The following comparison of video players compares general and technical information for notable software media player programs. For the purpose of this comparison, ''video players'' are defined as any media player which can play

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

, even if it can also play audio files.

General

Active players

Inactive players

Operating system compatibility

This section lists the operating systems on which the player works. There may be multiple versions of a player, each one for a given

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...

Features

Extended features

Consumer video format ability

Information about what

video formats Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...

the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins/filters that provide such abilities.

Production video format ability

Audio format ability

Information about what audio formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins/filters that provide such abilities.

Container format ability

Information about what container formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or filters that provide such abilities.

Streaming support

Information about which

internet protocol The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. ...

s the players understand, for receiving

streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...

content.

Playlist format ability

Information about which

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

formats the players understand.

Electronic program guide format ability

Information about which

Electronic program guide Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...

format the players viewable.

Subtitle ability

Information about what subtitle formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or filters that provide such abilities.

Metadata ability

Information about what metadata, or tagging, formats the players understand. Most other containers have their own metadata format and the players usually use them. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such abilities.

Optical media ability

Information about what kinds of

optical disc In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...

s the players can play. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such abilities. Playback of

Super Audio CD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple ...

is not possible for any media player, because no suitable hardware exists. All media players capable of

audio CD Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the ''Red Book'', one of a series of Rainbow Books (named ...

playback will also play the

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-compris ...

core of any

HDCD High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Compact Disc Digital Audio, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compa ...

disc, providing no sound-quality benefits over standard audio CDs.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comparison Of Video Player Software video player software ITunes de:Mediaplayer#Software

General

Active players

Inactive players

Operating system compatibility

Features

Extended features

Consumer video format ability

Production video format ability

Audio format ability

Container format ability

Streaming support

Playlist format ability

Electronic program guide format ability

Subtitle ability

Metadata ability

Optical media ability

See also

Notes

References