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Best Free Windows 64-bit Software
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Best Free Windows 64-bit Software - Page Index
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 4. Multimedia |
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Multimedia applications are generally popular and interesting so it is no surprise that there are several excellent 64-bit products.
Best Free Windows 64-bit Media Player
Daum PotPlayer is "feature packed, easy to use and provides awesome video and audio quality. Some may call it KMPlayerRedux with more stability and versatility. … PotPlayer truly stands out for supporting a wide variety of formats and having extensive configuration settings. It includes a long list of built-in audio and video codecs that enable you to play almost any media format you can dream about. PotPlayer has a simple and sleek interface though not mind-blowing and has high quality playback. The player is light on system resources and has a very fast startup." (Best Free Media Player)
Media Player Classic - Home Cinema
MPC-HC, like its predecessor, Media Player Classic, "is an incredibly small program but has a vast feature set." … Under the hood, this program packs a lot of features, including codecs for viewing DVD discs, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG 4 and x.264 movie files, MP3 and Ogg files. It can also use the QuickTime and the RealPlayer architectures (if installed on the computer) to play their native files. To further extend its functionality while avoiding the installation of RealPlayer, WinAmp and Quicktime, you will have to download some codec packs.… MPC Home Cinema requires no installation on your PC. This means that it can be run from your USB flash drive as well as your hard drive. (Best Free Media Player)
For those who use Apple devices, iTunes has a 64-bit version.
"iTunes has become more prevalent on many PCs due to the almost universal reach of the iPod, but it also uses a lot of resources and is processor intensive." (Best Free Media Player, It also gets a dismissive mention in Best Free Music Player) I am less restrained when I say iTunes is a hog and a dog. Much of that bloat seems to arise from Apple's distrust of Windows which showed in the need to bring almost everything with iTunes except the kitchen sink.
On the positive side, if you are going to run 'bloatware' then you're much better off doing it on a 64-bit system. I happily admit to being a long-time user of iTunes. All my children use it and it works very well with the media player on my non-Apple cell phone. Over several years of use I've had no problems with it and I'm not exasperated by any of its much-maligned issues (e.g. I use Autoruns to stop the unneeded applications). This new version has improved slightly but you won't see it in the interface. First, it is 64-bit. Second, I no longer need QuickTime. Third, for the 32-bit version, the download and footprint are noticeably smaller.
Best Free Windows 64-bit Media Centre
"Maintaining your media library is simple joy with XBMC. Point to a folder containing your files, indicate what type of files there are (Movies, TV Shows, etc.) and XBMC does the rest. It scans all subfolders and files and downloads all relevant information (text, thumbnails, sounds, etc) from the Internet." On the other hand, it has some idiosyncracies. "Most annoying for me still is that you cannot freely pick a position in your media file by clicking on the progress bar while it is playing. Instead you have to type in a time position via the keyboard. Don't ask me why the simplest media player can do that but most of the Media Center Software cannot." (Best Free Media Centre)
Best Free Windows 64-bit Audio Editor
"As far as single track editing goes, there is very little that cannot be achieved with Audacity, and achieved easily and cleanly. As far as physical drive space goes, Audicity is a small installation, but an immensely powerful one. Really though, track editing is just the tip of the iceberg with this application: it's functionality for editing is balanced with it's equally powerful functionality for recording, and also applying effects and modifications to existing audio tracks." (Best Free Audio Editing Software)
Best Free Windows 64-bit Video Editor
"Avidemux is a free open-source program designed for multi-purpose video editing and processing … Avidemux lets you do just about everything under the sun. It supports many file types, including AVI, DVD compatible MPEG files, MP4 and ASF, using a variety of codecs." Its main weakness may well be its dated interface. (Best Free Video Editor)
Best Free Windows 64-bit Music Creator
"LMMS is a free open source MIDI sequencer/composer for Windows and Linux. … I initially found it a little bewildering … but it's worth taking the time because the rewards are great. … As a stand alone application, one would be hard pressed to find a more comprehensively full featured and versatile free music creator than this. There are so many instruments and effects to choose from … YOU NEED TO TRY THIS SOFTWARE!" (Best Free Music Creation Software)
Best Free Windows 64-bit CD and DVD Burner
Christian Kindahl's InfraRecorder is a GUI for CDRTools. It "supports all of the common features that a good burning application should have, and it works with all types of CDs and DVDs including dual layer discs" but "It does not support Blu-Ray discs or HD-DVDs." "It even includes full command line support like CDBurnerXP. With InfraRecorder, you can burn and create images with support for bootable discs, author rewritable discs, and create audio CDs and video DVDs. The interface is clean and simple without a lot of extras to make things confused." (Best Free CD-DVD Burner)
InfraRecorder does not have some advanced options.and is not as helpful as ImgBurn: it does not give much assistance, important information is in the manual, dialogs and warnings are often cryptic, and the interface is inconsistent. For example, sometimes the instruction to insert a particular disk is in its own pop-up window but other times it will be in the title of the current one.
