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

Nero Multimedia Suite is comprehensive and if you are looking for a one-stop shop for your video editing, burning and back-up, it will definitely fit the bill. Although getting started is a bit of a mystery (the app installs lots of icons for features that can be managed via the StartSmart button), the various components are slick, easy-to-use and meet most basic to intermediate needs.

As in previous versions, Nero Multimedia Suite offers a range of quick burning/ripping tasks on the left and the complete range of features divided into tabbed areas at the top. When you choose an option, a window will open. You control the feature from there, choosing options and tweaking configurations.

The whole Nero Multimedia Suite experience is very simple. There are loads of online tutorials, wizards and step-by-step instructions for burning, ripping, backing up and editing - among Nero Multimedia Suite's most interesting features are the ability to digitize tapes and records, the file recovery application and, of course, Nero's famous burning skills.

Nero Multimedia Suite's critics will call it bloated and filled with unnecessary features. That's not entirely wrong, but what it brings in bloat, it makes up for in ease of use and centralization. Sure, you could carry out all of Nero Multimedia Suite's functions using other, cheaper software, and it's true that you may never use many of its functions, but users who will be interested in Nero Multimedia Suite won't care, because it allows them to do exactly what they want, when they want, and with minimal technical knowledge.

Nero Multimedia Suite 10 is bloated, but provides centralization and flexibility that many users will find irresistible.

Download Nero Multimedia Suite 12.5.01900 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

ChrisTV PVR Professional comes as a shareware application for Windows with a FREE 21 day trial period, before it requires to be purchased.

Using this product you take full advantage of the Advanced Scheduler functions, Radio Recording Module, Advanced Recording Features (use of Deinterlace Filters, Image Processing Effects while recording), Recording Profiles (for AVI, MPEG video recording and WAV/MP3 audio recording), customizable MPEG Recording Settings, Video Frame Cropping Feature for Recording and Image Processing Features.

ChrisTV PVR products work with simple analog TV cards and also with Graphic Cards with Video Input (VIVO cards) or with Combo Cards (Graphic Card + analog TV tuner) which have WDM support.

Download ChrisTV PVR Professional 5.75 in Softonic

As soon as you open Driver Genius, it will present you with the option to scan for out of date drivers. You can then download any that might be missing, maximizing the performance of your hardware.

In addition to searching for out of date drivers, Driver Genius can also perform backups, including individual driver backups. These backups can be used to restore the system at a later stage if necessary - and Driver Genius will save them to a variety of formats so you can store the backup easily.

Driver Genius is an easy program to use, and needs almost no technical knowledge, as it prompts at every step. What's more, it has a number of nice features, such as a driver install/uninstall feature, the ability to schedule a scan for out of date drivers and the option to use the antivirus you already have installed to automatically scan downloaded drivers for viruses.

Very comprehensive, but surprisingly simple to use, Driver Genius is a good option for driver management.

Download Driver Genius Professional Edition 12 in Softonic

In a market that's saturated with media players, Zoom Player attempts to be two players in one - a no fuss simple one and an advanced one with just about every imaginable tweaking and customization option.

It's a unique offering and chances are that if you've found your current player lacking in some department, you'll find what you're looking for in Zoom Player. If you just want a bare bones media player, then you may be better opting for something like VLC Media Player but Zoom Player lets you have your cake and eat it if you need something with a little more to offer.

The basic version of Zoom Player comes installed with a graphic equalizer, playlist editor and everything else that you'd expect in a basic player. Zoom Player's professional version however comes with a whole lot more power, including a more powerful Playlist Manager, added safety features (such as password protection), Media Definitions plus Web Remote (so you can control Zoom Player from your web browser) and an Extended command line interface, exposing many Zoom Player functions directly from the command line. Finally, the professional version also supports playback of DRM protected movies and music (Windows Media DRM).

Zoom Player's interface is slimline but expandable very easily. By clicking on the circle of dots in the bottom right hand corner however, you reveal a top bar within the main screen which is packed with features. The symbols used in the menu aren't particularly helpful as they look like hieroglyphs so your only option is to work out what each one does by trial and error. These advanced features include a station manager (for streaming radio and TV channels), skin changer and media library editor.

Indeed, the amount of options in Zoom Player available will intimidate anyone that just wants a playback application. It takes quite a while to understand what all the audio options offer, for example, although there is an extensive list of help files that comes bundled with the installation to help you. This is probably the biggest annoyance of Zoom Player: the advanced options seem extremely "spread-out" and it's rather overwhelming to get to grips with where they all, let alone what they do.

On the plus side, one particularly useful feature of Zoom Player is that if you don't have the correct codec installed, it will tell you the exact one you need without the need for a third party inspection device. Playback is smooth, files are loaded quickly and the playlist supports ID3 tags. You can also easily change skins through the skins editor plus you can download more from the developer site.

