Media Player Classic

Softonic review

Free powerful media player

Media Player Classic is a free software program that lets you play multimedia content on Microsoft Windows PC devices. Developed and released by Gabest, Media Player Classic Home Cinema is a lightweight offering that runs on older and newer Windows 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems: Windows XP, Windows SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, etc.

Is Media Player Classic free?

Media Player Classic goes also by the name of 321 Media Player. MPC is an open-source C++ program that lets you further develop the back end. The video player boasts many features that let you customize your playback experiences. 

You can add multiple audio, subtitle, and video tracks to the content by right-clicking on the media to access the settings in the context menu. The music and movie player supports audio and video formats in ASP, AAC, DTS, FLV, LRV, MKA, MKV, MP4, MPL, OGA, OGG, SWF, etc. You can use Media Player Classic Home Cinema as a DVB player.

Is Media Player Classic safe?

MPC-HC is a safe app that claims to be 100% free of spyware. You can watch and listen to a variety of audio and video file formats in the advertisement-free application. 

You can also add plugins to the downloader to customize and gain insight on the videos: smooth video project, shaders, etc. Since plugins are downloadable from third-party sources, you can ensure the security of you and your PC by only installing plugins from trusted sources.

How do I use Media Player Classic?

Media Player Classic has a user-friendly user interface. There is a straightforward command line at the bottom of the screen that lets you play, pause, stop, rewind, fast forward, and skip frames on the right side. On the left side of the command line, you can mute and adjust the audio by sliding the lever along the bar to either decrease or increase the volume.

There are time stamps beneath the sound section. The first time represents the elapsed time and the second one displays the total duration of the video. You can visually understand where the current point of the production is in comparison to the total period by looking at the progress bar above the command line.

MPC presents a variety of methods to access different actions. Along with pressing the fast forward and rewind buttons, you can drag and drop the lever along the duration bar to move to different periods within the content.

There are multiple ways that you can play and pause the media. While you can click on the play and pause buttons, you have the alternate ability to tap on the center of the UI to start and stop the content. You can press on the ‘Play’ tab within the upper menu bar and right-click on the central portion of the screen to mark ‘Play/Pause’ in the context menu.

Along the upper portion of the UI, the utility tool offers ‘File’, ‘View’, Play’, ‘Navigate’, ‘Favorites’, and ‘Help’ tabs. While the classic version of the popular player has a simple esthetic, there are options to change the user interface design. While the developers state that toolbars are not included with the installation of MPC, you can still add customized toolbars to the app.

What happened to Media Player Classic?

The developers of MPC HC released a notice stating that they were planning to stop developing the project due to a lack of programmers familiar with the C++ coding language. The final update of MPC is still available to download and install on older and recent Windows operating systems.

How do I install Media Player Classic?

Once you have downloaded MPC, you can go through the installation setup process. The installer offers you a variety of over 40 languages to choose from. including English, Chinese, Catalan, Dutch, French, Spanish, etc. You can select your preferred language from the dropdown menu. A browser will appear to choose the destination that you want the video downloader to be located.

You can browse through the locations on the PC to choose the optimal folder to store the app. The ‘Ready to Install’ page lets you click the ‘Install’ button to initiate the installation. MPC-HC does include the system requirement of a PC with an SSE capable CPU. Certain codecs packages include and automatically install 321 Media Player onto your PC.

Which is better VLC or Media Player Classic?

KMPlayer, PotPlayer, VLC Media Player, and Windows Media Player are alternative multimedia tools that launch video and audio files. The user interface of MPC resembles the classic Windows Media Player design. PotPlayer has the best features included and displays them in an organized way on the UI.

While MPC HC does not offer live streaming capabilities, PotPlayer lets you stream content from the internet directly in the app. You can watch 3D video files with the KMPlayer, PotPlayer, and VLC Media Player. Media Player Classic and VLC are both open-source media players that support most file formats.

Along with MPC, PotPlayer is only available on Windows PC 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. KMPlayer, VLC, and Windows Media Player are cross-platform and compatible with Android, Apple iOS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. VLC is additionally available on Linux operating systems. All of the platforms mentioned above are light-weight and free.

Simple solution to watch videos

Media Player Classic Home Cinema is a common video player that lets you customize your experience while watching videos on PC computers and laptops. The easy-to-use program launches quickly. MPC includes built-in codecs to play audio and video files in an ad-free environment.

What’s new?

While the program is open-source and can receive adjustments from programmers, the original developers have decided to cease new releases of MPC.