If you read other users' comments you will see that they either love it because it works flawlessly or hate it because it converts their disks into coasters. It seems likely that CDRTools has problems working with some burners which would explain why I had consistent problems on my test system . Even so, I still recommend that you try it out because it is native 64-bit and will probably work for you.
Imgburn "is the most powerful free burning, as no other software comes close to its advanced features and options." However, "ImgBurn's advanced features may confuse you if you just want to do a basic burn. The welcome menu provides quick access to some common tasks, but other basic features such as erasing a re-writable disc are not immediately visible." (Best Free CD-DVD Burner)
Ashampoo Burning Studio "is still simple and intuitive to use. For power, simplicity and file backup. … If you want a program that focuses on burning discs quickly and easily with quality and a minimum fuss then this could be the program may well suit your needs." (Best Free CD-DVD Burning Software)
I evaluated the free version but you can also install a much later version for a time-limited (30/40 day) trial. I recommend you do two things when installing Ashampoo Burning Studio. First, select "Custom installation" so you can uncheck the Ashampoo toolbar and search. Second, do not accept the upgrade offer when you run Ashampoo Burning Studio for the first time. The upgrade is for a time-limited trial of the latest version which has a large download of more than 300 MB. If you decide to uninstall it you may have to remove the free version also.
Best Free Windows 64-bit CD and DVD Emulator
"MagicDisc, also known as MagicISO Virtual CD/DVD-ROM … allows you to run many types of CD/DVD images without burning them onto CDs or DVDs. It also allows you to create CD/DVD images from CDs/DVDs and save them into various formats including ISO, BIN/CUE, NRG, UIF.This program with a simple interface supports up to 15 virtual disk drives. Other features are available such as compress ISO, NRG, CUE, MDS and CCD formats into UIF format, or decompress UIF format into ISO format. The feature for burning images to disks is not supported." (Best Free CD-DVD Emulation Software)
Gizmo-Drive is rated best in its class, Best Free CD-DVD Emulation Software.
Best Free Windows 64-bit CD and DVD Ripper
HandBrake is rated best of class as a DVD Ripper. It "has a relatively small file size for all the features that it offers. Despite the slow speeds it transcodes … the transcoded video is surprisingly good quality for the amount of time it takes to rip. However, if you have a graphics driver installed that supports Open GL, it will take a rather small fraction of time to transcode the content. Handbrake produces an MPEG-4 file which is compatible with a wide range of media players. Note that you’ll need to have the right codecs installed for the type of file you wish to convert". For many of us the most useful feature is the "preconfigured profiles for Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod and Apple TV. It also provides numerous video and audio parameter settings for advanced users to alter the file size and video quality accordingly." (Best Free DVD Ripper)
Handbrake's main deficiency is that it does not convert copy-protected DVDs. So it can rip some but not all DVDs.
