Video Players

A video file on your computer is just a collection of ones and zeros without the software to play it back. Listed here are some video players. Keep in mind that depending on the video format, you may also need the necessary decoder installed. DivX files need the DivX software installed, and DVDs and other MPEG2 formats need an MPEG2 decoder.

Here are some players we recommend:

• InterVideo WinDVD 6
  Why would you buy a video player when Windows comes with one? In a word, quality. Oh, and also because Windows doesn't include an MPEG2 decoder, which is needed for watching any videos in MPEG2 format. But back to quality... WinDVD provides so many features with such superior picture quality, you'll never go back to a free player. It's optimized for playing DVDs in your computer, but can be used for playing files from your hard drive too.
  

• Windows Media Player
  Although its interface can be a bit clunky, Media Player is free and will play just about anything you throw at it.
  

Anything we're missing? Let us know.

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