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If you edit your own home videos, have lots of video files to browse through, or simply want to compare how two different codecs treat your video, you may want to take a look at OctoMediaPlayer. The program will display two, four, six, and even eight videos in the same window which is quite handy for comparing different files and perusing large collections.

Feature-wise, OctoMediaPlayer offers about what you'd expect. You can drag and drop files from Explorer, loop playback, easily shift the focus between players, and there are a full set of transport functions so you can inspect videos frame by frame, second by second, or a percentage thereof. The program plays any type of video with a DirectShow filter installed, including the Real and Quicktime Alternative codecs. It's also infinitely resizable so you can watch videos at any percentage of the original size as well as full screen.

My only OctoMediaPlayer caveat has nothing to do with performance; it's simply that you needn't buy it to play multiple videos simultaneously. Both Media Player Classic and the Quicktime Player will do that for free. However, those programs open each video in a separate window, which leads to navigation hassles and confusion. For that reason alone, OctoMediaPlayer makes sense for those that regularly need to compare or browse large video collections. One bonus: In my limited testing, the program also tended to use a lot fewer CPU cycles and memory to perform the same functions.

Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you must register to download the latest version of the software.

--Jon L. Jacobi