VLC media player is the most successful free open source multimedia player out there with over 500 million downloads according to the developers. In particular, VLC media player is a great alternative to Windows Media Player, iTunes, and RealPlayer. It's lightweight, fast, easy to use and most importantly, plays almost anything.

It's been two and a half years since version 1.0 was released and version 2 ("Twoflower") brings a new interface, faster decoding, support for more formats and the ability to play HD and BluRay. It still remains however the most stable, flexible and lightweight audio and video player around today. While other media players will play unusual formats after downloading a codec, or simply refuse to play things, VLC media player handles tons of formats, from MPEG to FLV and RMBV files. Version 2 has seen some important additions too such as support for 10 bit codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM.

Also useful is the fact that you can use VLC media player to preview files you are downloading since it plays incomplete parts of video files. VLC media player is not just for video playback however. It also offers superb integration with video channel streaming services such as Channels.com giving you access to channels such as ESPN, Reuters and National Geographic. Just right-click or CMD-click on the playlist, select Services Discovery and Channels.com. Channels.com will then appear in your VLC media player playlist. Click on it to reveal the the different categories of channels available. Click on the category you want and a drop down list of all available channels appears in VLC media player. Just click on the channel you want to watch and streaming should begin almost immediately.

VLC media player also has great hotkey support and if you take the time to learn the shortcuts so it can be controlled without touching your mouse. If you're watching DVDs or video files through it, this is not an issue. For music, it plays more or less any file and features an equalizer and playlist creation. VLC media player isn't as intuitive as iTunes as a media manager, but it's a much more flexible player in terms of file formats. You can even use VLC to convert your files, and on top of all the formats and physical media it will play, many streaming protocols and TV capture cards are supported.

VLC media player makes it easy to add subtitles to your video files too - just add the SRT file to the folder where your video is kept, and it will automatically play with subtitles.

Finally, the interface has been somewhat improved in version 2 although it remains strictly functional. However, you can download skins to completely change VLC media player's appearance. The preferences menu is comprehensive without being overwhelming, and there is extensive documentation online.

Don't forget to check out some of our blog posts such as VLC media player v KMPlayer, How to rotate a video with VLC media player, How to sync audio with video in VLC media player and How to use subtitles with VLC media player.

VLC Media Player is quite simply the best multimedia application for Windows and Mac. It plays just about anything, hassle free - what more could you need?

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The first thing that will strike you when you start up Windows Media Player 11, is the complete revamp of the interface. No more deep blue, the whole application is now dark and shiny and you can customize it by selecting a hue of your choice. Windows Media Player's left side is a drop down pane for your library, the center displays your lists and the right side is used to create playlists which you can rip, burn or sync with a mobile device.

Compared to Windows Media Player 10, we feel that Microsoft has actually made an effort to simplify the interface and give you more ways to browse through your media list, whether by using the drop down menu or the quick rollout line on the top left. The 'play' and 'previous' and 'next' buttons are now nested at the bottom of the interface and have a jazzy glow whenever you roll over them. Microsoft has finally succeeded in integrating a good search function into its Windows Media Player interface. As you type the name of an artist or title the application will bring up the results in the main window.

Windows Media Player 11 makes all your media more accessible. Double click the Media Library button to browse from your music to pictures, movie files and recorded TV. The thumbnail view is a great way to quickly scan through pictures and videos and to include the album image to audio tracks. By clicking the “Media information changes” option under the Library button you can also scan your PC to automatically find new media files. Creating a playlist is a case of drag and drop and oddly enough you can integrate audio, video and pictures. Burning and ripping in Windows Media Player is also very simple, yet disappointingly converting is limited to WMA, WAV or MP3.

The sync process is promising yet remains a bit unstable. While it’s very easy to create a list and sync media, Windows Media Player can occasionally crash or fail to load your mobile device, even if you press the refresh button. When we tested it with a Pocket PC, we had to restart Windows Media Player 11 so that it would recognize it and let us sync our music. As soon as the device became accessible though, it also became visible on the left sided menu, making it very easy to browse through it for music or pictures.

Windows Media Player 11 is a huge improvement from version 10. The whole interface is snazzier and makes browsing through your media simpler. Microsoft has also made creating playlists, syncing, burning or ripping just a case of drag-and-drop. Windows Media Player lets you check out music on dozens of online stores and is loaded with small features to customize your interface and change how you interact with your media.

While the syncing process still remains a bit unstable and we lament the lack of podcast feed support, Windows Media Player 11 is a solid competitor to Apple’s iTunes.

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VLC media player nightly supports partially encrypted Blu-ray discs and brings a more polished look and enhancements to the options and codecs in this flexible player. VLC media player nightly is more visually striking with a new sidebar allowing quick access to your playlist, media folders or online streams. The final version will also include a search tool so you can find missing media much more easily than before.

Blu-ray support

The most important feature in VLC media player nightly however is Blu-ray support. However, for legal reasons, it will only open partially encrypted Blu-ray discs. It can also now output audio to Android and iOS devices. Note that it can also be quite unstable as this is effectively a beta release of VLC media player.

VLC media player nightly is an exciting glimpse at how VLC media player will look and finally supports Blu-ray discs.

