What’s this app for?
Well, another app that does exactly what its name says,
although if we were being pedantic it should be called “Films, TV &
Videos” because although this app is primarily for downloading and watching
films/TV that you’ve purchased via the Store App, it also serves as a player for
any videos you might have on your computer.
Note: In some countries, like USA, this app is called Movies
& TV.
Does it do the job it
was primarily designed for?
Well, this isn’t going to be easy to determine because I’ve
yet to purchase anything from the Store to watch. Some films and TV are
reasonably priced but I’ve various other legal outlets to go to watch such
things which I’m already paying for, so I’m only rarely going to purchase from
the Store. As soon as I do, I’ll update this review, but for now I’m left to
concentrate on the only free part of this app, video.
I think, from memory, that by default the app will look at your videos folder. Thus anything you have under that folder will appear under the video tab of the app like shown below:
As you can see above along the bottom line of the window
there are six “buttons”; cast to device, change aspect ratio (seems to toggle
between just two), play/pause, volume control, fill screen and ‘toggle repeat’
(which if suppressed will simply repeat the video once it reaches the end).
This is all rather limited and basic when you compare it to sophisticated 3rd party video players but at the very least suffices the basics of video playing, minus perhaps subtitles, which I feel should be there somewhere too.
This is all rather limited and basic when you compare it to sophisticated 3rd party video players but at the very least suffices the basics of video playing, minus perhaps subtitles, which I feel should be there somewhere too.
What’s the
alternative?
Praise be, Windows Media Player is still available within
Windows 10 and will undoubtedly be the first option for most after they’ve
played with the Films & TV app. Personally, I’m drawn to the free VLC
Player software, of which there is also an app in the store but it’s a dumbed
down version of the actual windows version.
Hit, Miss, or Maybe?
Maybe; bypassing the fact that I'm not able to review the actual purchasing, downloading and playing of
Microsoft Store Films or TV, for a video player this app does what it needs to
do. With a few more customisation settings, like renaming filenames, editing a file's metadata and subtitles availability whilst playing, the app could be even
more respectable. It’s unlikely though it’ll become much more sophisticated
than it is now.
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