Creating customized DVD movies is a piece of cake with Droppix DVD Maker. The program takes care of everything so that you only have to worry about enjoying your favorite videos from the couch.

You can use any video files stored in your local drive (the program supports the most popular formats) or import videos right away from famous video websites like Youtube, Daily Motion or Google Video with just a single click. Droppix DVD Maker also includes several ready-to-use menu templates you can use to create personalized DVD menus, though the method to change them is not very well implemented (a double click on the current menu image would be much more intuitive than having to open the program's settings menu).

Another drawback to Droppix DVD Maker is the fact that you can't preview the video before converting and recording it to the actual disc, while other similar tools usually include a built-in player. At least the conversion process is easy and quite fast too.

Droppix DVD Maker lets you create customized DVD movies in a very easy way, but lacks some handy features found in other similar tools.

Download Droppix DVD Maker 1.5.0 in Softonic

There are many necessary evils in this life including queues, rain, and, perhaps most annoyingly for computer users, RealPlayer.

The latter of the three has traditionally been cursed for its slow buffering times and the fact that it comes rammed with all manner of obnoxious advertising and intrusive web links. Unfortunately the application has always been the only tool available to play streaming media files in the rather arcane RAM format, in which many sites still insist on encoding their video and audio in. Luckily, there’s a saviour around these days, in the shape of Real Alternative, which is designed to play these files with less hassle.

The program is a streamlined advertising-free application designed to easily play most media content, including RealAudio (.ra .rpm), RealMedia (.rm .ram .rmvb .rpx .smi .smil), RealText (.rt), and ReadPix (.rp) formats, along with as non-Real media content such as MP3s, MPEGs, AVIs, QuickTime movies, and CD/DVD content. You can also use the program to stream media embedded in web pages.

In terms of performance, Real Alternative beats the pants off RealPlayer, and for that matter, Windows Media Player, playing all the files we tested smoothly and virtually instantaneously. The app contains enough features to keep more serious users happy, including the useful ability to bookmark favorite files, adjust volume in the window, track progress of the file, and more. Although not as quite as fully loaded with tools as its more established rivals, we can live without all manner of channel guides and visualizations in exchange for a much slicker playback experience.

There are some areas where Real Alternative falls down, such as its inability to handle .smi files or its lack of support for CDDB look-ups. But if you’re looking for something that will play audio and video quickly and without interruption, you can’t fault Real Alternative. There are programs, such as KMPlayer, which also offer superior playback quality, but Real Alternative excels in the way it handles streaming media, making it a worthwhile addition to your PC’s arsenal of programs.

Download Real Alternative 1.9.0 in Softonic

Some players come loaded with too many features and too many codecs - not MPCStar. MPCStar is a universal video player that can play most formats of films downloaded from the internet. MPCStar has been developed using open source libraries, so it's highly customisable if you have any programming knowledge. One of the best features however is a pop-up blocker which prevents pop-ups appearing that sometimes come loaded with films.

To ensure smooth playback and not get weighed down with too many codecs, MPCStar contains only the major codecs including Media Player Classic, FFDshow Codec Pack,
RealPlayer Codecs, ActiveX controls, QuickTime Codecs and DirectVobSub (a.k.a. VSFilter). The only problem is that these codecs are regularly updated and there appears to be no automatic update function but overall, this is one of the simplest and most powerful players I've tried since VLC player.

Download MPCStar 3.1 in Softonic

Audio/Video To EXE converts audio files and video executables and allows you to send them to another person without having a player and codec. In addition to this primary function, Audio/ Video To EXE also performs conversions between various media formats.

