VLC al­tern­at­ives: which media player is right for you?

Winamp (Windows, Android, macOS)

Winamp is a popular media player, es­tab­lished in the mid-1990s. Nowadays, it’s fallen into oblivion. But Winamp is still a good choice for Windows users. The fully featured program comes with a highly cus­tom­is­able design. You can install visu­al­isa­tions, or change the ap­pear­ance of the player with hundreds of skins. Winamp supports a huge selection of video and audio formats, including MPG, MPEG, MP3, MP4, and OGG. The most com­pel­ling feature in Winamp is the extensive range of plugins. This extends from the in­stall­a­tion of Dcodec packs (to play various file formats), to plugs that allow ad­di­tion­al functions like DVD con­ver­sion. Winamp runs on older computers and is a tried and tested program that many users, even today, couldn’t imagine being without.

BS.Player (Windows, Android)

This al­tern­at­ive to VLC has the advantage of being very resource-efficient. Despite the low processor use, the BS.Player offers many features. The media player for Windows and Android can play most video formats without the need for con­ver­sion, and has practical chapter and subtitle options. What’s es­pe­cially useful is the fact that you can customise the video’s subtitles. The program is also suitable for enjoying mul­ti­lin­gual videos, since changing languages is not a problem. The BS.Player can also scale different image formats. For example, if you want to view a wide-format movie on a 4:3 monitor, you should use the 'pan and scan' feature. The program scales the image material so that you can see the whole image. The hotkey feature enables you to program shortcuts for your favourite features.

The KMPlayer is a stream­lined audio and video player for desktop PCs, which also cuts a good figure on Android devices. Par­tic­u­larly note­worthy is that movies in 4K res­ol­u­tion and in 3D format are supported. The player has both internal and external filters and gives you full control over your media files, together with trans­form­a­tion filters for audio and video decoders as well as rendering programs. The KMPlayer’s internal filters are not re­gistered in the user’s system, meaning that no problems occur with system filters that have already been installed.

The KMPlayer is available for free download.

SMPlayer (Windows, Android, Linux)

This al­tern­at­ive to VLC is im­press­ive due to its ver­sat­il­ity. The SMPlayer is com­pletely free and available as an open source solution, which makes it par­tic­u­larly at­tract­ive for ex­per­i­enced Linux users. The media player supports all common Windows operating systems (excluding Linux), and is available in 30 different languages. The program has many useful features, such as audio and video filters that can be combined with your video and music files. Thus, the SMPlayer is well suited for visuals that you can project onto a screen using a projector. Par­tic­u­larly note­worthy is how flexible the program is: the playback speed can be adjusted, and the speed of the subtitles can be sub­sequently optimised. The player auto­mat­ic­ally supports all common media formats such as MOV, MVK, AVI, MP4, DIVX, and MPEG, and no codes need to be installed.

If you are in­ter­ested in VR and 360 degree videos, GOM Player should be your first choice. The program supports a variety of VR and 360-degree video formats and can also play 360-degree YouTube videos. Advanced users can also configure video present­a­tions in­di­vidu­ally.

Another feature of this VLC al­tern­at­ive is the remote function. As a GOM user, you can link your smart­phone to your GOM Player wire­lessly, allowing you to control virtually all the features of the player with your mobile device: select videos or music, adjust volume, configure screen settings, and more. The developer team offers regular updates to keep the program up-to-date.

MPlayerX (Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Linux)

If you aren’t so keen on the design of the VLC Player, you should take a look at MPlayerX. The Chinese developer, Zongyao Qu, designed a light­weight player that has a wide range of video formats. The program works es­pe­cially well with macOS, but is also available for Windows and Linux. The MPlayerX offers some practical options for the in­di­vidu­al playback of media files and is easy to use. One great thing about this program is that in many areas it’s possible to adapt the player’s features to your needs. Nev­er­the­less, the program is limited to the most important functions. The smooth playback of video and music files in the most popular formats can be achieved via hard disk or network. The MPlayerX is com­pat­ible with Apple Remote and supports multi-mon­it­or­ing, allowing con­veni­ent wireless control. For Apple users, the MPlayerX belongs to the top options for VLC al­tern­at­ives. The program is superior to VLC in terms of how it can be in­teg­rated into macOS, which for many users is enough to convince them to try it out. Not only the design, but also the nearly identical multi-touch gestures comply better with the Mac en­vir­on­ment than the PC-ori­ent­ated VLC control. If you want to download the latest version of the MPlayerX for your Mac, you shouldn’t do this via the App Store because the version offered here is outdated. The reason for this is Apple’s strict Sandbox guidelines, which severely restrict some of the program’s functions. If you download the latest version from the man­u­fac­turer’s site, you can always keep the program up-to-date with the auto-update function.

AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player (Windows, macOS)

If you want to play high-res­ol­u­tion videos on your PC or MAC, the AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player could be the right al­tern­at­ive to VLC for you. The program from the AnyMP4 Studio is a pro­fes­sion­al media player for all common versions of Windows and macOS. With the universal player, you can open almost all popular video and audio formats (MP4, MOV, MKV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, and more). The biggest advantage of the AnyMP4 Blu-ray player is the smooth playback of 4K and full HD videos with a high bit rate (720p is also possible). If you already have a Blu-ray col­lec­tion, the AnyMP4 Blu-ray Player plays your discs directly from your computer. To do this, you need to upgrade the Player with a plugin or codec. All new Blu-ray discs are supported natively, which makes watching movies in Blu-ray format an even better ex­per­i­ence. The media player can also provide some useful ad­di­tion­al features. This enables you to change the subtitles, adjust the audio track, take screen­shots, switch to dein­ter­lace mode, and lots more. AnyMP4 also offers filters for bright­ness, shade, contrast, sat­ur­a­tion, and gamma cor­rec­tion. This means it’s not prob­lem­at­ic at all if you want to modify and optimise the image and sound settings according to your wishes.

Free FLV Player (Windows, macOS)

Even though HTML5 has become more popular over time, there’s still hope for Flash videos. Many streaming providers still encrypt their videos with Flash (FLV) format. On desktop PCs, these files can be played without problems with the right plugins, but this is a different story with smart­phones and tablets, since Flash can cause com­plic­a­tions. As a result, you often have to convert Flash videos so that they are com­pat­ible with mobile devices. This is easy with the Free FLV Player from Tonec. FLV files can be converted into all popular formats, including AVI, 3GP, and MP4. So it is possible to play all videos on your iPhone, tablet, or Android smart­phone. The Free FLV Player also offers a search function for various online video portals, which you can use to quickly find your desired video. This means you don’t have to install apps for in­di­vidu­al portals, but rather that you can play files directly via the Free FLV Converter. The setting options ensure that they search all supported websites or only certain portals. The program can also download several videos sim­ul­tan­eously and convert them in batches.

PotPlayer makes it easy to fix problems such as asyn­chron­ous soundtracks that are found in some videos. The audio track is simply adapted to the video track. In addition, it is also possible to remove the subtitle track and insert another one.

PotPlayer is free for Windows and plays prac­tic­ally every file format and every media container. The al­tern­at­ive to VLC for Windows also offers a wealth of features and controls for in­cor­por­at­ing effects in video playback. The tool supports DXA, CUDA, QuickSync, and various 3D output formats. Various types of 3D glasses have been designed for viewing 3D movies using this player. In order to make the min­im­al­ist ap­pear­ance a bit more in­di­vidu­al, there are a large number of skins available.

Since it’s Apple software, you will not have any problems streaming your videos wire­lessly via AirPlay. For example, you can transfer your media files wire­lessly from your iOS device to your Smart TV. AirPlay-enabled output devices, such as AirPort Express and Apple TV, work with iTunes to provide you with access to your content through­out the home.

Apple is well ahead when it comes to usability, which is often a decisive factor. Un­for­tu­nately, Apple products (e.g. Apple TV) are costly and therefore each user must decide for them­selves whether the user friend­li­ness is worth the price.

However, if you want to manage your video col­lec­tion and control the movie playback via remote control, there is prac­tic­ally no al­tern­at­ive to the free Kodi Media Center. An important advantage to the paid Apple TV is the ver­sat­il­ity of the program. It is also possible to play com­pressed file formats, which isn’t possible with Apple’s own video service. The Kodi Media Center is easy to control with your Android or iOS devices.

The program is less suitable if you prefer to play in­di­vidu­al clips, but for cinema fans, Kodi has everything you need.

Real­Play­er (Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Linux)

The first Real­Play­er was released in 1995, making it a real classic among media players. The program has evolved into a versatile mul­ti­me­dia tool that supports a wide range of video formats – including RealAudio and RealVideo formats. The Real­Play­er supports the most common formats including MP3, MPEG, WMV, and Flash Video (FLV). Real­Play­er can also play the popular MKV format with the help of an add-on. If you define the Real­Play­er as the central playback program for your media files, you can easily create playlists, copy videos from websites, or burn CDs, DVDs, and stream videos. The Real­Play­er is one of the most versatile programs among the VLC al­tern­at­ives. Current versions of the Real­Play­er have improved mobile device support, which is how you transfer your music and videos easily from your smart­phone to the PC and vice versa. The Real­Play­er supports Chromecast, Google’s streaming dongle. This means, for example, that you can connect your smart­phone to your TV via HDMI and watch your favourite series using the Real­Play­er app (on iOS or Android).

