Comparison of video player software

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, even if it can also play audio files.

1 General
2 Operating system requirement
3 Features
- 3.1 Extended features
4 Video format ability
5 Audio format ability
6 Container format ability
7 Scalable, composite and emulation format abilities
8 Protocol abilities
- 8.1 General protocols
- 8.2 Other
9 Playlist format ability
10 Subtitle ability
11 Metadata ability
12 Optical media ability
13 See also
14 References
15 Notes
16 Related lists on other projects

General

Name	Author	First public release date	Stable version	Cost	Software license	Based framework	Written in
ALLPlayer	ALLCinema ltd	00 Jan 1998	4.5 (2 November 2008)	Free	Proprietary	FFmpeg	Delphi
Banshee	Aaron Bockover	00 Aug 2005	2.2.1 (November 1, 2011; 3 months ago (2011-11-01))	Free	MIT	GStreamer	C#
Chroma	mirailabs	00 Jan 2003	2007.3 (January 1, 2007)	Trialware, US$22.00	Proprietary / license violating^{[generalnotes 1]}	FFmpeg^{[generalnotes 2]}	?
Creative MediaSource	Creative Technology	00 Jan 2002	5.10.38 (December 22, 2006; 5 years ago (2006-12-22))	Requires Creative product	Proprietary	?	?
CorePlayer	CoreCodec Inc.	00 Jan 2006		US$19.95	Proprietary	?	?
CrystalPlayer	Crystal Reality LLC	00 Oct 2002	1.98 (May 31, 2007; 4 years ago (2007-05-31))	US$29.95	Proprietary	FFmpeg	?
DSPlayer	DSPlayer team	00 Jan 2002	0.999	Free	Proprietary		Delphi, C++
FFplay	FFmpeg project	06 Jun 2003^{[generalnotes 3]}	0.9 (December 11, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-11))	Free	LGPL (partially GPL)	FFmpeg	C
GOM Player	Gretech Corporation	07 Jan 2003	2.1.36.5083 (December 12, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-12))	Free	Proprietary / license violating^{[generalnotes 1]}	FFmpeg	?
iTunes	Apple Inc.	09 Jan 2001	10.5.2.11 (December 12, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-12))	Free	Proprietary	QuickTime	?
iTVmediaPlayer	BitMar Networks	22 Nov 2010	3.1.8	Free	Proprietary	.NET Framework	C#
jetAudio (Basic)	Cowon Systems	00 Jan 1997	8.0.16	Free	Proprietary	FFmpeg	C++
jetAudio (Plus)	Cowon Systems	00 Jan 1997	8.0.16	US$29.00	Proprietary	FFmpeg	C++
Kaffeine	KDE	00 Jan 2003	1.2.2 (April 4, 2011; 10 months ago (2011-04-04))	Free	GPL	xine	C++
K-Multimedia Player	YoungHuee Kang	01 Oct 2002	3.1.0.0 (10 December 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-10)^[1])	Free	Proprietary / license violating^{[generalnotes 1]}	?	Object Pascal
Konqueror Media Player	Koos Vriezen, Joonas Koivunen	00 Jan 2003	0.11.2 (2010-03-04)	Free	GPL	MPlayer	C++
Media Center	JRiver, Inc.	00 Jul 2003	16.0.181 (October 29, 2011; 3 months ago (2011-10-29))	US$49.98	Proprietary	original	C++, SSE/MMX Assembly
Media Go	Sony Creative Software Inc.	00 Jan 2009	1.6	Free	Proprietary	?	?
Media Player Classic	Gabest	29 May 2003	6.4.9.1 (December 10, 2008; 3 years ago (2008-12-10))	Free	GPL	DirectShow	C++
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Casimir666	29 Mar 2006	v1.5.2.3456 (April 22, 2011; 9 months ago (2011-04-22))	Free	GPL	DirectShow	C++
MediaPortal	Team MediaPortal	00 Jan 2004	1.1.3 (25 February 2011; 11 months ago (2011-02-25))	Free	GPL	DirectShow	C#, C++
MPlayer	Árpád Gereöffy	00 Sep 2000	1.0rc4 (January 29, 2011; 12 months ago (2011-01-29))	Free	GPL	FFmpeg + original	C
Mplayerxp	Guru Kas aka Nickols_K	00 Jan 2002	0.7.1/06.01.2009	Free	GPL	FFmpeg + original	C
Ogle	Chalmers University of Technology	00 Jan 1999	0.9.2 (November 6, 2003; 8 years ago (2003-11-06))	Free	GPL	?	C