There are two types of conversion offered - EXE and multimedia formats, with a list of tasks and completed quickly. The only drawback of this free version is that you cannot select the sampling frequency and hence the quality of the resulting files. This is a great tool for sending small videos and songs by e-mail, ensuring that the recipient can play the file. Almost all audio/video formats [3GP, AAC, AC3, AIFF, ASF, AVI, EXE, FLAC, FLV, GIF, M1V, M2V, M4V, MOV, MP2, MP3, MP4, MPC, MPG, NUT, OGG, RA, RM, SWF, VOB, VOC, WAV, WMA, WMV, WV, YUV] are supported. You can even play and convert your executables without a player or a codec. It works as a standalone and the latest version adds M1V, M2V, M4V, and YUV support.

If you love to share clips with someone who's forever having problems with their media player, then Audio/Video to EXE is the answer to your prayers.

Download Audio/Video To Exe 1.5.3.0 in Softonic

AVIAddXSubs is a simple-to-use, free program that incorporates subtitles (XSUB) from .srt (ANSI text, up to 8 srt) or idx/sub (containing up to 8 subtitles) into AVI files containing DivX/XVid video streams.

It works simply by placing the AVI and SRT file into the same directory as the videos you want to play. Your media player should automatically detect them when you open the file. However, what AVIAddXSubs can do is merge the subtitles directly into the video that's going to be played.

This doesn't mean that every time you play the film the subtitles will show however. You still need to activate them within the player that you're using. After this, you can delete the SRT file as it's no longer needed since it has been "burned" into the video. However, sometimes you will find that the subtitles simply do not appear. If this happens, you'll probably have to configure the positioning of subtitles in your video player.

AVIAddXSubs is a great way to avoid needing to include an SRT file with every video you want to view subtitles with but you may have problems locating your subtitles once they've been "burned" in.

Download AVIAddXSubs 8.0 in Softonic

Choosing a multimedia player used to be a real no-brainer. However, during recent times the raft of new features and updates added to classic media players like Winamp, Windows Media Player, and even iTunes have left the apps increasingly bloated. Far from being the slick, well-oiled machines they once were, these programs have been stuffed with so much that they are in danger of ending up like a sluggish, overweight athlete still holding on to past glories.

For those looking for a fresh alternative to these ballooning apps, The KM Player could be your ticket. The application has a small desktop footprint and its minimalist interface, somewhat akin to the original Winamp 5, means that access and playback are quick and hassle-free. Like Winamp, the interface is fully skinable, and there are some nice aesthetic touches, such as the changing of colour on the player with every new track. There are all sorts of options to help you pimp your player, such as visualizations, plug-ins and playback options, but the beauty of KM Player is that these are turned on at your request rather than being forced upon you at the outset.

The application handles both audio and video, and supports a wide range of different formats, meaning that once installed, you should never need to touch another player. Video playback is particularly impressive thanks to the range of processing tools available that allow you to sharpen, change picture properties, apply filters and even make video captures from within the program.

Download KMPlayer 2.9.3.1432 R2 Beta in Softonic

VideoMach is a powerful audio/video builder and converter. Use it to construct video clips from still images, enhance your recorded material or convert video, audio and image files between popular media formats.

VideoMach features:

• Suports popular video and image formats (mpeg, avi, divx, flc, jpeg, png, tif, gif, bmp and more)
• Reads and writes standard Linux and UN*X image formats (xpm, pnm, sgi, ras and more)
• Supports most popular audio formats (mp3, mp2, ogg, wav, ac3)
• Imports the output of high-speed imagers and time-lapse cameras (bayer, cine)
• World's fastest image sequence detection, more than 50,000 images per second
• Professional-quality MPEG, AVI and Bayer readers, video is decoded at highest quality unlike in most media players
• Fastest software MPEG encoder, more then 120 frames per second
• Can read or write very large MPEG files, up to million terabytes
• Creates industry standard VideoCD MPEGs by NTSC and PAL / SECAM video specs
• Connects to both Video For Windows (VFW) and DirectShow (DS) interfaces ensuring support for vaste number of AVI codecs / subformats
• Easy to navigate but powerful AVI output video / audio codecs selection dialog
• Integrated media player
• Fast, compact and reliable installer with built-in anti-virus check

Download VideoMach 5.0.5 in Softonic

Sometimes I prefer watching movies and TV series on the computer rather than doing it on the couch. The image quality in my PC monitor is better and I can handle more formats than just DVD.

