More options. Not more money.
For a piece of freeware in a category that's rife with scams and junk, FLVPlayer4Free stands out as a solid, reasonable program that does what it says, offers a bunch of options in the deal, and does it all without any annoying predatory advertising.
The program starts off with eight skins, most of which provide significantly different looks beyond just a new coat of paint. The options menu, which is only right-click accessible, provides hot-key and menu access to several useful choices. These include fixed resizing to double the original size or full-screen viewing, maintaining the aspect ration, smoothing, nearly 20 languages, and rollover hints. It also has a built-in screencapper.
The app is not without its flaws, though. When installing, users must opt out of downloading a video-format converter made by the same publisher and the URL downloader doesn't work with YouTube. Still, the player is light on resources and generally performs as promised.
YouTube is a household name, but most handheld gear doesn't support it. The Flash video grabber and converter YouTube Downloader makes taking your YouTube with you a cinch. Seth Rosenblatt shows you how in this First Look video.
Lightweight and effective, Free FLV Converter is a great way to convert video files from Flash formats into something more versatile. Specializing in formats meant for portable devices, Free FLV Converter also supports AVI and can download embedded SWF or FLV vids directly from the Internet when you punch in the URL.
The app can also perform local searches for vids as well as convert to FLV. Hitting either conversion tab will automatically open a file browser so you can choose your victim. From there, a conversion window opens, and you can change the basics such as settings, including output format, quality, and destination directory, as well as more advanced options like the codec, the aspect ratio, and the frame rate. Tap convert at the bottom of the window when you're ready, and the Free FLV Converter works smoothly and without interfering with other programs.
Free FLV Converter does have one annoyance: When you install it, be sure to opt out of the Dealio toolbar. It's no more than a minor drawback, though, and doesn't cause problems later on. Seeing as how the app ran smoothly in the background, it's definitely a must-use piece of freeware.
Although it's not bursting at the seams with features and customizations, FLV Player should appeal to users who need a lightweight tool for watching Flash-formatted videos. The freeware program can also stream content directly off the Internet. CNET Download.com Editor Seth Rosenblatt takes it for a spin in this First Look video.
Programs that grab videos from Web sites like YouTube aren't a dime a dozen--they're a dime for 200 dozen. Most of them aren't that good, either, which makes Ashampoo's freeware ClipFinder such a breath of fresh air in the video-grabbing game.
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Free FLV Player
(Credit: CNET Networks)Sometimes, you just don't need the whole enchilada. Freeware video players like The KMPlayer, GOM Player, VLC Player, and others are excellent at what they do and are generally lightweight, but they look like top-heavy refrigerators compared with these nimble and zippy yet similarly named Flash players. But are Free FLV Player, FLV Player, Riva FLV Player, and BitComet FLV Player all the same, or does one pull ahead of the pack?
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