Trying to cull a media player app is like deciding on a web browser: conflicting opinions grow, everyone wants to catechumen you to "their" app of choice, and information technology's easy to drown below all the unlike options out in that location.

The good news? Worthwhile media histrion apps ever ascent to the top every bit they distinguish themselves, and for the most function, it doesn't matter which one you lot cull. The best media actor for you is the one you about enjoy using.

There are many gratuitous media players for Windows ten, offering a multifariousness of tools, options, and support for different video formats. If you're struggling to figure out the best option, here are the best gratuitous media players bachelor for Windows 10.

1. VLC Media Thespian

VLC Media Player is the virtually popular media player in the world. If you wait on a site like AlternativeTo, you'll see that VLC ranks up top with over half dozen,000 Likes. VLC is clearly the king. But is it right for you? Maybe, perchance not.

VLC is complex and powerful. "All-in-one solution" describes it all-time, and you lot tin can do a lot with it, particularly with all of the advanced settings and options to tweak. The downside? VLC verges on "swollen" condition and may not offer the best performance on older, slower hardware.

But if you hate tinkering and just desire a media player that's free and works right out of the box, VLC is the reply. Information technology can stream video URLs in existent-fourth dimension, and information technology tin can play all standard media types, including CDs, DVDs, and most popular video formats similar MP4, AVI, and MKV. No need to download, install, and dabble with codecs.

All in all, we understand why VLC ranks as one of the virtually popular GitHub projects to date. Because information technology's been in active development since 2001, information technology'southward rubber to say that VLC won't be going anywhere any time before long.

For all of this, VLC keeps its spot on our listing of all-time Windows software.

Summary of benefits and notable features:

  • Supports nigh media codecs out of the box.
  • Supports playback from files, discs, external devices, webcams.
  • Supports online streaming with most mainstream protocols.
  • Hardware acceleration for fast GPU playback.
  • Customize advent with the VLC Skin Editor.
  • Bachelor on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Download: VLC Media Thespian (Complimentary)

ii. PotPlayer

PotPlayer is a media player app from Southward Korea. If VLC didn't have such a stiff brand identity, PotPlayer would probably stand up in its place as the king of the free media players.

VLC and PotPlayer share a lot in mutual, notably that they both serve as easy all-in-1 media players for users who just want an out-of-the-box solution. Simply unlike VLC, which can encounter trouble when dealing with larger files or cut-edge video formats, PotPlayer ever works.

If you lot desire to tweak options and customize them to your liking, PotPlayer lets you lot. In fact, you lot'll detect it packed with more settings than fifty-fifty VLC and lots of avant-garde features similar scene previews, bookmarks, clip recording, and more. And best of all, information technology uses fewer resources than VLC.

About users probably won't care, simply you should know that PotPlayer is free but proprietary software (i.due east., not open source). Regardless, information technology's a keen gratis media actor for Windows 10.

Summary of benefits and notable features:

  • Detailed interface that shows a lot without existence chaotic.
  • Supports nearly media codecs out of the box.
  • Supports playback from files, discs, external devices.
  • Supports online streaming with most mainstream protocols.
  • Ameliorate handling of big files (Blu-ray) and cutting-edge formats.
  • Available on Windows merely.

Download: Daum PotPlayer (Free)

If you lot like the idea of PotPlayer and other portable apps, have a look at this list of the all-time portable apps that crave no installation.

iii. Media Thespian Classic

Media Player Archetype is i of those apps that tin stir up nostalgia and transport you down retentiveness lane.

Released dorsum in 2003, it was the favored alternative to Windows Media Player back during the Windows XP days. It stalled evolution in 2006 and has since forked into two split projects: Abode Movie theater (MPC-HC) and Blackness Edition (MPC-Be).

Home Movie house is the better option for everyday users, aiming to remain as lightweight as possible while supporting the latest standards and video formats. Black Edition is the superpowered version with more features, improvements, and enhancements, just it isn't as simple to use.

The Domicile Cinema version is what you see in the to a higher place screenshot, illustrating its bones withal effective (and familiar!) layout.

And that'southward really the biggest selling point of Media Player Classic: fast performance, low resource usage, small installation size—truly lightweight in every fashion. It handles most formats without issue, and information technology supports some advanced features like subtitle downloads, video capture, and integration with Skype.

Media Actor Classic is the largest open-source alternative to VLC. If you don't like how much bloat VLC took on over the by few years, and if you don't like PotPlayer's closed-source evolution, then this is the free Windows x media player for you.