Zoom Player is two players in one - a basic player that serves you well and an advanced player that offers a lot of options that you'll probably never need but will no doubt appeal to power users.

Download Zoom Player Professional 8.6.1 RC2 in Softonic

If you're a frequent watcher of videos on your computer, you probably know just how many different file formats videos can come in. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a multimedia player that supports the format of the video you want to watch at a given time.

JetVideo is a solution to this issue. The developers claim that JetVideo can play a video in nearly any format, and it seems to be pretty accurate. JetVideo can play videos in AVI, MPG, MPEG, ASF, WMV, AVI and DIVX just to name a few. As an added bonus, Jet Video can also play a variety of different formats of audio files.

On top of that, you can edit tags easily in JetVideo, control sound and video speed and implement various sound effects. JetVideo also comes with an alarm and timer feature. The player's sound quality is very good, and it has a visually appealing interface. The only complaint some beginners might have is that it takes a bit of fiddling around with before all of the player's features become clear.

JetVideo solves the problem of how to play a video or audio file that might not be in a hugely popular format.

Download JetVideo 8.0.0.0 Basic in Softonic

Kantaris Media Player 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 in Kantaris Media Player can be played in full screen mode with control panel only appearing when you move the mouse. As for music, Kantaris Media Player 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 Media Player 0.7.7 in Softonic

(Possible without hardware Overlay support). Now with shadow ! ! ! * Universal re-sizing with constraining proportions or without it (possible adjustment of aspect ratio, sides proportions, image center).

Now possible to select some part of video and play it on full screen. (With Ctrl pressed, you can drag video in window with mouse, with Alt you can change zoom with mouse).

* KeyFrame search in avi files. (Very fast changes a position of playing). * Subtitles support. Useful feature for people, studying foreign languages or for persons with weak hearing.

* Bookmarks. Now possible to set unlimited bookmarks for each file, marking the favorite moments. * PlayList. * 10 bands Equalizer SlyEQ (Without skin support yet).

* Position and filename saving (you can continue playing next time). * Sound channel select (if file contains many sound streams). Useful for films with multylanguage support.

* Automatic delayed mouse hiding* Screensaver disabling. * Mode for displaying video as wallpaper on windows desktop (If it is supported by video type and video card)* Skins support.

* Drag&Drop support. You can simply drag file at the application window for playing. * Options an windows position autosave. Just tune your player once, and it will stay forever.

* Changes priority in a system. * Absolute coordinates positioning of video window (Useful for dual monitor or TV out support). * Correctly support dual monitor and Twin View mode.

* Tray minimizing. Sometimes is better to control playback with OSD or popup menu, then with control panel. * Continuous loopback feature. * Still Image Capture.

Video frames saving. * Multilanguage support. Interface can be easily translated on any language (Now there is English/Russian/Ukrainian). * Adjustable hotkeys for most of operations.

* Added &Shutdown after play&feature (for those who likes watching movies in bed before sleeping :)))* Listing and adjusting of used DirectShow filters.

Download CenturionPlayer 2.5.6 in Softonic

Quick Overview Can input most languages, with excellent support 50+ Onscreen Keyboards (Georgian, Gujarati, Arabic. ) 50+ Profiles for Accent Selectors (French, Hungarian, Italian.

) 40+ Character Palettes (Thai, Tibetan, Linear B. ) 80+ Alphabet selectors (Korean, Hebrew, Azerbaijani. ) 20+ By Sound Inputs (Latin to Malayalam.

) Specific inputs for Chinese, Hiragana, Katakana and VietnameseUses the academically accepted Leitner learning methodNetworked, which means you can use it at schools and universitiesRecord and play high-quality sounds using a microphoneUses text-to-speech so you can learn proper pronunciationCharacter popups show you the meanings of virtually any characterSupports more than 30 common file formats including delimited text Accepted Learning MethodUses the Leitner method, and has 5 boxes depending on how well the word is known.

Words that are correct are moved one to the next box, and words that are wrong go to the start of the first box. Words are scheduled depending on how well known they are.

Words are also 'drawn' from the pack to break down flashcards into smaller parts. Networked and Multi-UserSeamlessly integrates with FTP/HTTP, which means just about anyone with a website can share vocab lists, right within the program.

Also available is a secure server, which supports for user groups (admin, power, restricted and anonymous), can set category permissions and flash vocab, keeping track of progress in a central location.

Multimedia and Text-To-Speech Sound (records high-quality audio that's around 20 times smaller than the original), media (uses the best media control for that platform, for example ActiveShow or Quicktime, codecs need to be installed separately).

Text-To-Speech support is also available for Microsoft SAPI4 (Agent) and SAPI5. Character PopupsInbuilt popupswhich show you the name, type and meaning (if relevant) for a character.

