Windows users know the trouble of finding the best and the most suitable video player for their files. Although Windows comes with its default media player, Windows Media Player, but the problem with it is that it does not support all file types. So, if you often encounter the problem of your Windows Media Player not playing the videos, it is probably because the video format is not compatible to it.
Windows Media Player is probably the best media player. It is light weight, easy to use and above all, comes with Windows so has no virus infected files. It lets you play videos and audio in a hassle free manner. You can even make your own libraries on Windows Media Player and can share them with other people using the same network (internet connection). But as every picture has two sides, so does the Windows Media Player. Though it may be the best one in so many aspects, it still doesn’t support many of the file formats like .mkv etc.
For such cases, you will definitely require some good options to play such formats. Below are mentioned some of the best media players for Windows:
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VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is one of the most famous media players after Windows Media Player. It is among the oldest ones as well. If you are involved in a discussion regarding the best media players, VLC’s name will definitely pop up.
Few of the things that make VLC as one of the best media player are:
- It as open source program which is easy to download and install
- It supports all the file types or formats
- It has an easy and friendly user interface UI
Starting first with the open source program, it is created by the VideoLAN project. You can easily download its setup from its official website and then simply run the setup. This will quickly install the VLC player in your computer.
It is known to support all the file types because it does that in true meanings. You can run almost all of the video formats in VLC including MKV, MPEG, FLV and RMVB etc. It is often referred to as “Play everything” because unlike Windows Media Player and other media players, it plays everything from audio to video. The run time of the video playback is fantastic. Some users often complain of VLC’s grey screen. That usually occurs in case of the delay. But this is not a big issue; it can be easily solved by going to the settings. You can check the solution to it online. It will only take two minutes. VLC’s reputation of playing everything has inspired many of the other media players to adapt the same compatibility of different video formats.
VLC also lets you stream the online content with a host of online channels of different genres. So, with VLC you can have the best of both: the offline and online supported media content.
The third point was its simple and interactive UI. As much as the fancy features and layout sound fascinating, the users still want something that is easy to use and fulfills their daily demand. Therefore, the simple interface of VLC makes it a favorite one for its users. Being simple in its UI, VLC still offers a wide range of options and customizations. You can change the layout as per your choice.
The remarkable feature of VLC is its volume range. So, if you want to be tension free and enjoy the movies despite of worrying about their formats, then you can’t find anything better than VLC.
It is compatible with Windows XP and beyond.
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5K Player
Another good recommendation for all you Windows user is the 5K Player. You will fall in love with the minimalist and attractive layout of 5K Player. It has a good aesthetic. Owing to its fancy layout, it might look like a tricky one to use but it isn’t at all.
Coming towards the technical part, 5K Player can also support all types of video formats just like the VLC Media Player. It supports AVI, FLV, MKV, MTS/M2TS, H.265/264, VP8/9 and WebM etc.
5K Player even lets download the content from YouTube, DailyMotion and Vimeo. Other than that, you can also download the audio version of the videos you stream on YouTube. You simply have to copy the URL and paste it in the YouTube’s section on 5K Player and select “Convert.” This will convert your video file into audio file in just a few minutes.
It has excellent playback timing and runs the videos quite smoothly without any delay. You can also enjoy the content of your Apple devices on Windows by using 5K Player. This is possible because 5K Player supports the AirPlay feature which will let you stream the media from your Apple devices to your computers. Moreover, you can also use the AirMirroring feature to screen record the content on the computers. Also, it plays the video content without any plug-ins.
It is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
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KM Player
KM Player is a good option if you are using Windows 10. It is a powerful video player especially if you want an excellent playback and other high level controlling features.
Like the above mentioned media player, KMPlayer also supports a great deal of video formats including, MKV, AVI, MPEG4, WMV, OGM, VCD, DVD, Ogg, FLV and QuickTime among the others. It is also a good alternative for Windows Media Player in case if it doesn’t support any file type.
As far the high level controls of KMPlayer are concerned, you can perform the following set of operations:
- Audio/video processing
- Decoding and rendering
- Visual outputs
- Plugins
It also has delay free playback system which will not pause or break your videos. It works on the principle of frame by frame extraction which lets the video to play smoothly. You can enhance its features by using extra codecs.
You can even change and control the tools like screen rotation, playback speed, subtitles and screenshots by heading on to the menu bar. The software boasts of a cycle 3D modeand VR mode for 360-degree video playback, both of which you won’t easily find in a video player. URL Play and video/subtitle history management are also on the table, aside from a rich decoder toolkit.
It is compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Vista and XP.
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Media Player Classic – Home Cinema
As the name implies, it is a classic media player and intends on providing you a home based cinema experience. Gabest and Doom9 released it fifteen years ago.
It is also one of the popular video players for Windows because of several reasons. First, it is extremely lightweight. The application is only 10.7 MB in size. This extremely light size makes it quite easy to use and will not hang or your system opening it. It has a quick response time.
