player

Handling many popular file formats, DivX Plus for Mac is the latest DivX player for the Mac platform. With its editing and conversion options as well, we found it to be a great potential addition to any user's Mac toolbox.

As you would expect, DivX Plus for Mac handles DivX format video files, as well as MKV and AVI files. This latest version of the player also allows for conversion from MP4 format, so you can format existing video files for use on the iPhone and iPad. You can also use DivX Plus for Mac as a streaming platform … Read more

MX Video Player is perhaps not the best, but it's definitely one of the better media player apps out there. The app can access all video file formats and includes a lot of options that you can use to change the viewing environment of your videos.

This app offers a very straightforward interface, especially if you're only using it to access mainstream files. At the starting screen you're simply given the set of available videos on your device. The interface of the player has all the standard buttons when playing a file, as well as several other … Read more

Simplicity, ease of use, and playing the widest variety of file extensions are what give any free, open-source media player the edge. While the AVI Player app is definitely not the only multiformat media player available, it is specifically designed to make AVI files directly accessible on your smartphone.

The AVI Player app offers a single menu through which to access available files. There is no welcome page and the interface does not have a front end. You just need to select any AVI file to play it. We used a slightly older Android 2.2 phone in our tests … Read more

Adobe's free Flash Player plug-in enables cool stuff in your Web browser and portable devices. It plays Shockwave Flash (SWF) files from YouTube and similar sites, streaming 3D video and animation, online games, and embedded Web applications. It also allows some Web sites to store and run data on your PC to collect usage statistics, much like cookies do. The latest version, Adobe Flash Player 11, automatically disables local storage of data in Web browsers that support private browsing. If your browser doesn't allow this option, you can typically access Flash Player's settings through the browser's … Read more

I love my Roku. I want to start with that so there is no confusion. I've been the proud owner of a Roku since 2010 (thanks Uncle Mike) and just upgraded to the Roku 2 XD. And today we've teamed up with the wonderful people at Roku to bring the CNET Exclusives' audience an unbeatable deal on a Roku bundle.

The Roku is a fantastic streaming media device that allows you watch content from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Pandora, and the list goes on and on. With an assortment of free and paid services, the Roku 2 … Read more

If you like watching DVDs on your PC, you'll be disappointed to know that Windows 8 can't play DVD videos out of the box, so to speak. That doesn't mean you have to go out and spend a lot of money to get DVD video playback. In fact, there are quite a few programs available that are free. Here are a few popular options for watching DVDs on your Windows 8 PC:

Windows Media Center It's the omission of Windows Media Center that removed Windows 8's ability to natively play DVD video. If you like … Read more

KMPlayer has changed a bit since we reviewed version 3.2 back in May. KMPlayer has always been popular and familiar software, so the latest version might be a bit of an eye-opener -- in good ways and bad. One of the new additions, "KMP Plus," acts as a dashboard for the program. On startup, users are greeted by an interactive home screen where they can watch promoted videos and advertisements, browse video channels, or access their own library content directly.

KMP Plus is attempting to become a premium service, but this 3.4 release highlights what seems … Read more

Improved to give the best the Internet has to offer, Adobe Flash Player 11 shows a quantum leap in performance over previous versions. It has a number of new features designed to take full advantage of the newer 64-bit browsers and operating systems available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. This makes it a more effective tool for Web developers and anyone who enjoys media-rich applications or sites like YouTube. However, with the improvement come a few headaches that users of certain browsers may encounter.

If you use Google Chrome, there is no need to download Adobe Flash Player 11, … Read more

The typical media player can't handle Flash videos, so a variety of specialized players have sprung up for this purpose. Flash Player Pro is one such program, promising to both manage your library of Flash videos and allow you to download new ones. We tried out the trial version of the program, which is limited to 15 days of use and has a few other limitations. It worked well enough, but strange error messages caused us to waste time troubleshooting problems that didn't actually exist.

The program's interface is dated and not particularly attractive, but it's … Read more