Flip4Mac has been completely rewritten to meet the new requirements in OS X 10.7 and 10.8. Flip4Mac 3.0 includes an option to install Microsoft Silverlight which is Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash although you don't have to install it. However, it's useful to have it as some video streaming events on the net use Silverlight to deliver content.

First some background to Flip4Mac. WMV is Microsoft's own video format which by default, won't play on Macs since Apple's own video format is QuickTime. The most common solution for users has been to install a multimedia player such as VLC media player or a plugin such as Perian or Flip4Mac which both allow QuickTime to play WMV files. However, with Perian only supporting older versions of WMA and now no longer being developed, Flip4Mac is set to become the most logical choice for users, especially because it is officially endorsed by Microsoft and effectively, the official Windows Media Player for Mac.

Flip4Mac 3.0 is not just a plugin for QuickTime however. For the first time, it introduces its own player - Flip Player - but it will still allow you to view WMV videos in QuickTime. The difference from the previous version of Flip4Mac however is that it now leaves a watermark in the top right-hand corner of QuickTime although Telestream say they hope this will be gone when the public beta is released. Flip Player doesn't feature this watermark with the additional bonus that it has some powerful added extras although many of them are only available in the Pro version.

The free version of Flip Player in Flip4Mac 3.0 is very clean in appearance and does a good job of not obscuring video content during playback as there are no overlay controls. Instead, the player controls only appear when you move the mouse cursor over it. Flip Player also includes a new "Dim Lights" feature which neatly darkens everything around it so that you focus on just the video. Playback controls are enhanced with slow motion options and most functions can be performed using keyboard shortcuts.

Among the more powerful features of the basic version of Flip Player are the ability to Crop, Rotate, Scale and Trim video which is not possible in QuickTime X. You can also now convert and export WMV video for iMovie and Final Cut Pro but without creating quality damaging H.264 files. Instead, a native AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) file is created for iMovie to avoid additional transcoding when importing. For Final Cut Pro users, it creates a ProRes file that automatically sets the correct dimensions and native video codec that fit with project settings. You can even export sound from your favorite videos to an iPhone ringtone and use the trimming features to refine it.

If you want to change the general plugin settings of Flip4Mac 3.0, they can be accessed at the bottom of your Mac system preferences under "Other". There are several different configurations options including for the Flip Player media browser, upgrade, update and plugin settings.

Note that Flip4Mac 3.0 no longer supports OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (although version 2.4.4 still does) as its been designed for the new demands of Lion and Mountain Lion such as Gatekeeper aimed at making Macs more secure. The benefit of this is that Flip4Mac 3.0 features much improved 64-bit support for OS X 10.7 and 10.8 although the QuickTime video components have remained 32-bit due to the QuickTime component architecture. However, audio codecs are 64-bit now.

Overall, the introduction of Flip Player is the major innovation in Flip4Mac 3.0. It offers some powerful features that aren't available in the free version of QuickTime, and it's very well designed to suit the look of OS X. However, it lacks some of the features of QuickTime (such as screen recording) and some users may feel it's not quite as slick as Apple's own player.

Flip4Mac 3.0 remains a powerful solution for anyone that needs to play WMV and Windows Media on their Mac and the introduction of Flip Player is a significant enhancement that makes managing WMV files on Mac easier than ever.

Download Flip4Mac for Lion/Mountain Lion 3.2.0.16 in Softonic

Adobe Flash is an essential component for watching video and playing multimedia games on the web.

Note that this version is for Intel Macs only. If you don't have an Intel Mac running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later, you can also download Adobe Flash 10 for PPC Macs and Adobe Flash 9 for Mac OS X 10.1-10.3.

The long awaited Adobe Flash Player 11, introduces a host of new features which make Flash even more potent and powerful than before and it's developers that really have something to cheer about. These include new expressive features and visual performance improvements that allow interactive designers and developers to build even richer and impressive Web videos.

