Kantaris is an all new media player based on code from Videolan client (VLC) and Bass audio library. Kantaris has a graphical user interface similar to that of Windows Media Player.
Version 0.4.3 works with Windows 2000, XP and Vista.

NEW CODECS DETECTOR. The Player Ceremu Suite is a sound player for WAV, AIF, AU, and MP3 audio files. It is also a movie player. Play DivX, AVI, MPEG1 and MPEG2, VOB, WMV, and DVD. Features an MP3 encoder, a ZIP compressor, a file encryptor, and a rapid launch menu. With Player CEREMU SUITE, you can save and load lists of files in the players, change backgrounds and colors in the sound player, etc.

Though many previously bundled applets now will ship separately to Windows 7, Windows Media Player remains part of the core OS. Windows 7 will ship with Windows Media Player 12, which includes some surprising new features.
Related Stories

* Microsoft releases Windows Media Player 11
* Microsoft delays final release of Windows Media Player 11
* Windows Media Player add-on for Firefox released

The UI itself is brighter and lighter than WMP11. Some buttons and toolbar items have been moved around, but the experience should be pretty familiar to users of version 11. What does represent a big change is the removal of the Now Playing button, which in WMP11 switches to a view showing the current playlist.

This is because WMP12 completely separates library management from what's currently playing, with two distinct player modes; Now Playing view, and Library view. Library view contains all the library manipulation features that should be familiar from WMP11. Now Playing view contains the current playlist, visualizations, and videos.

Windows Media Player (WMP) is a digital media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices. Editions of Windows Media Player were also released for Mac OS, Mac OS X and Solaris but development of these has since been discontinued.

Nullsoft Winamp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity media player for Windows. Winamp supports playback of many audio (MP3, OGG, AAC, WAV, MOD, XM, S3M, IT, MIDI, etc) and video types (AVI, ASF, MPEG, NSV), custom appearances called skins (supporting both classic Winamp 1.x/2.x skins and Winamp 3 freeform skins), audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins (including two industry dominating visualization plug-ins), an advanced media library, Internet radio and TV support, CD ripping, and CD burning.

Burn CDs Faster - Up to 48x! With Unrestricted Audio CD Burning, Winamp Pro enables you to burn your favorite music compilations at your computer's full potential. Once registered, Winamp Pro will allow you to burn your Audio CDs at speeds up to 48x, 9 times the speed of Winamp 5! (Actual speeds may differ, depending on your computer's specifications.)

- Rip/Encode Music into aacPlus, AAC, MP3, and WMA! With Winamp Pro, you can rip all your favorite music CDs into the industr leading MP3 format. When all your songs are encoded in MP3, it provides you the freedom to play them in all MP3 capable hardware and software media players. Your ripping doesn't end with the MP3 format, you'll also have the ability to rip into aacPlus, AAC, MP3, and WMA! Another bonus to Winamp Pro is the ability to rip HE-AAC at >128k bitrate!

- Faster, Unlimited Ripping - Up to 48x! With Unrestricted Audio CD Ripping, Winamp Pro enables you to convert all of your favorite music CDs into digital files at your computer's maximum potential. Once registered, Winamp Pro can rip your CDs at speeds up to 48x, 9 times the speed of Winamp 5! (Actual speeds may differ, depending on your computer's specifications.)

VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.

* It is a free cross-platform media player
* It supports a large number of multimedia formats, without the need for additional codecs
* It can also be used as a streaming server, with extended features (video on demand, on the fly transcoding, ...)

There comes a time when we all get tired of heavy and bloated media players such as Windows Media Player and even iTunes.
Sometimes you just want to insert a track or play and mp3 and not be bothered bu codec warnings, updates or RAM shortages. That's why Complete Media Player has been designed and while hardly the most sophisticated media player on the market, it's refreshingly easy to use and light in operation. Complete Media Player is a highly simple player which not only plays music, but also allows you to watch videos and compile playlists. However, what is annoying is that there's no codec pack - you have to install each one separately depending on what you are watching. In a way, this is good because having too many codecs can slow a player down but ultimately, it's very tedious to insert a new DivX file and find out that you are lacking a specific codec. The play controls are very basic - there is shuffle, repeat and start, stop fast forward and rewind functions. And you can also watch your videos in full screen mode either by right clicking or using the basic file menu at the top.

