RealPlayer has been around since 1995, which is practically the dawn of the Web. It started as a basic media player, becoming the preferred embedded app for streaming audio and video as sites started to offer that functionality, and eventually morphing into the easy-to-use, fully functioning beast we have today.

    The previous version of RealPlayer already offered an easy, one-click solution for downloading unprotected videos for the Web. Another click transcodes those same videos to your portable device without a bit of extra effort on your part when it comes to fiddling with tricky digital format settings.

    The program also incorporates a very simple-to-use video-trimming tool that allows you to select only certain bits of a video to transfer or share, and there are one-click buttons that let you share with a variety of social sites, such as Facebook and YouTube. In addition, you have the option to strip the audio out of the videos and save those as separate files.

   The latest version of the software adds even more devices to the ever-expanding list of compatible handsets. Plus, RealPlayer now shows USB-connected smartphones and cameras inside the library in the main app window, allowing users to quickly and easily transfer content to the devices via drag-and-drop. Perhaps more compelling, though, is a new back-end feature that simplifies the process of getting photos and videos off of those devices and organized on your PC. In our testing, content was slow to load, but it's a welcome feature nonetheless.

      Best of all, you can do all this for free. RealPlayer only requires a license fee if you want to upgrade to the Plus version in order to access additional features, such as H.264 conversion and DVD burning.

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The KMPlayer is all in one media player, covering various formats such as VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg Theora, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, RealMedia, QuickTime etc. It has an extra feature to play Incomplete/Damaged AVI file, Locked Media Files while downloading or sharing, Compressed Audio Album (zip, rar) and so on. It handles a wide range of subtitles and allows you to capture audio, video, and screenshots in many ways. The player provides both internal and external filters with a fully controlled environment without grappling with DirectShow merit system. The player can set multifarious audio and video effects, control playback speed and octave, select parts of a video as favorites, do a powerful A-B repeat, remap the keys of remote interface for HTPC including overlay screen controls, change a skin dynamically depending on a media type playing, and many more. It is completely customizable thanks to a wide selection of skins and color schemes, and configuration options are extensive. KMPlayer is one of the most powerful video players in the world and trying to offer the best media entertaining environment for users. With new vision and dedication for the better user experience of video entertaining, we will keep listen and communicate with users of KMPlayer.

Media Player Classic is small size, low memory footprint, and numerous features make this the media player of choice, but you must add the proper codecs to perfect this freeware.

Media Player Classic's interface reflects its title--retro, old school, basic. This single player easily replaces the four or five video players installed on most systems. The only caveat is that you must download a complete set of codecs to play your favorite video formats. Media Player Classic also easily loads and plays DVDs. We liked how you can easily increase or decrease playback speed.

This program also plays most audio formats. We were surprised this tiny player includes sound filters and playlists. Hot keys are easily changed, but some users complain the process to set a key isn't apparent. The help file isn't included, but is easily downloaded.

The promised video subtitle search and download function is Media Player Classic's only disappointment. The default subtitle databases are both offline. (By the time you download this player there may be a new database available.) The address is easily changed under Options. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or system administrator. If you watch video or listen to audio, this freeware player is a must-have program.