Using Windows we are used to listening to music and to watching movies and videos with the Windows Media Player program, which has always been one of the most used, also thanks to the excellent integration with the operating system and the ability to manage any type of external resource (a disk, a USB stick or network disk). Media Player, however, has rather poor codec support, limiting itself to support for standard formats without looking at the future. Since the fate of this program hangs in the balance, in this guide we will show you all the best alternatives to Media Player on Windows .
We will give priority to programs that can be installed for free on the PC to replace the player offered by Windows plus a final part in which we will show you the paid programs for the most demanding users.
READ ALSO: Best Programs to watch movies and videos on the PC
Free alternatives to Media Player on Windows
1) VLC
The first alternative we can recommend is VLC, a free and open source program available here -> VLC .
Apparently a simple media player, but which actually hides many features. With VLC we will be able to play any audio and video content thanks to the numerous integrated codecs (so many that it is practically impossible to find a file that cannot be played by VLC), an advanced ladder management system, indexing of content on the PC, playback on the local network ( from NAS, data servers or from other PCs) and the ability to view streaming content thanks to the innovative buffering system. In addition to the illustrated features, this program also allows you to record the PC screen, record audio and video from a webcam or acquire content from any digital device connected to the PC. Once tried, it is really difficult to give up VLC as a media player, being able to replace Windows Media Player very well!
2) Classic Home Cinema Media Player
For experts, it is considered the real Media Player, the only one that must be installed to replace the program proposed by Microsoft.
You can download the program for free from here -> MPC-HC .
In addition to the similarity of the name, this player, apparently very minimal, boasts support for all the features required by a modern video player: variable speed playback, the possibility of adding subtitles to the video, screen and frame capture and great compatibility with any audio and video format. If you have not appreciated the functionality of VLC, you have found yourself badly and we are looking for an even lighter program, Media Player Classic is the player to focus on in order to correctly reproduce any type of video present on the PC or downloaded from the Internet.
3) PotPlayer
We enter the field of lesser known players, but still worthy of attention; one of them is PotPlayer, available here -> PotPlayer .
This program offers a modern and simple interface, but "under the hood" it has optimizations that will make users looking for the highest quality happy. In fact, PotPlayer supports full hardware acceleration, has compatibility with videos and 3D movies, boasts good support for various types of subtitles and numerous codecs to play anything. If we are looking for a player to enjoy videos at the highest possible resolution without slowing down or capable of supporting FullHD and 4K without any problem, you should absolutely try PotPlayer.
4) MPV
Another player to consider if looking for valid alternatives to Media Player is MPV, available for free from here -> MPV .
This program boasts a very simple and clear interface, a hardware acceleration system useful for viewing movies without any click or slowdown, automatic support for subtitles and can also be started from the command line, ideal for those who use a lot of Windows as a development environment. A choice for a few, but a decidedly convincing choice.
5) iTunes
Among the free players we could not fail to mention iTunes, the multimedia player provided by Apple and downloadable from here -> iTunes .
The program has now become an app for Windows 10 with advanced player features such as automatic content indexing (to display album cover and info), automatic conversion to Apple's proprietary audio formats (for maximum compatibility), a store with films and music to be purchased legally to fill even more your library and synchronization with iCloud, so as to always have backups ready to be restored. Compatible with most audio and video codecs, although this program does its best with Apple's proprietary formats.
6) Clementines
Another good program to replace Media Player on Windows is Clementine, available for free from here -> Clementine .
This program can be considered the definitive audio player, thanks to the innovative features it has inside: it allows you to search and play the music on your PC, listen to internet radio by engaging in online services (Spotify, Grooveshark, SomaFM, Magnatune, Jamendo, SKY.fm, Digitally Imported, JAZZRADIO.com, Soundcloud, Icecast and Subsonic), can play music saved on personal clouds (Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive), view the lyrics, biographies and photos of the artist, encode tracks in MP3, Ogg Vorbis, OggSpeex, FLAC or AAC, edit tags of MP3 and OGG files, download album covers and tags from Last.fm and Amazon and copy music to your iPod, iPhone, MTP or players with USB mass storage. Difficult to ask for more from a music player, it will be like having a personal DJ directly inside the PC.
Other free programs
If the reported programs are not enough here below is a list of free programs that can replace Windows Media Player.
- foobar2000 : excellent program to manage any type of audio file and make conversions
- BS.Player : all-round multimedia player compatible with audio and video files
- Quod Libet : open source and light audio player in memory
- GOM Player: valid multimedia player with hardware acceleration support.
READ ALSO: Best programs to listen to music on your PC (Windows)
