Media player – opposed to popular opinion – is not actually the name of a computer program. Instead, this term serves to describe a wide array of media players that are available either for download or for purchase. Probably the most famous version of media player is the Windows Media Player which now comes standard with the Microsoft Windows application. Media player enables a computer user to enjoy a cornucopia of multimedia files, such as videos, audio files in a wide variety of file formats.

You are probably familiar with the large number of websites that are now integrating videos as part and parcel of their web-presence. How often have you visited a site only to realize that a multimedia presentation is the first set of images you will see and advanced links will become visible after the video and audio file had a chance to be played? While it is true that sometimes this can be circumvented via the “skip intro” option, more often than not this will greatly dampen your experience of this particular site.

Without media player it would be impossible to enjoy streaming video, clips, and even certain online games. It is interesting to note that there is a number of free media player software which you might be familiar with. The Real Media Player is specifically popular for Mac users, but it is also the media player download of choice for the Palm OS platform, thus making it the most commonly used portable media player. It is truly amazing to consider that handheld technology will now support streaming video, and since for many this kind of technology is the main lifeline to work and play, it is not surprising that consumer demand has driven the advances in technology.

Other free media players that are being used are Quicktime, which is also indicted for Mac, as well as the best media player – Windows Media Player. You can download media player from the Internet via a number of download sites that are dedicated to disseminating quality freeware to users who want to get the most out of their Internet experience. Of course, whenever you are going to download any file – even the ones with the reputable names – make sure that you do so from a reputable site. Some of the less reputable sites will maliciously attach malware to downloads which will result in your suddenly having to contend with spyware, pop ups and a host of other undesirable applications.