my default desktop is linux, so I use mplayer myself. I haven't tried the new ass rendering support yet, cuz the newest mplayer has issues with x264 encoding(I use mencoder to encode videos).

however, considering that the majority of the users use windows, and are costumed to a GUI interface, they would be reluctant to use a console based player like mplayer(it's true that you can simply drag and drop, however, there are features that can only be activated through the command line, e.g. selecting the second audio track of subtitle track). that's one of the reasons VLC dominates on windows over mplayer, despite the fact that mplayer has superior playback performance and compatibility.

I won't add chapters to the mkv releases, because the length of the opening sequences are fixed, you can easily skip them over by pressing a fixed sequence of keys(e.g. <UP> <RIGHT> <RIGHT>), especially if you are using mplayer.

UPDATE: I just tried the newest svn checkout. ass rendering works extremely well, far better than what I've expected.

There's a Windows GUI released by the mplayer team, but I think it's not complete yet. I personally use MPF as my mplayer frontend for Windows, until the mplayer team releases a better GUI; MPF's frontend is by far more versatile than the current official GUI (although its interface might scare many) and you even get to introduce parameters with it.

And god bless you. You're the first english fansubber I've ever seen rec'ing mplayer. Seriously man, I'm gonna cry. XD

@Anonymouse: Actually I have an MPlayer using a gui interface in windows, however I prefer VLC simply because it's platform independent, and it doesn't use direct show filters, the thing that cripples many other media players on windows with performance. While I'm sure mplayer is great on linux, it doesn't run nearly as well on winblows.

@survient: MPlayer is platform independent and neither does it use DirectShow or any other codec. not only that, it supports ASS/SSA rendering, which VLC is still unable to.

yeah dled, it my mistake, I was referring to media player classic, which uses directshow. Looks pretty gewd. I'm hoping eventually somebody comes out with a java media player that is truly independant, and doesn't run the pc too hard. If so, I'll try to port it to an applet so anybody can view it.

@survient: ya right java that doesn't run the pc too hard

@Shuhei: lol, I know what you mean. When coded properly, and memory is properly managed in a java program/applet, those issues shouldn't be a big problem. I've gauged java programs vs their dependent cousins in C++ and C, and when java's been done properly, the difference isn't life threatening. A java media player isn't far off, javazoom or whatever made that jplayer winamp port, and it works pretty well, afar from the lack of audio support. It can be done, it's just too often is the name java uttered and is shot down before it can even have a chance. You see to many crappy java applets out there, lack of updated browser support(keep having to dl and re dl the JRE), and way too much empty criticizm for it. It's slow, I'll admit, but its platform independence and applet abilities more than make up for it. Java's still on an incline in popularity, but it's still down there as a praised language. Honestly they're all crap, compared to what can be done these days, but of them Java's one of the best. The major shoot down is browsers not updating, and new releases of java not being downloaded automatically by users, limiting the new nifty functions java programmers like myself can use in an applet. THREADS BABY THREADS!!!!

yes but I'm running one of the shittiest rigs in existence(P2 noooooooooo) and even the smallest applets give me a hard time
god I can't wait till next week I get all the peices for my new one, AMD 64 X2 2.2ghz, 1 gig ram, 2 x Radeon GPUs, Sli-compatible MoBo damn its like christmas 1 month early!!!

I'm not really diss'n java but I think they definitly could have thought it out better

@Shuhei: well don't blame them, it was intended for mobile devices in the first place, switching it so quickly to desktop is bound to cause issues. You can keep your dual cores, multitasking isn't my thing, playing one resourcehogging game is. And really, do you seriously need 2 video cards? Good luck with the drivers, I hate radeon drivers, still a pain, even these days.