Plex	Plex, Inc.	21 May 2008	9.3.4	Free	Proprietary	FFmpeg	C++
PowerDVD Standard	CyberLink	00 Jan 1996		US$49.95	Proprietary	?	?
PowerDVD Deluxe	CyberLink	00 Jan 1996		US$69.95	Proprietary	?	?
PowerDVD Ultra	CyberLink	00 Jan 1996		US$99.95	Proprietary	?	?
QuickTime Basic	Apple Inc.	02 Dec 1991	7.7.1.1680.42 (October 27, 2011; 3 months ago (2011-10-27))	Free	Proprietary	original	Cocoa (on Mac OS X)
QuickTime Pro	Apple Inc.	02 Dec 1991	7.7.1.1680.42 (October 27, 2011; 3 months ago (2011-10-27))	US$29.95	Proprietary	original	Cocoa (on Mac OS X)
Quintessential Player	Paul Quinn	00 Jan 1997	5.0.121 (February 18, 2009; 2 years ago (2009-02-18))	Free	Proprietary	?	?
RealPlayer Basic	RealNetworks	00 Jan 1995	Windows: 15.0.1.13 (December 12, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-12)) Mac OS X: 12.0.0.1701 (August 16, 2011; 5 months ago (2011-08-16)^[2]) Linux: 11.0.2.2315 (December 4, 2010; 14 months ago (2010-12-04)^[3]) Windows Mobile: 1.1 (July 30, 2009; 2 years ago (2009-July-30)^[4])	Free	Proprietary	?	?
RealPlayer Plus	RealNetworks	00 Jan 1995	Windows: 15.0.1.13 (December 12, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-12)) Mac OS X: 12.0.0.1701 (August 16, 2011; 5 months ago (2011-08-16)^[2]) Linux: 11.0.2.2315 (December 4, 2010; 14 months ago (2010-12-04)^[3]) Windows Mobile: 1.1 (July 30, 2009; 2 years ago (2009-July-30)^[4])	US$19.99	Proprietary	?	?
SMPlayer	RVM	11 Dec 2006^{[generalnotes 4]}	0.6.9 (2010-02-22)	Free	GPL	MPlayer	C++
Songbird	Tom Lord	08 Feb 2006	1.10.1 (November 1, 2011; 3 months ago (2011-11-01))	Free	GPL	GStreamer, XULRunner	C++
Splash Lite	Mirillis	14 Sep 2009	1.6.1 (December 10, 2010; 13 months ago (2010-12-10))	Free	Proprietary	?	?
The Core Pocket Media Player	Gabor Kovacs	00 Jul 2004 named "BetaPlayer"	4.11 (2007-04-07)	Free	GPL	FFmpeg + original	C++
Totem Movie Player	Totem Team	00 Jul 2002	3.2.2 (16 November 2011; 2 months ago (2011-11-16))^[5]	Free	GPL	GStreamer	C
VLC	VideoLAN	00 Feb 2000	1.1.13 (not for all OS) (December 20, 2011; 57 days ago (2011-12-20))	Free	GPL	FFmpeg + original	C, C++
Winamp Lite/Full/Bundle	Nullsoft	00 Jun 1997	5.623 (December 9, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-09))	Free	Proprietary	?	?
Winamp Pro	Nullsoft	00 Jun 1997	5.623 (December 9, 2011; 2 months ago (2011-12-09))	US$19.95	Proprietary	?	?
Windows Media Player	Microsoft	00 Nov 1992	12.0.7600.16415 (12 October 2009)	Free	Proprietary	DirectShow	C++ (COM)
WinDVD Gold	Corel	00 Jan 1998	2010 (10.0.5.703)	US$39.95	Proprietary	?	?
WinDVD Platinum	Corel	00 Jan 1998	2010 (10.0.5.703)	US$59.95	Proprietary	?	?
XBMC Media Center	Team-XBMC	00 Oct 2003	10.1 (codename: "Dharma") (10 March 2011)	Free	GPL	FFmpeg	C++
xine	xine Team	15 Aug 2000	0.99.6 (March 6, 2010; 22 months ago (2010-03-06))	Free	GPL	FFmpeg + original	C
TotalMedia Theatre	ArcSoft	15 Nov 2009		US$99.99	Proprietary	original	C++
Name	Author	First public release date	Stable version	Cost	Software license	Based framework	Written in

^ ^a ^b ^c "FFmpeg's Hall of Shame". Ffmpeg.org. http://ffmpeg.org/shame.html. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
^ "Chroma's credit page". Chromaplayer.com. http://chromaplayer.com/support/credit/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
^ Log of ffplay.c
^ "The SMPlayer Project / SMPlayer first anniversary". Smplayer.berlios.de. http://smplayer.berlios.de/forums/viewtopic.php?id=528. Retrieved 2009-12-16.