Of course, I need a good video player in order to enjoy my favorite movies at their most, and my choice is no other than BSPlayer. This great video player features anything you need to watch movies or any other kind of video on your PC. It supports all popular video formats (and audio as well, in case you were wondering) and though its basic interface is not really the nicest one I've seen, you can easily customize it with skins.

BSPlayer supports video subtitles, takes screenshots of movie currently playing, lets you create bookmarks and chapters to move along videos more easily and has also support for plug-ins. I especially liked the way you can control playback, either by using keyboard shortcuts or simply your mouse: one click to stop the video, two clicks to go full screen, mouse wheel to raise or low the volume…

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that, being a free version, you're obliged to install an adware element on your PC that displays ads from time to time while you're browsing the way. It's a safe app that doesn't compromise your privacy, but still it's not my cup of tea. I guess it's just the price you have to pay for having such a great video player for free.

BSPlayer lets you enjoy your favorite movies on the PC with a wide range of features (subtitles, screenshots, bookmarks and more) provided you're willing to accept some ads on your desktop.

Download BS.Player Free 2.31.974 in Softonic

With TubeTilla you can easily download your favorite YouTube videos and convert them to MP3 and MP4 format in three easy steps.

TubeTilla converts YouTube videos to WMV, MP4, and MP3. You can then play these formats on your PSP, iPod, iPhone, Zune and with Windows Media Player. To use it just copy the link of the video into TubeTilla interface and the program then automatically converts everything to Mp3, WMV or Mp4 format.

For some reason however, the developer has not allowed users to convert to formats other than these, such as AVI or MPG. Previous versions of TubeTilla were subject to frequent bugs and crashes, but in this latest version it's much more stable. The big plus of this app of course is that it automatically converts as it downloads so it saves you a lot of time when your clips is on your hard drive.

TubeTilla is a solid attempt at an integrated YouTube downloader and converter in one although it could do with a few more conversion formats adding.

Download TubeTilla 3.0 in Softonic

Listen to music, watch videos, tune in to radio, burn CDs and more from one convenient player! AMP is an application that works outside of the AOL client, and can be used to play audio and video content on your computer when you are not connected to the Internet.

Download AOL Media Player 0.6.1.7 Beta in Softonic

With multimedia portable devices growing in popularity and features, it's not surprising that DVD ripping tools like Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate have started to offer support for them so that you can take your favorite movies anywhere with you.

Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate is one of those applications: a full featured DVD ripper than can extract all data inside your DVD movies and convert it right away to another video format, including the most popular ones and – of course – video formats for mobile devices such as the iPod, the iPhone and the PSP.

Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate lets you choose the video size, image quality and audio quality, and also create and use different profiles according to the target format or device. Also, Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate lets you trim specific video fragments, edit video effects, adjust subtitles and even add a watermark so that you obtain fully customized DVD video and audio files.

Additionally, Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate can help you clip video segment, crop video size, edit video effects, adjust subtitle, and add video watermark, to get the customized DVD audio and video files.

In addition to ripping the whole DVD, you can also select specific chapters and convert only those. The whole process is done via drop-down menus and Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate is generally very easy to use.

With Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate you can rip the contents of your favorite DVD movies and convert them to different formats – including mobile video - in just a few easy steps.

Download Xilisoft DVD Ripper Ultimate 5.0.40.0729 in Softonic

Prism video file conversion software is a free video file format converter for Windows. It can convert video files from avi, mpg, vob, wmv (Windows Media Video formats) and more into avi, asf or wmv files.

Prism video converter is very easy to use. Just add the files you want to convert to the list, select the format you want to use, and then click the convert button.

