
If these tests have taught us anything, the video player you use and the format of your video is critical to achieving the longest battery life. A combination of a 720p H.264 video played in the stock Windows 8 Videos app gave the longest battery life out of those that I tested, although using 1080p or 4K resolutions can give much better quality with only a small decrease in stamina.
Unfortunately it’s not always possible to watch solely H.264 videos; sometimes you’ll get one in a MKV container, sometimes you’ll get a less-efficient Xvid file, and others you’ll have to deal with crazy formats. Power Media Player is capable of playing a wider range of formats than the Videos app in an efficient way, but it’s not free and nor does it carry features you get from free alternatives such as VLC.
Unfortunately it’s not always possible to watch solely H.264 videos; sometimes you’ll get one in a MKV container, sometimes you’ll get a less-efficient Xvid file, and others you’ll have to deal with crazy formats. Power Media Player is capable of playing a wider range of formats than the Videos app in an efficient way, but it’s not free and nor does it carry features you get from free alternatives such as VLC.
Vote for your favourite Multi-media player, http://malwaretips.com/threads/your-favourite-multimedia-player.25090/
