Best Free Media Player

New:	Help keep this site independent and ad-free by buying a Gizmo Cap or T-shirt or by Donating
Hot:	Get free personalized security suggestions from Gizmo's Security Wizard
Help:	Like freeware? Then why not become a reviewer or site moderator for Gizmo's Freeware

Last Update: Thu, 10/08/2009 - 04:40 — joe.bennett

In a Hurry?

Go straight to the Quick Selection Guide

Introduction

Finding an all-in-one media player used to be impossible. In the past you needed to use several separate programs to play MP3 files, streaming media from Real, Mpeg files, Quicktime movies, CDs and DVD discs, but with the advent of Microsoft's Windows Media Player (WMP), all of these media types could be played in one player. Over a period of time, however, WMP for XP and Vista has become bloated and isn't compatible with all of the available file formats. WinAmp, which began as an mp3 player, now plays almost everything, although it uses a lot of system resources and may contain adware if you aren't careful on the installation. iTunes has become more prevalent on many PCs due to the almost universal reach of the IPod, but it also uses a lot of resources and is processor intensive. So I've done some major research to find alternative media players capable of playing all of these media formats, including digital music, video, CD, and DVD, while still being light on resources. I was impressed with what I found. Not only do these programs replace WMP ITunes and WinAmp, but they also exceeded their functionality. The products that I've reviewed here are capable of playing multiple types of media files, including various digital audio and video formats, CDs, and DVDs. They are also easy to install and use and are light on system resources.

NOTE: Some of these programs may require additional codecs for expanded functionality. For more information about codecs, including what they do, legal issues and download links, see the article, "Understanding Codecs".

Discussion

After careful review and consideration, The KM Player, now holds the "Best Pick" spot for this category. There are many reasons for this but the big ones include ease of use and installation, awesome playback, and no need for extra codec packs. Originally the work of one programmer, the project is now owned by Pandora TV and continues to be developed. On a default install, it is configured to play almost any media file available without the need for additional codecs, making it easy to use for those with less experience. Yet if needed, it can be configured to selectively use any codecs you have installed yourself. This means that one can have full control over which codecs and filters The KM Player will use, thus preventing media playback from being messed up. Among its other features, The KM Player can set multifarious audio and video effects, slow down or increase playback speed with regular tone, select parts of a video as favorites, do an exceptionally powerful A-B repeat, remap the keys of remote interface for HTPC including overlay screen controls, and change a skin dynamically depending on the type of media you wish to play. Plus it is completely customizable thanks to a wide selection of skins and color schemes. In short, the configuration options of The KM Player are the most extensive I've ever seen. But keep in mind that many features means a larger program. Weighing in at over 13 MB, The KM Player is one of the larger downloads of the products reviewed here.

My thanks to everyone who suggested The KM Player, especially subscriber Sandeep, whose comments were helpful in creating this review.

For a long time, I have been a fan of Media Player Classic due to its ease of use, simple installation, and powerful features. Unfortunately, development on this particular project has stopped, but there is a great replacement: Media Player Classic - Home Cinema. Like its predecessor, It is an incredibly small program but has a vast feature set. Available only for Windows (NT - 7), MPC Home Cinema looks like the old Windows Media Player v6.4, but that's where the similarity ends. Under the hood, this program packs a lot of features, including codecs for viewing DVD discs, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG 4 and x.264 movie files, MP3 and Ogg files. It can also use the QuickTime and the RealPlayer architectures (if installed on the computer) to play their native files. To further extend its functionality while avoiding the installation of RealPlayer, WinAmp and Quicktime, you will have to download some codec packs. (We recommend ffdshow, Real Alternative, QuickTime Alternative and WinAmp Alternative packages). They will make sure there will be almost nothing you won't be able to play. MPC Home Cinema is the only product reviewed here that requires no installation on your PC. This means that it can be run from your USB flash drive as well as your hard drive. (Note: there is some dispute over the legality of Real Alternative and QuickTime Alternative codec packs. ffdshow is opensource, completely legal, and should cover almost all of your needs.)