Designed to be very easy and intuitive to use, this software will have you up and running within minutes. Simply download now and install.

Take a look at what this program has to offer:

• Converts all video formats that have a DirectShow based codec to AVI and Windows Media Video formats
• If you can play the video file using 'Windows Media Player' you can convert it using Prism
• Set compression/encoder rates of output files
• Set resolution and frame rate of output files
• Prism can be added to your right click menu for easy access
• Prism video file converter has an intuitive and easy to use interface

Download Prism Video Converter 1.15 in Softonic

There are so many video and audio formats that sometimes you need a helping hand just to know which codec you need to play that darn file that won't open up in your multimedia player.

This is where MediaInfo comes in handy, by analyzing any media file you open with it and displaying a complete report with all the information available about that specific file. This information includes basic data such as file name, playtime, file size and the likes, as well as more specific details like used codec, bitrate, channel, sample rate and resolution, among others.

The information provided by the program can be displayed in a variety of ways, from a basic data sheet or plain text to a tree-like structure or an HTML document. It can also be exported to a file but surprisingly enough there's no option to obtain a printed copy.

Also, I missed the possibility to obtain more information from the Internet (a web link would have been enough) or being able to download the necessary codec if it's not present in the system.

With MediaInfo you can obtain a complete report on any audio or video file, display it in several ways and also export it to several formats though it doesn't support printing and lacks some advanced functionality.

Download MediaInfo 0.7.7.2 in Softonic

Although it might appear like some sort of Communist software, CCCP is actually just a pack of codecs to help just about any video run on your system.

The full title is the "Combined Community Codec Pack". In reality, it's more like a filter pack than a codec pack but the developers say that "filter doesn't begin with C and we wanted a good acronym"! For anyone who understands Russian, the developers also like to point out that the name is also a pun on the Russian name Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, which is transliterated into the Latin alphabet as "Soyuz Sovietskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik", or "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics", abbreviated as "СССР" or "USSR". Anyway, the CCCP codec pack was created to replace the filter packs provided by other groups which simply often did not work properly or broke compatibility for other formats. In reality, it is an extremely powerful Codec pack, playing back effortlessly most popular formats and some unpopular ones too. There are now fiddly options to get it working although if you have other codec packs installed, you may experience some conflicts or significant slowdown in reproduction of your films.

However, overall, this is an impressive pack which deals with just about anything and I quite like the attitude of the developers and their ironic communist branding.

Download Combined Community Codec Pack 2008-01-24 in Softonic

In an age of multiple media players all with different codecs and formats, it's nice to know there's at least one out there that can play just about anything.

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. Whatsmore 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 1.0.7.1 in Softonic

ImTOO DVD to MP4 Converter is a fast, easy to use DVD to MP4 ripper which helps you rip DVD's, convert DVD's to MP4, AVI, MPEG4, DivX, XviD, Apple TV video and PSP AVC video format. With formats changing and developing all the time, a new profile of PSP AVC video in 480 X 272 (PSPEXT) has been added, while the profile of Apple TV video has been improved to improve playback.

The output movie is playable on most portable media players (MP4 players that is) which the developers say includes Archos AV500, Archos AV700, Archos Gmini402, iRiver PMP-100, Creative Zen Vision, PSP and iPod, etc.

The problem with many similar converters is that there are few customisation settings for those that need extra control over how their video comes out. ImToo DVD to Mp4 Converter does not disappoint here offering tons of options over such things as the aspect ratio, compression format used and other technical settings.

As a result, this program is not really suitable for those that just want a simple Mp4 conversion but is a solid product for those that need a bit more control over the output file.

Download ImTOO DVD to MP4 Converter 5.0.35.0515 in Softonic

If you're looking for not only a media player but also a recorder aswell, then JetAudio basic is a super solid solution that's packed with features.