Cantonese/Mandarin popups show the relevant Pinyin information from Unihan, Japanese popups show the On/Kun reading from Kanjidic, and character information from the Unicode character database for all others.

File FormatsSupports more than 30 file formats including Edict, CEDict, JFC, JQuickTrans, CQuickTrans, Wadoku and a delimited text import wizard with automatic detection of encodings, delimiters and text qualifiers.

Download Flazzle Pro 1.6b 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

With Any Sound Recorder you can also edit audio files as you desired by cutting, copying, pasting, trimming and various DSP effects, save audio in popular WAV/MP3/OGG music formats.

Main Features: 1)Powerful functions: Any Sound Recorder can record any sound available to your sound card into WAV/MP3/OGG files with flexible encode parameters.

2) Full control over recording sound quality: Any Sound Recorder will automatically detect the recording formats supported by your sound card and then set the appropriate one.

But you can also change it easily to best suit your needs. With its powerful sound recording engine, Recorder can produce recordings with CD quality.

Full control of MP3/OGG file bit-rate allows you to select the file size and sound quality. 3) Input source and record volume control support: Any Sound Recorder integrates the complete sets of input source and record volume control for your convenience.

4) Easy-to-use user-friendly interface with color schemes: Most functions can be called up with a simple mouse click or menu selection. With record wizard, you can custom your recording operation easily.

You can also select your favor color scheme in options dialog. 5) Smart wave edit feature: Provide most useful edit tool such as special effects, copy & cut & past, unlimited undo & redo, zoom in/out features.

Download Any Sound Recorder 2.35 in Softonic

While hardly the most interesting piece of software, the AC'97 Audio Codec is a comprehensive addition to your audio set-up. It incorporates proprietary converter technology to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio above 90dB. It also supports multiple codec extensions with variable sampling rates and built-in 3D effects.

AC'97 Audio Codec provides two pairs of stereo outputs with independent volume controls, a mono output, and multiple stereo and mono inputs, as well as mixing, gain and mute functions that provide a complete integrated audio solution. The codec can be used to equal advantage in both PCs and netbooks.

The AC'97 Audio Codec also supports a SPDIF out function which allows easy connection from the PC to consumer electronic products. The codec comes bundled with Windows drivers and various sound effects (including Karaoke, emulation of 26 sound environments, and 5-band equalizer), features that round off any PC sound system.

If you need an audio codec solution for your PC, AC'97 Audio Codec is a great option.

Download AC'97 Audio Codec A4.06 in Softonic

Users are very picky when it comes to installing codec packs on their PCs - nobody wants to bloat their system with useless files and tools that won't be of any use or will only cause incompatibility issues. You won't have this problem with XP Codec Pack. This compact, handy codec pack has always been Softonic's first choice whenever we need to install codecs or upgrade them on a PC.

Why? Well, we like the fact that XP Codec Pack focuses on the most popular formats, and so it's not overloaded with codecs most users will hardly use. Secondly, it's easy to install and lets you choose exactly what you want, both for codecs and tools. Finally, XP Codec Pack is incredibly stable and highly compatible: we've never had a single problem with codec since we began to use it.

Of course, that doesn't mean to say that XP Codec Pack is perfect. There are a few flaws that should be pointed out. The most demanding users will surely miss a wider array of formats in XP Codec Pack, as well as more codec-related tools like the ones you find in other codec packs.

XP Codec Pack is a great choice for those who don't need a massive selection of codecs and prefer a simpler, hassle-free codec kit for the most popular audio and video formats.

Download XP Codec Pack 2.5.1 in Softonic

With more and more multimedia content filling your hard drive, it’s increasingly important to have some way of managing it all. Jaangle (formerly known as Teen Spirit) is an all-in-one media player and organizer that aims to do exactly this with a focus on usability. A highly user-friendly interface and one click access to album information make this a great application, particularly for music lovers.

If you use Windows Media Player to manage your audiovisual collection then you’ll certainly find Teen Spirit a breath of fresh air. Although the look is not quite so slick and polished, the system for obtaining extra information about a track, album or artist is far better. Jaangle works by assigning tags to your music files which are then used to search for the appropriate lyrics and other associated information from several databases including All Music, Net Covers and of course, Google. By casting the net so wide, Jaangle tends to return much more extensive results than Windows Media Player. However, be careful with the tags. If they are not specific enough, Jaangle tends to retrieve completely the wrong information. Another useful feature is that it stores all this information locally so that you don’t need an internet connection to view album info once you’ve retrieved it for the first time.

You can create multiple music collections by simply adding the folder paths that contain your MP3 files, search through your collections and sort the file list in several ways. Jaangle also keeps track of the files you play, lets you review statistics and generates a personal hitlist based on which songs you listen to most. You can also do all the other usual things such as rename files, create playlists and edit ID3 tags. However, you can’t customise the interface in any significant way – there are no new skins for example – and you can’t drag and drop music from one playlist to another very easily. Jaangle also lacks an equaliser of any kind although the developers say they are working on a DJ function which will hopefully incorporate one.

