Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VLC Media Player VS MPC-HC

Compare VLC Media Player VS MPC-HC and see what are their differences

VLC Media Player logo VLC Media Player

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

MPC-HC logo MPC-HC

MPC-HC, the free, open source media player for Windows. DownloadsNote. Supported Operating Systems: Windowsยฎ XP SP3 .
  • VLC Media Player Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-13
  • MPC-HC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-13

VLC Media Player features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    VLC Media Player is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, providing a consistent experience across different devices.
  • Wide Format Support
    VLC supports virtually all audio and video file formats, making it a versatile media player for various types of content.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, VLC is free to use and its source code is accessible, allowing for community-driven modifications and improvements.
  • No Ads or Spyware
    VLC Media Player is free of advertisements, spyware, and user tracking, offering a clean and private user experience.
  • Customizable Interface
    Users can customize the interface with skins and add functionality through plugins and extensions, enhancing the user experience.
  • Streaming Support
    VLC can stream content over networks and manage internet radio streams, making it ideal for both local and remote media playback.
  • Frequent Updates
    The development team regularly updates VLC, ensuring it remains secure, stable, and compatible with the latest media formats.

Possible disadvantages of VLC Media Player

  • Resource Intensive
    VLC can be resource-intensive, which may cause performance issues on older or less powerful devices.
  • Complex Interface
    The extensive range of features and settings can be overwhelming for new or less tech-savvy users, making it difficult to navigate.
  • Occasional Bugs
    Like any software, VLC is not immune to bugs, which can sometimes result in crashes or unexpected behavior during playback.
  • Limited Library Management
    VLC's media library functionality is relatively basic compared to dedicated media management software, which may be a downside for users with large media collections.
  • Suboptimal Subtitle Support
    While VLC supports subtitles, the functionality can sometimes be glitchy, with occasional issues in displaying or syncing subtitles accurately.
  • Advanced Features Can Be Hidden
    Some advanced features are not immediately obvious and may require digging into the settings or using command-line options, which can be a barrier for less experienced users.

MPC-HC features and specs

  • Lightweight
    MPC-HC is a lightweight application, meaning it uses minimal system resources, making it ideal for low-end systems.
  • Wide Format Support
    The player supports a wide array of audio and video codecs, eliminating the need for additional codec packs.
  • Customizable
    MPC-HC offers a high degree of customization, including the ability to change skins, set up hotkeys, and tweak a variety of settings.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source project, MPC-HC is free to use and allows for community contributions and transparency.
  • Active Development
    The player has an active community maintaining and updating it, ensuring compatibility with the latest media formats.

Possible disadvantages of MPC-HC

  • Outdated GUI
    The graphical user interface is somewhat outdated compared to modern media players, which can affect user experience.
  • Lack of Official Support
    Since it's an open-source project, official support is limited, and users may need to rely on community forums for help.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    MPC-HC lacks some of the more advanced features found in other media players, such as integrated streaming services or extensive library management options.
  • Windows Only
    MPC-HC is primarily designed for Windows, limiting its usability for Mac and Linux users without using compatibility layers or workarounds.

Analysis of VLC Media Player

Overall verdict

  • Yes, VLC Media Player is widely considered to be a good media player.

Why this product is good

  • VLC Media Player is praised for its versatility, open-source nature, cross-platform support, and ability to play a wide variety of media formats without needing additional codecs. It also offers features like streaming, conversion, and extensive subtitle support.

Recommended for

  • Users who need a reliable and versatile media player.
  • Anyone looking to play non-standard or less common media formats.
  • People who prefer open-source software or want a player that is consistently updated.
  • Users who require cross-platform compatibility between Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Analysis of MPC-HC

Overall verdict

  • MPC-HC is generally considered a good media player for users seeking a lightweight and reliable option. Its ability to handle multiple codecs without additional installations and its ease of use make it a favorite among many users. However, active development has slowed, and there may be more modern alternatives with advanced features, such as VLC or PotPlayer.

Why this product is good

  • MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema) is a lightweight, open-source media player that is highly compatible with a wide range of video and audio formats. It is known for its simplicity and small footprint, making it suitable for both older hardware and modern systems. The player offers a customizable user interface and robust playback features, such as support for subtitles, audio and video filters, and the ability to handle high-definition content. Its open-source nature allows for community-driven improvements and updates.

Recommended for

    MPC-HC is recommended for users who prefer a clean, minimalist media player that performs efficiently on older systems or for those who appreciate open-source software with basic, yet comprehensive playback capabilities. It is ideal for anyone looking for a straightforward media player without unnecessary bloat.

VLC Media Player videos

VLC Media Player Review!

More videos:

  • Tutorial - VLC Media Player Android Review and Tutorial - Cool Features of VLC

MPC-HC videos

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More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VLC Media Player and MPC-HC)
Media Player
68 68%
32% 32
Audio Player
69 69%
31% 31
Music Player
69 69%
31% 31
Video Player
62 62%
38% 38

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare VLC Media Player and MPC-HC

VLC Media Player Reviews

  1. Muhammad Yaseen
    Playing Videos

    This is very useful application for me. Now i can watch videos of any format on my laptop with vlc player. It solved my all problems of video formats and play problem.


