Subhash VCDPlayer

I wrote this media player in August 2001. I put it up on my Geocities website (I was also dabbling in HTML at that time) as a free download. Unknown to me for some time, the VCD player started attracting some real traffic to that website. Encouraged by the interest of the visitors, I redesigned the site and also made several updates to the player. Later, I bought this www.vsubhash.com domain and moved all the web pages and the player here.

Over time, I lost interest and stopped updating the player. My player is still available as a free download on several download sites. It comes with no guarantees or warantees of any kind. It is provided as is where is with no assurance of any kind. I provide no support for the software.

Introduction

Screenshot of Subhash VCDPlayer

Subhash VCDPlayer is a free media player with support for VCD playback, image capture, and voice transcription. Apart from Video CDs (VCDs), it can play regular audio and video files in formats that are compatible with Windows Media Player (WMP) 6.4.

Subhash VCDPlayer uses WMP 6.4 under the hood, which gives it rock-solid stability. Unlike other such programs, Subhash VCDPlayer takes WMP to surreal heights of functionality and ease of use. This has been made possible by borrowing a few ideas from IrfanView (file browsing), Winamp (system tray icon capabilities) and CyberLink PowerPlayer (single-key keyboard shortcuts and still-image capture), and combining them with a slew of unique features of its own. Hyped up, you can call this VCD player as Windows Media Player On Steroids.

The media player has a detailed help file that explains all its features including:

VCD playback
Single-key shortcuts
Boss key
Automatic file browsing
16 cool system tray icons
Playback speed adjustments - 19 decrements and 24 increments of 5% of the original playback speed
Transcription mode
Image capture
Instant preview of captured image as desktop wallpaper
Special function keys accessible from any application

Supported Operating Systems

Windows 95 (Requires Windows Media Player 6.4)
Windows 98
Windows Me
Windows 2000
Windows XP (Install the v2.4.1 patch. If image capture does not work out of the box, disable hardware acceleration from Display Properties Control Panel applet. See help file for instructions.)
Windows Vista (Install the v2.4.1 patch. If image capture does not work out of the box, disable Aero temporarily i.e., change the desktop theme to Basic.)
Windows 7 (Install the v2.4.1 patch. If image capture does not work out of the box, disable Aero temporarily i.e., change the desktop theme to Basic.)

Information for Webmasters

This is an outdated product. Please do not link it from your websites.

License

This product is free. If you are using it for a commercial purpose, please consider a donation to Sevalaya.org. Sevalaya is a charity started by my friends. They run an orphanage and a school in Kasuva village, Thiruninravur, Sennai. A minimum contribution of Indian Rupees 500 (€10 or $10) would be appreciated. Your cheques should be drawn in favour of Sevalaya and mailed to:

    Sevalaya
    Kasuva Village, Pakkam PO,
    Near Tiruninravur, Tamil Nadu, India.
    PIN CODE: 602024.

Download Sites

You can download Subhash VCDPlayer from one of the following websites:

Download size is 2.17 MB.

After you download the file, first extract the contents of the download file to your hard disc. ( If you try to run the installer file directly from the window of the zip utility, the installation will not start and instead you will get an error message.)

After you extract the ZIP file contents, double-click on the INSTALL.EXE file (in the VCDPLAYER\WIN folder) and follow the instructions on the screen.

Version 2.4.1 Patch

Subhash VCDPlayer v2.4.1 in Windows 7 RC1

Version 2.4.1 running in Windows 7 RC1

In Windows XP, some cosmetic changes were required. In Windows Vista or Windows 7, playback does not even start.

The v2.4.1 patch resolves all those issues. If you are using Windows XP, Vista or 7, you need to overwrite the VCDPlayer.exe file of the older version (v2.4) with the VCDPlayer.exe file from the patch zip file (v2.4.1). Here are the steps to apply the patch.

Download v2.4 from one of download sites listed above and install the that version.
Download the v2.4.1 patch zip file.
Extract the file VCDPlayer.exe from the patch zip file to some folder.
Right-click and copy the file.
In Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer), navigate to the folder where you have installed Subhash VCDPlayer - usually C:\Program Files\Subhash VCDPlayer 2.4\.
Paste the copied VCDPlayer.exe to the installation folder.
When Windows Explorer prompts you to overwrite the older VCDPlayer.exe, select Yes.

After you do this, you can select Subhash VCDPlayer option from the Start menu or launch its shortcut from the desktop.

Non-English Language Packs

Thanks to the generosity of some kind individuals, the following non-English language packs are available for this VCD player. These lanuages packs are updated only up to v2.4. (Version 2.4 does not work in Windows Vista/7 but works in Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP. If you apply the v2.4.1 patch, Subhash VCDPlayer will revert to its English interface.

