Last month, a new version of KMPlayer was released and boy, did they change it! The new release is totally unlike any of it’s previous incarnations. Even though the version number is a minor bump from 3.1 to 3.2, it constitutes a major release as it includes several new features such as video and music library, 3D video playback, integration with online streaming services, a spanking new look and soon to be introduced app store.
First, let us see how the new KMPlayer looks like.
What you see above is not a simple video player but almost a media center. The column at the middle gives you access to various video streaming services such as K-POP, Viki, EveryonTV and 3D Movie Plus. You may not have heard of these names but they are popular among Korean Internet users. KMPlayer is developed and maintained by the Korean streaming video company PandoraTV which acquired the video player in 2008. So the preference for EveryonTV over YouTube or Hulu is natural.
On the right-column is the video and music library. You add the directories where your music and video is located and KMPlayer will automatically add them to the library. The lack of a search tool however makes it difficult find whatever you are looking for, especially if you have a large collection.
The most exciting new feature is 3D video playback.
Playing 3D videos require a special video player because 3D videos contain two video streams. If you download a 3D video from YouTube and try to play it in a normal video player, you will see two videos playing side by side, such as the one below.
But in KMPlayer you will see it in anaglyph 3D.
The 3D mode is controlled by the 3D button you see in the toolbar. Originally, the video will load like in a normal player – two videos side by side. But once you click the 3D button, the video will magically convert into 3D. You can change the 3D mode from 2-color anaglyph to interlaced 3D, if you have 3D monitors and polarized 3D glasses such as those available with LG Cinema 3D TVs or even ones used in movie theatres. Interlaced 3D videos retain image quality and color reproduction which suffer in anaglyphic mode.
You can even change the anaglyph color depending on the color of your glasses, from Red/Cyan to Red/Blue or Red/Green etc. Depending on the source video you can also change the 3D from left/right to up/down.
KMPlayer v3.2 also supports Intel’s Wireless Display technology that can wirelessly connect a WiDi enabled computer or laptop to an HDTV or monitor through an adapter box that plugs into the HDMI port of any display. I’m not sure where KMPlayer fits into the equation, but support for Intel’s WiDi is reportedly a feature.
At it’s core KMPlayer is still an awesome video player. Plenty of support for video and audio file formats and subtitles. It provides both internal and external filters with connections to splitters, decoders, audio/video transform filters. The player can set many audio and video effects, slow down or increase playback speed, select parts of a video as favorites, do various A-B repeats, remap the keys of remote interface for HTPC including overlay screen controls, and change a skin dynamically depending on a media type playing. KMP is completely customizable thanks to a wide selection of skins and color schemes, as well extensive the configuration options
