Are you boggled by all the different media players out there? Find out which ones you need and which ones you don't.

"Call for Help" received this email from Lydia:

I'm getting confused. Do I need Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer, Winamp, Sonique, and Musicmatch? Please tell me how they differ and what I should have.


Good question, Lydia. Almost all video content on the Web is encoded into one of three formats: Apple's QuickTime, Microsoft's Windows Media, and Real's RealOne (formerly known as RealPlayer).

Each of these proprietary formats requires the correct player to view them. So you'll want each of these three players installed on your system. What makes things confusing is that each of the three major media players supports a wide array of audio and video files.

Winamp, Sonique, and Musicmatch are all popular audio players. Winamp became popular as the first widely used MP3 player. Sonique started as just another audio player but now features limited video support. Musicmatch is a popular free audio player that has good MP3-creation, audio-conversion, and CD-burning capabilities. So while you may not need any of these, you may prefer to use one over the others. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal preference.