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Similar to VLC media player, ALLPlayer is ideal for playing stubborn video files that won't play in your usual video player. It supports subtitles and plays just about anything and if it can't play a file, it will try to download the appropriate codec from the ALLPlayer website. If you need subtitles for a film, it will even try and download those as well although this function is very hit and miss. An unusual subtitle feature is an automatic voice recognition system that actually reads the subtitles for those who are visually impaired although again, it's not very accurate.

However, one thing to be aware of is that ALLPlayer is based on DirectX which is notorious for being a backdoor for trojans and other malware. DirectX has been much improved and tightened-up since the bad old days though and this shouldn't be an overriding concern if you're thinking of using ALLPlayer.

There are tons of other features in ALLPlayer including an attractive iTunes style Coverflow browser, support for Dolby, and it even previews incomplete AVI files such as those that are downloading. The interface isn't as polished as VLC media player's version 2 release but this is a relatively minor drawback to a solid media player.

ALLPlayer is an excellent multi-format media player that's packed with features.

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VLC media player nightly supports partially encrypted Blu-ray discs and brings a more polished look and enhancements to the options and codecs in this flexible player. VLC media player nightly is more visually striking with a new sidebar allowing quick access to your playlist, media folders or online streams. The final version will also include a search tool so you can find missing media much more easily than before.

Blu-ray support

The most important feature in VLC media player nightly however is Blu-ray support. However, for legal reasons, it will only open partially encrypted Blu-ray discs. It can also now output audio to Android and iOS devices. Note that it can also be quite unstable as this is effectively a beta release of VLC media player.

VLC media player nightly is an exciting glimpse at how VLC media player will look and finally supports Blu-ray discs.

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Being quite a powerful player, PotPlayer requires a high-spec system and is a bit heavy on resources. To make up for that, the program includes a long list of built-in audio and video codecs that enable you to play almost any media format you can think of. Playback is smooth and efficient, no matter what the quality and the size of the file are.

PotPlayer includes audio filters, supports subtitles and resumes playback right at the point where you stopped watching for 200 video files. The player's interface, though not outstanding in terms of design, can be easily customized with skins.

If you’re looking for a multipurpose media player as an alternative to the classic ones (VLC Media Player, GOM Player or Windows Media Player) then PotPlayer is definitely a good choice.

PotPlayer is a powerful player with support for dozens of formats and a wide variety of configuration options.

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Like its big desktop brother, Portable VLC media player is simply the most stable, flexible and lightweight audio and video player around today. While other media players will play unusual formats after downloading a codec, or simply refuse to play things, Portable VLC media player will never complain. In addition to this, you can also use it to preview files you are downloading, because it will play parts of files. It takes no time to start up either, so opening it up to preview something is no trouble at all.

Portable VLC media player has great hotkey support - if you take the time to learn the shortcuts - so can be controlled without touching your mouse. The interface is functional, but by no means attractive. If you're watching DVDs or video files through it, this is not an issue.

Regarding music, Portable VLC media player plays more or less any file and features an equalizer and playlist creation. It isn't as intuitive as iTunes as a media manager, but it's a much more flexible player in terms of file formats.

For video, Portable VLC media player is the best application you will find. Its minimal interface is great for viewing, it's got excellent tools for effects, and doing things like adding subtitles is easy.

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WinX DVD Player has all the functions that you would expect of a DVD player and is controlled via the floating toolbar or by right-clicking on the screen itself. Language and menu options are also accessible from within the interface and the DVD Player can be used for bunches of file types, including AVI, DIVX, WMV, RM, RMVB, XVID, MPEG, VOB, DAT, ASF, MP3, WMA and RMA.

WinX DVD Player doesn't just stop there, however, and includes other functions that you wouldn't normally find on a DVD player, such as the option to bookmark specific parts of your film so that you can go back to them later, take screenshots from within the program and create playlists. In addition, the audio and video quality provided by WinX DVD Player is pretty high quality.

Unfortunately, WinX DVD Player has so many points against it that it's hard to see it in a positive light. Installation was buggy, the registration message is irritating, the floating toolbar doesn't disappear when watching in full screen mode, there is no information when you hover over options (meaning you don't know what you are clicking before you do it), and last, but certainly not least, WinX DVD Player is arguably unattractive.

A good DVD player can be hard to find, but WinX DVD Player is probably not the answer to your prayers.

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Haihaisoft Universal Player supports almost all popular digital media formats and can also play digital media files protected by DRM-X. Amongst the players it can emulate are Windows Media Player, Real Player, Adobe Flash Player, Apple QuickTime Player, PowerDVD and Flash Video (FLV) Player. What's more though, this player embeds itself into Internet Explorer meaning that whenever you are presented with a format compatible with any of these file types, you can watch it instantly. The number of formats it can play is mind-boggling, including those protected by DRM such as WMV(Windows Media Video), WMA(Windows Media Audio), ASF, WMS, DVD, VCD, SVCD, MOV, RM, RMVB, AVI, MPEG, WMV, 3GP, FLV, SWF, MP3, AMR, M4A, ACC, OGG, MIDI, GIF and JPEG file format. Best of all, the program is constantly updated with the latest codecs so you don't need to worry about it suddenly not being able to play files.