MPC Home Cinema has many additional functions above and beyond the original MPC including: The option to remove Tearing, better support for Windows Vista (including a release for 64 bit platforms), support for EVR (Enhanced Video Renderer) and playback and recording of television if a supported TV tuner is installed.

Another excellent player is VLC Media Player. VLC is available for multiple OSs, including all versions of Windows (98 through Vista), Mac OS X, and many varieties of Linux. VLC can also be installed and run directly from a flash drive. Most versions will support playback of most video files and DVD discs without the need to download external codec packs, including flv files, which MPC cannot natively play. VLC has another unique feature as well. There are 5 different DVD region codes. DVDs manufactured for one region will not play in players made for a different region. This applies to PC DVD drives as well... until now. VLC plays them all. There is no need for any shady (and possibly illegal DVD region spoofing programs). This is especially nice if you're an international traveler and want to watch a movie on your laptop outside of your country. VLC also has the ability to convert videos to formats it supports and like KM Player, you can specify whether or not to use system codecs. VLS also has the ability to take screenshots of your video, even while during DVD playback, a real attractive feature.

Another good alternative is GOM Player. Available only for Windows (98Se through Vista), it also will play most media files, including flv files with its own internal codecs. If, however, you come across a file it cannot play, it will direct you to the appropriate open-source codec to install. The program is a little quirky, though. I tried to play a DVD disc on two different PCs using GOM... On one it would not play it at all (and this was a machine I've been able to play DVD discs on before), while on the other PC it played it fine. One very noteworthy feature of the GOM player is its ability to play broken media files. According to subscriber Ash, "GOM Player's claim that it can play broken avi files is very true. We have a file sharing network on campus which uses DC++. Usually avi files which are being downloaded stop partway due to too much traffic. GOM Player was able to play every one of those files on my system up to the point where they stopped downloading."

Related Products and Links

Quick Selection Guide

KM Player
		Modern looking interface, capable of playing most media without additional codecs, extremely customizable
		Larger download size, many options can be confusing to non-technical types
		http://download.pandora.tv/?mode=kmp&tab=1
		http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14938
		13.5 MB 2.9.3.1434 Open Source Freeware (includes program code) Windows 98-Vista
		Portable version available

Media Player Classic Home Cinema
		No installation required, extremely easy to use, extremely small memory footprint for the features it offers, 64 bit versions available
		No support for syncing music, no picture quality controls
		http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/
		http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/download-media-player-classic-hc.html
		3.0 MB 1.2.908.0 Unrestricted Freeware Windows NT - 7
		64 Bit version available Portable version available
		Understanding Codecs" article can be found here: http://www.techsupportalert.com/dr/understanding-codecs.htm Additional software to enhance Media Player Classic can be found here: 1. ffdshow: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/FFDShow.htm 2. Real Alternative: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Alternative.htm 3. QuickTime Alternative: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/QuickTime_Alternative.htm 4. WinAmp Alternative: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Winamp-Alternative-Download-23376.html

VLC Media Player
		Available on multiple platforms, can read DVD's from all regions
		Large download size, many options can be confusing to non-technical types
		http://www.videolan.org/
		http://www.videolan.org/vlc
		18 MB 1.0.0 Open Source Freeware (includes program code) Windows 98-Vista, OS x, Various Linux distros
		Portable version available

GOM Player
		No extra codec packs are needed, capable of playing broken avi files
		May not play DVD discs on some systems
		http://www.gomplayer.com/main.html
		http://www.gomplayer.com/download.html
		4.66 MB 2.1.15.4610 Open Source Freeware (includes program code) Windows 98SE-Vista

This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Joe Bennett. Registered site visitors can contact Joe by clicking here.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon

Please rate this article

#1Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 02/06/2010 - 03:50.

Splayer is the best! if only their was a 64-bit version i wouldn't be using MPC home cinema right now.

#2Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 20:35.

http://www.opensubtitles.org/en/player

#3Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:52.

opensubtitle player is allplayer http://allplayer.org/en

#4Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 19:34.

