The Core Pocket Media Player
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP), CorePlayer |
The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP) was a software media player designed for handheld gadgets and Windows-based computers, which has since been discontinued. It was compatible with operating systems such as Palm OS, Symbian OS, Microsoft Windows, Windows CE, and Windows Mobile. Additionally, TCPMP could be run on Microsoft's Zune HD through an unofficial modification known as the Liberate. The player supported hardware-accelerated playback on ATI and Intel 2700G mobile chipsets, powering devices including the Tapwave Zodiac and the Dell Axim X50/X51V.
CoreCodec ceased further development of the free TCPMP to concentrate on their commercial offering, CorePlayer. Despite its discontinuation, TCPMP remains well-regarded as a flexible media player for both PocketPC and Palm OS platforms.
History
By September 2002, CoreCodec had announced intentions to continue open source development externally, aiming to incorporate this work into their commercial player. In 2004, the open source project was launched as BetaPlayer version 0.01a for Windows CE and Mobile platforms. The software was rebranded as The Core Pocket Media Player in July 2005 with expanded releases for Palm OS and Windows CE/Mobile devices.
Though a TCPMP iteration for Symbian OS existed, information about it is primarily found in online forums. The development utilized programming languages such as assembly and C.
In 2006, CoreCodec Inc. halted TCPMP's development efforts to focus exclusively on advancing the commercial CorePlayer product.
Codecs
TCPMP offered support for a wide array of audio, video, and image codecs, including AC3, AMR, DivX, FLAC, H.263, H.264, JPEG, Monkey's Audio, MJPEG, MPEG-1, MP2, MP3, Musepack, MS-MPEG4-v3, PNG, Speex, TIFF, TTA, Vorbis, WAV, WavPack, and XviD. It also handled multiple container formats such as 3GP, ASF, AVI, Matroska, MPEG, OGG, OGM and QuickTime.
On Windows desktop systems, third-party codec installations extended format compatibility to include H.264, while plugins allowed playback of YouTube videos and other Flash-based content.
Reception
TCPMP was frequently praised for its robust performance, broad functionality, and adaptability, though some critiques targeted its user interface design. HPC:Factor, reviewing version 0.66, described it as "excellent" but pointed out limited menu space and insufficient documentation. In 2005, version 0.70 received acclaim from Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine, which called it "the best free multimedia player" available for Pocket PC and Palm OS devices.
A 2006 review by Treo Central, evaluating TCPMP on Palm OS Treo smartphones, awarded it a score of 4 out of 5 stars, highlighting its extensive video format compatibility without requiring file conversion. SmartDevice Central's assessment of version 0.71 in 2007 labeled it "impressive" and a "solid piece of software," while noting its minimalist user interface reminiscent of early Macintosh applications.
Following CoreCodec Inc.'s decision in 2006 to discontinue TCPMP development in favor of commercializing CorePlayer, initial reviews described TCPMP as "bulletproof," contrasting with early CorePlayer versions that eventually reached comparable stability.
See also
External links
- CoreCodec TCPMP Official site (archived; download links no longer functional)
- CoreCodec TCPMP 0.72 RC1 mirror (archived). Final version under GPL including player and codecs
- TCPMP 0.72 RC1 hosted on videohelp.com (may experience compatibility problems with WM 6.1 and later)