Operating system requirement

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.

Video player	Windows	Windows CE/Mobile	Mac OS X	iOS	Linux	BSD Unix	Solaris	Unix-like	DOS	BeOS, Haiku, ZETA	OS/2	PSP
ALLPlayer	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Banshee	Yes	?	incomplete^{[osnotes 1]}	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?
Chroma	No	?	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
CorePlayer	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
CrystalPlayer	Yes	?	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
DSPlayer	Yes	?	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
FFplay	Yes	network doesn't work	Yes	(ffmpeg4iphone)^{[osnotes 2]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	(PSP Media Player)^{[osnotes 2]}
GOM Player	Yes	?	Yes	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
iTunes	Yes	?	Included	Included	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
jetAudio	Yes	?	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Kaffeine	No	?	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	2000/XP/Vista/7 only^{[osnotes 3]}	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
KMPlayer	Via KDE for Windows, XP-7	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	Yes	?	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?
Media Go	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MediaPortal	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
MPlayer	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Mplayerxp	Yes	?	No	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?
Ogle	No	?	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
Plex	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
QuickTime	Yes	?	Included	Included	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	Yes	?	No	?	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
SMPlayer	Yes	?	No	?	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Songbird	Yes	?	Yes	?	Official support dropped	No	Official support dropped	No	No	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	No	?	No	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
VLC	Yes	libVLC only	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	?
Winamp	Yes	?	Beta version	?	Last version is Winamp 3	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
Windows Media Player	Included	Included	Dropped (WMP9)	?	No	No	Dropped (WMP6.3)	No	No	?	?	?
XBMC	Yes	?	Yes	?	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
xine	unmaintained	?	WIP for 1.2 series	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Video player	Windows	Windows CE/Mobile	Mac OS X	iPhone	Linux	BSD Unix	Solaris	Unix-like	DOS	BeOS, Haiku, ZETA	OS/2	PSP

^ Banshee 1.4
^ ^a ^b not merged
^ Not guaranteed to work on Windows 2000.

Features

Video player	Outbound streaming	Skinnable	Media database	Gapless audio decoding	Visualizer	Remote controllable	Intelligent playlists from database (based on criteria)
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Banshee	Yes	Partial^{[featurenotes 1]}	Yes	Yes	In Development	Yes	Yes
Chroma	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
CorePlayer	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
DSPlayer	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
FFplay	?	No	No	?	Yes	No	No
GOM Player	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
iTunes	Yes	Partial^[6]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Partial^[6]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Kaffeine	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	No^{[featurenotes 2]}	Yes	Yes	No
KMPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Go	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	SensMe
Media Player Classic	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
Mplayerxp	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Plex	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
PowerDVD	?	Yes	No	?	Yes	?	No
QuickTime	Partial^{[featurenotes 3]}	Partial^{[featurenotes 4]}	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Quintessential Player	Partial^[6]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
RealPlayer	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	Yes
SMPlayer	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
Songbird	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes^{[featurenotes 5]}	Yes
Totem Movie Player	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
VLC	Yes	Yes	yes, not Mac	No	Yes	Yes	No
Winamp	Partial^[6]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[6]	Yes^{[featurenotes 6]}
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
XBMC	Yes^{[featurenotes 7]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
xine	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Video playback	Outbound streaming	Skinnable	Media database	Gapless audio decoding	Visualizer	Remote controllable	Intelligent playlists from database (based on criteria)

Extended features

Video player	Color controls	Time stretching	Pitch shifting	A-B repeat	Audio resync	Subtitle resync	Chapter (DVD, mkv, mp4, ogm)	Bookmark (DVD, video, audio)	Auto resume (DVD, video, audio)	Shutdown on play complete
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Banshee	?	No	No	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?
Chroma	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
CorePlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
FFplay	No	No	No	No	?	No	No	No	No	Yes
GOM Player	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
iTunes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
iTVmediaPlayer	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
jetAudio	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Kaffeine	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some^{[featurenotes 8]}	Yes	Yes
Konqueror Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	Yes	Yes^{[featurenotes 9]}	Yes^{[featurenotes 9]}	No	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Media Go	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Media Player Classic	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaPortal	?	No	No	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[featurenotes 10]}	Yes^{[featurenotes 10]}	Yes	Yes	Partial	No	No	Yes
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[featurenotes 10]}	Yes^{[featurenotes 10]}	Yes	Yes	Partial	No	No	Yes
Plex	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
PowerDVD	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
QuickTime	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[featurenotes 11]}	?	?	Yes	?	?	No
Quintessential Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
SMPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[featurenotes 12]}	Yes	Yes	Partial	No	Yes	Yes
Songbird	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Winamp	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	DVD Only	No	Partial^[6]	Partial^[6]
WinDVD	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	Yes	?
XBMC	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
xine	Yes	Audio plugin	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
Video player	Color controls	Time stretching	Pitch shifting	A-B repeat	Audio resync	Subtitle resync	Chapter (DVD, mkv, mp4, ogm)	Bookmark (DVD, video, audio)	Auto resume (DVD, video, audio)	Shutdown on play complete

