StPlayer

StPlayer is a free and easy-to-use media player that takes cue from Windows Media Player. It features basic controls that can be tackled by casual users, as well as full screen mode and playlists.

Installer, requirements, and interface

Setting up this tool takes minimal time and effort. However, you must have .NET Framework installed, since it was developed with the aid of Microsoft's platform.
It brings up a semi-transparent window to the screen, where you easily can drop audio and video files to play. The utility's not explicit concerning the supported filetypes, but we've noticed that it works with MP3, WAV, AVI and MP4.

Standard media player controls

Repeat mode is automatically enabled and cannot be disabled. It's possible to pause and stop the playback, seek a particular position by moving the slider, play the next or previous track, create and clear playlists, switch to full screen mode, as well as increase, decrease or mute the volume. Apart from local files, you can add URLs to load live streaming when it comes to radio stations or podcasts.

Evaluation and observations

Aside from an error that popped up every time we attempted to mute the volume, we haven't come across any issues in our tests. It used a low amount of CPU and memory, so it didn't hog system resources.
On the other hand, the tool brings nothing new to the table. The only way it sets itself from other media players is through its semi-transparent window. For instance, it doesn't integrate UI customization options, such as adjusting the frame's opacity level.

Conclusion

Taking everything into account, StPlayer delivers a straightforward solution for playing audio and video files in a user-friendly environment, but it doesn't have richer features for advanced users.