Unfortunately, MPC-HC was discontinued in July 2017, only information technology nonetheless works well and is worth using.

Summary of benefits and notable features:

  • Intuitive and easy-to-use interface.
  • Supports nearly media codecs out of the box.
  • Supports playback from files, discs, external devices.
  • Extremely lightweight, which ways groovy performance on old machines.
  • Advanced features like subtitle downloads and Skype integration.
  • Available on Windows merely.

Download: Media Histrion Archetype (Gratis)

4. ACG Histrion

At present that nosotros've got the "Big Three" out of the way, I want to highlight this gem of a video role player that's in the Microsoft Shop. It's called ACG Player, and it's tragically underrated. If you thought Media Player Classic was lightweight, this will accident you away.

The first thing you'll detect is the simplified interface and touch-based controls. Tap the superlative half for Play/Break, or tap the bottom half to toggle the controls. Swipe left-correct to rewind and fast-forward, swipe up-down for volume. Patently, this app was designed for Windows 10 tablets, only keyboard shortcut alternatives exist too.

Advanced features include gesture customizations, multiple window manner, playlist management, online stream playback, and the power to tweak subtitle appearances and animations. You tin besides opt for Ax-Lite Video Player, which is a faster version with some of the features cutting out.

ACG Player does feature in-app ads and includes an in-app purchase y'all can use to remove them. However, they're non intrusive, displaying when yous interruption a video. It doesn't detract from your video watching experience at all.

Summary of benefits and notable features:

  • Simple, gesture-based interface. Groovy for tablets!
  • Supports well-nigh media codecs out of the box.
  • Supports playback from files, discs, external devices.
  • Lightweight and barebones design.
  • Available on Windows only.

Download: ACG Player (Free)

5. MPV

In MPV, we have another free media thespian for Windows 10, which also happens to be an open up-source, cross-platform contender to VLC. This particular project is a fork of both MPlayer and mplayer2, keeping the expert bits of those, throwing out the junk, and introducing a whole lot more goodies.

The first thing that stands out is the lack of a traditional user interface. It'due south a pure video histrion with minimal controls overlaid at the bottom, and it's mostly controlled using mouse movements. Bully and convenient for touchscreen devices.

Between MPV and VLC, MPV is definitely harder to use if you want to practice annihilation more than just watch stuff. It's generally more than efficient and less demanding resource-wise, just things similar piffling with subtitles or streaming to Chromecast tin be a pain.

Overall, it has a bit of a niche appeal, simply information technology's certainly worth giving a try. What do you have to lose?

Summary of benefits and notable features:

  • Minimal, mouse-based user interface.
  • Supports most media codecs out of the box.
  • Excellent video quality, even when scaling.
  • Lightweight and efficient video playback.
  • Available on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android.

Download: MPV (Complimentary)

half dozen. 5KPlayer

Wrapping the list up is 5KPlayer, a fully-featured, advertising-supported media player for Windows 10.

Information technology'south a comprehensive media thespian that supports a huge range of video formats, including 360-degree video and even 8K. Handily, 5KPlayer supports AirPlay and DLNA out of the box, allowing you to stream video with virtually zero loss of quality. You can also stream video directly from YouTube into 5KPlayer, making it easier to manage YouTube videos on the go.

The 5KPlayer interface is easy to use, even including options to rotate your video through 90-degrees left or right.

Regarding the in-app ads, as with other gratuitous media players, they're don't pop-up and wreck your viewing experience. Notwithstanding, they exercise occasionally appear when you're trying to click on something else, similar a specific setting. Overall, though, the ad-support media histrion is a neat option for Windows x users.

Summary of benefits and notable features:

  • 4K, 8K, and 360-degree video playback.
  • Like shooting fish in a barrel to utilise interface.
  • Stream alive video, with back up for YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, and others.
  • Support for AirPlay and DLNA.

Download: 5KPlayer (Free)

Not happy with the current crop of media players? Windows 10 has such an array of excellent free media players available, and information technology isn't easy choosing the best option of all. For many people, VLC is the become-to pick, even if it is a petty bloated. You can nonetheless drop and drag almost any file into the VLC, and it'll work the first fourth dimension without whatever hassle.

How to Download Windows Media Player 12 for Windows 10

Windows 10 doesn't ship with Windows Media Thespian anymore. Learn how to install Windows Media Actor for free and legally.

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