Maybe you've remarked, from DivX to QuickTime, RealVideo to mpeg4 there are tons of media formats around, all each of these require you to install codecs or special software to read; plus some of these software (for example, QuickTime and RealPlayer) install components that slow your computer down! VLC Media Player is a simple media player that can open virtually any media format, that works on all operating systems and doesn't contain spyware since it's open source! [click here to download]

Be it for videos downloaded from the internet, received via e-mail, that is already on Video CDs or DVDs; one often needs to convert to a format that can be understood by players on the internet or on mobile devices. You might also sometimes want to rip your DVDs, i.e. convert your DVD into a MP4 file that you can, for example, play on your phone or iPad. One software that can understand most formats that your computer can open (Windows Media, the old MPEG-2, Video CDs or DVDs) and can convert them to MPEG-4 is Handbrake. [click here to download]