It handles most formats without issue, and it supports some advanced features like subtitle downloads, video capture, and integration with Skype. The Home Cinema version is what you see in the above screenshot, illustrating its basic yet effective (and familiar!) layout.Īnd that's really the biggest selling point of Media Player Classic: fast performance, low resource usage, small installation size-truly lightweight in every way. Black Edition is the superpowered version with more features, improvements, and enhancements, but it isn't as simple to use. Home Cinema is the better choice for everyday users, aiming to remain as lightweight as possible while supporting the latest standards and video formats. It stalled development in 2006 and has since forked into two separate projects: Home Cinema (MPC-HC) and Black Edition (MPC-BE).

Released back in 2003, it was the favored alternative to Windows Media Player back during the Windows XP days. Media Player Classic is one of those apps that can stir up nostalgia and send you down memory lane. If you like the idea of PotPlayer and other portable apps, take a look at this list of the best portable apps that require no installation.

Better handling of large files (Blu-ray) and cutting-edge formats.

Supports online streaming with most mainstream protocols.

Supports playback from files, discs, external devices.

Supports most media codecs out of the box.

Detailed interface that shows a lot without being cluttered.

Summary of benefits and notable features:

Regardless, it's a great free media player for Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Most users probably won't care, but you should know that PotPlayer is free but proprietary software (i.e., not open source). And best of all, it uses fewer resources than VLC. In fact, you'll find it packed with more settings than even VLC and lots of advanced features like scene previews, bookmarks, clip recording, and more. If you want to tweak options and customize them to your liking, PotPlayer lets you.

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