I don't think RealPlayer has ever not been bloated. I used the very first edition of it, and even back then it was bloated compared to the alternatives.

I actually use WinAmp for a lot of video viewing myself. Has been set up that way for a while, and I have no problems with it. I use it to watch movies, tv shows and other long videos, and have never had any problems with it. I have a lot of different codecs installed, so I can pretty much watch whatever I want.

I cringe any time I see a real icon or an installation pop up or anything related to real player. I have passed up paying for some content because you had to use real player to view it.