Audio software for Windows
Foobar2000
Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include full unicode support, ReplayGain support and native support for several popular audio formats
Features
For more information and to download go here.
Audiograbber
Audiograbber is software that grabs digital audio from cd's. It copies the audio digitally-not through the soundcard-which enables you to make perfect copies of the originals. It can even perform a test to see that the copies really are perfect. Audiograbber can also automatically normalize the music, delete silence from the start and/or end of tracks, and send them to a variety or external MP3 encoders, such as Fraunhofers L3enc, or even use some MP3/WMA encoders internally for automatic creation of MP3's. Audiograbber can download and upload disc info from freedb, an Internet compact disc database. You can even record your vinyl LP's or cassette tapes with Audiograbber and make wav's or MP3's of them. There are a lot more functions in Audiograbber, but to put it simply: Audiograbber has the most features one can wish from such a program!
For more information and to download go here.
Audacity
Free, Cross-Platform Sound Editor.
Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds.
For more information and to download go here.
Video Codec’s and players
CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack)
The CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) is a DirectShow filter pack specifically built for playing anime. It has been assembled by some of the most knowledgeable people in online anime distribution, and one of the primary design goals is to play as much as possible with as little as possible. The CCCP attempts to be as unintrusive on your system as possible. More information and dowload from here.
VLC Media Player
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. For more information and download go here.
Media Player Classic
Media Player Classic looks just like Windows Media Player 6.4, but has many additional features. It has a built in DVD player with real-time zoom, support for AVI subtitles, QuickTime and RealVideo support (requires QuickTime and/or Real Player); built-in MPEG2/SVCD/DVD codec. To download go here.
If you’re unable to open .zip files go here and look at Free File compression software.
DivX
DivX is the name of a popular new video compression technology developed by DivX, Inc. The format was developed to enable users to play and create high-quality videos in a fast and convenient way, while still maintaining the best quality possible. The DivX codec is currently the most popular MPEG-4 based codec because of its quality, speed and efficiency as well as the wide range of DVD players that support DivX.
If you compare DivX movies to DVDs they're able to offer the same image quality at one-tenth (1/10) the size, which makes them perfectly suited for movie downloads where the bandwidth available usually is limited. This means that you can easily fit a full movie on a single CD, while still maintaining the original image quality of the DVD. The video is usually combined with AC3 or MP3 audio to provide both high quality audio and video. All of these things have contributed to the popularity of the format among those that download movies and videos online.
When you install the DivX codec it essentially works as an add-on to your system, which enables you to compress and decompress video in the DivX format. Once you've installed the DivX codec on your system you will be able to watch DivX videos using Windows Media Player or any other player that supports DivX.
To download and install the codec, go to the DivX website here and download DivX play.
XviD
XviD is the name of a popular new video codec being developed as an open source project by volunteer programmers from all over the world. The format was created to offer a free alternative to other commercial video codecs, and despite being open source its quality and efficiency has made it one of the most popular video codecs online. While XviD still isn't as widely used as DivX, playback of XviD movies is usually supported in new DVD players nowadays.
The XviD codec makes it possible to compress a full-length DVD-quality movie enough to fit on a single CD (might require 2 CDs depending on the length of the movie), while still maintaining the original image quality. Despite the fact that XviD movies offer higher quality video at smaller file sizes they take less time to encode than MPEG-2 due to the incredible compression technology. The video is usually combined with MP3 or AC3 audio to enable both high quality video and audio. These factors and the fact that the codec is distributed for free has contributed to the success of the format.
When you install the XviD codec it basically provides your system with specific instructions how to compress and decompress video in the XviD format. Once you've installed the XviD codec on your system you will be able to play XviD videos using Windows Media Player or any other XviD-enabled player.
To download and install the codec, go here and download XviD-1.1.0-30122005.exe
x264
x264 is a free library for encoding H264/AVC video streams. The code is written by Laurent Aimar, Eric Petit(OS X), Min Chen (vfw/nasm), Justin Clay(vfw), Måns Rullgård and Loren Merritt from scratch. It is released under the terms of the GPL license. To download go here.
Real Alternative
Real Alternative will allow you to play RealMedia files without having to install RealPlayer.
All RealMedia formats (.ra .rm .rmvb .ram .rpm .rv .rp .rt .rnx .smi .smil etc.) are supported, including streaming content and RealMedia content that is embedded in webpages.
Some advantages compared to RealPlayer:
* Quick and easy install
* It's easy to make an unattended installation
* Proper uninstallation
* No background processes
* Use a player of your own choice
* Low on resources
* No advertising, no registration forms, nothing annoying
Limitations:
* .smi and .smil files only play the first part of a clip. This is only a problem when the clip consists of multiple parts. These files are not very common. These files do play correctly when embedded in a browser.
* The RealMedia DirectShow splitter does not work with streaming content. You must use the included Media Player Classic to play streaming content.
To download go here.
QuickTime Alternative
QuickTime Alternative will allow you to play QuickTime files without having to install the official QuickTime Player.
All QuickTime formats (.mov .qt .3gp etc.) are supported, including streaming content and QuickTime content that is embedded in webpages.
Some advantages compared to QuickTime player:
* Quick and easy install
* It's easy to make an unattended installation
* No background processes
* Use a player of your own choice
* Low on resources
* Smaller size
To download go here.