Apart from functions and buttons a media player is first of all a player.
And i would like to see something about picture QUALITY playback
It should be the number one in reviews...

#5Submitted by joe.bennett on Thu, 02/04/2010 - 02:42.

Picture quality during playback is all dependent on the codecs used to encode the video stream, not the player. A video that's encoded with a high compression codec will generally have smaller file sizes as the expense of poorer quality video. Lower compression will yeild larger file sizes, but better video quality. It all depends on the needs of the user who is doing the encoding.

#6Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 21:47.

After repeated attempts at using VLC Player, I finally gave up on that player.

The good thing about it is that it probably sports the widest compatibility range with different files and codecs of all existing sotware. There's NOTHING I wasn't able to play on it... contrary to other players I've tried.

The bad thing is the bugs. The author(s) of VLC Player simply seem unable to bring each new version with a fixed bug without cauing three or four other bugs to resurface. Each time they fix something they break something, and no version seems 100% functional, even at basic usage levels.

For instance, the current 1.x branch can't take screenshots without crashing or without forcing the user to select unwanted video decoders with lowered video quality presentation. This was a problem YEARS ago with some 0.8.x version, which then became fixed in a subsequent 0.8.y, only to re-surface in the passage from 0.9 to 1.0 . It's ridiculous.

The default interface remains ugly looking at best, even with the added customization of recent versions, and using skins in VLC is a complicated and not user-friendly process. The player options are unintuitive and often even illogical in the way they are described and presented. One can easily take hours and end up googling just to find how to perform a simple operation or customization.

VLC Player is the single most user-UNfriendly software of its kind I've used. Even so, I tried to circumvent that and relying on the player's performance. But even that isn't possible, with all the bugs and crashes and half-baked running behaviour.

It's time to try a new media player for me.

#7Submitted by MidnightCowboy on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 23:37.

I can't comment on the screenshot function because this is something I never use, but as a player my VLC 1.0.3 is in daily use and I've yet to see one "bug", have one crash or any other issue. Maybe you can list these so that I can try to replicate them?

Regarding skins, what's so difficult about Preferences -(skin)- Browse (to the folder you downloaded them to) and click to select?

#8Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 05:01.

I downloaded VLC tonight (whatever the current version is on this Feb. 7/2010) and on the first (and every subsequent) attempt to view visualizations, it crashed. Also had a weird flickering of the control panel when in fullscreen mode. And the cone icons? Ya ya, its free, i shouldn't complain, but come on, they could at least change them to something a little more visually appealing.

#9Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 16:52.

I'm not shure GOM Player is Open Source.

It's free only for non-commercial purposes.

Please check.

#10Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/31/2010 - 23:56.

Can WMP 11 be reinstalled directly over my existing player that is having problems?

#11Submitted by joe.bennett on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 01:07.

Yes.

#12Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 04:40.

Thanks Joe-one more question...If I reinstall over the existing WMP 11 will I lose my music I have already saved to the laptop?

#13Submitted by joe.bennett on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 15:35.

I don't see how this would be a concern. WMP doesn't save your music for you. You have your music saved as mp3, wma, or other audio files on your hard drive... most likely in the "My Music" folder. Upgrading WMP would not change any of that as far as I know. Those music files should still be there.

#14Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 00:32.

It takes 5 seconds to uninstall WMP

#15Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 02:12.

What about Zoom Player? How highly is it rated?

#16Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 04:59.

I use Windows Media Player 11 but have lost the ability to burn-The burn option will appear in the drop down menu but when clicked nothing happens...Any suggestions? Thank You

#17Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 05:00.

I have a addendum to my prior post about problems burning in WMP 11----If necessary can I simply reinstall WMP 11? If yes do I need to uninstall the program I have NOW or can I reinstall OVER it and save my music too? Thank You

#18Submitted by Anupam on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 05:05.

I have seen you posting this question several times. When you are not getting an answer here, why post it again and again? Post it on a different forum, where you can get an answer. It is really irritating to see the same question repeated a number of times.

Why not choose a CD/DVD burner, rather than using WMP for burning?

#19Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 04:18.