^ The user interface is a pluggable Mono Assembly
^ "gapless mp3 playback - The KMPlayer's Forums". Kmplayer.com. http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
^ Available with QuickTime Streaming Server.
^ Only the media creator can create skins.
^ Apple Remote ability, and dbus add-on for Linux
^ Via media library in "modern" skin
^ XBMC (XBoxMediaCenter) has a built-in UPnP AV MediaServer, FTP-server (based on FileZilla), and a web server (however the web-server is mainly designed for remote control and not for streaming, but it can be used for streaming with some small modifications any user can make)
^ Bookmarks are limited to 20 files and are stored with absolute paths, which renders them inaccessible when files are moved
^ ^a ^b For Audio files only.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Pitch-shifting and AB-Repeat are not included in Mplayer's interactive keyboard controls, but can be set up via command line parameters. Mplayer manual
^ www.apple.com/quicktime/pro/ - A-B repeat using Play Selection Only command
^ As of SVN 3349

Video format ability

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

Video player	MPEG-1	MPEG-2	MPEG-4 ASP (MPEG-4 Part 2)	MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) (MPEG-4 Part 10)	WMV	RealVideo	Theora	Flash	Dirac	Snow
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Banshee	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	No	Yes^[7]	?
Chroma	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Partial	No	Partial	No	?	?
CorePlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	?	?
DSPlayer	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[9]	Partial^[8]	Yes	?	?
FFplay	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GOM Player	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[9]	Partial^[8]	Yes	?	?
iTunes	Yes	Partial^{[videonotes 1]}	Yes	Yes	Partial^[10]	No	Partial^[11]	Yes	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[9]	Partial^[8]	Yes	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[8]	?	?
Konqueror Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[9]	Yes	Partial^[12]	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Plex	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
QuickTime	Yes	Partial^{[videonotes 1]}	Yes	Yes	Partial^[10]	No	Partial^[11]	Yes	?	?
Quintessential Player	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes	Yes	Partial^[6]	Yes	?	?
SMPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Songbird	?	?	Yes^[13]	Yes^[13]	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No	?	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	No	Yes^[7]	?
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[9]	Partial^[8]	Yes	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[9]	Partial^[8]	Yes	?	?
XBMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[videonotes 2]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Video player	MPEG-1	MPEG-2	MPEG-4 ASP (MPEG-4 Part 2)	MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) (MPEG-4 Part 10)	WMV	RealVideo	Theora	Flash	Dirac	Snow

^ ^a ^b The playing compatibility depends on the availability of MPEG2 component for Quicktime.
^ XBMC running on Linux, Mac and Windows plays MPEG-4 ASP and H.264. Because of the relatively 'slow' Intel Pentium III 733 MHz processor inside the Xbox, the Xbox version of XBMC is limited to decoding 480x576 resolution H.264 video encoded without CABAC and deblocking, or 352x288 resolution MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) video encoded with CABAC and deblocking. As the FFmpeg-based codec is optimized further, XBMC on Xbox might be able to decode MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) at 720x480 resolution on the Xbox hardware, but probably no higher than that.

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.

Video player	Lossy compression							Lossless compression
Video player	MP3	WMA	RealAudio	Vorbis	Musepack	AAC	AC3	APE	FLAC	ALAC	SHN	WV
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Banshee	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]
CorePlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
DSPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
FFplay	Yes	Partial^{[audionotes 1]}	Partial^{[audionotes 1]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GOM Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
iTunes	Yes	yes, no DRM	No	Partial^[11]	No	Yes	No	No	Partial^[11]	Yes	No	No
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes
Konqueror Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Plex	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
QuickTime	Yes	Partial^[10]	No	Partial^[11]	No	Yes	Partial^[6]	No	Partial^[11]	Yes	No	No
Quintessential Player	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Partial^[6]	Partial^[6]	No	No	Partial^[6]
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[6]	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
SMPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Songbird	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	Yes	?	No	Yes	?	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	No	No
Totem Movie Player	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Yes	Partial^[14]	Yes	Partial^[14]	Partial^[14]	Yes	Partial^[14]	Partial^[14]	Partial^[14]
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]
XBMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video player	MP3	WMA	RealAudio	Vorbis	Musepack	AAC	AC3	APE	FLAC	ALAC	SHN	WV

^ ^a ^b can't understand some codecs

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.

