A simple but reliable media player, AVS DVD Player provides you with the basics for watching your favorite video and audio files. The software has a straight-forward interface that allows you to open and play a wide range of supported file types: from basic DVD – PAL, NTSC, VCD, SVCD, to MPEG, AVI, RMV, WMV and mobile formats. The wide media files associations and the freeware license is probably what make AVS DVD Player so popular.

The application is simple enough to use and if you don't get it right the first time, after two or three uses you will be quite familiar with its control bars and menus. Right at the center of the GUI you have the playback controls that will allow you to play, pause, stop, forward and rewind; the adjacent chapter controls will enable you to quickly navigate through chapters or playlists.

When it comes to playing DVDs, a noticeable feature is that it allows you to open a DVD from a local folder, a function not so often encountered in other DVD players. It basically lets you load backed-up DVDs so you avoid the unnecessary damage caused to the external storage device by repeated disc readings.

The application allows you to choose from basic video aspect ratios and alternatively customize the ratio in case you are dealing with rare media files. When it comes to customization, the audio settings allow you to adjust audio output to best fit your needs: you can specify room dimensions and your position in relation to the speakers so you can get the best adjustment possible.

If some of the automatically adjusted features don't do it for you, the easy browse-able right click menu allows you quick access to the AVS DVD Player's main functions. Here you can adjust speaker configuration, audio visualization, aspect ratio or DVD region settings. One more perk the software offers is that if you want to capture scenes from the media you are playing, you can use the built-in Take Snapshot ability and save the images to your local drive.

To wrap it up, AVS DVD Player proves to be a feasible free of charge alternative to DVD playing that gives you just about anything the big bucks tools offer you.