Of course, they all want to make it easy for us to use their player exclusively for everything.

Yeah, it's unfortunate that the companies that provide these media players don't advertise how to remove their usually default setting of grab all the file types it knows how to play and steal the associations from whomever is associated with it now! You take control! And it doesn't require special programs to control what happens at Windows Startup. Remember, it doesn't matter what is set here if you let the player's keep moving them back to themselves. Use the players options first, then you shouldn't need to go into Windows File Properties File Types. The best way is to set this stuff while RealPlayer is installing, but it is easily changed to whatever you want in the player's options. Jeez, these players don't steal file types if you don't want them to! Not going into the options panels to set what you want IS wanting them to steal them. Then choose whatever you want in autoplay on XP. Run PowerDVD and say okay to its options panel. Then open WMP and check the stuff in its options you want it to play, open Quicktime and (usually use defaults in brower options and same in file types works here) do the same. Why doesn't anyone tell him to go into RealPlayer's options and only leave checked the file types that are Real file types? It's so simple.

Windows real player