At the Mod's:

I think you should evaulate mplayer-ww.

Splayer is a fork of the MPC branch, but last time I checked it used unauthorized version of Core Codec, isted in the Misc.Settings install, which is quite wrong because Core Codec is not free and redistribution is prohibited.

If you want to use similar player that is based on MPlayer and has very similar interface and better skin support try MPlayer WW SVN-r30380 @ http://sourceforge.net/projects/mplayer-ww/

Portable version also available and it is veeeery light on resources and IMHO better than Splayer. MPC-HomeCinema is MUCH better in terms of bugs and development cycle than Splayer.

Just my two cents,
Regards,
Ivan

#20Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 12:21.

any tutorial how to handle kmplayer? helllppp!!!

#21Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/22/2010 - 12:22.

any help is welcome. i'm stucked. pic in pic option, skins, i'm lost!

Moderator's Comment : Please do not post email address in comments. This is for your own safety. Email address removed

#22Submitted by joe.bennett on Sat, 01/23/2010 - 02:56.

The following link is to the KMPlayer forums:
http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/forums.php?s=e455030fee8c52c2c1b00bbc989a...

Check out the "Quick Tips & FAQ" and "Technical Support" sections. That should be enough to get you started with KMPlayer.

#23Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 04:19.

For a brief introduction, I amn't an IT man but I am an IT addicted person hence I often do alot of tweaks with software to find out what is best for me and my friends. (I consider myself above average IT user)
I have tried every "so call best media player" for years and I stop at KMplayer. My present version (not the latest one) is mostly perfect. Who install up-to-date version should know that it is only beta version - this is clearly stated in the official forum of kmplayer. (and I dont have time to check a bout Ask bar)
The reason I turn from Media PLayer Classic which had been my no 1 choice before to KMplayer is it's fantastic video quality and tons of tweaks and options. I have only suggestion: if you are a novice, dont try kmplayer just use MPC.
To those who got trouble using or installing Kmplayer: remember to download the FINAL (not the BETA one because it may contain bugs) release of kmplayer from its official forum. And if your system still cannot handle Kmplayer properly, poor you. YOu have just missed the best media player out there.

#24Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 20:00.

http://www.drm-x.com/Haihaisoft-Universal-Player.aspx

Here is another very good player.

#25Submitted by BrollyLSSJ on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 11:43.

That player is MPC-HC with additional codecs (CoreAVC, Fraps, CyberLink, etc.) and with some additional skins.

#26Submitted by BrollyLSSJ on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 10:52.

Some extra Information. The CoreAVC Codec packaged with the player isn't working => missing serial. I also doubt that they have the rights to add the codecs from PowerDVD 9 to their player.

Anyhow I have send them an email with some questions regarding the similarity with MPC (Options-Dialog-wise).

#27Submitted by Anupam on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 14:15.

How do you know this?

#28Submitted by BrollyLSSJ on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 00:47.

I opened the player, did a right click and opened the options (just press o to open the options). The optionsdialog looks the same as from mpc(-hc), maybe some less features.

#29Submitted by Anupam on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 04:36.

So the player can be called similar to MPC-HC. Because the interface does not look like MPC-HC at all. Your statement was misleading that the player IS MPC-HC. Maybe its just similar.

#30Submitted by BrollyLSSJ on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 09:53.

You should open the options dialog from both Haihaisoft Universal Player and MPC-HC. The Dialog is identical (except that some points like logo are missing). I think, that it is at least based of the source from MPC or MPC-HC.

#31Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 19:53.

i am getting after installing vlc 1 on my computer windows 7 no entry point any answers

#32Submitted by LordRahl on Sat, 01/16/2010 - 07:27.

I definitely think that SMPlayer should be here, both the windows and linux versions are awesome. Currently i use MPC HC due to the dxva and 64 bit support, otherwise i would definitely be using SMPlayer. It plays everything i throw at it flawlessly, with great resource usage. It also feels very responsive.

#33Submitted by joe.bennett on Sun, 01/17/2010 - 22:01.

