quicktime player
 

so i downloaded a couple of tv shows & i double clicked them so i could view and it took me into my quicktime player. after it went into this a box came up saying that quicktime couldn't play the file and gave me a link to a bunch of downloads. any idea of what i need to download so that it'll play these shows on quicktime? or does anyone know how to get the files to play on something else?

What type of files are they? It's probably a codec problem.

For WMP, K-Litecode Codec Pack gets recommended a lot. I use XP Codec Pack 2.0.6 and rarely have any trouble playing a file.

You could also d/l another media player. VLC media player is a good one that has the codecs built in and will play most file types.

More info here: CODECs list for Movies /Alternate players / Video help forums

What player do you want to use? It's easy enough to change. Just open the folder with the files in and right click one of the files > properties > Change > select player you want > OK.

See: Setting Default video app