Video player	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	Ogg	OGM	Matroska	MP4	NUT	FLV
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Chroma	Yes	Partial	Yes	No	Partial	Partial	Partial	?	?
CorePlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
DSPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
FFplay	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GOM Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Vorbis only	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
iTunes	No^{[containernotes 1]}	Win: yes Mac: file is parsable	Yes	Partial^[11]	No	No	Yes	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	Partial^[13]	Vorbis only	Yes	Yes	Partial^[8]	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Konqueror Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	Yes	Vorbis only	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Plex	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
QuickTime	Yes	Partial^[10]	Yes	Partial^[11]	No	Yes^[15]	Yes	?	Yes^[15]
Quintessential Player	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^[6]	Partial^[6]	No	Yes	?	?
Songbird	Yes	No	Yes^[13]	Yes	No	No	Yes	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Partial	Yes	No	Yes
Totem Movie Player	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	Yes^[7]	?	Yes^[7]
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	Yes	Yes	Partial^[13]	Vorbis only	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Yes	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	WMP12 Yes^[13]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	Partial^[8]	WMP12 Yes^[8]	?	Yes
XBMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
xine	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Video player	AVI	ASF	QuickTime	Ogg	OGM	Matroska	MP4	NUT	FLV

^ A hack allows playback.

Scalable, composite and emulation format abilities

Video player	Flash	RealPix	QuickTime Video Effects in mov	HTML+TIME(+VML)	Silverlight	smil/smi	SVG	MIDI(smf)	MIDI(kar)	MIDI(xmf)	MIDI(rmi)	MIDI(xmi)	NSF	SPC	PSF
ALLPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chroma	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
CorePlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
FFplay	Partial	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
GOM Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTunes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Konqueror Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	Partial	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Partial^[9]	Partial^[9]	Partial^[9]	Partial^[9]	Partial^[9]	No	No	No
MediaPortal	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPlayer	Partial	?	?	?	?	Partial	?	Yes (via xmms-plugins)	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mplayerxp	Partial	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	?	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	?	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Songbird	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	Partial	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
VLC	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?
Winamp	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes (plugin)	Yes (plugin)	Yes (plugin)
Windows Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XBMC	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
xine	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Video player	Flash	RealPix	QuickTime Video Effects in mov	HTML+TIME(+VML)	Silverlight	smil/smi	SVG	MIDI(smf)	MIDI(kar)	MIDI(xmf)	MIDI(rmi)	MIDI(xmi)	NSF	SPC	PSF

Protocol abilities

Information about which internet protocols the players understand, for receiving streaming media content. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such abilities.

General protocols

Video player	HTTP	HTTPS	FTP	RTSP (RTSPU, RTSPT)	MMS (MMSU, MMST)	RTMP	Netstream (mpst://)	Podcasting	PeerCast	RDT	TCP	UDP	SCTP	Gopher	SFTP	NFS	SMB/CIFS	PNA (pnm://, pna://)	RTP
ALLPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Amarok	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Banshee	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
CorePlayer	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
DSPlayer	No	?	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
FFplay	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
GOM Player	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTunes	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Konqueror Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes (optional)	?	Yes
Mplayerxp	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	?	No	Yes	Yes
Quod Libet	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	Yes	?	?	Yes	No	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes	?
Songbird	Yes	?	?	?	No	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Winamp	Yes	?	?	No	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	?	?	Yes	Dropped (WMP10)	?	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XBMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
xine	Yes	?	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XMMS	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Video player	HTTP	HTTPS	FTP	RTSP (RTSPU, RTSPT)	MMS (MMSU, MMST)	RTMP	Netstream (mpst://)	Podcasting	PeerCast	RDT	TCP	UDP	SCTP	Gopher	SFTP	NFS	SMB/CIFS	PNA (pnm://, pna://)	RTP

Other

Video player	DAAP	DMAP	DPAP	EsounD protocol	PulseAudio Simple protocol	PulseAudio Native protocol	DLNA
ALLPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Amarok	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
Banshee	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
CorePlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
FFplay	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
GOM Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTunes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
jetAudio	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Konqueror Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MediaPortal	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mplayerxp	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
Quod Libet	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Songbird	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
VLC	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Winamp	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Windows Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	Yes
XBMC	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
xine	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XMMS	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Video player	DAAP	DMAP	DPAP	EsounD protocol	PulseAudio Simple protocol	PulseAudio Native protocol	DLNA

Playlist format ability

Information about which playlist formats the players understand.

