I am useing xmms (X Multimedia System) for sound and MPlayer for Films...

Of course bouth are Free software made by open source comunity

xmms and mplayer sometimes also mp3blaster when I am in consolle only

I cant speak for windows since I dont have this software on it, the only thing I have installed on (my stripped) windows is 1 single game, but in the days I ussed windows allot I worked with winamp 2.x and bsplayer.

The reason I use xmms is that there are many pluggins for it and it feels steady to me, I know that there a better and cleaner players but I like xmms (much like winamp 2.x on windows) and even after trying a fewe others I always came back to it.

Pity that you wrote about software for Linux (i mean xmms). The problem is that for some time now i've been seeking for a good player for playing my favourite mp3 player, and there are problems.
And as for Windows. I'm looking for a application that would let me have multiple playlists reachable in at most 2 clicks. And what i found:

- Winamp 3 -
Pros: has multiple playlists, they are reached easily, plays well, has good, working functions (repeat, shuffle, crossfade)
Cons: producers say it has many leaks, and suggest swithing to Winamp 5, and Winamp 5 lost the functions of holding multiple playlists at hand

- Windows Media Player 10 -
Pros: multiple playlists, in minimized mode has all functionality one might need, nice look
Cons: creation of playlists is... somewhat tricky, consumes a lot of processor power when minimizing/restoring, makes the taskbar grow heigher in XP when in old windows style

- Foobar 2000 -
Pros: multiple playlists, neet plugins (realy! especialy 'scheduler'), advanced functions of choosing another file to play
Cons: bugs, bugs, bugs... at least i met with lots of them! Plus - hard to control volume (and on my laptop it's a flaw)

And finaly what i stayed with:
- iTunes -
Pros: multiple playlists easyli created, advanced playlists made by filtering the Library, nice look, customizable
Cons: ...it's really looking for something in nothing - the shuffle sometimes works oddyli (sometimes it sorts, sometimes not).

And as for the avi player i chose Subedit Player - many nice features, even for someone that don't use subtitles (i don't!).

Hope this will be helpful for someone on the worser OS (meaning Windows)

Could be the question ask was " what do you use?" so I answer what I use.
That it is *nix software is something I cant help. when I am 99% of the time in *nix

Winamp 5, windows media player 10 and real player 10 are what you need to have on ur pc. These have and play the most common types of codecs used on the net..... You should also have divx... a word of advice, download nimo codec pack 5

Personally, I'd stick with WinAmp 2.91 (which is what I use)...it has dockable windows, double click and they shrink to tiny windows (very useful) plus a good playlist and it's controllable easily via ZXCVB (play controls) and up down left right (volume up/down and jump back/forward in video)...something few programs have :-)

Xmms is one of greatest and most wildly used linux programs for music, I who don't have windows like xmms very much, xmms, mplayer and gimp are programs that I dont like, I love them

I Use Win Xp
And I Use Windows Media Player 10 for View and Listen Mp3 Or Show or multi Media Files

I dont Like To use Other For This work
Windows Media Player 10 is very nice
plz test it

I Think winamp 5.5 Is not Bad

I use Winamp Lite to listen to Mp3s, cuz its a lil program and doens't eat lots of memory, to watch videos and stuff i use WIndows media player.