Windows/VLC

VLC is my favorite media player for the simple reason that it cross-platform running on Windows, MacOS X, and Linux/Unix without a lot of fiddling around. Not just that, it can play pretty much everything that you throw at it.

Making VLC the default DVD player on Windows XP

As the computer support staff of the extended family I had a case where there were problems with playing videos after the installation was done I went my merry way. Only to get another call a week later that DVD's are not playing. Turned out that the Windows Media Player on XP was still the default player. After trying to explain the user to right click the drive icon then select "Play with VLC" a few times without much success I decided for everyone's sanity to make it the default player.