To get a taste of what I mean, once you’ve installed Flash Player 11, view the interactive demos to see the new 3D engine put through its paces. It's the new 3D possibilities that are the most exciting aspect of this release, but that's bolstered by some new custom filters and effects, advanced ways of laying out text and enhanced sound APIs. Indeed, the sound from Adobe Flash Player 11 is one of the most notable improvements resembling something closer to Dolby Surround Sound.

One of the essential accessories for internet browsing and videos, if you haven't installed Adobe Flash Player yet then you're in for a treat.

Download Adobe Flash Player for Intel Macs 11.8.800.42 in Softonic

Note that this version is for PPC Macs OS X 10.4+ only. You must unzip the archive and choose the Mac OS X folder to install. If you have an Intel Mac running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later, you can download Flash for Intel Macs or if you're running an older version of OS X, you can download Flash for OS X 10.4-10.5.

The long awaited Adobe Flash Player 10, introduces a host of new features which make Flash even more potent and powerful than before and it's developers that really have something to cheer about. These include new expressive features and visual performance improvements that allow interactive designers and developers to build even richer and impressive Web videos.

To get a taste of what I mean, once you’ve installed Flash Player 10, view the interactive demos to see the new 3D engine put through its paces. It's the new 3D possibilities that are the most exciting aspect of this release, but that's bolstered by some new custom filters and effects, advanced ways of laying out text and enhanced sound APIs. Indeed, the sound from Adobe Flash Player 11 is one of the most notable improvements resembling something closer to Dolby Surround Sound.

Note that because this is an old version of Flash for PPC Macs, it may be subject to security holes and its advised that you upgrade to an Intel Mac.

One of the essential accessories for internet browsing and videos, if you haven't installed Adobe Flash Player for Mac yet then you're in for a treat.

Download Adobe Flash Player for PPC Macs 11.8.800.42 in Softonic

Adobe Flash Player 9, introduces a host of new features which make Flash even more potent and powerful than before and it's developers that really have something to cheer about. These include new expressive features and visual performance improvements that allow interactive designers and developers to build even richer and impressive Web videos.

To get a taste of what I mean, once you’ve installed Flash Player 9, view the interactive demos to see the new 3D engine put through its paces. It's the new 3D possibilities that are the most exciting aspect of this release, but that's bolstered by some new custom filters and effects, advanced ways of laying out text and enhanced sound APIs. Indeed, the sound from Adobe Flash Player 11 is one of the most notable improvements resembling something closer to Dolby Surround Sound.

Note that because this is an old version of Flash for older Mac running OS X 10.1-10.3, it may have security holes and its recommended that you upgrade to an Intel Mac as soon as possible.

One of the essential accessories for internet browsing and videos, if you haven't installed Adobe Flash Player for Mac yet then you're in for a treat.

Download Adobe Flash Player for OS X 10.1-10.3 10.3.183.51 in Softonic

Note that RealPlayer Gold was the original version of RealPlayer which went "Gold" after beta testing was finished between versions 10 to 11. After that however, RealPlayer confusingly went back to version 1 again with RealPlayer SP although even more confusingly, the latest version is labeled version 12.0.0 in the program's "About" section but version 1.0 on the Real download site. RealPlayer Gold however remains very popular because it offers extra features that have been removed in SP and you can still download it here on Softonic even if it's not apparent on the RealPlayer site. We assume that the reason RealNetworks did this, is to try and encourage people to pay to upgrade to RealPlayer SP Plus.

The installation process is a bit annoying because to configure RealPlayer SP, you have to shutdown your browser. However, you can still configure it afterward even if you don't so my guess is that it's trying to install itself as your default player by asking you to shutdown and restart your browser first. In addition, the RealPlayer converter comes as a separate program with this download and has to be installed separately although it works well convering Flash to H264 for example and automatically adding tracks to iTunes. You're also prompted to install the Real agent which will sit quietly in your system and help you download Real compatible videos when needed.