There are instructions for using Imgburn as portable software.
Supported formats for mounting: ISO, GDRIVE, BIN/CUE, CCD, NRG, MDS/MDF, IMG, VHD.
Making PotPlayer Portable: Store the PotPlayer settings to a .ini file after extracting the installer using 7-zip. Right click on the interface->Preferences->General->Enable the option 'Store settings to .ini file'.
Do not use the update feature.
Additional software to enhance Media Player Classic can be found here:
1. FFDShow
2. Real Alternative
3. QuickTime Alternative
4. WinAmp Alternative
Supported formats for mounting: ISO, CUE/BIN, CCD, NRG, MDS/MDF, BWT, CDI, PDI, IMG, UIF, etc.
Windows 7 allows hardware video decoding.
Requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable which it installs.
"Windows Home Server and Windows Server are not supported but have been reported to work with some tweaks."
As recommended by the authors, DVD ripping works better if you first copy the DVD to disk.
There is a more fully-featured trial version 9.24.
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Comments
WOW I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS SITE AND IM SAVING IT ON MY FAVORITES ITS AN AWSOME SITE THANKS FOR THE GREAT JOB AND CONTINUE MAKING OUR LIVES EASIER!!
Super Antispyware does not work in Windows7 RC
WinRAR version for Windows x64 is available
Yes it does - running in 7100
As long as you use version 4.26.1002 or higher of SuperAntiSpyware, it will install and work under the Windows 7 release candidate (build 7100.)
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
Unfortunately, WinRAR is not freeware.
7-Zip and PeaZip are both available as free 64 bit applications and contain all of the functionality of their 32 bit counterparts. Readers interested in a comparison of these products should refer to our review:
Best Free File Archiver/Zip Utility
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
That's quite an old an useless discussion here in TSA. Use wathever you like.
Perhaps you wrongly assume that the performance of 32 and 64 bit Zip utilities will be the same under Windows 7 / Vista 64? Likewise I presume you think that the 32 bit shell extensions used by 32 bit Zip utilities will work with 64 bit Explorer? They won't.
If you want the best performance and integration from a Zip utility under Windows 7 / Vista 64 then use a 64 bit version. This is new ground for an old topic, and therefore worth pointing out.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
Hey there, i don't discuss that, i don't even discuss 7-zip is an excellent choice (it is). Only the fact that you replied that WinRar is not freeware as to justify that it was not included, Winrar does a non-expiring trial and should be considered. I really don't care if licence states 'shareware'.
BTW, what is this confusion of Windows 7 / Vista 64 ? There's also 32 and 64-bit 7 windozes, as always... maybe in 2050 we will have only 64-bit OSES.
I specifically stated that WinRAR wasn't freeware to indicate why it doesn't appear in the article. I don't deny for a moment that it is an excellent product.
I agree that the title of the article 'Best Free Windows 7 / Vista 64 bit Software' might appear confusing. It's supposed to mean Best Free Software for 64 bit Windows 7 / 64 bit Windows Vista. If you have suggestions for a better title I'd appreciate you passing them on. All I ask is that you mark your response with some sort of 'name' so that if one of your suggestions is chosen you get the credit for it.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
we need more 64bit aps listed
As I come across native 64 bit applications I will include them. Unfortunately, many of the freeware categories we cover don't have 64 bit versions yet.
If anyone comes across something I've missed then please pass on the details and I'll look into it.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
nice work Rik Mayell.....thumbs up!!
BTW....Foxit Reader is also a good PDF reading freeware
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader/download.php
also...JKDefrag is now called MyDefrag....and its new website is http://www.mydefrag.com/
I have been completed my testing of MyDefrag and it now appears in the review. As a result of the testing it has replaced JKDefrag as Gizmo's Top Pick.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
Foxit Reader is a good 32 bit solution, assuming they have fixed the rendering problem I reported to them back in April. I haven't had chance to test this yet. I have also read reports that the installation routine installs unwanted software.
