In the world of open source, there are a slew of media players available online these days. Most of them run on Windows and play from basic to advanced file formats.
Here’s looking at the five best media players that play a variety of files, run on all recent versions of Windows (XP, Vista and Seven), are virus and spyware free and most importantly, are free!
Best Media Player For Windows
1) Media Player Classic – This is the kind of media player that isn’t a resource hog, plays any kind of file format that you throw at it and runs on almost any hardware without any hassles. It’s quite a favorite with people coz of its easy installation and running. Features subtitles support and even lets you record and play television if a supporting TV tuner card is installed.
More about Media Player Classic. The only possible downside of this could be that it looks like it’s from the pre XP era so those of you who like flashy, glossy interfaces on their media players can give this one a miss.
2) KM Player – This is one of the most powerful free video players available these days. It features a vast array of audio and video playing options along with skins so those of you who gave the Media Player Classic a miss coz of its Neanderthal looks can give this a try.
KM Player plays any and all file formats that it’s presented with and allows you to stream TV and HDTV as well. The downside is that it doesn’t come with a help file and new users might take some time figuring this s/w out.
3) VLC Player – Media Player Classic’s rival in terms of versatility, VLC is one of the most popular media players out there. The reason is a regular updating, fast loading s/w that plays all file formats.
VLC Player supports multiple subtitle and alternate language files an also lets you record an instream from either your desktop or webcam. It can play .RAM files, fix avi videos, and has built-in codecs to do everything. The looks are simple and plain so don’t expect much in that department. Full marks in all others areas. You can download VLC player for Mac, Windows, and Linux.
4) GOM Player – Unlike DOM Player, Gom player is a free universal media player that not only is a good performer, but looks good as well.
The most impressive thing about this player are the customizable settings on the control panel which let you tinker about with the playing video’s brightness, hue, saturation, etc. The weakness of the player like KM Player lies in the absence of proper help documentation.
5) Windows Media Player 12 – Since this player comes bundled with the recent version of Windows it’s technically free. Also unlike earlier Windows Media player versions it now plays a lot more file formats with ease.
It is also the most professional media player of the lot. So even though it might surprise many of you, Windows Media Player 12 finds a place in the top media players out there.
Hope this helped you guys in choosing a media player for your needs. Go ahead, download and see for yourself which one caters to your needs.
