As you would expect from an Apple product, Quicktime is extremely slick to use to the point of sometimes "hiding" features that you would expect to be more readily available - such as creating playlists for example. When it comes to performing basic functions such as playback, it's very easy to use although launching it is still a little slow. If you want to really get the most out of QuickTime however, you need to upgrade to the Pro version which allows you to do much more such as edit and convert video files.

QuickTime is designed to play Apple's MOV video format although but beyond this on Windows, it isn't very flexible. There are other players such as VLC media player which play almost any format and are much quicker to launch.

QuickTime is Apple's flagship media player although there are many other free players out there for Windows that are much more powerful

Download QuickTime 7.74.80.86 in Softonic

Features

These days, it's an app that attempts to be all things to all people - play DVDs, organize music, catalog photos, convert video, interact with social networking sites, browse internet multimedia....there's no end to what RealPlayer offers to its users. Even so, it's not an out-and-out success...

Usability

For a start, installation of RealPlayer is annoying - it takes a while, requires lots of "nexts" and tries to install and enable several features that users don't really need. Finally, when it starts, you're offered a chance to upgrade to paid versions of RealPlayer before you have to register yourself with Real Networks. If all this messing around doesn't appeal, check out a slimline app like UMPlayer.

When you're up and running, RealPlayer features a wide interface where you will notice ads and videos recommended by Real Networks. This looks cluttered and messy, and it's hard to know what the app actually offers. In reality, RealPlayer is ideal for playing and sharing video with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter and it works easily with BlackBerry, iPod, iPhone and other game systems. The new video converter allows you to copy online video to your iPod, Xbox, PS3 and other devices. Unfortunately, you can't rip DVDs with RealPlayer, although this is available as a feature if you upgrade to RealPlayer Plus.

Most recently, RealPlayer has been updated with far better mobile and social networking integration. You can now copy your favorite videos to an iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and dozens of other popular devices automatically. Downloading internet videos is faster, and for those of you with something to hide, RealPlayer offers a new Private folder. Social media has also been bumped up, with direct access to Facebook videos and usefully, a built-in feature to transfer videos to your mobile devices.

Quality

That said, RealPlayer isn't bad at all. It's comparable to Windows Media Player 12 as they both have some impressive ways of organizing your music. For me, the best feature is the CD burner which is something I've used from the early days of RealPlayer. The sheer quality of some of the media only available in Real formats makes RealPlayer an essential item in the toolkit of any fan of internet video and audio.

Conclusion

There's no shortage of media players theses days, and RealPlayer is by no means a bad option. It offers lots of features, good options and is a high-quality player that will do justice to your media. The only problem is that despite its modern features, it feels like a bit of a dinosaur. It's heavy and slow, looks chunky and takes an age to respond to clicks, and for many people - especially those who have experience of lighter options - it's just not the most comfortable player.

RealPlayer is a media player that, although powerful, has suffered from serious feature-creep over the years.

Download RealPlayer 16.0.2.232 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 9.9.0 in Softonic

JuceVLC crosses media centers ease of use with VLC media player features VLC has great video format compatibility... but JuceVLC adds a simple on screen menu to browse and setup common settings (subtitles selection, zoom level, audio offset...)

JuceVLC is aimed at people who wants to watch videos from their couch with ease using a standard PC and who don't want to setup a full media center.

Download JuceVLC 0.66 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

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 2.0.6 in Softonic

Easy to install

In the latest release of SopCast, there are virtually no noticeable interface changes, so it's still extremely easy to use. On installation, you're asked if you'd like to install the Ask.com search bar, which you can de-select by clicking the check-box. When you run SopCast, you can log in either anonymously or, if you're planning on setting-up your own channel, create your own account using the link at the bottom. When you log into SopCast, click on the Live Channels tabs so you can see the channel listings. The first thing you notice is the number of channels to choose from. There's absolutely everything here from obscure Chinese channels to mainstream offerings like The Discovery Channel (although again, you will find many programs either dubbed or subtitled in Chinese). Some of SopCast's channels are organized, such as by News and Sport but these categories can be unreliable and the lower down you go, simply indecipherable.

Pop-out TV screen

SopCast's channel window will pop out of the side of the player but you can expand this to full screen or export it to Windows Media Player using the vision controls on the panel. This truly separates SopCast from the rest of the P2P TV streaming applications. If you want to use a different media player (such as VLC Player), you can do this by clicking on the Options button at the bottom of the main interface.

Broadcast your own programs

SopCast's major draw though, and the reason why many of its channels look like a garbled mess, is the fact that you can broadcast your own channel on it. Once your program has been filmed, edited and is uploaded on your PC, all you have to do is stream it via SopCast and select a server address to which people can connect and watch

Quality depends on other users

The quality of the broadcast in SopCast will very much depend on the number of people connected (the more users there are, the faster the video will stream). You can even create your own private channel and decide what users can watch it by creating a network group, thus enabling you to run your very own personal TV channel in SopCast.

Conclusion

SopCast might look a bit confusing for the first-time user but, despite the dominance of Chinese channels, it provides a whole new world of TV to watch. What's more, it gives you the chance to start your own channel!

