Our fast-paced world of technology and entertainment is all about media. Whether it be picture collections, audio playlists, videos, or other files, the human race is all about data. In order to process this data, however, we need media players that fit our needs. Media players allow you to collect files into one place, organize them, create playlists, burn CDs and DVDs, and perform additional functions like converting files from one format to another. In this article, we will be looking at a number of media players that are known around the world and are designed to make your life easier.

Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player is, perhaps, the most well known media player in the world. Created by Microsoft, Windows Media Player comes with every Microsoft computer system sold worldwide. Windows Media Player allows you to watch movies, create playlists, organize files by classification and genre, and burn files to discs. Windows Media Player does have its drawbacks, though, the biggest being that it does not support a lot of the newer codecs that are being introduced to the market. With external codec packs such as the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack, however, Windows Media Player is able to process and play just about every file format known to man.

DivX
DivX is similar to Windows Media Player but specializes in quality management. DivX is both a plug-in as well as its own stand-alone media player. If you have both Windows Media Player and DivX installed, you may have noticed that while watching some movies within Windows Media Player, DivX will power on and be visible as an icon in your taskbar. This allows for you to watch your movies in whatever media player you like while still gaining the additional quality and synchronization effects that DivX can offer.

RealPlayer
RealPlayer is a media player that doesn’t get as much attention as it used to. RealPlayer is used mostly as an audio media player but it also supports videos and Flash applications. RealPlayer has also taken the initiative in the past year or so to develop technologies that exceed the capacity of other media players. For example, RealPlayer now allows you to download videos and transfer them to your cell phone.

QuickTime
QuickTime is able to handle a lot more than other media players but it comes with a price: QuickTime often hogs a good amount of CPU and can really slow down your computer if you have an older model. QuickTime was developed by Apple and comes with other products such as Apple iTunes but you can also download it as its own application. QuickTime is able to process 3D models, Flash, various video formats, as well as music.

WinAmp Media Player
WinAmp Media Player allows you to do several important things. Aside from processing and playing common music and video files, it also supports the latest file formats such as MP4 and iPod video files. WinAmp also allows you to synchronize your files with your iPod, giving you the freedom to ditch Apple’s iTunes which takes up a lot of CPU. WinAmp also gives you the ability to subscribe to podcasts and listen to them through WinAmp Media Player as well as the ability to burn and rip files to and from CDs and DVDs.

AVS Media Player
AVS Media Player is able to process and play more files than other media players. For example, AVS can play mobile file formats for videos and songs that come from your cell phone. It can also play QuickTime and RealPlayer media files which allows you to virtually replace both programs with one simple software. AVS Media Player also includes software that can increase your speakers’ audio output, converting your computer to a surround sound media center.

VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is a completely open source, cross-platform, multilingual media processing software that can play almost any type of audio or video file. VLC Media Player allows you to change the video quality with the click of a button, scale your video to fit the size of your screen, and convert file formats. The software delivers impeccable quality to any video file.

Adobe Media Player
Adobe Media Player is all about streaming. The software allows you to subscribe to multiple online television sources and watch your shows whenever you want. Adobe Media Player basically converts your PC into a fully-accessible TV hotspot for all of your favorite shows. As many television networks allow you to view shows online for free anyway, Adobe Media Player completes your “PC TV”.