I would only recommend this player if you have a particularly slow machine or need something that is extremely light on ram and only intend to play one specific type of film.

Spider Player Pro full version ultimate and skinnable audio player with full support for all major audio formats: MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC and others. Its most interesting features include audio streaming, integration with Shoutcast and Icecast radio directories, lossless Internet radio recording, advanced CD Ripping and Converting capabilities, FreeDB integration, 32-sound processing for crystal-clear sound, customizable local and global hotkeys and crossfading support. Spider Player is small and blazingly fast, and uses very few system resources.

Spider Player 2.3.9 (November 4, 2008)

Improved:
+ Web Search button can now be turned off in the Options
+ some translations were updated

Changes:
* crossfading is now off by default

DVD X Player is the first region free/code free software DVD player in the world. DVD X Player have no region lock protection, allowing you to view ALL movies from ALL regions, 1 thru 6. Through this player you can play all region DVD on all DVD drives even if you have changed the region code 5 times. You needn't hack DVD drive (flash firmware) which is very dangerous.
DVD X Player supports macrovision-free feature through which you can view DVDs through your TV-out device without obstruction or distortion. It also supports operation-free through which you can skip the FBI warning easily.

DVD X Player is a full-featured and easy to use DVD, Video CD, Audio-CD and media file player. It can provide superior quality video and audio (Dolby&DTS) also other enhanced functions: e.g. optional skins, playback image and DV, image capture and bookmark, etc. Furthermore, it supports DIVX, MPEG4, RM, QuickTime, WMV, WMV-HD, MacroMedia Flash and so on popular media formats of Internet.

Key Features :
• Support macrovision-free feature through which you can view DVDs through your TV-out device without obstruction or distortion
• Support operation-free through which you can skip the FBI warning easily
• DVD X Player can determine disc type in the DVD drive automatically and choose the right play mode for DVD titles, video CDs, audio CDs or DivX/XviD Discs
• Auto-resume and Bookmarks let you jump right to the last viewed location of DVD
• Record your favorite DVD movie into MPEG2 video or MP3 audio file
• Capture, browse and save the pretty pictures from your favorite movie
• Smart Stretch lets you enjoy any movie with 16:9 aspect ratio on any screen mode, without distortion

The RealPlayer is the first product that integrates Real's revolutionary new Harmony technology. RealPlayer enables consumers to buy and download music that plays on more than 100 portable devices, including the Apple iPod. RealPlayer is the only digital-media player you need for finding and downloading new music, playing and managing audio and video clips, and taking your digital entertainment with you. RealPlayer offers a streamlined interface that allows you to keep your media library close at hand. Keep all your digital-media clips organized in one place; save CD tracks with one click; pause and rewind live streams; transfer music to CDs and portable devices effortlessly; and enjoy clear, smooth video playback and multichannel, surround-sound support.

Helix Powered RealPlayer is the all-in-one digital media player that lets you find anything and play everything. This popular streaming-media player offers improved video controls and access to 3200 radio stations. RealPlayer also includes an option during setup to install the Real Toolbar for Internet Explorer. With RealPlayer you get an improved graphic equalizer and media services, including a radio tuner and an artist and music guide. Meanwhile, the Take 5 news service can offer you daily sports updates. A contextual video search helps you find interviews with your favorite artists. The RealPlayer music store lets you buy music files. Finally, you can use the software to transfer files to CDs and portable devices.

Features of RealPlayer :
- Best video & audio quality ever
- Plays CDs, DVDs and all major file types.
- Integrated Music Store

PowerDVD allows you to playback DVDs on your computer. CyberLink's second-generation dynamic video technology (CLEV-2) delivers DVD movies with greater luminance and more natural colors. Intelligent frame-by-frame analysis produces ultra-smooth DVD playback by eliminating ghosting, feathering, and other elements.

* Experience the best in video and audio entertainment
* Feel the vibes with true home theater DTS and Dolby audio
* Maximize your Notebook's on-the-road performance
* Get the smartest movie playback features available
* Connect to your UPnP Network and playback media files

Songbird is a desktop Web player, a digital jukebox and Web browser mash-up. Like Winamp, it supports extensions and skins feathers. Like Firefox, it is built from Mozilla, cross-platform and open source.

* Cross Platform - Windows, Mac, Linux
* 30+ languages
* 64-bit support
* Play as you browse
* Web pages as playlists
* Now with video hack!