Best VLC Alternative Media Players
Users might seek alternatives to VLC Media Player due to preferences for a different user interface, additional features not available in the program, performance issues like lagging or compatibility problems, or specialized needs such as specific codec support. While VLC offers robust functionality and broad compatibility, exploring other media players can address personal...
9 Best VLC Alternatives to Play Media in Any Format
In today's fast-paced world, media players have become an essential part of our lives. VLC Media Player has always been a popular choice, but it seems that the video player exhibits more problems as time goes on. A quick search of user reviews proves that it has fallen behind competitors in terms of advanced features, and newer updates of VLC are fraught with bugs, glitches,...
10 Best VLC Media Player Alternatives in 2024 (Free)
Some years before VLC Media Player provided a lot of useful and satisfying features to the users as one of the best Media Players but as the use of Media Players increased many more alternatives to VLC Media Player developed that became its competitors. These not only serve similar features as VLC Media Player but also provide more useful features and various file formats...
Top 5 GOM Player Alternatives for Windows
You can spot VLC Media Player on the first position of almost every media-player-based list. Itโ€™s been one of the standards for playing wide variety of media formats โ€” including audio and video. Being an open-source program, you are completely free to use VLC. As far as playing media in Windows is concerned, VLC Media Player comes with the best-in-class support. You will...
Source: xtendedview.com
Top 5 Alternatives of VLC for iPad
VLC player is one of the famous media players that is commonly used across multiple operating systems, including iPadOS. It's an open-source and easy-to-use media player that shows compatibility with every mainstream video and audio format. IPad users can use the file synchronization feature to stream videos saved in cloud storage platforms like Dropbox, iCloud Drive,...

MPC-HC Reviews

Top 5 GOM Player Alternatives for Windows
Are you looking for a GOM Player alternative that is lightweight enough? Then, MPC-HC would be a superb choice for Windows PCs out there. When compared to VLC or GOM, the interface is so simple. Even then, it supports almost all the popular formats. In addition to this, we can include its minimal resource consumption and customizability. Just like the abovementioned ones,...
Source: xtendedview.com
The Best Top 5 Free Alternatives to Windows Media Player
Media Player Classic, as the name implies, this alternative to Windows Media Player is a tribute to the classic version of Windows Media Player 6.4. It is also an open source media player, supporting lots of video and audio formats, and can play Discs like VCDใ€SVCDใ€DVD, etc. Of course, as the successor of MPC, MPC-HC has more features. It can be used as DVB player and...
Best Top 10 Media Players
There is also the free and open-source MPC-HC available for use. Itโ€™s a Windows-only release at this time. Minimal system resources are required to run MPC-HC and are also 64-bit compatible. The use of external codecs is unnecessary, as it is compatible with every popular video format.
Source: pupuweb.com
20 BEST Video Player | Media Players for Windows 10 PC (2021)
MPC-HC (Media Player Classic- Home Cinema) is a light-weight, open-source media player. This tool supports all common video file formats that are available for playback. It does not contain any spyware, toolbar, or advertisement.
Source: www.guru99.com
15 Best Media Players For Mac and Windows (2021 Edition)
MPC-HC (Media Player Classic Home Cinema) is a light-weight, open source media player that supports almost all common audio and video file formats. It also acts as a TV tuner, but you need to have a TV card installed. You will be able to adjust the appearance of video as itโ€™s playing.
Source: www.rankred.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, MPC-HC seems to be a lot more popular than VLC Media Player. While we know about 38 links to MPC-HC, we've tracked only 3 mentions of VLC Media Player. 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.

VLC Media Player mentions (3)

  • The 10 tools I install on every new Mac I get
    VLC - plays everything, has excellent keyboard shortcuts and can in a pinch even record screens for you (free). - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Why Open Source Software VLC's official website has been blocked for over 5 months now?
    Try accessing it without the 'www' subdomain (https://videolan.org/vlc/). Source: about 3 years ago
  • AV1 no working
    I think I recommend you to use VLC Media Player without AV1 extension, it just decode. Source: about 4 years ago

MPC-HC mentions (38)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing VLC Media Player and MPC-HC, you can also consider the following products

AIMP - AIMP : Free Audio Player : ะžั„ะธั†ะธะฐะปัŒะฝั‹ะน ัะฐะนั‚ ะฟั€ะพะณั€ะฐะผะผั‹

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

KMPlayer - KMPlayer is a freeware and supporting 36 different languages with 300 million users globally. PCKMPlayer is a freeware and supporting 36 different . ConnectKMP Connect allows you to connect your.

Winamp - Winamp is a media player that allows users to play multiple-file formats, arrange media in a varied file-management system, and play unique media with AAC encoding.

SMPlayer - SMPlayer is a free video and audio player for both Windows and Linux that allows you to play almost all media files without having to install additional codecs. Read more about SMPlayer.

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