Video player	asx/wax/wvx	m3u/m3u8	pls	xspf	ram/rmm	sdp	rpl	xpl	bdmv	mpcpl	wmx
ALLPlayer	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chroma	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
CorePlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
DSPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
FFplay	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
GOM Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTunes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
jetAudio	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
Konqueror Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
MediaPortal	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?
QuickTime	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?
Songbird	Yes	?	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes	?	?
Winamp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
XBMC	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
xine	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Video player	asx/wax/wvx	m3u/m3u8	pls	xspf	ram/rmm	sdp	rpl	xpl	bdmv	mpcpl	wmx

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.

Video player	Bitmap	Text										Bitmap				Text
Video player	VobSub (.idx+.sub)	SubStation Alpha (.ssa+.ass)	SubRip (.srt)	SAMI (.smi)	RealText (.rt)	MicroDVD (.sub)	SubViewer (.sub)	Text file^{[stnotes 1]} (.txt)	PowerDivx (.psb)	Universal Subtitle Format (.usf)	Structured Subtitle Format (.ssf)	XSUB (.divx embedded subtitles)	DVB subtitles	DVD subtitles	PGS (.sup)	Closed captioning
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
Chroma	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
CorePlayer	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
FFplay	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
GOM Player	Yes	Partial^{[stnotes 2]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
iTunes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Partial^{[stnotes 2]}	Yes	No	No	Yes	?	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	Yes	?	Yes
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^[8]	?	?	?	?
Konqueror Media Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Center	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^[9]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^[8]	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
QuickTime	No	Yes^[15]	Yes^[15]	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes^[6]	No	Yes^[6]	Yes	Yes	Yes^[6]	?	Yes^[6]	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	?	Yes	?	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Partial^{[stnotes 2]}	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Winamp	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	No	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	No	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^[8]	?	?	?	?
Windows Media Player	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	No	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	No	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^{[stnotes 3]}	Yes^[8]	?	?	?	?
XBMC	Yes	Partial^{[stnotes 2]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No^{[stnotes 4]}	No^{[stnotes 4]}	No^{[stnotes 4]}	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
xine^{[stnotes 5]}	Yes	Partial^{[stnotes 2]}	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?
Video player	VobSub (.idx+.sub)	SubStation Alpha (.ssa+.ass)	SubRip (.srt)	Sami (.smi)	RealText (.rt)	MicroDVD (.sub)	SubViewer (.sub)	TXT (.txt)	PowerDivx (.psb)	Universal Subtitle Format (.usf)	Structured Subtitle Format (.ssf)	XSUB (.divx embedded subtitles)	DVB subtitles	DVD subtitles	PGS (.sup)	Closed captioning

^ This player can open files with the extension .txt, but those could contain any script language. So there is no guarantee it will play it.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e This player understands some of the formatting data from SSA/ASS (at most coloring but no positioning, animation, typesetting etc.), but some players could understand the rest of it by using VSFilter as external subtitle filter instead of the built-in one.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r For Windows, one can add the ability to use many subtitle formats by installing VSFilter or ffdshow.
^ ^a ^b ^c XBMC (XBoxMediaCenter) uses the subtitle library / source code from MPlayer so when/if MPlayer can display these subtitles then XBMC will soon be able to display them too.
^ "FAQ | Kaffeine - KDE Media Player". Kaffeine FAQ. http://kaffeine.kde.org/?q=faq#question9. Retrieved 2009-10-02.

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.

