Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MPV VS Streamlink

Compare MPV VS Streamlink and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

MPV logo MPV

MPV is an audio and movie player based on MPlayer and mplayer2. A free, open source, and cross-platform media player.

Streamlink logo Streamlink

Streamlink is a fork of the discontinued livestreamer project.
  • MPV Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-14
  • Streamlink Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-11-04

MPV features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    MPV is available on multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and various Linux distributions, making it versatile for users across different platforms.
  • High Customizability
    MPV offers extensive customization options through its configuration files, allowing users to tailor the player to their specific needs and preferences.
  • High-Quality Video Playback
    MPV supports a wide array of video codecs and formats out-of-the-box, providing high-quality playback and smooth performance.
  • Minimalistic Interface
    MPV features a clean and simple interface that focuses on the video content without unnecessary distractions, appealing to users who prefer a minimalist design.
  • Active Open-Source Community
    As an open-source project, MPV is continuously improved by a dedicated community, which contributes regular updates, new features, and bug fixes.

Possible disadvantages of MPV

  • Steep Learning Curve
    New users might find MPV challenging to use initially, especially due to its reliance on command-line configurations and lack of a graphical user interface for settings.
  • Limited Built-In GUI
    MPV lacks a comprehensive built-in graphical user interface, which might be inconvenient for users who prefer GUI-based interaction for functionality like playlist management or detailed settings.
  • Dependency on External Scripts
    Some advanced functionalities require the use of external scripts and add-ons, which can be cumbersome to find, install, and configure.
  • Lack of Integrated Streaming Services
    MPV does not natively support integration with popular streaming services, requiring additional steps or tools for users who want to stream content directly within the player.
  • Occasional Stability Issues
    Being an actively developed open-source project, MPV can sometimes experience stability issues or bugs in new releases, impacting the user experience.

Streamlink features and specs

  • Open Source
    Streamlink is open source, allowing users to contribute to the project and modify the source code to suit their needs. This ensures transparency and encourages community development.
  • Lightweight
    The software is lightweight and consumes fewer resources compared to other streaming applications, making it suitable for systems with limited capacity.
  • Wide Compatibility
    Streamlink supports a wide array of streaming services including popular platforms like Twitch and YouTube, allowing users to access content from multiple sources using one tool.
  • Command-Line Interface
    Streamlink can be controlled entirely via the command line, providing advanced users with precise control and the ability to automate streaming tasks.
  • Customizability
    With various command-line arguments and plugins, users can customize their streaming experience to fit their specific needs, including setting preferred video quality and player.

Possible disadvantages of Streamlink

  • No GUI
    Streamlink lacks a graphical user interface, which can be intimidating for users who are not familiar with command-line operations.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Due to its command-line-based nature, Streamlink might present a steeper learning curve for beginners compared to GUI-based streaming software.
  • Limited Support
    Being community-driven, Streamlink may not get immediate customer support, and users might need to rely on community forums for assistance with issues and queries.
  • Depends on External Players
    Streamlink itself does not have a built-in media player, requiring users to have compatible media players like VLC to actually view the streams.
  • Potential for Breaking Changes
    Due to updates on streaming platforms and changes in their technology, there is a possibility that Streamlink may require frequent updates to maintain compatibility.

MPV videos

Best MPVs: Our top 5

More videos:

  • Review - Mazda5 MPV review - CarBuyer
  • Demo - MPV - A Lightweight Powerful Video Player for Linux
  • Review - What Car? reviews seven-seat MPVs - Vauxhall Zafira Tourer, Seat Alhambra & Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Streamlink videos

streamlink - Watch Live Video Feeds - Linux CLI

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MPV and Streamlink)
Audio Player
100 100%
0% 0
Social & Communications
0 0%
100% 100
Media Player
100 100%
0% 0
Tool
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MPV and Streamlink

MPV Reviews

Best VLC Alternative Media Players
MPV is a highly acclaimed alternative to VLC media player that pretty much follows what VLC has started. It is free, open-source, cross-platform, and provides endless customization. It has a huge but still rapidly growing community and better shading and high-quality video rendering.
20 BEST Video Player | Media Players for Windows 10 PC (2021)
MPV is a media player tool. It is a free and open-source application released under GNU (General Public License). This tool supports MPV and MPEG-2 video formats.
Source: www.guru99.com
15 Best Media Players For Mac and Windows (2021 Edition)
MPV is an open source software that comes with streamlined CLI options. It supports video scaling with famous high quality algorithms, frame timing, HDR, interpolation and color management to give you the best experience.
Source: www.rankred.com

Streamlink Reviews

We have no reviews of Streamlink yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MPV should be more popular than Streamlink. It has been mentiond 230 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

MPV mentions (230)

  • How I Built a TUI Without Leaving the Terminal
    The biggest challenge I faced was getting some sort of way to play music. So I picked the easiest route—I directly implemented it with mpv and I channeled logs of mpv (which had timestamps, which I needed) to a log file under the .sparklines folder, and managed it with a socket (a two-way communication endpoint to handle the custom commands). With the power of NodeJS, I made it work out and somehow it turned out a... - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Lua scripting in mpv video player
    I checked it and the mpv-cut script turned out to be a Lua script that lets you cut a video fragment directly while watching it in the mpv player. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Qubes OS: A reasonably secure operating system
    Mpv is a free (as in freedom) media player for the command line. It supports a wide variety of media file formats, audio and video codecs, and subtitle types.[0] https://mpv.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Firefox slow to load YouTube? Just another front in Google's war on ad blockers
    Https://mpv.io/ has yt-dlp support, if yt-dlp is installed you just need to throw the URL at it and it plays the video (without download). - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Video stops on furst frame, audio continues to play,seek works
    I apologise for not following procedure. I am in the middle of building mpv 0.37 from source. Irrespective of the outcome I will document what I had to do in addition to the instructions on mpv.io and if the problem perststs, where it happens and where not with kernel version, mpv version taken from the screen, and the terminal output. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Streamlink mentions (47)

  • Self-hosted cam recording site code?
    I can't quite tell what you're asking for but check out https://streamlink.github.io/. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Use me if as a "i don't care about the kick drama it works fine i like the stream" button
    Streamlink has very detailed and newbie friendly documentation. Here's the plugin you'd need to scrape Kick links. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Alternate Player for Twitch.tv
    It's broken at the moment due to the update that killed the Alternate Player but Streamlink should be a good solution, it's active so it should be fixed soon and uses VLC or other compatible media players and Chatterino or Chatty for chat. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • PSA on supporting streamers
    If you're okay with command-line interfaces, I find Streamlink is very good for this - I've never had to wait for any ad breaks when using it (but I almost never use it since I primarily use Twitch on mobile) so YMMV. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Youtube livestream to Frigate/RTSP stream?
    Set up a service / script that uses Streamlink to pipe video content to ffmpeg to publish to MediaMTX:. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing MPV and Streamlink, you can also consider the following products

VLC Media Player - VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework.

Livestreamer - Livestreamer is a command-line utility that pipes video streams from various services into a video...

PotPlayer - Potplayer is a minimalist media player that has an extensive range of configurable options to...

StreamBuffRe - StreamBuffRe buffers online streams and redirects them to different destinations.

MPC-HC - MPC-HC, the free, open source media player for Windows. DownloadsNote. Supported Operating Systems: Windows® XP SP3 .

Unstream by Travis Liew - Third-party Twitch app.