Not sure how to add subtitles to videos you play in VLC media player? It's simple once you know how! Here's a step by step guide:

1. Download a subtitle file for your movie - if your source was a DVD or Blu-ray, make sure to search for a subtitle file for that type to ensure good audio/subtitle syncing. Generally speaking, look for a subtitle with a file name that closely resembles the video file you want to play. The most common file type for subtitles is .srt (we will deal with creating subtitles another time). AllSubs.org is a good resource for subtitle files
2. Move the subtitle file into the same folder as your video file.
3. Rename the subtitle file with exactly the same name as your video file, so you have two files like this: examplevideo.avi and examplevideo.srt.
4. Play your video in VLC. You should now see subtitles appear over your movie. If you don't, double check the .srt file is correctly named, then close and restart VLC before playing again.

This process is the same on both Windows and Mac versions of VLC player.

Subtitles is a very simple app that will find - you guessed it - subtitles for your movies. All you need to do is right click on the movie file, choose a language from the incredibly long selection, and click. Your web browser will open up, hopefully displaying a perfect set of subtitles for you to download.

If Subtitles doesn't find your movie straight away, don't worry. I had the chance to speak to the app's developer, Guilherme Barboza, who explained how it works. Subtitles doesn't search for the movie name (too much scope for error) but instead calculates the checksum. If it doesn't already have that particular checksum stored in its database, it automatically looks for it elsewhere on the internet. If it still can't find it, you search manually and the checksum is saved for future use. With more than 120,000 subtitles being downloaded every day, however, the chances that your movie will be correctly identified is getting better by the minute!

On the subject of subtitles, did you know that if you use a media player such as VLC, all you have to do is save the subtitles in the same folder as the movie and make sure they have the same name? If they do, the player will automatically add them to your movie - it's that easy!

Have you ever been in a situation where you have a DVD but it doesn't have the subtitles that you need? This can be a particular problem if the DVD was released in a certain region of the world as they usually only include subtitles for that region. However, what you can do is backup the DVD to your hard drive and then burn the subtitles for the language of your choice onto it. Here is how in three easy steps:

1. Rip the DVD to your hard drive

I recommend MPEG Streamclip for this task. It's free, easy to use and converts to a huge number of formats although I always choose to convert to AVI for this kind of task.

2. Find the subtitles you want at OpenSubtitles.org

OpenSubtitles is one of the biggest databases of subtitles on the net and all can be downloaded for free. You don't have to register, the range of languages is huge and they even have HD subtitles.

3. Download and install ffmpegx

This neat free tool allows you to perform all kinds of encoding tasks. It may look a bit intimidating at first but adding subtitles is simple. First you need to browse the the AVI file you ripped to your hard drive by clicking Open at the top of the interface. Go to the Filters tab and check the box VOB Subtitles. Click Load Subs and browse to the subtitle file you downloaded. To preview how the subtitles look, click Play in the top right of the interface. Don't worry if the subtitles flicker on the screen - this is just due to the preview rendering and it looks fine when they are burned. If you don't like the position of the subtitles, change the Pos value in the subtitles box - the higher the number, the lower the subtitles are on the screen.

When you're ready, click Encode in the bottom right corner. You'll notice an encoding process dialog tell you how long it will take.

It should take around 10-15 minutes for a standard AVI film file. When you're done, you should see your subtitles burned onto the film when you open it in any media player.

Imagine the scene. You're just about to settle down to a film on your PC but because it's in a foreign language, you need subtitles. You spend the next half and hour searching the internet for the right subtitle files only to find that everything you try either doesn't work or is badly out of sync. In the end, you're too tired and frustrated to bother watching it anymore so you go to bed and curse the subtitle world.

If this scenario is familiar to you then you should try ALLPlayer which has the best support for subtitles in any media player I've tried. ALLPlayer is a refreshing change as far as media players go because it not only automatically retrieves film subtitles based on the movie file's title but it can even "speak" the subtitles back to you - albeit in voice that sounds rather like Robocop. ALLPlayer uses the excellent database at opensubtitles.org to match your file name with the appropriate subtitles meaning it does the searching for you.

OK, the results are not always perfect and sometimes it doesn't find anything at all but it's a darn sight more efficient than going on a wild goose chase for them yourself. It retrieves the subtitles in no more than a few seconds, downloads them to your film folder and you can activate them immediately.

