Change default media player in Manjaro Gnome

I would like to re-start a discussion from the old forum about whether Manjaro should change the default media player from Lollypop to something else.

Reason for me is that the author of Lollypop explicitly states that his application “may randomly break”:

While I personally think that this attitude is not very charming for open source software developers n general, plus I might be biased because it affects me personally or rather a bug I discovered, in the end the Manjaro distribution authors should want a stable audio player in their distribution, which they claim to be suitable for switchers from other operating systems. A by design randomly breaking application should not impair that “first impression” imho.

Hello,

I have been looking trough that discussion and i fail to see a fiable alternative proposal. There are just a few very disconnected personal opinions and preferences for:

  • VLC - that is shipped already
  • two mentions of smplayer that is a Qt application, so many will find some issues with that
  • a mention of rythombox
  • mentions of a radioplayer and an online stream service …

In close source commercial software happens the same, sometimes it breaks too, yet their developers do not give any heads up for that, and most likely do not interact direct with users posting about issues, hence i find it quite charming that Cédric actually replied you, told you that it got fixed and in same friendly manner told you that might break again… :slight_smile:

Or could let the users decide what software they want to install for listening music, have none as default. You see, that would not be wrong at all, but of course is not as charming either.

If you look at this list, what would be your first go to and why, could you justify it for all the users ?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/List_of_applications/Multimedia#Graphical_2

Exactly. As soon as I install manjaro, I install my favorite audio player, deadbeef

+Thanks for Manjaro

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I mostly use VLC for videos and Audacious for music playing lists. In the Manjaro Hello are a lot of options for selecting Browsers, Media players etc. If it’s an issue maybe that screen could be part of the installer where the person selects their preferred media player, browser, email client or office suite etc.

Sorry for not making this clearer: I am talking about the default application, that will pop up when a media file is double-clicked in a file browser without any prior actions required. I am talking about users who are used to basic stuff like playing music just working.

Let me cite from the homepage of manjaro.org:

Manjaro is a professionally made operating system that is a suitable replacement for Windows or MacOS

Is an accessible, friendly, open-source operating system. Providing all the benefits of cutting-edge software combined with a focus on getting started quickly, automated tools to require less manual intervention, and help readily available when needed. Manjaro is suitable for both newcomers and experienced computer users.

None of those claims fit into the “choose one of these hundred applications, before you can play music” approach, imho.

None of those claims are broken either. Manjaro still runs smooth as a OS, has plenty of features, office suite, internet browser. VLC is also installed by default and can be used as a quick music player.

I hope we will not build the conversation on straws here. :slight_smile:

I guess I would go with Rhythmbox for now, because it is also the default for the Gnome desktop. This new Gnome Music thing seems to try to clean up things a bit, but I did not get it to play HTTP streams on my system yet.

Actually I was assuming that Lollypop is the successor of Rhythmbox in Gnome, but that did not fit to it only having one developer, who only implements stuff he wants for his own purposes (nothing to complain about that).

Is a good choice. I’ll talk with the team, and propose a review of the player. Most of them are quite busy.
I understand you perfectly. I was also looking for a perfect music player and also media library. Either are doing too much for my purpose, or are way too simplistic. In the end, i ended up using SMPlayer fo everything this days. Is not ideal, but …

On my KDE I’m very pleased with Cantata, no other player can manage my huge library sorted by path like it, and I’ve tried them (almost) all. Maybe switch your DE? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :scream:


/added:
P.S. just added that url link and it’s playing fine :sunglasses:

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We use Parole for TROMjaro after testing so many players for both video and audio files. Whys is it good? Simple to use, plays most files, one can create playlists, add subtitles, add an audio visualizer, and more. But all that in a very simple UI. And it works.

I do not agree. An operating system that is not able to play internet radio streams per default is not a suitable replacement for Windows or macOS.

Ok I was not aware of that. It has been a while since the last fresh install. In terms of UX I changed my mind though. VLC should not be the default media player application, because for non-tech-savvy users it is not slim enough and has too many settings, imho.

It reads to me like you are taking this thread somehow personally and need to prove my arguments wrong. Sorry, I am not trying to argue or complain here. I do get along very well with my system and I am able to play my streams fine. I was just trying to share my experiences and thoughts about how Manjaro can be improved. I can quit doing that and just fix my own system, but if everyone would just do that, then Manjaro is never going to actually meet its own claims from the homepage.

Have you told that to Microsoft?

Regarding Mac OS (i was using it for 10 years) has better “defaults” because of iTunes in that regard. They invested some time developing it to be what it is today, with an army of developers and unlimited budgets. But even they admit VLC is much better, custom streams can be added without hiccups.

It was about what Manjaro states and stands for, and your interpretation of it could also mean you take it personally and need to show me that we are wrong, or not fulfilling as Manjaro team :slight_smile:

  • Opinions are good, we take them into consideration to an extent. Always taking notes of what community wants.
  • Offering clear alternatives and justify them is even more helpful. Then we can rely on some more information
  • Getting directly involved is even more welcome. That we lack of, people getting directly involved to test and bulletproof every software, suitable for every user, unbreakable and functional.

There is no claim there that we can’t back up.

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Another solution is that you run lollypop-next-git from AUR and you check for breakage and you report issues before I release a new Lollypop version.

I’m really bored by people that think that Free Software can be rock solid without testers…