Like many other media players out there, it also supports and plays a number of different codecs and video formats such as WAV, WMA, FLV, MPEG (1, 2 and 4), ACC and DivX.
Apart from that, it also offers a wide range of options and settings in its toolbar section. For this, you will simply have to access the toolbar at the top and you will find options like debug, frame statistics etc. You can also control its output options like output range, color management, VSync, GPU Control and Audio/Video decoders etc.
It has a simple and a bit of an old school style user interface UI, which is what makes it a classic media player. Commonly abbreviated as MPC-HC, it is among the best options for playing videos on Windows.
Media Payer Classic is compatible with almost all of the Windows versions including Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10.
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PotPlayer
Developed by South Korean company Kakao, PotPlayer is the best substitution for VLC Media Player. With time, it has earned a good reputation and name on the basis of its performance and other parameters.
It is a powerful media player and is great for those who keep a vast interest in having a good movie or video experience. PotPlayer also supports a variety of video formats like MKV, MPEG, FLV and RMVB etc. However, it surprisingly supports more video formats as compared to the VLC Media Player which is why PotPlayer is a best substitution for the former.
PotPlayer also comes with an excellent playback time. Using he techniques like CUDA, QuickSync, and DXVA, it delivers the maximum performance to the user. It gives you full control over its settings. You can choose the sound card of your choice. You can even bookmark your favorite scenes. It even lets you change the contrast settings as per your requirement by allowing you to set the brightness, contrast and hue etc. PotPlayer has a lot of built-in keyboard shortcuts which you can use as hotkeys.
It is limited to Windows and is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
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UM Player
If you are concerned about watching videos only and don’t care about the layout and the design, then you have no better option than UM Player. It is an open source and lightweight application that will give you a really good video watching experience.
The playback is good. Plus, it can play any video or media file because it supports over 200 video codecs like ACC, AC3, ASF, AVI and DIVX. So, you don’t have to worry whether the file will be supported or not because it can play almost everything.
It is also rich in its customization and playback tools options. Deinterlacing, noise reduction and audio filters are among the many great features it offers. If you are someone who loves aesthetic and fancy layouts then UM Player might disappoint you in that case otherwise, it is a great application for running high quality videos.
It works best with Windows. It is compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
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MPV
Like UM Player, MPV also has a minimalist and old school layout. But that does not affect its performance speed. It is a lightweight application which runs video at a superfast speed.
It does not hog or hangs the system because of its light size. The layout is as simple as it could be and if you are someone that cares only about watch superfast videos, then MPV is your best option.
The layout has simple playback controls, a seek bar and a subtitling tool etc. MPV works with the drag and drop phenomenon. It also plays a variety of formats including MPEG and MKV.
MPV has been very common and favorite among the Linux users however, it has been gaining popularity with the Windows users. It is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux.
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ACG Player
If you are looking for an exclusive media player for Windows 10 then stop your right here because you can’t get anything better than the ACG Player. It has a small size setup and is a lightweight application.
It comes with a wide range of necessary features like:
- Audio effects
- Video effects
- Music visualizer
- Art font subtitle
- Gesture control
- Background music
It supports almost all of the media codecs and therefore, runs all types of video files. It also supports playback form external devices, files and disks. ACG Player has an even lighter version called, Ax-Lite which is superfast but lacks some of the features.
It is a media player specifically designed and engineered for Windows 10.
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DivX Player
It claims to be the first video player supporting the HEVC playback, including Ultra HD (4K). It is perfect for you if you wish to see videos or movies in high resolution and quality.
The DivX Player is optimized for all file types like movies, TV shows, web clips and internet formats like AVI, DIVX, MKV and MP4 etc. You can even cast it to the big screens because with DivX, you can stream any form of media to the DLNA compatible devices like PS3, Xbox, Samsung Galaxy products and Chromecast. For this, you just have to select the “Cast To” feature.
Sometimes, you just want to watch some specific scene of the movie or some specific part of the video. With DivX Player’s “Chapter” option, you can easily navigate to your favorite scene and chapter. You can also keep a track of your watched playlist and can even resume your video from where you left off by using the Resume Play feature.
The Player’s media library keeps track of your free and purchased content. DivX Player’s supports for multiple audio will let you switch among soundtracks to hear other languages or director’s commentary without interrupting the playback experience.
It is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
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GOM Player
GOM Player or Gretech Online Movie Player is a free media player for Windows developed by the South Korean company, GOM & Company. Its main features include the ability to play some broken media files and find missing codecs using a codec finder service so, just in case, if you have a broken video file, GOM Player will fix it for you.
It can also play all the file formats like AVI, MKV, MP4, FLV and MOV etc. A[art from that, it also comes with a lot of other options like like A-B repeat, Media Player Capture, speed control, audio and video effects, screen capture, etc. You can even customize the player by changing its skin color.
It supports the subtitles and you can watch your movies in your favorite languages by downloading the subtitle files from OpenSubtitles.org or any other you like. GOM Media Player supports a wide range of operating systems. It works well with any Windows version from XP SP3 to higher.
