Free Music & Video Software

 Foobar2000 0.9.6
A simple but solid audio player, Foobar2000 can be installed or run as a portable application. It can handle most audio formats, offers full Replay Gain and Unicode support and has advanced tagging features.
You can expand its capabilities further by installing various useful add-ons
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista
File size: 2.8MB
Download: Foobar2000 0.9.6

Audacity 1.3.6 (beta)
Audacity is a superb multi-track audio editor that’s packed with loads of useful features and advanced effects. You can use it to fix problems, mix tracks, apply filters and even record audio from scratch. It supports plug-ins so you can add further great functions.
The beta version offers lots of new features including on-demand loading, sound-activated recording and MIDI support.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista or Mac
File size: 4.1MB
Download: Audacity 1.3.6 (beta)

Avidemux 2.4
Avidemux is a simple video-editing tool that lets you cut, trim, append and apply various filters to your movies. You can resize and crop clips, add borders, improve the picture quality, adjust the colours and contrast, add subtitles and more.
You can also re-encode your videos.The Auto Wizard option lets you export videos to DVD, PSP, FLV and iPod formats.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista or Mac
File size: 12MB
Download: Avidemux 2.4

ImgBurn 2.4
This lightweight tool can produce disc images directly from CDs and DVDs, or from a collection of files on your hard disk. To use it, select an option from the main screen, or one of the modes from the drop-down menu.
Read turns a disc into an image file, Build creates an image from a selection of files (and can burn content directly to disc), Write authors an image file, Verify checks the image against its source and Discovery tests your drive and/or discs.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista
File size: 1.9MB
Download: ImgBurn 2.4

MediaPortal 1.0
This program is a well-designed alternative to Windows Media Center that can play videos, DVDs, music and live radio, and display photographs and the latest weather reports. It can also record and play live television, provided you have a TV tuner installed.
If you want to see what the next generation of the software has to offer, there’s a downloadable preview version of MediaPortal 2 on the website.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista
File size: 28MB
Download: MediaPortal 1.0

Pinnacle VideoSpin 1.1
This sophisticated video-editing tool provides many of the features you’d expect to find in a commercial package and has a user-friendly interface that steps you through the editing process. Just drag your clips to the timeline, add transitions, titles, sound effects and music and then save the finished movie in the format of your choice.
There’s a good range of video output options available.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista
File size: 149MB
Download: Pinnacle VideoSpin 1.1

VLC Media Player 0.9.6
This media player is designed to handle most music and video formats, including DVDs, WMA files and streamed media. It can also be used to stream content over a network and quickly convert files from one format to another.
The newest enhancements include a redesigned interface, a media library, improved playlist and support for many new codecs.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista or Mac
File size: 13.9MB
Download: VLC Media Player 0.9.6

Quick Media Converter 3.6
If you want to convert an audio or video file into another format, this is the perfect tool for the task. Select a file to convert, choose the format you want to convert it to, then set the output directory and click Start Conversion. Everything is handled automatically for you, although there is an Expert mode if you need greater control over the finished result.
The software can also capture footage directly from a webcam and record on-screen activity too.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista
File size: 24.8MB
Download: Quick Media Converter 3.6

iTunes 8
If you own an iPod, Apple’s digital media software is a must-have for all your music and video playback needs.
The latest version introduces some great new features, the most impressive of which is Genius, an automatic playlist generator that can build collections of similar songs based around a single track.
Minimum requirements: Windows XP/Vista or Mac
File size: 64.7MB
Download: iTunes 8