ALLPlayer also handles subtitles differently from most average players. Using something called "IQ text" it can detect the length of a phrase of sentence and make sure that the subtitles are kept on screen long enough for you to read them. Unless you've only just started learning a language however, and can't read very quickly, this soon becomes annoying as the subtitles appear to be out of sync all the time.

Although there are skins available through the LiveUpdate feature (which also supposedly updates the codecs for you although the database doesn't always work), AllPlayer doesn't feel quite as slick as something simpler like BSPlayer but this can be forgiven for the subtitle features. Some other more basic features yoo - such as full screen mode - are not as obvious as they should be either. Nevertheless, ALLPlayer is an excellent choice for all those that rely on using subtitles with their films.

A few months after adding video annotations, Youtube has made another interesting feature available for all its registered users: the ability to add subtitles to their videos.

As an English native speaker, you may think you don't have that urgent need for subtitles. But now just think about all those cool videos in German, Spanish, French, Italian or Japanese (to name a few) you couldn't understand. This subtitle feature broadens Youtube's audience not only in terms of nationalities, but also in the user's capacity to reach any kind of content – not to talk about the hearing challenged, who thanks to subtitles will soon be able to enjoy the wonders of Youtube.

If you want to subtitle your videos, all you have to do is enter your account and click on the My Videos category on the top menu. Look for the video you want to add subtitles to and click on its thumbnail. Once the video page loads click on the Add captions and subtitles button on the right side and you'll be able to upload your subtitles file right away. Youtube currently supports SUB and SRT subtitles, both of which can be created with software tools like Subtitle Workshop.

I always prefer subtitling over dubbing. Dubbing can often make a mockery of a good film, especially if it's done badly. I once saw The Godfather in German and Marlon Brando just sounded ridiculous - I just don't believe that dubbing does anyone any good. If you're a video enthusiast, or you've got tons of DivX films that are without subtitles in your own language, then here are some tools to help you make professional looking subtitles. Subtitle Workshop is one of the best and most comprehensive packages out there. It supports all types of subtitle format and by previewing your film as you subtitle it, makes it extremely easy o merrily type away as your film plays. It also includes a spell checker which is a must for any kind of program like this - there's nothing worse than badly spelled subtitles (except a dubbed film of course). Winsubtitler does a similar job with a slightly more basic interface and it doesn't support as many formats but it's a good alternative if you find Subtitle Workshop too tricky.

If on the other hand, you've already got some subtitles but they're either damaged or don't work properly, help is at hand with Subtitle Processor which can even repair those subtitles damaged on commercial DVDs. At the end of all your hard work, if you're still having trouble viewing your subtitles in a DivX player, then CoolSoft DivX Subtitle Displayer can display DivX subtitles along any kind of media player.

Submerge merges your subtitle files with your movie files so you can play them on your iTunes or Apple TV. You can easily add subtitles to any video format and merge multiple files. Submerge shows a little video at start up to explain how the program works. You can open up a side bar where you'll be able to set font size, type and style for your subtitles.

VLC media player has long been the de-facto media player for just about every audio and video format under the sun. If you downloaded a video file with an odd extension, there's a good chance that VLC can play it without a problem. While VLC is a great media player, which got even better with its 2.0 update, there are other media players that can play as many formats as VLC but with some more improvements. Enter UMPlayer.

UMPlayer stands for Universal Media Player, which is an appropriate name as it is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It can also play back every format that VLC can but how does it differentiate itself from the renowned VLC? It's all down to the interface:

There's a lot to like about multi-format multimedia player Windows Media Player. With a sleek and stylish interface, and the ability to integrate your media for easy browsing, it's not difficult to see why it's a staple on most peoples' PCs.

There are other multimedia players out there that really give Windows Media Player a run for its money though. Whether WMP isn't cutting it for you or you're simply looking to explore other options, you've got a lot of great players to choose from. There are a variety of different players out there to suit your own personal interests and needs.

Here are five alternatives to Windows Media Player that are free and support multiple file formats.

After almost two-and-a-half years in the making, Videolan has finally released version 2.0 of VLC Player for Windows and Mac. Codenamed "Twoflower", there have been some major improvements including faster decoding, support for more formats and the ability to play HD and BluRay videos.

VLC media player now supports an even wider ranger of formats including support for 10-bit codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM. There are also fixes for several different bugs with input from over 160 volunteers, according to Videolan.

Voddler has the potential to be a great film service although the lack of film choice in the Spanish pilot version and general usability still need much improvement for it to be really popular.

