- QuickTime is a free universal player (PC's and Macs) that allows you to play music and videos. Like the Real Player, it supports many different audio and video formats such as MP3, AIFF, WAV, MP4, and MOV. It includes a full-screen theater mode, and A/V controls that allow you to adjust sound and display settings. QuickTime also allows you to purchase and download music and video files using iTunes, which makes it an alternative to the Rhapsody music store used by Real Player for media purchases. QuickTime also allows you to watch movie trailers.
- The Windows Media Player is a free player developed and marketed by Microsoft, used to play back music, videos and photos of many different formats. Like Real Player and QuickTime, it supports audio and video files of many different formats (e.g. WAV, MP3) and allows you to sync music files directly to your portable MP3 player. Like the other two players, it has a media store where you can not only preview and purchase music and video files, but also play back trailers of upcoming movies. One drawback to the Windows Media Player is that it can only be installed on a PC.
- Winamp is another fine alternative to the Real Player because in addition to being free, it also includes a variety of features to enhance playback of music and videos. Winamp allows you to play back many different formats (e.g. AAC, WMA and MP3) and includes A/V tools to enhance playbacks. The Winamp player, like the other players, allows you to sync music files and playlists directly to your portable MP3 player. It also has a music store where you can purchase and download media files to your library. One of Winamp's prominent features is that it allows you to manage iPod portable players.
- Before you install any of the Real Player alternatives, always check the system requirements to make sure that your computer has adequate hardware to manage the selected program. QuickTime Player, for example, requires a minimum of 2.0 GHz processor speed (especially for video playback) and at least 512 MB of RAM. Winamp, on the other hand, requires a minimum of 128 MB of RAM and 1 GHz of processor speed. If your computer meets the requirements, navigate to the website of the player you want and install the player on your computer.
- Deciding on the player to use can at times be difficult, especially if you want to mostly use the player with an MP3 player. Here's some simple advice; if you have an iPod, you are better off working with QuickTime because it integrates with iTunes, which is the default iPod management program. If you are using MP3 players such as the Creative Zen, you can manage your songs and playlists easily using Windows Media Player. Winamp is a suitable alternative for many different players. Unlike Real Player, it allows iPod management if you are looking for an alternative way to manage your iPod.
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