A completely free player that supports just about any format imaginable and embeds itself into IE perfectly.

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What’s DAPlayer’s secret? A simple one: it comes with more than 400 audio and video codecs already built into the player, so that you can play virtually any kind of video on your computer without the hassle of having to look for and download missing codecs.

Apart from video files in your hard drive, DAPlayer also works with DVDs and Blu-rays. Thanks to the support for high definition video (AVCHD, MKV, H264 and more) DAPlayer lets you enjoy your favorite movies and TV shows in glorious full HD 1080p. What’s more, the program also works with audio files, so you can also use it as a music player as well!

DAPlayer features an elegant design with hidden menus on top of the window. The player offers a wide selection of configuration options for video, audio, subtitles and more. Too bad the skin is so dark that sometimes it makes menu browsing a bit difficult.

DAPlayer is a powerful multimedia player with a simple, attractive design, hundreds of built-in codecs, and support for HD video, DVD, Blu-ray and more!

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Once installed, you're presented with a range of US TV and internet channels, which when clicked open a menu showing that channel's content. The selection is apparently fixed - you cannot add or remove channels to this page. Most of the channels are only viewable in the US, which Zviewer does not warn you about, so beware wasted moments if you think you can watch The Simpsons outside America!

These menu screens are very attractive, and hovering over buttons gives a really satisfying muted click. Unfortunately, one you've selected a show, you are simply taken to the host site to watch the content, it's not actually imported into the slick Zviewer interface.

Similarly, if you want to add an Internet video content site, it's as easy as adding a bookmark in any browser, but it will not be included in the Zviewer front page, and clicking merely takes you to the site. Zviewer also supports many Windows remote controls, so if you have your PC hooked up to the TV, you can browse from a distance.

This Beta 2 version still has some development needed to make it more than a pretty video bookmarking browser. If you like the channels included, and spend a lot of time just watching video on the web, this is an attractive way to do it.

To become the media center it appears to want to be, Zviewer needs better integration with web video content.

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FreeSmith Video Player looks nice, with a slick interface, easy full screen mode and clear controls. What we didn't like was that although the full screen mode looks good, there are no on-screen controls - except by right-clicking and selecting Play. There are fully-customizable hotkey controls, but we'd like to see both options for the full "movie experience".

As features go, FreeSmith Video Player covers the basics, but is unlikely to amaze you. It's got the full selection of extras that make it user-friendly - like a screenshot function, subtitles and good playlist options, but that's about it.

FreeSmith Video Player's technical options are middle of the pack - you'll be able to make basic changes to your videos, like cropping and rotating, but the program doesn't offer the advanced options that you might see on players like VLC.

Overall. we thought that FreeSmith Video Player was a nice free application that will suit many people's needs. That said, if you've got a bit of experience with multimedia players and are looking for something a little special, you're unlikely to find it with FreeSmith Video Player. We also noticed a lot of lag, which, for a player that prides itself on being light, was a little unusual.

FreeSmith Video Player covers basic media player needs, but really offers little to make it stand out from the pack.

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Because it's open source, XBMC has been modified by some users to create Plex although XBMC is the original base on which Plex is built. Which one you prefer will depend on what you want in a media center but XBMC is a pretty good contender being easy to use, slick, and supported by a large community of enthusiastic users.

XBMC has a highly “skinnable” interface meaning that it can look radically different based on which skin is used. Confluence is used by default, so this is what will greet you upon install but you may wish to change it to something else using some of the free skins here. Some of them are absolutely stunning.

XBMC functions very well as a standard media player although it's far better if you use as a complete home hub for your entertainment needs. XBMC supports a huge range of remote controls and keyboard shortcuts, and it feels like a real entertainment center. XBMC can be used as a standalone player or to stream videos over a network. You can stream your multimedia from anywhere in the house or directly from the internet using practically any protocol available. For example, XBMC can play CDs and DVDs directly from the disk or image file, most popular video formats on your hard drive, and even files inside ZIP and RAR archives.

If you want it to detect what you have, XBMC will scan all of your media and automatically create a personalized library complete with box covers, descriptions, and fanart. Finally, there are playlist and slideshow functions, a weather forecast feature and many audio visualizations.

XBMC is a fantastic media center although if you don't want to go to the hard work of customizing it, Plex may offer you a better alternative.

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Boxee lets you transform your standard home computer into a multimedia hub from which you can manage your local media files as well as a wealth of online media sources such as Flickr, Pandora, YouTube, Icanhascheezburger and LastFM, among many others.

The program employs a novel interface which may take a little getting used to. Menus are hidden until you roll over them, giving you access to the different parts of the center; applications, local media, browsable online services and an app box from which you can select new applications to add to your dashboard.

Boxee is fully customizable, allowing you to set your preferences so that they will best serve your multimedia needs. You will need to sign up to the Boxee website (free of charge) to get the most from the program and form part of the online Boxee community.

Boxee centralizes your multimedia collection in a sleek, imaginative interface that allows you to share, discover and enjoy.

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