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

Download VLC media player 2.0.7 in Softonic

Most user will never need to use K-Lite Codec Pack Full. It contains the same set of codecs that exist in K-Lite Codec Pack Standard, but also add the ability for users to encode their own videos.

K-Lite Codec Pack Full is best utilized by users who understand bitrates, frames per second, and resolution aspect ratios. Even though K-Lite Codec Pack Full is a great codec pack, it is not recommended for users who will not be creating and encoding their own videos.

The playback capability of K-Lite Codec Pack Full is like K-Lite Codec Pack Standard. The tests playing various file formats showed the same quality and function with the AVI, WMV, MKV, and MP4 videos. All played with no problems and K-Lite Codec Pack Full also contains subtitle support. K-Lite Codec Pack Full along with K-Lite Codec Pack Standard can re-time subtitles so if a user had issues with subtitle playback, it can be customized.

Using K-Lite Codec Pack Full as an encoder is the bulk of the purpose of the program. Since it layers more functions on top of K-Lite Codec Pack Standard, it is possible to view the exact specific audio and video codecs are being used, how they are utilized, and how they interact with the hardware they are running on. It is interesting information for the curious, but unnecessary for standard playback.

K-Lite Codec Pack Full is a great starting point for novice users who want to understand how media formats work and a good tool for working with different media types for customization.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack Full 9.9.5 in Softonic

All the formats and features you might need

BS.Player is a great media player that features anything you need to watch movies or any other kind of video on your PC. BS.Player 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. Also, if you're missing any video or audio codecs, BS.Player will download them right away during installation.

BS.Player 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, making it very similar to apps like UMPlayer.

Shortcuts

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 lower the volume... It's really comfortable.

Reliable and easy to use

BS.Player is reliable and full of features. The only drawback if any, is the fact that the program doesn't include any documentation except for a FAQ section that you need to open in your browser. Not that you can't use BS.Player without help, but it's always nice to have some documentation to rely on in case you get stuck.

Overall

BS.Player lets you enjoy your favorite movies on the PC with a wide range of features: subtitles, screenshots, bookmarks and more.

Download BS.Player Free 2.65.1074 in Softonic

Features

KMPlayer has a small desktop footprint and its minimalist interface makes video playback quick and hassle-free. The player's 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 and customize KMPlayer, such as visualizations, plug-ins and playback options. But the beauty of KMPlayer is that these are turned on at your request rather than being forced upon you at the outset.

Quality

KMPlayer 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.

Conclusion

If you're looking for a customizable, light yet powerful video player, KMPlayer is exactly what you need.

What's new

Supports 3D Formats. (Side-By-Side, Top-and-Bottom) to (Anaglyph, Interlaced)
Supports 10-bit H.264. (Libcodec.dll)
Supports Intel Widi
Added video codec "DV5P"
Add new function album art (Thumnail image extraction from FLAC file)
Thumbnail image display enhancement when playing audio files. (MP3, FLAC, WMA)
Fixed ColorSpace bug
Fixed Intel Codec H.264
Fixed Winamp plugin
Error correction of images infected with malicious codes. (EIP register Corruption Vulnerability. Provided: KISA)
Fixed view as a desktop mode in Windows 7
Fixed improper load of Album Art bug
Correction of screen display error when using EVR(C/A) - if you skip from the WMV file.
Fixed KMP HTTP Reader
AAC codec Parser error correction from MOV file
MKV Skip Problem

Download KMPlayer 3.6.0.87 in Softonic

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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It offers an incredibly easy-to-use solution for users to back up their legally owned Blu-ray. With cutting-edge technologies, this Blu-ray disc decrypter can support Blu-ray DTS/E-AC3 and MLP/TrueHD Audio System and preserve original video effect. The output videos can be played on VLC, DAPlayer, KMPlayer, MPlayer, SPlayer, etc.

WinX Blu-ray Decrypter is designed for anyone in need of backing up and protecting their precious Blu-ray Dics from damage or scratch.

Download WinX Blu-Ray Decrypter 3.4.1 in Softonic

It's hard to review something like Smart Installer Pack, because it's not really a software app in itself, but rather a collection of software apps.

