[CS-FSLUG] Media playing moans...

[.mash]

Evening

I have just started to get really annoyed with Linux and that has not
happened in ages. My gripe is media playing. I know we coverd the this
earlier on but this has less  to do with formats but more to do with
the applications themselves. At the moment on my Debian system I am
running VLC for .MOV, .MPEG, .AVI, and the odd .WMA, if it can't play
the .WMA then Mplayer comes in. I then also use Realplayer to play .rm
.ram.
All audio I use XMMS.

My problem is poor playing quality !

I run an old IBM X20 laptop which is a P3 700 with a 4MB Graphics card.
Playing DVD/Movie files in any quality varies all the time. It appears
to be related to sound.I am running ALSA which I have taken for
granted as best to use but the DVD and most videos are always
stuttering. I just have to swap around the programs to play the
DVD/Movie file intill one plays it well enough without the stutters.
It is sometimes just random, for instance last night I had to download Totem
to play my DVD as everything else appeared to be too slow to handle it.

My questions...

What do you most of you use as a movie player /media player ?
What would you recommend for a low spec machine ?
Also is there something I need to setup concerning ALSA to optimize
playback performance ?

I believe VLC is the most complete media player but it is annoying that
there is not just one player out there that does everything well.

Or am I just being greedy ?

Feedback appreciated

'Mash