Not long ago a co-worker, new to the Mac, asked if he should try a video player other than QuickTime, which he thought was rather boring.
Alright, that’s difficult to argue with because, well, QuickTime Player on the Mac is, uh, yes; boring. There’s just not much there to justify the price tag. Wait. There is not price tag. QuickTime Player is free, comes with every Mac, and plays most of the audio and video file formats you need (not necessarily the ones you want) in a lackluster interface.
Is there anything else out there?
The Truth Is Out There
If you need to view videos in a playlist and have video files which QuickTime doesn’t handle– and it doesn’t handle every video file format available for the Mac– then I recommend Elmedia Player. It’s free to start, and more features cost a few bucks more.
But it’s not Elmedia Player which caught my eyes. It’s Aurora Player, yet another video media player that dares to think different. The claim to fame here is not the extensive list of video file formats it plays. It’s not extensive. The claim to fame here is not the extensive list of options like playlists and schedules. It’s not extensive.
No, what Aurora Player does that other video players do not is, and there’s just no easier way to say it, it glows. Glows. That’s right. Glows. See?
See the glow around the video player in the image above?
That’s it. Aurora Player glows. But it’s not just any glow. The glow changes color to match the video that’s being played at the moment. Live. In real time. I mean, seriously, how did we watch videos in QuickTime Player in the past without a glow.
OS X has a built-in glow of similar ilk. Notice the background glow in Safari as you browse and scroll through different websites? Aurora Player displays a similar glow around the video player which is generated from the video content.
Here’s another look.
Aurora Player has a few options, too, including controls for the blur using a simple slider bar, and controls for the blur size, color, and more.
The question you need to ask, of course, is a simple, “Why do I need a glow around my videos?” Chances are very good that there’s not another Mac user on your block, in your house, or at work that uses Aurora Player, and it’s certain that few of them know of the physical and mental health benefits that come from viewing videos which are surrounded by a real time glow emanating from the video. I mean, I certainly don’t know of any benefits, but they might be there. And for $24.99 there needs to be a longer of list of features and benefits, and health improvements might as well be one of them.