The aim of the review is to identify 64 bit freeware, where possible, hence the recommendation for PDFXChange in this category.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
hi iam having 64 bit windowsvista home prieum edition i cannot install .net software and sql database so what i have to do
Mostly the editors deal with support issues like this in the forum as the posts need to be sequential. If you register and post again here you'll be guaranteed to receive a personalized response.
http://www.techsupportalert.com/freeware-forum/general-computer-support/
You can find more freeware and shareware for win7 at
Thank you for that, I will take a look.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
As MC has pointed out, your best chance of resolving the issues you have is by posting in the forum. I would add that you should include in your post the version of .NET installed on your machine, the version of .NET required by the software you are trying to install, and also which SQL database product you are trying to use.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
your review is great you forgot comodo system cleaner(free).
Moderator comment : reference to shareware/commercial software removed.
The comments in this Wilder's thread http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=235664 would suggest this software should be approached with caution.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
Nice article, thanks.
Could you clarify one point for me please.
When you say, "If you decide to use a third party disk defragmenter, don't be tempted to disable the built in Windows 7 / Vista 64 disk defragmenter.", does this include merely turning off the defrag scheduler, or are you referring to another more permanent way of disabling it?
Cheers.
You should leave the Windows Defragmentation tool untouched. I suggest you check when the Windows tool is due to run via the Task Scheduler and ensure that you don't run any other defragmentation tool on the same day.
Under Vista and Windows 7, ReadyBoot (sic) monitors the files loaded during the last 5 system boots and generates a boot plan that is independent of the Prefetch plan in C:\WINDOWS\PREFETCH\LAYOUT.INI. When the Windows disk defrag tool runs it has access to this ReadyBoot information and adjusts file layouts accordingly.
I'm still working my way through the Windows 7 Software Development Kit, but have yet to find any means for third party applications to access this information.
There is one thing that I came across recently that I found rather odd. Mark Russinovich of SysInternals fame, and now Technical Fellow at Microsoft, stated in one of his interviews that the Windows defragmentation tool runs every three days to process ReadyBoot information. As it normally only runs once a week this would suggest it is being launched from elsewhere?
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
Interesting, thanks.
I'm currently using MyDefrag, so it's not ideal to have Windows defragmenter stepping in from time to time and changing things around (potentially undoing some of the optimization performed by MyDefrag). Although I still would like to benefit from ReadyBoot of course.
From what Mark Russinovich said, it seems that maybe ReadyBoot optimization is performed independently of scheduled defragmentation. In which case, I'm tempted to setup Windows scheduler to run monthly, and in the middle of the night so that it never actually runs (my PC is usually always shut down overnight). The fact that the ReadyBoot process runs every 3 days also makes it sound very much like the built-in Windows XP boot time optimization process which runs independently of defragmentation if I'm not mistaken.
Addition: Of course I may still not get the full benefits of ReadyBoot if MyDefrag optimization undoes it!
I run MyDefrag as well and share your concerns.
I'm currently waiting for the latest copy of the book co-authored by Mark to be delivered (I'm sure you know the one I mean.) Hopefully it will shed more light on this issue. If so, I'll update the review accordingly.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor
Comodo Internet Security (CIS)
Fails to install on Windows 7 RTM, ive tried every possible install method, i dont have UAC or driver signing mode enabled so this shouldnt cause an issue.
Win 7 RTM 64bit
Just so other folks know.
This problem seems to come and go, I've never been able to pin down the exact cause.
To workaround the problem:
1. Create an icon on your desktop that points to the CIS installation routine.
2. Right click on the icon and select Properties.
3. Click on the Compatibility tab and select 'Run this program in compatibility mode for: Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)'
Ensure that 'Run this program as an administrator' is selected under Privilege Mode and then click on OK.
If you double click on your newly created icon you should find that CIS installs okay. After a reboot it will function normally.
Rik Mayell - Category Editor