iPods and iPhones will only play videos encoded in Quicktime format.
If by
Quicktime you mean H.264 video and MPEG-4 video files (as .m4v, .mp4, and .mov files), then sure... but these are not strictly Apple standards.
i'm thinking about getting a media player that will play video as well as music and was thinking about an i pod or an i pod touch. but the one thing that has stopped me is that i've heard you can only play apples software on it is this true? and if not can and i pod play normal mp3's or video clips?
Why would anyone ask such a question on a site like this when all you need to do is go over to Apple's site and look at the specifications yourself?
What does Apple's pages say?
Audio: Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Video: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
If you are curious about a product, look at the product pages first. It eliminates the possibility of bad info and FUD.
See for yourself...
iPod touch Specs.