There are three main contenders in the online streaming media player business: Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and QuickTime. If you're adding streaming media to your website, you need to decide which of these to offer, or whether to support two or all of them.

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player (WMP) is able to stream the proprietary Windows file formats (.wmv and .wma). While Microsoft's ubiquity has made WMP a popular choice for online streaming, its main disadvantage is that it is poorly supported on non-Windows platforms. The last version for Mac is WMP9, and no further development for Mac platforms is expected. Meanwhile, the program has reached version 11 for Windows platforms, leaving non-Windows users far behind. WMP9 for Mac received much criticism for poor performance and features.

RealPlayer

RealPlayer works well on all platforms, but using it is not recommended because of its history of bundled adware and spyware. Despite the fact that RealPlayer has cleaned up its act considerably in recent years, many internet users still have a deep mistrust of the media player, and may therefore be disinclined to download it in order to view your streaming media. RealPlayer still comes covered in advertisements, and the bulky interface can be frustrating to use.

QuickTime

QuickTime is the offering from Apple, and it has a very compact and simple interface. Again, QuickTime is well-supported on a variety of platforms, and can stream the .mov file format, which is very popular for online streaming.

By Iain Ford

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