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Downloaded movies are becoming easier and easier to find and download.
Fortunately there are a number of media players that you can take advantage of.
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Windows Media Player is the default player, and comes with of Windows. Although
it can be somewhat inflexible (not all formats work with it, so you should test
new files before counting on it), that everyone has access to it ensures that
it will be used for a long time.
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The other default player, QuickTime sees a lot of use, as it was the first
player for Macintosh computers, which is where a lot of media is created. As
such, the QuickTime player also sees a lot of use. Although somewhat limited to
one format (avi files), that file format is used widely enough that movies
cater to it, thus making the QuickTime useful for more than just movie trailers
and shorts.
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On of the better movie players, most people know of WinAmp (www.winamp.com)
because of its wide use in music downloads and customizable interface. With a
wide variety of codecs available, WinAmp can handle most of your needs, but may
have some problems.
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Fast becoming the leading player, DivX (www.divx.com)
is able to handle most formats and has a customizable interface, making it a
popular choice for those that watch a lot of movies.
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No discussion of media players would be complete without discussing the codec.
Short for “coder-decoder”, the codec converts analog video and audio signals
into a digital format for transmission, and then converts received digital
signals back into analog format. Each specific type of format (.mpeg, .avi, and
.wmp) has a required codec that must be downloaded before it will play on your
chosen media player. Just make sure that your player has the current codecs
when you play (check your media player’s update page every few months to make
sure you have the current version!).
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