The first thing that attracted me in VLC was it's ability to play avi files even if some app was still downloading them. MPC is my main player but i use VLC if it has problems.
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I think it's possible to install it without the online activex installation if you download the cab file in the ie trigger page (check the page source) and extract it to
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash
and select active install in the the...
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