Winamp is a very popular media player packed with a series of built-in codecs that are also required by other applications. If you wish to have those codecs installed on your computer, but you're not a fan of Winamp, the simplest solution we came across is Winamp Alternative.

This application is the codec version of Winamp; it includes a package that comprises the most important codecs used to play multimedia files. The most obvious advantage is that it will not deploy Winamp on your system, but instead it provides you with Media Player Classic, which is a just-as-good player for most media formats.

The installation procedure is not complicated and takes surprisingly little time, compared to the time required by Winamp installation, for instance. Your input is required as far as selecting the desired codecs. The most important ones in the list are the NSV (Nullsoft Streaming Video) plugins for Firefox and Internet Explorer that offer the browsers video streaming capabilities for this file format. Another set of useful codesc is the On2 VP6 / VP3, which come in handy if you often use applications such as Flash or JavaFX.

Also worth mentioning are the AAC iTunes specific codecs and the ShoutCast splitter that enable you to play your favorite radio streams. Aside from the mentioned audio and video filters, Winamp Alternative offers the option to install Media Player Classic, provided that you don't already have a preferred media player.

Winamp Alternative works in a similar way as QuickTime Alternative (a codec version of QuickTime), if you're more familiar with the latter. By including some of the most significant Winamp codecs, it prepares your system for video and ShoutCast streaming, without actually deploying the media player on your system.