PCs have become our entertainment centers.  We can play music either from a CD or directly from the Internet, watch DVDs, view family pictures, and even talk on the phone using our Internet connection.

PCs were a productivity tool for me until I installed a PC to my home theater system and started playing music from the Internet. I then integrated the DVD players into the PC which was already linked to the home theater system – oh what a difference!

Since that moment, I have started looking at the various media players available in the market and what all they do.  There is Windows Media Player, iTunes, QuickTime, RealPlayer, and a few others – we’ll keep this short review to the most popular ones.

Windows Media Player (WMP)
WMP comes integrated with the Windows operating systems - the newest one, version 11, is available for download.   I think this is by far one of the most popular since it already comes loaded in the PC and there is nothing to do except start using it.  I do like the fact that you can download skins (download skins) and visualizations (download visualizations) directly from Microsoft free of charge.  Skins give a program a different look – Visualizations are random images that are played while listening to music.  WMP allows you to play Internet radios, rip music CDs into your computer; mix songs from various CDs and burn a single CD with all your selections; copy music to your favorite MP3 player, watch DVDs, and so much more.  This is truly a great tool.

 

Visualization Samples	Skin Samples

iTunes & QuickTime
Both of these programs are Mac products; by far iTunes is the most popular since it seamlessly integrates with iPod.  It has all the same functionality as WMP but the ability to change skins and add visualizations is not nearly as spectacular as the library that Microsoft offers for WMP.  I found visualization for iTunes but only if you have a Mac.  I like, however, the way that you are able to see all of your music in one single view, display it by genres, or group it by artist, a feature not available in WMP.  Also, when mixing music it is as simple as drag and drop and with a quick touch of the mouse you can create your own mixed music for CD burning or synchronizing with your favorite MP3 player.   QuickTime (QT) is another media player but it is limited to simply playing video and nothing more unless you buy the PRO version.  QT isbundled with AOL and Netscape.

 

Real Player
Seems like every other time you try to download or stream something, you are required to install Real Player.  Recently I signed up for Starz online and setup my home theater PC for streaming movies.  Wow! All I can watch for only $12.99 per month and no need to drive to Blockbuster.  The condition though was that I installed and fully registered my copy of Real Player.  Functionality is great but I still prefer to use WMP.  I guess these days you almost have to be able to juggle between one media player to the other.

 
Buying Music online
If you are going to buy music online use WMA instead of iTunes because if you buy using WMA you can share it with any other media players, conversely you buy music with iTunes you are limited to online iTunes and cannot share with other players.

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