It's secret lies in the ability to not only reproduce formats but convert them and even record audio and video. You can convert among all the major audio file formats and convert analog audio to various formats. There are also several visualization features including Sound2Vision tag editing for MP3, OGG, and WMA files plus you can add basic sound effects including wide, reverb, and x-bass. It would have been nice to have had a few more sound effects here but it's not really big on graphic equaliser effects. You can control the speed of audio playback and also perform cross-fading between two songs which is useful if you want to use it as a party and turn yourself into your own DJ. There a re a few skins to change - there should be more - and karaoke fans are not left behind either as there is an options to used synchronised lyrics with kareoke audio files. You can even search for lyrics via "Leo's Lyric Database" although the number of songs is very limited and sometimes the lyrics aren't correct anyway.

A very useful all round player for anyone that would like to do more than just playback their audio files.

Download JetAudio Basic 7.1.0 in Softonic

There's so much Flash video out there, especially on sites such as YouTube, that a converter which can change the format of the videos you are watching is always useful.

Maybe you need to change it for storage purposes or maybe you need to change it so that you can edit the footage. Whatever your needs, Sothink Video Encoder for Adobe Flash is a professional piece of software that converts videos to Flash supporting all the most popular formats including AVI, MPEG, and WMV. The program focuses on converting AVI/MPEG video to Flash video (FLV) in high quality, in the least time. But even better than that, it also provides advanced video editing functions such as video cropping and trimming which is unusual for a program of this kind. Usually you only get a converter but here you are getting the complete package which is useful because Flash is not usually a very suitable format to edit in. However, the editor is very basic allowing you only to perform very basic cropping. It does however automatically generate thumbnail images for each file you convert and in addition, creates a self-opening Flash player which means you can send it on to friends or colleagues without them having to have a Flash player installed. If you're going to embed it in a webpage, it also generates HTML pages to embed them in which you can then upload much more easily and quickly than normal.

Fast and with very high quality output, Softhink Video Converter for Adobe Flash is one of the best Flash converters out there.

Download Sothink Video Encoder for Adobe Flash 2.3 Build 70926 in Softonic

Kantaris is a polished multimedia player that enables you to play files in a wide variety of formats. It features a simple but nicely designed interface with not many configuration options which makes it very easy to use.

Videos can be played in full screen mode with control panel only appearing when you move the mouse. As for music, Kantaris offers four visualization modes that add a touch of color to your songs. However we noticed that if you show the playlist, the visualization is not properly centered. Another problem we had with the playlist is the fact that you can only add tracks one by one.

Download Kantaris 0.3.6 in Softonic

Since bursting onto the internet in 2000, BSPlayer has been downloaded over 60 million times according to its developers. The aim of the player is to "enable users to focus on watching the movie instead of dealing with poor computer capabilities or running around looking for a proper settings and codecs." For those that have had problems with mainstream media players on offer, BSPlayer may prove a useful alternative.

It supports all kinds of media including avi, mpeg, asf, wmv, mp3, etc but also specializes in DivX playback. Many users report that DivX files that wouldn’t work on other players, did in BS Player. One of the major drawbacks with many media players is resource hogging but BSPlayer consumes no more than many audio players and start-up is pleasantly fast. Because it does not use much of the processing power, its more suited to those users with slower machines that are not looking for too many fancy features.

BSPlayer also comes bundled with BSMediaLibrary which can manage all your multimedia content and enables you to create your own playlists. It also has a multitude of skins available for download, many designed by other devoted users.

The major drawback with BSPlayer is the concealed menu which appears and disappears when you wave the mouse over it. This becomes increasingly annoying if you are listening to something whilst using another application. However, loading subtitles is easy and dragging and dropping files into the screen to open files means you can avoid the annoying menu. You also have a small graphic equaliser and can load the player with other codecs that you might need.

Overall, definitely worth trying for anyone who has had problems with DivX files or are tired of bulky mainstream offerings.

Download BSPlayer Pro 2.28 build 964 in Softonic