There is wide support for most major video formats although audio such as ACC+ isn't supported. Also, although it is supposed to be compatible with Adobe Flash 10, many users have reported problems when trying to play it over long periods and RealNetworks suggest going back to Flash 9.

While RealPlayer SP may lack some of the functionality of Gold - mainly the absence of a CD burner - it's certainly a more modern player designed for the social networking and mobile era. RealPlayer SP for Mac lets you download online videos from thousands of sites and transfer them to your iPod, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or other mobile device. Tranferring video is easy courtesy of an on-screen menu within the main screen itself simply labeled "convert".

RealNetworks have also introduced features such as PerfectPlay and LivePause, a new Playlist window and the ability to play Windows Media content. There have also been improvements in the way RealPlayer handles streaming and buffering courtesy of TurboPlay for fast connections and RealVideo 9 and RealAudio Surround for the needs of HDTV. There's also a RealPlayer downloader integrated which means that you can download Real media video and audio to your Mac.

One of the most annoying aspects of RealPlayer releases is that they often take a while to start because of the various plugins they use but RealPlayer SP is pretty snappy. The removal of the CD burner from RealPlayer SP however is a shame but overall, it's a vastly improved media player.

RealPlayer SP is RealNetworks slickest and most advanced media player to date.

Download RealPlayer SP 12.0.1 in Softonic

Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD includes an option to install Microsoft Silverlight which is Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash although you don't have to install it. However, it's useful to have it as some video streaming events on the net use Silverlight to deliver content.

First some background to Flip4Mac. WMV is Microsoft's own video format which by default, won't play on Macs since Apple's own video format is QuickTime. The most common solution for users has been to install a multimedia player such as VLC media player or a plugin such as Perian or Flip4Mac which both allow QuickTime to play WMV files. However, with Perian only supporting older versions of WMA and now no longer being developed, Flip4Mac is set to become the most logical choice for users, especially because it is officially endorsed by Microsoft and effectively, the official Windows Media Player for Mac.

Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD is not just a plugin for QuickTime however. For the first time, it introduces its own player - Flip Player - but it will still allow you to view WMV videos in QuickTime. The difference from the previous version of Flip4Mac however is that it now leaves a watermark in the top right-hand corner of QuickTime. Flip Player doesn't feature this watermark with the additional bonus that it has some powerful added extras that are only available in this Pro version.

Amongst the advanced features of Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD are the ability to Crop, Rotate, Scale and Trim video which is not possible in QuickTime X. You can also convert and export WMV video for iMovie and Final Cut Pro but without creating quality damaging H.264 files. Instead, a native AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) file is created for iMovie to avoid additional transcoding when importing. For Final Cut Pro users, it creates a ProRes file that automatically sets the correct dimensions and native video codec that fit with project settings. You can even export sound from your favorite videos to an iPhone ringtone and use the trimming features to refine it.

Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD includes all features of Flip4Mac Player Pro plus it adds the ability to create Windows Media files using your own high definition, two-pass encoding profiles. Export WMV including VC-1 and WMA Standard, Professional and Lossless files directly from media encoding applications, such as QuickTime 7 Pro, Flip Player Pro in OS X 10.7 and 10.8, ScreenFlow, Compressor and more.

If you want to change the general plugin settings of Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD, they can be accessed at the bottom of your Mac system preferences under "Other". There are several different configurations options including for the Flip Player media browser, upgrade, update and plugin settings.

Note that Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD no longer supports OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (although version 2.4.4 still does) as its been designed for the new demands of Lion and Mountain Lion such as Gatekeeper aimed at making Macs more secure. The benefit of this is that Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro features much improved 64-bit support for OS X 10.7 and 10.8 although the QuickTime video components have remained 32-bit due to the QuickTime component architecture. However, audio codecs are 64-bit now.

Overall, the introduction of Flip Player is the major innovation in Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD. It offers some powerful features that aren't available in the free version of QuickTime, and it's very well designed to suit the look of OS X. However, it lacks some of the features of QuickTime (such as screen recording) and some users may feel it's not quite as slick as Apple's own player.

Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD remains a powerful solution for anyone that needs to play WMV and Windows Media on their Mac and the introduction of Flip Player is a significant enhancement that makes managing WMV files on Mac easier than ever.

Download Flip4Mac Studio Pro HD 3.0.2 in Softonic

Flip4Mac WMV Player Pro includes an option to install Microsoft Silverlight which is Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash although you don't have to install it. However, it's useful to have it as some video streaming events on the net use Silverlight to deliver content.

First some background to Flip4Mac. WMV is Microsoft's own video format which by default, won't play on Macs since Apple's own video format is QuickTime. The most common solution for users has been to install a multimedia player such as VLC media player or a plugin such as Perian or Flip4Mac which both allow QuickTime to play WMV files. However, with Perian only supporting older versions of WMA and now no longer being developed, Flip4Mac is set to become the most logical choice for users, especially because it is officially endorsed by Microsoft and effectively, the official Windows Media Player for Mac.

Flip4Mac WMV Player Pro is not just a plugin for QuickTime however. For the first time, it introduces its own player - Flip Player - but it will still allow you to view WMV videos in QuickTime. The difference from the previous version of Flip4Mac however is that it now leaves a watermark in the top right-hand corner of QuickTime. Flip Player doesn't feature this watermark with the additional bonus that it has some powerful added extras that are only available in this Pro version.

Amongst the advanced features of Flip4Mac WMV Player Pro are the ability to Crop, Rotate, Scale and Trim video which is not possible in QuickTime X. You can also convert and export WMV video for iMovie and Final Cut Pro but without creating quality damaging H.264 files. Instead, a native AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) file is created for iMovie to avoid additional transcoding when importing. For Final Cut Pro users, it creates a ProRes file that automatically sets the correct dimensions and native video codec that fit with project settings. You can even export sound from your favorite videos to an iPhone ringtone and use the trimming features to refine it.

If you want to change the general plugin settings of Flip4Mac 3.0, they can be accessed at the bottom of your Mac system preferences under "Other". There are several different configurations options including for the Flip Player media browser, upgrade, update and plugin settings.

Note that Flip4Mac 3.0 no longer supports OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (although version 2.4.4 still does) as its been designed for the new demands of Lion and Mountain Lion such as Gatekeeper aimed at making Macs more secure. The benefit of this is that Flip4Mac 3.0 features much improved 64-bit support for OS X 10.7 and 10.8 although the QuickTime video components have remained 32-bit due to the QuickTime component architecture. However, audio codecs are 64-bit now.

Overall, the introduction of Flip Player is the major innovation in Flip4Mac WMV Player Pro. It offers some powerful features that aren't available in the free version of QuickTime, and it's very well designed to suit the look of OS X. However, it lacks some of the features of QuickTime (such as screen recording) and some users may feel it's not quite as slick as Apple's own player.

Flip4Mac 3.0 remains a powerful solution for anyone that needs to play WMV and Windows Media on their Mac and the introduction of Flip Player is a significant enhancement that makes managing WMV files on Mac easier than ever.

Download Flip4Mac WMV Player Pro 3.0 in Softonic

Flip4Mac WMV Studio includes an option to install Microsoft Silverlight which is Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash although you don't have to install it. However, it's useful to have it as some video streaming events on the net use Silverlight to deliver content.

First some background to Flip4Mac. WMV is Microsoft's own video format which by default, won't play on Macs since Apple's own video format is QuickTime. The most common solution for users has been to install a multimedia player such as VLC media player or a plugin such as Perian or Flip4Mac which both allow QuickTime to play WMV files. However, with Perian only supporting older versions of WMA and now no longer being developed, Flip4Mac is set to become the most logical choice for users, especially because it is officially endorsed by Microsoft and effectively, the official Windows Media Player for Mac.