RealTimes – the Real­Play­er cloud (Windows, Android, macOS, iOS)

The Real­Play­er cloud option, RealTimes is an extension for Real­Play­er that enables you to enjoy your media library wire­lessly. Instead of re­triev­ing your videos and audio files from your desktop PC’s hard drive, you can use this tool to upload your media files to a cloud. They can then be played on numerous devices. With the RealTimes playback function, you can watch your movies on HDTV or on a large monitor. The tool also supports Google Chromecast and Dropbox. For a small monthly amount, you receive 25GB of storage available in the cloud. The Cloud tool scores points with its sim­pli­fied layout, which is great for beginners. Once set up, the video uploads and syn­chron­isa­tion run in the back­ground. This means you aren’t disturbed by the technical pro­ced­ures so you can con­cen­trate fully on watching the movie. With RealTimes it is also possible to create collages of your images and videos in a story format and then share them with others. In a nutshell: Given its wide range of support for various devices and platforms, the RealTimes cloud is a VLC al­tern­at­ive, which comes in handy for many users. The basic service is free of charge, but there are also several premium editions with more storage and more features to choose from.

MPC-HC (Windows)

Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (or MPC-HC for short) is another high-quality al­tern­at­ive to VLC. The program from the Gabest company is a com­bin­a­tion of a universal media center and min­im­al­ist media player. Even though the user interface looks simple, it possesses many features of a new gen­er­a­tion media program, including DVB playback. MPC-HC provides native support for Matroska, VCD, DVD playback, and built-in codecs that enable you to play media files from mobile devices (3GP, AC3, DTS audio etc.), without having to convert them be­fore­hand. An ad­di­tion­al factor that speaks in favour of MPC-HC is the large selection of ex­ten­sions and plugins. The main ad­vant­ages of the extensive program is, however, its minimal system re­quire­ments. The tool runs on almost every Windows PC. MPC-HC is the perfect choice if you are looking for a min­im­al­ist media player with many features to use as a home cinema, which works just as well on older computers.

Movist (macOS, iOS)

The Movist Player was launched by a developer of the same name, who hoped the program’s in­di­vidu­al­ity and func­tion­al­ity would win users over. Currently the program is only available for macOS and iOS, but an Android version is being planned. Movist has learned from VLC when it comes to easy playback of all file types. The player manages, for example, to play a video in WMV format, which is often quite a prob­lem­at­ic format. With Movist, you can easily manage your existing video library and create your own playlists. The in­di­vidu­al design im­me­di­ately catches your eye, and the po­s­i­tion­ing of the menu can be adapted to your own pref­er­ences. The player in­teg­rates subtitles in the most common formats and allows users to edit them. For example, you can change the font of the text you want to use. If you’re into visual effects, you’ll be pleased with the features that the Movist player offers. For example, a motion blur effect in real time can be applied to the video that’s being shown, or the clip currently being played can be made to be the desktop back­ground video. In order to simplify Movist’s usability, the following settings are re­com­men­ded: in the options menu under 'Pref­er­ences' > 'Ad­vanced' > 'Se­cur­ity', you should select all folders in which your video files are placed. This will skip the warning that is displayed before each video, due to macOS’s sandbox function. Movist offers a similar range of features to VLC, which makes the design more im­press­ive than the Spartan approach seen by the top dogs among the media players. If you want to install the player, you will have to pay around £4 in the App Store. Since there are many good media players that can be used on Apple devices for free, this price is perhaps a bit too much for some users. Movist has a unique design that is highly cus­tom­is­able. The large number of settings and the wide file support are also plus points for the player. If you are willing to invest a bit of money, you can’t go wrong with Movist.

Miro (Windows, macOS, Linux)

Miro is a popular media player from the or­gan­isa­tion, Par­ti­cip­at­ory Culture Found­a­tion, and was designed as an iTunes com­pet­it­or. The free open-source media library offers some ad­vant­ages over iTunes and VLC. But is it worth choosing this option over them? Miro is not available in the App Store, which means you have to download the DMG file for Mac directly from the man­u­fac­turer’s website. The program is quite stream­lined with its 40MB size (half the size of iTunes). Miro is available in various languages, but not all of them are fully trans­lated. Importing iTunes media and other media files is usually quite easy. However, the import process takes a while, es­pe­cially if you have a large library. What you im­me­di­ately notice is the program’s well-designed user interface. It was designed by the well-known designer Morgan Allan Knutson, who obviously invested a lot of time and effort into it. The interface’s usability un­for­tu­nately suffers slightly, due to the soph­ist­ic­ated aes­thet­ics. Miro isn’t trying to be an iTunes clone, and it’s safe to say that some elements of iTunes are missing e.g. the control options are placed at the bottom, which many users may find unusual. Miro plays your music without any problems, although one dis­ad­vant­age is the lack of viewing options. Either the player shows your music in a complete list with the details of each song or in a useless window in which you can see each song in­di­vidu­ally along with its artwork and a few details, but where only four songs fit at once. What’s missing is the option of viewing thumb­nails of albums like in iTunes. When it comes to videos, however, you quickly notice how ambitious Miro is. The program can play most common formats, but if you do encounter an in­com­pat­ible format, the built-in video converter feature will help you.

DivX Player (Windows, Android, macOS, iOS)

The DivX Player is a well-known media player, which not only plays media files, but also has many other im­press­ive features. It can, for example, stream videos on DLNA-compliant devices. In addition to a simple media player for desktop computers and mobile devices, DivX also provides a handy converter and a media server with cloud support. If you are looking for a VLC al­tern­at­ive because you aren’t satisfied with the per­form­ance of your previous player when it comes to high-res­ol­u­tion videos, you should consider the DivX Player. The DivX Player can provide full support for 4K Ultra-HD videos thanks to its HEVC-com­pat­ible playback. DivX’s media playback section has even more to offer. With the con­veni­ent search function, you can quickly browse through the chapters of your favorite movies and enjoy your favorite scenes again and again. You can use the media library to organise your media content so you can always have the right film or clip at hand. The player also offers advanced audio features, as well as resume play. If you want to watch high-res­ol­u­tion 4K videos, DivX Player should be in your shortlist.

If you want to expand your media library, you can simply download online videos from more than 300 video hosting sites such as YouTube, Daily Motion, or Metacafe (also in 4K). The Airplay feature lets you stream videos or music through your mobile device. In the 5KPlayer library, your media files are arranged according to fa­vour­ites, YouTube, and playlists. To add new files, simply click the plus sign.

In addition, the 5KPlayer can convert any video to AAC/MP3 files and extract audio tracks from videos. Various game modes such as single, order, cir­cu­la­tion, and random, which you can change in the library, ensure a high degree of user comfort. Overall, 5KPlayer is the best choice for Windows 10 users who want to play high-defin­i­tion videos and movies.

Me­dia­Mon­key (Windows, Android)

Me­dia­Mon­key from Ventis Media Inc. is primarily a music man­age­ment software for Windows, which is aimed at the needs of music en­thu­si­asts. It’s also possible to play videos with this tool.  The program’s user interface is similar to that of iTunes, but it offers the sig­ni­fic­ant advantage that you can move and rearrange all panels. You can even place your music directory on the right side of the screen if you wish. In addition, the ap­pear­ance of your playlist is cus­tom­is­able. Thanks to various skins, you can design the entire look of the user interface to your liking. With Me­dia­Mon­key, you can quickly organise your files according to different metadata. Simply arrange your library by artist, title, album, genre, or rating. To add music or videos to your library, choose an area of your computer where Me­dia­Mon­key should search for files. The software syn­chron­ises the library with your devices, similar to iTunes. Me­dia­Mon­key is able to auto­mat­ic­ally assign multiple songs to the same album, instead of editing each track in­di­vidu­ally. The software even checks upper and lower case during this batch pro­cessing. Me­dia­Mon­key enables you to set the track volume globally so that the program plays your files at the same volume. If you have songs in your col­lec­tion that do not have any tag in­form­a­tion, Me­dia­Mon­key auto­mat­ic­ally scans the web for metadata like artist, album, cover art, and more. Playlists sync auto­mat­ic­ally and are available on all connected devices. You can burn your created playlists onto CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs. With the auto DJ function, you can determine how many songs or videos are in the 'Now Playing' list. The party mode is another practical feature where you can choose which tracks you want to play from your current music or video selection. Me­dia­Mon­key also connects you to all internet radio sites for when you want to listen to your favourite podcasts. The tool also provides an option for hiding tracks and videos if you are em­bar­rassed by part of your col­lec­tion. If a file format is not playable, plugins and codec packs are available. In addition, you can use script ex­ten­sions to increase the program’s func­tion­al­ity. Me­dia­Mon­key is quick and easy to get ac­quain­ted to, the user interface is easy to customise, and includes some very useful options for optimal media col­lec­tion man­age­ment. The program is not quite ideal for playing high-res­ol­u­tion videos, but is highly re­com­men­ded for music lovers.