I do not plan on creating any other language versions, as the technology (WMP 6.4) is quite old and I do not have any time to spare. I may create a .NET media player using Visual Studio Express edition but that is a long way off into the future to be considered now. Besides, I use Ubuntu Linux full time now. Except for maintaining this IIS/ASP-based website, I have no use for Windows anymore.

Brazilian Portuguese Version

Visitantes do Brasil! Já está disponível a versão em Português do Subhash VCDPlayer. Instale primeiro a versão em Inglês. Em seguida, baixe o arquivo svcdp_exe_brazilian.zip (46KB) e siga as instruções contidas no arquivo LEIAME.htm.

This version was provided by Marco Souza.

Dutch Version

Bezoekers uit Nederland! Download zowel de Engelse als de Nederlandse versie. Installeer eerst de Engelse versie en volg dan de instructies zoals vermeld in het leesmijbestand (Readme.htm) welke u kunt vinden in het svcdp_exe_dutch.zip-bestand (54 KB).

This version was provided by Eddy and Saskia.

French Version

Visiteurs de France! La version française de Subhash VCDPlayer est désormais disponible. Téléchargez et installez d'abord la version anglaise, téléchargez ensuite le fichier svcdp_exe_french.zip (54 KB) puis suivez les instructions du fichier Lisezmoi.htm.

This version was provided by Tristan Taguet.

Italian Version

Visitatori dall'Italia! E' ora disponibile la versione italiana di Subhash VCDPlayer. Scaricate e installate prima la versione inglese. Di seguito scaricate svcdp_exe_italian.zip (52 KB) e seguite le istruzioni nel file ReadMe.htm

This version was provided by Dario Facchin.

Spanish Version

Visitantes de España! Ya teneis disponible la version en castellano de Subhash VCDPlayer. Para instalarla descarga primero la version en ingles, a continuacion descarga el fichero svcdp_exe_spanish.zip (54 KB) y sigue las intrucciones que se detallan en el apartado Leeme.

This version was provided by Jose Manuel Muñoz Bou de Villarreal (Castellon).

Frequently Asked Questions

These VCD palyer and VCD FAQs are supplementary to the FAQs in the help file.

How to capture still images from video?

Subhash VCDPlayer can capture stills from videos and save them as BMP (bitmap) images. When playing a video file, just press the S key and the current still from the video will be captured as a BMP file in the C:\Program Files\Subhash VCDPlayer 2.4\Capture folder. You can also change the location of this folder to a more accessible folder. Please read the help file for more information on image capturing with Subhash VCDPlayer.

How to create transcripts of dictations and voice audio files?

Subhash VCDPlayer can be used as a wave player by professionals such as medical transcriptionists and legal transcriptionists.

Subhash VCDPlayer has a special "Transcription Mode." This mode enables some presets that are optimized for transcriptionists, such as system-wide hot keys and restart lag. The hot keys allow the user to control the playback operations of Subhash VCDPlayer from any application. This allows the transcriptionists to pause or resume playback of the dictation audio file without leaving the window of the word processing application, say that of Word or WordPerfect. This also allow transcriptionists to transcribe without using a footpedal.

Please read the help file for more information on the transcription mode of Subhash VCDPlayer.

How to disable subtitles in VCDs?

VCD does not support subtitles. If subtitles are there in a VCD, then that is because the VCD manufacturer have made it part of the video. This cannot then be disabled like in a DVD.

How to uninstall Subhash VCDPlayer?

Subhash VCDPlayer can be uninstalled via the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.

In the odd chance that Subhash VCDPlayer is not listed there, then create a shortcut with the correct following command and double-click (launch) the shortcut.

%winddir%\uninst.exe -f"c:\Program Files\Subhash VCDPlayer 2.4\DeIsL1.isu"  -c"c:\Program Files\Subhash VCDPlayer 2.4\_ISREG32.DLL"

Please replace C:\Program Files\Subhash VCDPlayer 2.4 in the above command with the correct folder path of the installation folder.

Is the source code available for open source development?

Yes, I am ready to provide the source code of this software for further development under a different name as a GPL-licensed open-source project. The source code is in Visual Basic 6. To participate, you need to have a valid Visual Basic 6 license and should have previously participated in an active open-source project using Visual Basic 6. After handing over the source code to a responsible group, I will not be involved in the project further.

Where can I buy Bollywood VCDs or Indian VCDs? How much do they cost?

You can buy Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu VCDs from the following online shopping portals.

How To Play Copy-Protected VCDs (Indian VCDs with INDYVCD.AX)

Some VCDs in the Indian market use copy-protection from IndyGenius Technologies. On Windows, browse the folders in the VCD to find software that you have to install before using Subhash VCDPlayer. If you are using Linux, then follow the steps mentioned in my article Ubuntu & Gnome Diary.