Video player	ID3v1	ID3v2	APEv2 tag	Vorbis comment	AMF	ASF metadata	MOV metadata	Cue sheet	CD-Text
ALLPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
Cog	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?
CorePlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?
DSPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	No	?	?	?	No	No
FFplay	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
GOM Player	No	No	No	No	?	?	?	?	?
iTunes	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	Yes	?	Yes
iTVmediaPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
jetAudio	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Partial^{[metadatanotes 1]}	?
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes
Konqueror Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	Yes
Media Player Classic	Yes	No	?	Partial	?	?	?	?	?
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	?	Partial	?	?	?	?	?
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPlayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial^{[metadatanotes 2]}	?
Mplayerxp	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?	?	?	No	No
QuickTime	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Quintessential Player	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
RealPlayer	Yes	Yes	?	No	?	?	?	Yes
Songbird	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?	No	?
Totem Movie Player	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
VLC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes
Winamp	Yes	Yes	Partial^{[metadatanotes 3]}	Yes	?	?	?	Partial^[6]	Yes
Windows Media Player	Yes	Partial^{[metadatanotes 4]}	?	Partial^[6]	?	Yes	?	No	Partial^[6]
XBMC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes	?
xine	Yes	Partial^{[metadatanotes 5]}	?	Yes	?	?	?	?	?
Video player	ID3v1	ID3v2	APEv2 tag	Vorbis comment	AMF	ASF metadata	MOV metadata	Cue sheet	CD-Text

^ Supports via plugin available in COWON Forums
^ MPlayer can read .cue files with cue:// type URL, but has problems, see Talk:Cue sheet (computing)#mplayer have more faults
^ Winamp relies on the tagging of its decoder. Replacing the standard decoder with an APEv2 capable one is possible.
^ ID3 V2.4 not supported (even on Windows Media Player 12).
^ Displays basic ID3v1 / ID3v2 / Ogg Vorbis tags

Optical media ability

Information about what kinds of optical discs 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 is not possible for any media player, because no suitable hardware exists. All media players capable of audio CD playback will also play the Redbook core of any HDCD disc, providing no sound-quality benefits over standard audio CDs.

Video player	Audio			Video
Video player	CD	DVD-Audio	HDCD	VCD	SVCD	DVD	Blu-ray	HD DVD
ALLPlayer	Yes	?	?	?	No	Yes	?	?
Chroma	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	?
CorePlayer	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	?
DSPlayer	Yes	Yes	No	?	?	?	?	?
FFplay	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
GOM Player	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	?
iTunes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
iTVmediaPlayer	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
jetAudio	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
K-Multimedia Player	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Konqueror Media Player	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
Media Center	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
Media Player Classic	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Media Player Classic Home Cinema	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
MediaPortal	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[opticalmedianotes 1]}	?
MPlayer	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Mplayerxp	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?
Ogle	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	?
QuickTime	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Quintessential Player	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
RealPlayer	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Songbird	No^{[opticalmedianotes 2]}	No	No	?	?	?	?	?
TotalMedia Theatre	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Totem Movie Player	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
VLC	Yes	Yes^{[opticalmedianotes 3]}	No	Yes	Partial^{[opticalmedianotes 4]}	Yes	No	No
Winamp	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Windows Media Player	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	?
XBMC	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
xine	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Video player	CD	DVD-Audio	HDCD	VCD	SVCD	DVD	Blu-ray	HD DVD
Video player	Audio			Video

^ See this thread on team-mediaportal.com
^ See this thread on Getsatisfaction.com
^ DVD Audio files are playable in VLC 1.1
^ Handling still frames and switching between different video formats is problematic.

References

^ "[2011/09/26] The KMPlayer 3.0.0.1442 R2 Release". 2011-09-26. http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22193. Retrieved 2011-09-26.
^ "RealNetworks, Inc. Releases Update to Address Security Vulnerabilities". Real.com. RealNetworks, Inc. 16 August 2011. http://service.real.com/realplayer/security/08162011_player/en/. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
^ "RealPlayer 11.0.2.2315 GOLD". Softpedia. SoftNews NET SRL. http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/RealPlayer-2742.shtml. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
^ "RealPlayer 1.1". Softpedia. SoftNews NET SRL. http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia-Graphics/Video-Players/RealPlayer-80639.shtml. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
^ Piñeiro Iglesias, Alejandro (2011-11-16). "GNOME 3.2.2 released". gnome-announce mailing list. https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-announce-list/2011-November/msg00020.html.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Plugin available.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av Available via Gstreamer plugin.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am ^an ^ao ^ap ^aq ^ar ^as ^at ^au ^av ^aw ^ax ^ay ^az ^ba ^bb ^bc ^bd ^be The playing compatibility depends on the availability of DirectShow filters.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l The playing compatibility depends on the availability of RealMedia filters. There is a distribution known as Real Alternative which bundles the needed RealPlayer components without the need to install the corresponding player.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The playing compatibility depends on the availability of WMV Player component for Quicktime.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h 3rd party plugins are available. The Xiph QuickTime Components allow any QuickTime application to parse Ogg files and play Vorbis, FLAC (Doesn't work with FLAC containers), Speex, and Theora.
^ The playing compatibility depends on the availability of Shockwave filters.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f The playing compatibility depends on the availability of QuickTime filters. There is a distribution known as QuickTime Alternative which bundles the needed QuickTime components without the need to install the corresponding player.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Available via plugins that can be automatically downloaded during installation
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The open source Perian plug-in adds the ability to use many video formats and codecs to QuickTime. It also adds the ability to use SubRip and SubStation Alpha subtitles.

