For me MPV is the best.
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Ever since VLC came on the scene it has been my go-to. Just a really functional player that plays almost anything I throw at it, and I like the UI well enough. For now I have no reason to use anything else. I’m not hating on other players, but VLC works for me.
Every time I find a new file format I just huck it at VLC to see what it’ll do. Most times nothing, but some interesting results have been observed.
In the 15 years I have used vlc there has only been one file it couldn’t play and so I have had no need to try another player.
Its not about only playing a video, its about more things too, like, colours, decoding etc
I use VLC. I have no real reason for choosing it other than knowing it since I was a kid, and it doing the job I need perfectly fine so far
mpv for about 6 years now. Like VLC it plays pretty much anything I need to, but it feels snappier
Switched to mpv a decade ago. Love the minimal UI and how snappy it is. Used VLC or MPC-HC on Windows. Moved to linux and used SMplayer or VLC until mpv came around.
@thakur0
VideoLAN (VLC) it plays media that MPV can’t and has a wide range of direct-from-the-hardware streaming results. I’ll look a closer look at MPV, take it a bit more seriously and see if it’s upgraded to meet my needs.Okay! I prefer using this https://mpv.rocks/
@thakur0 Ah, a trap question.
No, it is just my answer to Why?. It is not my website either it is just listed on fmhy
I use VLC on my PC, but MVP on my phone, because it has better zoom. But to be fair, I rarely use it on my phone.
MPV. I like the minimalism. and everything I need is under the hood in MPV.
VLC seems to be the gold standard. If you want to play something, it will. That should be more than enough for common users.
I used VLC for years and years but mainly on Windows. When I moved to Linux exclusively for my personal machines a few years ago, I started using MPV just because that’s what was installed. I play all videos from a bash command line that launches gamescope to get HDR support for videos that support it (currently stuck on Nvidia). Works really well.
Why not both?
This mindset contributes to bloat, unless it is needed. Or install the alternative when really needed.
a separate video player is bloat. just use a browser.
No that’s bloat. Just read the source in vim
Vim is bloat. Just read the source in vi.
No thanks. I use a fast video player to play a video, instead loading up a browser all the time. Using a separate video player is not bloat. Using two separate video player for the same task is bloat, when it is not needed. Don’t compare browsers to video players.
all major browsers have built-in fully functioning video players, ergo they are video players. and most people have a browser running anyway so startup is likely faster than a standalone application. using a separate video player is bloat. same with music players, and text editors, and pdf viewers.
the browser is truly the new emacs.
Using a full blown browser to do everything is bloat. I keep using optimized tools for specific tasks. You completely changed the topic. It was about using two programs for the same task. Video players are optimized to play videos. I try to avoid using bloated browsers that does everything, but nothing well (besides browsing web) and fill the RAM for no reason.
- Bloat Browser = bloat
- Optimized video player to play videos = not bloat
- Two optimized video player to play videos when not really needed = bloat
Hope that is clear now. I tried to make it simple and understandable as possible. The guy asked why not install both video players and I gave him a reason not to do. There was no browser in the discussion until you brought it up.
using a full-blown operating system to do everything is bloat when the browser can already do it all. just kernel and browser should be enough.
I don’t know if you are trolling, but that is a nonsense reply. The original question was why not install MPV and VLC at the same time. I don’t use a browser for everything, because its bloat. I use dedicated applications that does one job, and does it well. You can keep using your browser for everything, but that is not what this post topic is about.
mpv. I like the minimalist UI. I have it configured to show no titlebar, just the video, and open by default in the corner of my screen at up to half the width of my display. It’s easy to customize with keyboard shortcuts, and by default it has sensible shortcuts for nearly everything. It’s easy to make videos with hardcoded letterboxing fit my full screen. It handles HDR and even Dolby videos (use gpu-next if you aren’t already). I can set default brightness/contrast/gamma settings, and then adjust them during playback if necessary with a single keystroke. I can adjust playback speed with a single keystroke. I can fix the aspect ratio of warped videos, again with a single keystroke.
As for VLC, well, it’s fine, really, and I’m not in the best position to say since it’s been a very long time since I used it regularly. So my experience is likely outdated. But back then, I found the UI a bit much, putting playlists front-and-center when I really just wanted to play individual files 99.99% of the time. It had too much going on besides the video. The GUI is great for discoverability but the more time I spend using something, the more I appreciate command-line usage and simple text-based config files.
VLC is my go-to recommendation for beginners, because everything is in the GUI, but mpv suits me better.
Functionally, both are similar. A few times over the years, one has adopted a critical feature a little bit before the other, like hardware acceleration for some specific codec, but for most videos they both do the job just fine.
I don’t remember VLC’s playlist showing up at all unless you open multiple files at once
I switched to MPV when I got an HDR display because VLC won’t play HDR on my setup. I still use VLC for the lectures I leave on while working though.
MPV, I can add custom scripts like cutting black bars for ultrawide monitors. And I like how customizable it is.
you can crop those bars with VLC
I always went with VLC until something got messed up with new laptops nVidia drivers. For whatever reason VLC could not properly use dedicated GPU acceleration with open drivers.
That’s when I tried out MPV. I like it, I like the minimalism, I like the CLI. It’s been working great so far.
For someone more technical MPV, for anyone else I’d still recommend VLC.