Just under two years ago we were on the first blogs to test and review video-on-demand service Voddler plus we brought you an exclusive interview with co-founder Mathias Tönnesson. We've now had chance to see how far it's come as Voddler starts a wider European-wide roll-out in Spain. Note that Voddler is still only available in limited regions.

Voddler started out as purely a desktop client but the company soon decided to integrate it with a web based service after numerous security breaches and complaints about usability from users.

To stream films in your browser, you need to download the desktop client. There is also an offline client available for download which allows you to play films you have paid for without a net connection.

Macs won't recognize Blu-ray devices because Apple chose not to support them in OS X. However, one developer has come up with a way of forcing OS X to accept external Blu-ray players in the form of Mac Blu-ray Player.

Mac Blu-ray player lets OS X recognize Blu-ray devices instantly so you can watch Blu-ray discs. Not only that, but it supports almost every format out there so you can use it as your default player. For the first three months it's completely free to use although a watermark is placed on the screen and some features will be deactivated.

To play protected Blu-ray movies you need an internet connection, because Mac Blu-ray Player has to acquire a license to play the movie on your system.

When you start it up for the first time, it will prompt you to select which files you want to associate with it so it won't take over your media files unless you allow it to:

Got a new Windows 7 PC? Here are our top five free applications that no self respecting PC user should be without!

VLC: If you want to play a video file, this killer application can take almost any format you care to throw at it. As well as being flexible, it's surprisingly powerful, allowing you to use subtitles, re-sync audio tracks and more. If that wasn't enough, VLC is also incredibly lightweight when compared to Windows Media Player or iTunes. Check out our full review here.

Photoscape: Digital photo editing and polishing needn't be as complex as Adobe Photoshop. As Elena says in her review, Photoscape is a really excellent photo editing tool that includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print and have fun with your photos, all for free. It's a great way to get started with digital image editing.

Chrome: Are you reading this from Internet Explorer? Stop right there and download Google's Chrome. Cleaner, faster, more lightweight and modern, Chrome has become the best all-round browser out there. As it's open source, there are also some great Chrome-based browsers out there, like my personal favorite Rockmelt.

OpenOffice: If you're looking for a free alternative to Microsoft Office, this is it. You'll be able to edit and save files in Microsoft-compatible formats, so there is no need to worry about not being able to open or use documents. With everything you'll need from spreadsheets to word processing, it's one of the most impressive free downloads you'll find.

CCleaner: There's no escaping chores, even on PCs in 2011! Luckily, tiny toolbox CCleaner can make the experience pretty painless. With little set up, you'll be able to clean your browser history, space wasting temporary files and lots of recent file lists.

If you're a VLC Media Player fan like me then Lunettes is something you should definitely check out. With doubts circulating about the future development of VLC on Mac, Lunettes has arrived signaling that the future for VLC on Mac is very much alive.

Lunettes (French for spectacles) features a new interface for VLC that opens it up to design innovations from other users. Most importantly, it integrates with Cocoa, the native programming environment of OS X, meaning VLC will finally shrug-off its Windows heritage.

The functionality of Lunettes remains the same. It will still be able to play almost any format as all the codecs. The look however is much improved looking more like a Mac app with a touch of inspiration from QuickTime X.

Instead of opening the player directly like with VLC, Lunettes opens a Window which keeps a history of everything that you've watched and how much you've watched of it:

Lunettes also integrates automatically with all of the video content available on your Mac. You can access them all using the menu down the right-hand side:

There are three default skins included which are dark, transparent and one that makes Lunettes look like a Samsung TV. It is this ability to play with the look of Lunettes which really differentiates it from VLC Media Player.

After launching on the web a few weeks ago, I've finally received an invitation to use the new Voddler web client. Note that Voddler still only works in Scandinavia at the moment but a Europe-wide launch is expected by the end of the year. However, the new web client will certainly make it easier to reach a wider number of people and introduces some much improved navigability and features to Voddler.

Voddler started out as purely a desktop client but the company soon decided to integrate it with a web based service after numerous security breaches and complaints about usability from users. However, I'm still not sure if I buy the security breach excuse for taking it offline as films are still streamed into the Voddler desktop client from the web and therefore presumably can still be hacked. The reason you can't watch films directly in your browser is because the desktop client allows you to connect to the Voddler P2P network and therefore watch films in far higher quality than would be possible within your browser alone.

In the few weeks the service has been offline while developing the new web client, Voddler have been able to add far more movies and documentaries (and even TV shows) so the choice is definitely better.

The Voddler website has been expanded considerably. Now you can browse films directly on the website:

See the most popular films and the most recently added: