There is a problem with every operating system, whether it's a Mac or a PC, where the majority of video and audio files will not play back through your system, unless you download the relevant media player. It's annoying as this means it's difficult to play Windows Media Player files on your Mac and QuickTime files on your PC, without additional software. One solution is to install an independent media player such as the VLC Media Player. The other is to install the relevant codec which will enable playback through your existing media player.

K-Lite Codec Pack 4.1 is a comprehensive free collection of codecs that will enable you to play most regular media types. Install the collection from this pack and you may find that you do not need to find another media player ever again.

K-Lite Codec Pack link.

Unless you are an avid gamer, most modern PCs will last a fair few years. Indeed, you'll probably get bored of your PC long before you need to upgrade. There are various reasons why you shouldn't get rid or move on your old PC. Partly for the security reasons of having to format the hard drive and partly as you can use it for other purposes.

MediaPortal is a free solution for turning your PC in to a fully-fledged media centre, which will enable you to stream, record and playback recorded TV and video. You can store all your favourite movies or videos, catalogue them and then playback via your media centre. View your photos, music, stream radio and more.

MediaPortal link.

As we benefit from faster broadband, online video portals are being used by many, whether searching for a music video, humorous clip or the latest news. The trouble is that websites like YouTube aren't always the best way for finding specific or up-to-date videos. However, RSS players provide greater choice and enable users to compile lists of available channels, you can also use them to view clips or programs, plus use them to download your favourite clips straight to your PC.

Miro 1.2.4 is a quick and easy solution for watching TV online. It has comprehensive list of already available channels, for watching directly or downloading and watching at a later date. Miro will store downloaded videos and once your disk space fills up, will automatically delete older videos.

Miro link.

Operating systems are based on a modular system that enable you to add or remove codecs that you require to open and save audio and video files, both for playback and those you've created. If you install any modern video or DVD editor, or a AV player, you'll find that a number of the most popular codecs are installed on your system. However, if you've downloaded an old video encoded in the 90s, you'll probably find that it was produced with an old Intel codec that has long since been discontinued. These were designed for producing video for playback from CD, so the quality was poor compared to modern codecs.

CodecInstaller 2.6.3 is a tool that you can use to check through your existing codecs and then it will inform you of codecs that are required, when you attempt to open or playback audio or video. It might not always be able to let you know where you can get the codecs, but a hunt around the Internet will more than likely find the codec you require.

Many of us use existing music store tools such as Napster and iTunes to manage our music. Windows Media Player 11 also enables us to manage our audio players and tracks, although it's hard to imagine that it's the first choice for most users. There are plenty of free and shareware alternatives available, that will enable you to rip, store, manage and burn your audio tracks. People like the thought of using an independent music manager.

MediaMonkey 3 alpha is an early preview of the forthcoming major release. It's a fantastic music manager that is now completely Vista compatible and ships with a brand new user interface. The latest version also ships with an iTunes-style browser, improvements to the burning engine and more.

If you’re an existing iTunes user, a new minor update is now available. This new version, as anticipated, now supports the Apple iPhone. There is a new menu for the iPhone which will offer a help manual and support, but these features are not yet available online as yet. 7.3.1. will also enable you to sync photos, TV, music and more with your iPhone.

The iPod syncing is also smarter. If there’s not enough space to sync your iPod, iTunes will now tell you how much space is required for the new information and tell you how much space is remaining on your iPod.

Download Apple iTunes 7.3.1.

One of the most frustrating parts of Apple QuickTime or RealPlayer was that you had to purchase the full or professional version of the media player, in order to unlock some important features. For instance, you couldn't watch your movies full screen, if you have the basic and free version of QuickTime. That required a £30 upgrade. It is rumoured that the next version of the Mac OS X operating system, Leopard, will ship with a version of QuickTime that will not require an upgrade, to watch movies full-screen. However, there's no need to wait for Leopard..

Apple QuickTime 7.2 is a fairly major upgrade to the media player as this version not only ships with updates to the supplied H.264 video codec, but now enables you to watch your movies full screen. This means you can download a HD trailer and watch that full screen without needing QuickTime Pro.

There are plenty of media players on the market, from the Windows Media Player through to RealPlayer, that's been around for ages and supports both its own format as well as many additional media formats, for playing back audio and video content. It's generally a cross-platform media player, although this beta of the latest version is a Windows-only preview.

RealPlayer 11 beta is a preview of the forthcoming major update to the media player. This version will enable you to download video content for playback on your PC, along with other updated features, such as an improved user interface. There is little other information on the RealPlayer website. Some of the features are also only available in the Plus edition, which costs £19.99, probably as the codecs you require to burn video to DVD cannot be given away with the free version.

One of the most frustrating elements of the ongoing Media Player v RealPlayer v QuickTime battle is that they all attempt to override each others media format. If you have an MPG video file on your computer, install RealPlayer and it will attempt to open it, whereas you might prefer QuickTime. Worse still, each media player only supports a limited number of video codecs, so what might play on one operating system and in one particular media player, may not play on another.

VLC Media Player 0.8.6c is a cross-platform multi-format video player that will enable you to play the same track on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer. You only need to install the one media player and you'll find tht it can handle most video formats that you throw at it (apart from Microsoft coded WMV which requires special authorisation that only Windows Media Player can support).

There are three major media players available, but each of these players is primarily geared up to playing their own media files. For instance, QuickTime likes the .mpg format, whilst Windows Media Player will play the .wmv formatted video files. These players will often play formats from their rivals, but they'll try and make sure that they are the default media player for your audio and video.

VLC Media Player 0.8.6b is a general purpose audio and video player that is not brand nor format biased, so will work across a number of formats and multiple operating systems. It will play MPG files, DivX, MP3, OGG, stream files, play DVDs and much more. It's simple too, so no over the top user-interface, no commercials and no automatic 'homepage' when you start the player.