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Windows Media Player VS PotPlayer

Compare Windows Media Player VS PotPlayer and see what are their differences

Windows Media Player logo Windows Media Player

Get information about Windows Media Player and other Windows Media technologies.

PotPlayer logo PotPlayer

Potplayer is a minimalist media player that has an extensive range of configurable options to...
  • Windows Media Player Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-13
  • PotPlayer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-31

Windows Media Player features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Windows Media Player is known for its simple and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to navigate and manage their media libraries.
  • Integration with Windows
    As a built-in application in Windows operating systems, it offers seamless integration and compatibility with other Windows features and services.
  • Wide Format Support
    The player supports a wide range of audio and video formats, ensuring that most media files can be played without the need for additional codecs.
  • Library Management
    It provides robust library management features, allowing users to organize, categorize, and tag their media files easily.
  • CD Burning and Ripping
    Windows Media Player includes built-in features for burning CDs and ripping tracks from CDs, making it convenient for users to manage physical media.

Possible disadvantages of Windows Media Player

  • Limited Format Support for Some Files
    Although it supports many formats, there are some less common or newer formats that it does not support natively without additional plugins.
  • No Longer Actively Developed
    Microsoft has shifted focus away from Windows Media Player to newer applications like Groove Music and the Movies & TV app, which means fewer updates and new features.
  • Resource Intensive
    On older systems, Windows Media Player can be resource intensive, potentially slowing down other processes and applications.
  • Basic Feature Set
    Compared to other modern media players, Windows Media Player lacks advanced features such as extensive customization, visualization plugins, and streaming capabilities.
  • Limited Cross-Platform Support
    Windows Media Player is primarily designed for Windows operating systems and does not offer support for other platforms such as macOS or Linux.

PotPlayer features and specs

  • Wide Format Support
    PotPlayer can play a vast array of media file formats without the need for additional codecs.
  • Lightweight Performance
    The media player is known for its efficient use of system resources, offering smooth playback without heavy CPU or RAM usage.
  • Customization
    PotPlayer offers extensive customization options, including skins, themes, and a variety of settings to fine-tune the viewing experience.
  • Advanced Features
    The player includes a range of advanced functionalities such as screen capture, video filters, bookmarking, and detailed playback settings.
  • Regular Updates
    The software frequently receives updates, which add new features and improve existing ones, ensuring continued reliability and performance improvements.

Possible disadvantages of PotPlayer

  • User Interface Complexity
    The player’s extensive feature set can be overwhelming for new users, making the learning curve quite steep.
  • Ads and Bloatware
    PotPlayer’s installer occasionally includes bundled software and ads, which can be an annoyance for users.
  • Limited Official Documentation
    There is a lack of comprehensive official documentation, which can make it challenging for users to fully understand and utilize all the features.
  • Windows Only
    PotPlayer is available only for Windows OS, leaving users of macOS and Linux without access to the player.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Some users have raised concerns regarding data privacy due to the software's data collection practices during installation and usage.

Windows Media Player videos

Windows Media Player Review

More videos:

  • Review - Best Alternative to Windows Media Player
  • Review - Windows Media Player 7 review

PotPlayer videos

Best alternative to VLC: PotPlayer (Video Player) Lightweight and efficient!

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Windows Media Player and PotPlayer)
Media Player
37 37%
63% 63
Audio Player
38 38%
62% 62
Music Player
56 56%
44% 44
Video Player
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 Windows Media Player and PotPlayer

Windows Media Player Reviews

Best VLC Alternative Media Players
This Windows media player allows users to move to the next and previous frame. If you wish to scrutinize some details on your video you can literally watch it frame by frame. This is also possible with VLC, but it does not support moving to the previous frame, just the next one.
The Best Top 5 Free Alternatives to Windows Media Player
Compared with some other free media players, obviously, Windows Media Player has seen better days. Now, there are many other free media players that have so many brilliant features to meet peoples' demands. So if you are tired of Windows Media Player, why not give other media players a run? In the following article, we will introduce to you the top 5 best alternatives to...
12 best free MPC-HC Alternatives in 2020
Gather and share the best music with friends and family using Windows Media Player to copy and distribute the content.

PotPlayer Reviews

Best VLC Alternative Media Players
PotPlayer is another contender for people looking for a good VLC alternative. Although it’s only available for Windows users, it still has all the necessary features that will enable you to have a high-quality viewing experience.
9 Best VLC Alternatives to Play Media in Any Format
PotPlayer supports 3D viewing, which you can use with a PC or 3DTV. In addition, you won’t have to spend all your time installing various codecs since PotPlayer supports OpenCodec, allowing you to add any codec necessary to optimize your viewing experience. Another great feature of this VLC alternative is its ability to play up to 1,000 different media files.
10 Best VLC Media Player Alternatives in 2024 (Free)
The last Best VLC Media Player alternative is PotPlayer. This alternative has many varieties of codecs available just like other alternatives, in addition, it is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions offering hardware acceleration as well.
The Best Top 5 Free Alternatives to Windows Media Player
The third alternative to Windows Media Player is PotPlayer. With its powerful built-in audio and video codecs, PotPlayer is worth a try. It supports expanding a great deal of decoders, letting you watch videos of kinds of formats. Besides, PotPlayer offers abundant operation methods, and you can set shortcuts for almost all the playback and setting options.
8 Best FFmpeg Alternatives & Competitors in 2022 (Free & Paid)
Potplayer, free and safe download. Potplayer latest version: A powerful media player for multiple formats!. Potplayer is an excellent choice for playi.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PotPlayer seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 87 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.

Windows Media Player mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Windows Media Player yet. Tracking of Windows Media Player recommendations started around Mar 2021.

PotPlayer mentions (87)

  • A music app on windows that will let me play about 10 tb at once in one playlist?
    I started using Potplayer for this and never looked back. Source: over 1 year ago
  • How to play ProRes 4K 60FPS video on Windows imported from iPhone 15 Pro?
    That should be sufficient. Try this player https://potplayer.daum.net/ and make sure hardware acceleration is enabled. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What is the most frequently updated program you have encountered?
    PotPlayer (portable) - video player (H/W acceleration, codecs included, border-less, auto-hide controls/playlist, 3D, TTS - subtitles reading, visualizations, slideshow, filters, extensions, presets, skins, fully customizable layout and keyboard/mouse/global/multimedia shortcuts and xbox controller support...). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Rokid Max Review and Many Tips
    The requirement is that your stereoscopic 3D content be in side-by-side (SBS) mode, which for movies means that they must either be already encoded as such, or that you are using a video player (like PotPlayer for PC) that can decode packed 3D (BluRay) content to SBS. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Best video player to play .ts files?
    Any of the top video players like vlc or potplayer should work. If either fails, the .ts file may be encrypted. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Windows Media Player and PotPlayer, you can also consider the following products

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

AIMP - AIMP : Free Audio Player : Официальный сайт программы

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.

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

Miro Player - Miro is a popular, free, and open internet TV application. It brings video channels from thousands of sources and has more free HD than any other platform.