Notes

Related lists on other projects

m:Open Source Toolset - short sections on Audio editing and Video editing
Software - short lists of Ogg audio and video editors
Help:Converting video - tools for manipulating audio and video

Media players

Technologies

Articles	Codec · Demultiplexer · Internet radio · Internet television · Playlist · Media resource locator · Music visualization · Syndication · Podcast · P2PTV

Preferences	Video player (Comparison) · Audio player (Comparison) · Portable media player (Comparison) · HD media player · Home Theater PC · Home cinema

Commercial

Mobile

Various	Media Player (Windows Mobile), Pocket Tunes (Palm OS) Multi-Platform: CoreAVC CorePlayer · Core Pocket Media Player

Android	DoubleTwist Media Player · RealPlayer for Android · TuneWiki for Android · Winamp for Android

Microsoft Windows	Connect Player · Iriver plus 3 · Media Center · PowerDVD · SonicStage · Core Media Player · WinDVD · Windows Media Center · Windows Media Player · Yahoo! Music Jukebox · Zune

Mac OS X	Centerstage · Chroma · DVD Player · Front Row · Peel · Flip4Mac WMV Player

Freeware or Free software

Microsoft Windows	Adobe Media Player · CrystalPlayer · Dell MediaDirect · foobar2000 · GOM Player · jetAudio · K-Multimedia Player · Macromedia Shockwave · MadCat Media Browser · Media Go · Media Player Classic · MediaMonkey · Mod4Win · Mpxplay · MusicBee · MusikCube · PC Friendly · QuickPlayer · Quintessential Player · QuuxPlayer · Style Jukebox · Winamp · WinPlay3player

Linux	Baudline · Beep Media Player · cmus · Decibel Audio Player · Exaile · Gnome Music Player Client · Helix · JuK · Kaffeine · LinuxMCE · Lsongs · Miro · Mpg123 · Muine · Music Player Daemon · Music on Console · Noatun · Ogle DVD Player · Rhythmbox · Totem · Unix Amiga Delitracker Emulator · Xine · XMMS · XMMS2

Multi-Platform	Adobe Flash Player · Adobe Shockwave · Amarok · Audacious · Banshee · Boxee · Clementine · DivX Player · ffplay · iTunes · Miro · MPlayer · Nightingale · QuickTime · RealPlayer · Songbird · VLC media player · XBMC · Zinf

Home theater PC software and related devices

Windows	iTVmediaPlayer · Beyond TV · GB-PVR · Meedio · MediaPortal · JRiver Media Center · ShowShifter · Windows Media Center

Mac OS X	Centerstage · Front Row · ITheater

Linux	Distributions Element OS · GeeXboX · LinuxMCE · Mythbuntu · Mythdora · XBMC Live · MythTV · OpenELEC · Video Disk Recorder

Cross-platform	iTVmediaPlayer (iOS, Android, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows) · Boxee (iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows) · Plex (Android, iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows) · SageTV (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows) · XBMC (Apple TV, iOS, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Xbox)

Set-top boxes/ Digital media receivers	Apple TV · Boxee Box · DBox2 · Dreambox · HP MediaSmart Connect · Hauppauge MediaMVP · Google TV · Netgear Digital Entertainer · Roku · TiVo · Vu+ · WD TV · Windows Media Center Extender

Related hardware	ATI Theater Cards · Elgato EyeTV devices · Hauppauge Computer Works WinTV PVR Cards · HDHomeRun · Remote control (Touchscreen) · Mac Mini · Nvidia TV-Tuner Cards · Quiet PC

System manufacturers	Alienware · Apple Inc. · Dell · Gateway · Hewlett-Packard · Intel · Logitech · Interact-TV · Shuttle Inc. · Sony (VAIO series) · Toshiba · Velocity Micro · Zotac

Related articles	10-foot user interface · Comparison of video player software · Comparison of audio player software · Digital media receiver · HD media player · Home cinema · Home theater PC · Internet television · Media server · Portable media player · Set-top box (Hybrid IPTV) · Smart TV · Video player