However, Jaangle performs far less impressively with video files. There’s no info retrieval feature for these and the playing controls are limited. In fact, we found that although it clearly separates your videos from your music, you’re probably better using an external application with more features for video playback.

Jaangle is a great application for those who have huge music collections and feel their current music player doesn’t give them enough album info or doesn’t organise files very well. Seeing the right album covers and reading the artist bios really brings your music alive so even if you’re happy with your current music player, you might find you get more out of your collection with Jaangle.

Download Jaangle 0.98.961 in Softonic

WinX DVD Player has all the functions that you would expect of a DVD player and is controlled via the floating toolbar or by right-clicking on the screen itself. Language and menu options are also accessible from within the interface and the DVD Player can be used for bunches of file types, including AVI, DIVX, WMV, RM, RMVB, XVID, MPEG, VOB, DAT, ASF, MP3, WMA and RMA.

WinX DVD Player doesn't just stop there, however, and includes other functions that you wouldn't normally find on a DVD player, such as the option to bookmark specific parts of your film so that you can go back to them later, take screenshots from within the program and create playlists. In addition, the audio and video quality provided by WinX DVD Player is pretty high quality.

Unfortunately, WinX DVD Player has so many points against it that it's hard to see it in a positive light. Installation was buggy, the registration message is irritating, the floating toolbar doesn't disappear when watching in full screen mode, there is no information when you hover over options (meaning you don't know what you are clicking before you do it), and last, but certainly not least, WinX DVD Player is arguably unattractive.

A good DVD player can be hard to find, but WinX DVD Player is probably not the answer to your prayers.

Download WinX DVD Player 5.5.4 in Softonic

The quest for ever increasing download speed is like a quest for the holy grail and HiDownload attempts to reach nirvana through mutli-threading.

HiDownload is basically a multi-threaded download manager that allows you to download individual files (or lists of files) from web and FTP sites to get the most out of your broadband or dial-up connection. The program supports multimedia streaming with all important pause and resume features which allow you to download movies, music and capture streaming video at your own pace or to avoid disappointment if you suffer a broken connection. In addition, it provides all the standard features of a download manager, including scheduling, a drop basket, download history, clipboard monitoring, download categories as well as zip previews and more.
To look at, the interface is nothing special but it does clearly display your current downloads plus a browser window in the left hand pane from where you can locate files on your hard drive. The big question is, does it really speed-up downloads then? Well, as an alternative download manager for either IE or Firefox, it's certainly a better option giving you much greater control over how your downloads work. However, the actual speed differences are negligible and depend greatly on the state of your connection and that of the server delivering the file.

As an alternative download manager for your browser, HiDownload is a decent choice but don't expect it to perform miracles on your download speeds.

Download HiDownload Pro 7.18 in Softonic

MooPlayer is a free, open-source media player for audio and video files with some interesting features.

To begin with, MooPlayer doesn't require installation: you only need to copy the app's files to your hard drive. Also, being open-source, anyone can develop plug-ins of their own in order to improve the player or add new functionalities to it.

MooPlayer supports the most popular formats both in audio and video. As for the latter, it can also display subtitles and lets you use zoom to play a video in double or half its original size.

On the downside, I personally found the program's interface design to be quite annoying. The arrangement of button and other controls is fine, but having a cartoon cow constantly flashing on the background is not my cup of tea.

MooPlayer can play both audio and video, supports subtitles, doesn't require installation and is open-source. Pity the interface doesn't go along with these nice features.

Download MooPlayer 1.3.0 in Softonic

The hoo-hah surrounding the closure of Napster all those years ago now seems like a distant memory. At the time, users were literally crying that they would no longer be able to share files for nothing over the Internet. As it turned out, they needn't have worried because since then we've seen countless P2P clients come and go. Aside from being the world's first radio-enabled peer-to-peer software, FileCroc doesn't bring anything new to the table, however, it does combine a wealth of useful features with a smart GUI.

With shades of Ares about it, FileCroc works through a decentralised network with more than 50 million users, meaning that you invariably find what you're looking for and transfer times are pretty quick. It can even be used to download Torrent files, giving it extra bonus points in my book. Thanks to its drag-and-drop control method, it's dead easy to start sharing files with the program from the get-go.

Besides just giving you a platform to share files, FileCroc also includes a smart chat facility, with the ability to create your own rooms and host files within them. You also get a neat built-in player that lets you preview and play songs before they download. I've heard some grumblings before about an adware toolbar called 'Navelex,' which installs automatically with the client, but I found no sign of it in this version.

If you want a fully-featured P2P client with a fast search facility then FileCroc could be just the thing you're looking for.

Download FileCroc 1.0.1.3006 in Softonic