The player in DivX Plus is sleek and easy to use. It’s got all the standard functions of a DVD player. If you want to create your own DivX content, the DivX Plus Converter allows the creation of video resolutions up to and including 1920 x 1080 High Definition in either interlaced or progressive-scan.

DivX Plus Player also supports advanced DVD features such as scene selection menus, subtitles and alternate audio tracks. It includes a download manager that allows you to download several videos at once, and also a tool to transfer your videos to other devices such as a DVD player, a Blu-ray player and and a PS3.

There’s little to criticise in DivX Plus for Windows except for the converter. It can be particularly useful if you are trying to burn a downloaded DivX film onto a DVD to play on a standalone DVD player. Watching DivX files on your PC is usually not a problem but some people have issues when watching them on a standalone DVD Player. DivX Plus Converter solves this by taking any video file and producing a perfectly clean DivX film at the end of it.

However, this feature is painfully slow and DivX Plus Converter takes hours to complete just one film. Bearing in mind that you also have to pay for it after the 15-day trial period has expired, you’ll soon be looking for other converters to use such as BPS Video Converter or VSO ConvertXtoDVD.

Overall, DivX Plus for Windows is an excellent DivX player and since it’s released by the official DivX company, you’ll have no worries about dodgy codecs ruining playback on your PC.

Download DivX Plus for Windows 8.1.0 in Softonic

As well as the various codecs, there are also playback filters to alter the quality of your files. If you are lookking for a collection of these codecs, FFDShow is a great place to look.

For the regular PC user, it's very unlikely you'll need to use such an application, as video and audio files are becoming more standardized. However, FFDShow is a pretty deep program, and if you're comfortable changing the playback settings for your media player, this gives you a lot of power.

What it doesn't do is explain how it should be used - there is no help at all, and apparently no undo button, which makes changing settings if you're not comfortable quite nerve wracking.

As many media players are now very flexible when it comes to accepting different file types, these codec packs are becoming somewhat obsolete. However, if you are a fan of Media Player classic, and confident messing around with your system's settings, FFDShow will be perfect for you.

Download ffdshow 20041012 MMX in Softonic

Download QuickTime Alternative 3.2.2 in Softonic

Of course, you could just install QuickTime, but lots of people think it is more trouble than it is worth. If you already use an alternative media player (and you really should), installing the QuickTime player just to see a few trailers really seems like overkill. Is there an alternative? You'll be glad to find out that there's plenty, and QT Lite is one great example.

QT Lite installs only the elements you need to view QuickTime content online, without any of the extras or resource-eating involved in QuickTime player or other plug-ins. When you finish installing QT Lite, a configuration window pops up so you can chose exactly what you want it to take care of. Even if you completely skip this stage, you'll still be able to view QuickTime online. Of course, if you are interested in the nuts and bolts of QT Lite, there is a whole world of settings to play around with, but part of the beauty of the program is that you can get as involved - or not - as you want.

QT Lite - solve your QuickTime problems with a minimum of fuss.

Download QT Lite 3.1.1 in Softonic

This update includes:

Updated ffdshow to version 1.1.3996
Updated LAV Filters to version 0.37 build 2011-10-17
Updated DirectVobSub to version 2.40.3752.0
Updated Codec Tweak Tool to version 5.0.9

These new installations will ensure that any broken codecs are repaired and optimized for useability.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack Update 7.8.4 in Softonic