Flip4Mac WMV Studio is not just a plugin for QuickTime however. For the first time, it introduces its own player - Flip Player - but it will still allow you to view WMV videos in QuickTime. The difference from the previous version of Flip4Mac however is that it now leaves a watermark in the top right-hand corner of QuickTime. Flip Player doesn't feature this watermark with the additional bonus that it has some powerful added extras that are only available in this Pro version.

Amongst the advanced features of Flip4Mac WMV Studio are the ability to Crop, Rotate, Scale and Trim video which is not possible in QuickTime X. You can also convert and export WMV video for iMovie and Final Cut Pro but without creating quality damaging H.264 files. Instead, a native AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) file is created for iMovie to avoid additional transcoding when importing. For Final Cut Pro users, it creates a ProRes file that automatically sets the correct dimensions and native video codec that fit with project settings. You can even export sound from your favorite videos to an iPhone ringtone and use the trimming features to refine it.

Flip4Mac WMV Studio includes all features of Flip4Mac Player Pro plus it adds the ability to create Windows Media files using built-in templates. Export WMV and WMA directly from media encoding applications, such as QuickTime 7 Pro, Flip Player Pro in OS X 10.7 and 10.8, ScreenFlow, Compressor and more.

If you want to change the general plugin settings of Flip4Mac WMV Studio, they can be accessed at the bottom of your Mac system preferences under "Other". There are several different configurations options including for the Flip Player media browser, upgrade, update and plugin settings.

Note that Flip4Mac WMV Studio no longer supports OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (although version 2.4.4 still does) as its been designed for the new demands of Lion and Mountain Lion such as Gatekeeper aimed at making Macs more secure. The benefit of this is that Flip4Mac WMV Studio features much improved 64-bit support for OS X 10.7 and 10.8 although the QuickTime video components have remained 32-bit due to the QuickTime component architecture. However, audio codecs are 64-bit now.

Overall, the introduction of Flip Player is the major innovation in Flip4Mac WMV Studio. It offers some powerful features that aren't available in the free version of QuickTime, and it's very well designed to suit the look of OS X. However, it lacks some of the features of QuickTime (such as screen recording) and some users may feel it's not quite as slick as Apple's own player.

Flip4Mac WMV Studio remains a powerful solution for anyone that needs to play WMV and Windows Media on their Mac and the introduction of Flip Player is a significant enhancement that makes managing WMV files on Mac easier than ever.

Download Flip4Mac Studio 3.0 in Softonic

If you want to play online games in your browser, there's a good chance you'll need Adobe Shockwave Player, which is an essential gaming plug-in.

This player allows you to view both Shockwave and Flash content over the Web so its also a good solution if you've been having problems with your Flash plugin. Adobe Shockwave Player is compatible with all major web browsers including Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Installation is very quick and you should be seeing content within a few seconds of restarting your browser. Compared to Flash for example however, Shockwave is quite resource heavy. In addition, for some reason Adobe have still not created a 64-bit version which will no doubt anger users of Snow Leopard. Those using Safari in Snow Leopard have no choice but to run in 32-bit which is unacceptable from a company like Adobe.

Like it or loathe it though, Adobe Shockwave Player is still an essential download for those who love online gaming.

Download Adobe Shockwave Player 11.5.9 r615 in Softonic

Knowing how to convert video files to Flash is almost necessary nowadays, as Adobe's video format is quickly becoming the dominant one on the net. Working as any other converter, Video2SWF has the advantage of outputting not only to swf but also to flv and html. It supports most of the video and audio formats out there, though we were disappointed to find out that audio mpeg was not handled.

Settings is probably where Video2SWF packs the most features. Not only can you select in and out points for your videos, but you can also add overlay, and a few filters. The program also has a choice of half a dozen different video controls to add to your video. If you work with multiple video files, you'll be glad to know that you can batch convert them.

Performance is where Video2SWF underachieves, with pretty slow conversion speeds. We were also surprised that the application is not yet Universal Binary and still only available to PPC users.

Video2SWF is a flash converter with lots of extra settings but a tad slow in the conversion process.

Download Video2SWF 2.001 in Softonic