RealPlayer

There are many actions you can perform when it comes to media files and each action requires a different program. For example, if you want to download a video, convert it and play it or share it, you would need two or three separate software. If you are clever, you can use a single application, such as RealPlayer, which covers all these tasks. It has been on the market since 1996 and it continues to be a properly good media player to this day.

You should pay attention while going through the setup process. You can opt for a number of additional tools and services, like Google Chrome or Norton Security Scan. To accept or decline these, you only need to click a check box, but if you click the Next button, without bothering to look at the information displayed on the monitor, you will find other new software on your computer.

The software is not a simple media player. It features a media library, burn tools and a built-in web browser as well. They can be accessed separately by clicking the navigation tabs on the interface's top edge. Besides videos or music, you can also use the media library to organize your pictures, downloads and recordings and more. Everything is placed in categories and sub-categories. For example, in the Music category, the files are organized in different folders, according to genre, artist or album. The files themselves, regardless of type and format, are displayed as thumbnails and if you hover with your mouse cursor over them, you will find options for playing, moving, copying or sharing the media.

To burn your media or other data to a CD or DVD, you must go through three easy steps, in the Burn section. The options are placed in a logical order on the left side of the interface. First you need to specify what type of disk to burn (audio, MP3 or data). The second step is to select what files you want burned. Clicking this option will reveal a compacted version of the media library, in the same area and you can target any file by double clicking it or dragging and dropping it to a list on the main area of the interface. Finally, you can select a burning speed, label it and select other options which you would find in other disk burners as well.

You can surf the web, just like in a web browser or you can access an online guide, where you can find videos placed in different categories. The guide and the web browser can be found under different navigation tabs. The main difference is that you may download a video at any time, even while it is playing, by right clicking it and choosing the download option from the context menu.

When downloading a video, the progress is displayed in a small window and when it is complete, you can use one of the options placed on the bottom edge of this window. These will allow you to jump directly to the media library, where you will find the video or convert all downloaded videos to formats supported by the PC, mobile devices, gaming consoles and more. Also in the downloads window, you can find a series of options, next to each entry, which can be used to convert individual videos or trim them, using a lightweight video editor.