@LordRahl
I am currently in the process evaluating SMPlayer. Thanks for the suggestion.

#34Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 03:59.

I use Windows Media Player 11 but have lost the ability to burn-The burn option will appear in the drop down menu but when clicked nothing happens...Any suggestions? Thank You

#35Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 22:00.

#36Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 16:49.

realpalyersp also has the video library capability.

#37Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/14/2010 - 16:31.

I use mpcstar a simple player with basic codec.Play almost any file except .ivr format a format created by real networks for recorded streaming video media.None of your mentioned player also unable to play this file format.try this out.It's purely a video player. for your audio you can try songbird,aimp & mediamonkey.If anyone need video library with player try miro.

http://www.mpcstar.com/

http://www.getmiro.com/

#38Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 01/11/2010 - 01:21.

Latest KMPlayer beta installs Ask Toolbar, it will install silently and you will only find out when you next use the internet

There are conflicting reports about getting a confirmation dialog during install, some get one, some do not
One user reported that after installing the main files, DO NOT click "Next" straight away and after a pause the dialog will appear

This only started since the new owners took over

Still a great player

#39Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 14:27.

Media Player Classic still the best.

#40Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 10:01.

please try this player mplayer ww http://sourceforge.net/projects/mplayer-ww/

#41Submitted by LordRahl on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 01:54.

Very Good

#42Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 05:42.

I have been using KMP for about a year or so, and I agree that KMP is a great media player. However, I am disappointed that the install will not give you any choice as to keep your browser's homepage or at least notify you that some system changes will be done without one's consent, or will. Under those circumstances, I am also wondering what kinds of changes are being made to our systems, and from any Pandora products.

Should this KMP still be considered/recommended as a free software (& safe) on techsupportalert when it hijacks (true, to a lesser degree) one's system?
~

#43Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 01/09/2010 - 22:06.

In response to my own comments & to be fair, I used Returnil and made a little more research about the ask toolbar. It will install without the option to not install from a version I downloaded on Dec 24. I also tried w/ a new downloaded prog and I had the option to not install the toolbar this time. So, perhaps a corrupt download. My experience was not an isolated case, though.

http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14989&page=2

http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/The-KMPlayer/1125962534/1

#44Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 03:49.

I have lost the ability to burn to CDs in Windows Media Player. The option in the drop down list is still there but when clicking it nothing happens...Even when dragging songs to burn from my lists the option does not appear...If this cannot be repaired is it possible to transfer my music from Windows Med Player to another option such as Nero or Ashampoo so that I can burn from there? I am somewhat new to doing this on a laptop so please-in layman's terms for the replies!Thank You

#45Submitted by George.F on Mon, 01/04/2010 - 11:59.

It really is amazing how far technology is bringing us. Eventually televisions will be out of date and replaced with computer screens instead. I know many already do this but eventually everyone might. casino online

#46Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 12/28/2009 - 01:39.

You have to add XBMC to this list! This open source multimedia player is KM Player on steroids. It also has the best integrated flv output of all freeware that I have tried. Please try and review:
http://xbmc.org/

#47Submitted by joe.bennett on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 03:32.

XBMC goes beyond being a media player for the PC and is part of a different category of software all together... the Home Theater PC. Eventhough it is an impressive piece of software, it is not within the scope of this software category.

#48Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 17:46.

Good review joe....thanks for taking a look at it...i just found it the other day and thought I would share it with gizmo users

ps...is there a home theater pc category ;D

#49Submitted by joe.bennett on Thu, 12/31/2009 - 04:00.

No, there is not a HTPC category, but there probably should be.

Care to take up the job? :) We are always looking for good editors here.

#50Submitted by Jojoyee on Wed, 12/30/2009 - 03:37.

XBMC Media Center is reviewed here.

Registered Members:	13826
Users now online:	356
Total Forum Threads:	2638
Total Forum Posts:	20954

Get our latest freeware finds

Gizmo's Security Advice Wizard

Navigation

Our Website

Statistics

User login

Best Free Media Player

KM Player

Media Player Classic Home Cinema

VLC Media Player

GOM Player

Post new comment