Features

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.

Usability

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 in VLC media player 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.

Conclusion

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?

What's new

Rework and fixes of the Mac OS X interface

Fix Pulseaudio initial synchronization

Fix MKV, SWF, AIFF and subtitles demuxer crashes

Translations updates and new Welsh translation

DVB-S delivery system detection

Fix audio and video track selection through libVLC

Fix system sleep issue on Mac OS X 10.5

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Improved interface

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.

Easy to use

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.

A big improvement

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.

Conclusion

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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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.

Download Haihaisoft Universal Player 1.5.7.0 in Softonic

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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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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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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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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One of the nicest things about Hulu Desktop is the simplicity of its interface. Even absolute video streaming beginners should have no difficulties browsing and watching the television shows and movies of their choice.

Upon start-up, Hulu Desktop will show you a preview of either a movie or a television show. Fortunately, you don't even have to wait for it to be done to start browsing. Just click on one of the three buttons underneath the preview and be on your way. If you have an online Hulu profile already set up, you can also log into it on Hulu Desktop and the program will load any information you had saved online. This is a definite benefit for people who are already hardcore web-based Hulu users.

The Start Watching button will play whatever preview Hulu Desktop just showed you during your initial start-up. If you're a returning user and were in the middle of a program the last time you closed out, your program will conveniently begin playing right where it left off. You can also search for specific programs to watch, if you know what you're looking for.

If you're less certain, Hulu Desktop's multitude of category search options impressive. You can sort Hulu Desktop's inventory by name, date and popularity. In addition, you can browse television shows specifically by the channels or networks they're shown on, as well as limit your search to full episodes.

If you like what you've seen, Hulu Desktop allows you to rate movies and television shows by choosing between one and five stars. Each program Hulu Desktop brings you also allows you to search for related shows via a recommendations bar. This is a great way to browse titles, read the short descriptions, and add the ones that look interesting to your personalized queue for later viewing. Since Hulu Desktop allows you to log in with your web-based profile or even create a new profile, it will save your settings for each time you start up the program.

Unfortunately, Hulu Desktop can only be used while you're connected to the internet. If not, it won't stream your videos. Another frequent user complaint is that certain networks have not allowed Hulu Desktop to show more than short clips of their episodes that range in length from 1 to 5 minutes. If you're dying to catch a repeat of your favorite CBS television show on Hulu Desktop, for example, you'll be out of luck. This is more an issue with specific networks than it is a negative critique of the shows Hulu Desktop does have to offer, however. The shows Hulu Desktop does have available encompass quite a wide variety and the video and sound quality are superb.

Hulu Desktop is a fantastic option for streaming movies and TV shows from your PC's desktop.

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