Download SopCast 3.8.2 in Softonic

While most people listen to streaming music or video now, there are occasions when you do not have a data connection and locally stored files are your only option. PotPlayer is an excellent media player that can handle a large variety of media file types.

Playback quality will depend on the hardware the program is installed on, but in tests, PotPlayer had no problem playing a 1.6 GB MOV file, 865 MB MKV, or a 1.4 GB AVI. Smaller files should play back without any issues as well. You can toggle file information and see an in-depth breakdown of file information including CPU usage.

There is subtitle support in PotPlayer for .ass and .srt files and will natively play subtitles if they are located in the same folder as the video file. The amount of options in PotPlayer are great. You can optimize PotPlayer to get the best performance, but the default settings work fine for the majority of videos.

PotPlayer can also play audio files. It includes default visualizations or you can download more online. The program provides a lot of information about the audio file like bitrate, file type, and the number of channels. Like other media players, there are also audio presets for the equalizer and they all work pretty well. It it is not a substitute for a good stereo, but does have an effect on the audio.

The program is by Daum, a Korean company, but the program is presented entirely in English during and after installation. One annoyance is that PotPlayer does not show in the taskbar, only in the notification area, so to use the program, you either have to have it running in an open section on your screen or find it in notifications.

PotPlayer is a good alternative to first party media players. The stable build has a large variety of supported formats and the quality of playback is excellent for both video and audio.

Download PotPlayer 1.5.35238 in Softonic

RunWithParameters is open-source, works on all Windows versions (Windows 95 up to Windows 8) and has some unique features such as the parameter history and the inbuilt list of parameters for popular programs such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, VLC, Media Player Classic and many more.

RunWithParameters is targeted at users that frequently start programs with parameters, but don't to access the commandline prompt for such a simple task.

Download RunWithParameters 2.0.0.0 in Softonic

If you want to play video or music files and not worry about format, Portable VLC media player is the best application for the job. With this portable app, you can have the powerful media player with you anywhere.

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.

Download Portable VLC media player 2.0.5 in Softonic

If you've ever hooked up your laptop or desktop to your television, it can be a pain to try and control it from all the way on the couch. You could use a mouse and a keyboard but that isn't ideal. Flutter aims to help users control their computers from across the room.

Flutter requires your computer to have a webcam attached so that it can read and recognize gestures. At the time of this review, Flutter only has the ability to play/pause music by holding up your hand in a "stop" motion. Flutter supports popular video and music players like VLC, iTunes, Windows Media Player, Spotify, and many more.

In use, Flutter is disappointing. Many of our gestures didn't work and controlling music was sporadic. It's a shame that this alpha version doesn't even support skipping or going to previous tracks. While the concept of Flutter is great, its execution leaves much to be desired. There are simpler solutions to play and pause music, including many apps for smartphones that act as a remote for your computer.

This early alpha is too limited to recommend for daily use but Flutter's development will be something to watch if they can nail down accurate human gesture controls.

Download Flutter Alpha 0.3.18 Alpha in Softonic

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.

Download ALLPlayer 5.2 in Softonic

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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With so much content out on the internet these days, many people are beginning to realize that they don't even need a cable subscription any more. While Free Online TV won't help you with getting local programming, it does provide tons of live video feeds from across the world.

Free Online TV actually requires you to install the VLC Media Player to watch anything. VLC opens up these URLs and begins streaming live. You'll want a decently quick connection to stream these channels, though none of them are in HD.

Using Free Online TV can be a headache. Many channels didn't load and gave vague error messages. There is also no easy way to browse the different channels. Every channel is presented in a list. Free Online TV could really use a graphical overhaul with large art for each channel, making browsing easier.

Overall, Free Online TV does what it sets out to do, which is provide tons of free internet streaming TV channels. Unfortunately, most of the channels don't work and its interface leaves much to be desired.

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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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Appearance

In terms of appearance, Nightingale is attractive, but not very innovative. It's got a nice slick and easy-to-use interface, and can be customized with feathers - Nightingale's equivalent of skins. These must be downloaded separately,and there aren't very many of them, but the job is made easy thanks to the app's built-in browser.

Options

Unfortunately, Nightingale doesn't seem to get very far in the options race. Although it supports music and video, it has a hard time with anything else. It can't handle podcasts or streaming media natively, for example, and has a limited selection of tools for customizing or modifying your music. When you compare it to an app like VLC, for example, Nightingale looks really bare.

Extras

One area where Nightingale does stand out, however, is extras. Given the built-in browser, it's really easy to get extra content for the app, from album artwork to skins and add-ons. There's not a huge number of any of these (3 skins, about 26 add-ons), but they add some nice functionality, like Icecast and Last.fm support.

Overall impression

Nightingale looks good, but relies on add-ons for almost all functionality beyond basic music and video playback. If it's your first dealing with a media player, you might well be impressed with its slick looks and ease of use, but for the rest of us - and we're the majority - it just feels like Nightingale is all style and no substance.

Nightingale is a good-looking player, but in terms of functionality, falls well short of the mark.

Download Nightingale 1.11.0 in Softonic

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.

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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.

Download VLC media player nightly 2.1.0 64-Bit 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.

Download VLC media player nightly 2.1.0 32 Bit in Softonic