Although the ubiquitous mobile phones allow us to visualize multimedia content quickly and efficiently, its tiny screens are not the best option to enjoy all the details to the fullest, something that we can do if we use a computer connected to a monitor or television larger.
If you have a Windows PC or Mac You may have noticed that the multimedia playback of files is not as complete as expected as standard. Fortunately we can complement it using an additional player and today we propose a review of the seven free ones that I personally find the most interesting at this time given its capabilities and functionalities.
MPC-HC
We start with what is my favorite player for Windows, the MPC-HC (Media Player Classic – Home Cinema), an application that has everything you need for you to set up a HTPC of the best quality. One of its strengths is its ability to decode the most popular video and audio codecs and also some strange ones that are hardly used without having to install anything.
It also gives you the option to change practically everything to leave it to your liking. You have option of multiple display outputs, you can choose which audio device you prefer, the video rendering, the resolution for each frame rate per second, etc.
You can also touch some individual aspects of the configuration of each specific audio and video codec, it offers a great image quality, exclusive rendering mode using the full screen on Direct3D and we can use our GPU shaders to improve visual quality by applying a series of post-processing filters.
Download | MPC-HC
MPC-BE
Media Player Classic-BE or MPC-BE It was born long ago as a “fork” or derivative of the MPC-HC that presented all the qualities of the original and some more at its launch. It maintains the same aesthetics as the MPC-HC, the same menus, direct access keys, configuration system and options, although some have been moved and improvements and new functions have been added.
For example, more possibilities have been incorporated when it comes to scaling up and down with more algorithms selectable from the menu that provide or more definition or less aliasing, depending on the one we choose. It supports the reproduction of almost any file that you can find on the Internet and every so often it updates the codecs to the latest available.
The support for the use of the GPU is maintained when decoding videos and the use of the graphics shaders to obtain different improvements in the image, especially when doing various types of sharpening. And we can also download a self-contained version to carry with us and use from any folder in which we copy it without having to install anything on the computer.
Download | MPC-BE
VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is one of the best known and is also available on almost all platforms (Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS) to play audio and video content stored on local discs and memories, as well as on optical media or even on computers connected to the home network.
It is an open source player that offers great ease of use, as it does not require installing external codec packages and is compatible with a large number of formats, also offering a constant update rate to be always up to date.
its interface is simple, it allows to touch many aspects of the configuration, it is versatile and it does not consume many resources, although for my taste it lags slightly behind the MPC-HC and its variants.
Download | VLC
5KPlayer
The next option on the list is 5KPlayer, a video player that in this case can be used on both Windows and Mac OS computers. It boasts great simplicity and offers support for the most used video formats such as those under the MKV, MTS, AVCHD or MP4 extensions.
We can play videos in HD, Full HD, 4K, 5K and even 8K, has hardware acceleration and it is capable of playing MP3, AAC, AC3, FLAC, ALAC and WMA music files as well as accessing online radios. It also allows us perform AirPlay & DLNA media streaming on local network and it also includes CSS encryption.
Download | 5KPlayer
Kodi
Kodi is one of the most important multiplatform options that exist right now thanks to its capabilities for multimedia playback of practically any format that we can find on the Internet, but also because of the possibility of incorporating add-ons that increase its functionalities and organizational capabilities and access to more content.
It is one of the options that we have talked about on many occasions thanks in part to its ease of customizing different parameters, since it allows download backgrounds and accessories to adapt it to the taste of each user. Kodi is compatible with the most common file formats for video (MP4, MKV, AVI …) but also for music (MP3, FLAC, WAV …).
It is also prepared to play video stored on Blu-rays and DVDs and even allows us to play games and access online videos. We can install it on equipment with Windows, Linux, Android, macOS, iOS, and tvOS.
Download | Kodi
MPlayerX
A player exclusive for Mac is MPlayerX. A very application lightweight, easy to use and that allows its use in older computers by consuming very few system resources. It is also very versatile and allows you to play almost any file format.
As a curiosity and for those who love the original subtitled versions, allows you to change the size of the subtitles and optimize synchronization with the video. An application that is also compatible with the most popular video formats such as AVI, MKV, MTS, AVCHD or MP4 and that like the rest of the list is free.
Download | MPlayerX
IINA
Project IINA is one of the last proposals to reach the market. And it does so with a cover letter in the form of benefits that many of us have started to consider as the replacement or natural alternative for VLC. The only downside is that for now it is Mac exclusive (with Mac OS Yosemite or Sierra as a necessary base).
It is worth highlighting from IINA its sober and minimalist interface, “inspired” by QuickTime, so that users of the Apple application will easily adapt to its use. It is also very light, so it consumes very few resources, making it functional even on older computers.
Download | IINA