Smart Installer Pack contains 24 popular software utilities, among which you can probably find the first five or ten you download on your computer after reinstalling your operating system. This is precisely the aim behind Smart Installer Pack: saving you the pain of having to search, download and install all those programs.

Smart Installer Pack includes Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo Widgets, Skype, Google Earth, Winamp, Firefox, BitTorrent, Gmail Notifier, Rocket Dock, a pack of codecs, Adobe Flash Player, Apple Quicktime, the Java Runtime, Adobe Reader, WinRAR, Open Office, Daemon Tools, Thunderbird, Gimp, Picasa, Avira Antivirus, Google Chrome, CCleaner and KMPlayer.

Of course, you don't have to install them all. Simply browse through the program's tabs and click on the icon of the program you're interested in. Installation will start right away.

Smart Installer Pack is certainly a handy tool that can save you lots of time. On the downside, you're obliged to download a huge file – no matter how many of those tools you'll use – and the programs included in the pack may not be updated to the latest version.

With Smart Installer Pack you can save a lot of time when downloading and installing your favorite software after an OS re-installation.

Download Smart Installer Pack 1.5 in Softonic

Let’s begin with a very simple question: why should we surrender to the most downloaded software when there are good but not so popular alternatives? Robert Frost said: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by” which, applied to software, may be translated as “take a risk and use new apps... even if they’re not that famous”. So, if you’re looking for a free, fast, simple MP3 player, and don’t feel like bowing down to Winamp the Almighty, just give XMPlay a chance.

The first thing I liked about XMPlay is the fact that you don’t need to install it on your system. Just unzip it to whatever folder you like (for example Program Files/XMPlay), and you may start enjoying your music right away. The range of file formats supported by XMplay is reasonably wide, including Internet streaming, CD tracks and playlists. Surprisingly, XMPlay does not work with video, a feature that other “alternative” players such as KMPlayer do include.

Bearing in mind the large amount of MP3 players available, comparisons are hard to avoid. XMPlay does its job and it does it well, without using too many system resources. The XMPlay interface offers two possible sizes and can be customized with nice skins, a popular feature with users. But what I really loved about XMPlay is the fact that you can control almost every function in the program by means of shortcuts, which turns out to be very handy if like me, you listen to music whilst working with the computer. No need to maximize the XMPlay's window, look for the appropriate Pause button and click on it every time somebody talks to me: one simple shortcut gets the job done.

But hey, XMPlay is an MP3 player we’re talking about here so, what about the sound quality? In fact, this may be XMPlay’s major weakness, as those with a good ear will notice it doesn’t sound as good as other players I have tested so far, particularly Winamp or ALSong. It’s just one weak point, but quite an important one when talking about a program that is intended to play music. Besides, and while this may be precisely its main function, XMPlay lacks some extra tasty options that we find in other players, such as the built-in audio converter featured in Spider Player, the Lyrics Viewer included in ALSong or the impressive skins offered by Xion Audio Player.

Summing up, although XMPlay will not be able to compete against the “big ones” in the MP3 player market, it’s still a very nice, free application, as long as you don’t ask for high-fidelity sound quality.

Download XMPlay 3.6 in Softonic

Automatically searches for codecs online

Like UMPlayer GOM Player is one of those apps that goes unnoticed but proves to be excellent when you take the time to give it a try. It's a compact, easy-to-use video player lets you enjoy video files and movies in a wide variety of formats. What's more, you won't have problems with codecs because GOM Player already includes them – and if not, it automatically searches for the appropriate codec online.

Support for wide range of features

GOM Player shows off a sleek interface with support for skins and has other powerful features: support for subtitles, favorites manager, support for playlists, use mouse and keyboard shortcuts for many functions and more. What GOM Player misses, for example, is the ability to take screenshots or even more important, to resume playback right where you left it (something I personally use a lot).

GOM Player offers to install the Google Toolbar during its installation process but you may as well decline the offer. As for the rest, it's a great video player that's well worth a try… even if you already have a favorite player.

Conclusion

GOM Player is a visually appealing video player with very interesting features and which, above all, solves any problem you may have with codecs.

Download GOM Player GOM Media Player 2.1.50.5145 in Softonic