Get so many video files and want to play it on your Windows 8 computer? Not in favor of computer’s default media player like Windows Media Player or QuickTime? Want a free video player to play video files and movies free? This is the right place you should have come. In this post, you will learn about all the essential features regarding the best free video player. To quickly pick up a proper one, we have prepared 5 best free video players for Windows and Mac. And a detailed tutorial for how to play videos is illustrated.

Part 1: Important Features for a Video Player

According to Microsoft, the latest version of Windows Media Player should have been compatible with videos in most formats. That means you could make use of Windows Media Player to play videos in nearly all formats. However, there are exceptions. Some formats are still refused by Windows Media Player, like MOV, M4V, MKV, etc. For Mac users, there are fewer free video player for Mac options to choose from. To play video files on Windows and Mac smoothly, a piece of free video player software could be of great help. The below content would show you some critical traits to value the best free video player.

Features to be expected in the best free video player:

  1. Media format support
  2. Physical disc compatibility
  3. Audio and video image reproduction quality
  4. Personalizable playback control
  5. Bonus toolkits to extend the usability
  6. User interface design
  7. Convertibility
  8. Unique ability such as video upscaling availability

Part 2: 5 Best Free Video Players for Windows and Mac

1. Leawo Blu-ray Player

In terms of the best free video player for Windows 10, Leawo Blu-ray Player is definitely ranking top. As an excellent Windows Media Player alternative, this Leawo all-inclusive media player software is able to open and play videos from any sources smoothly on Windows 8/8.1/7/10, be it online or stored in optical hard copies. As a region-free Blu-ray player program, this best free video player is capable of streaming Blu-ray/DVD discs of all kinds. No matter what Blu-ray encryption is or region codes are, the powerful codec library will bring out the entire content for users. With advanced audio decoding technologies, it is the most competent software that delivers the cinema-like audio effect. The best video player for laptop free download is also provided for Mac users as well. This best free video player tool also comes with various other custom features like the program skin designer, background adder, battery manager, etc. Regarded as a universal free video player for Mac, it outperforms the QuickTime Player by all aspects. Furthermore, the conversion ability is super convenient for every Blu-ray watcher since it will transfer Blu-ray to MKV format without losing any element.

displayer-mac-02

Features:

  1. Over 180 formats even play 4K FLV videos, 4K MKV videos, 4K MP4 videos, etc.
  2. Perfect compatible with Blu-ray, DVD, disc folders, disc ISO images
  3. The lossless reproduction quality for 720P, 1080P, 1080i and 4K (2160P)
  4. User-oriented full video playback control
  5. Inbuilt converter to rip Blu-ray/DVD to MKV files.
  6. Friendly interface with remote support, power manager, screenshot snapper, changeable themes and skins
  7. Region-free Blu-ray player playback regardless of disc protection and region restriction.
  8. High-end audio availability for Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD
  9. Video upscaling and volume amplification are available

2. VLC Media Player

VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, MP3, and OGG, as well as for DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It also can be used as a server for unicast or multicast streams in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. Similar to Leawo Blu-ray Player, VLC Media Player also has its Mac version for Mac users to play video files on Mac easily. It has all features the Windows version has got. VLC Media Player for Mac runs on Mac OS X 10.6 or later. Specifically, it runs on any 64bit Intel-based Mac. Previous devices are supported by older releases. Note that the first generation of Intel-based Macs equipped with Core Solo or Core Duo processors is no longer supported. VLC provides different versions for different Mac operating systems for smooth playback.
Features:

  1. Open-source for addable extra codec packs, plug-ins, and add-ons.
  2. Multimedia playback for almost everything - MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3...
  3. Lightweight operations on diverse platforms - Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, iOS, Android ...
  4. Quick responding and merged with a skin editor
  5. Freeware without spyware, ads, user tracking
  6. AVI file conversion and repair
best-free-video-player-03

3. Free DivX Video Software

This best video player for laptop free download comes with everything you need to play, create, and stream the most popular digital video formats. With DivX Codec Pack, this free video player could play videos on Mac in most video formats including DivX, AVI, Xvid, MKV, MOV, MP4, HEVC, and so on. Users are allowed to watch videos on any of the over 1 billion DivX Certified® devices on the market today, from TVs to tablets and everything in between. New in this version: support for DTS-HD audio support for DivX Player. This Mac free video player even comes with a free 15-day trial of DivX Plus Converter for those who plan to convert.
Features:

  1. Focus on DivX®, AVI, MKV, and HEVC up to 4K streaming
  2. High-quality output for video and soundtracks
  3. FF/RW function and chapter points
  4. Able to cast to DLNA-compatible big screens such as Xbox, Playstation, or Chromecast
  5. Create and personalize playlists
best-free-video-player-04

4. MPlayerX

If you want to play HD H264 videos on Mac without glitches or shuttering, MPlayer OSX Extended could be a good choice. It also supports instant playback of MKV files and advanced styled subtitles in the ASS format. MPlayerX is also compatible with older dual-core Mac devices. However, MPlayerX is easily intrusive and injects pop-up ads or advertising banners which may bring a virus.

Features:

  1. Clear and seamless streaming through both FFmpeg and MPlayer technology
  2. Easy finger-control performance by editable gestures
  3. One-click to playback videos in Youtube, Vimeo, or other online sources
  4. Apple remote support and massive lingual subtitles skill
best-free-video-player-05

5. SMPlayer

SMPlayer is the best free video player for Windows 10 and Linux with built-in codecs that can play virtually all video and audio formats. Just install SMPlayer and you’ll be able to play all formats without the hassle to find and install codec packs. One of the most interesting features of SMPlayer: it remembers the settings of all files you play. So you start to watch a movie but you have to leave. Don’t worry, when you open that movie again it will be resumed at the same point you left it, and with the same settings: audio track, subtitles, volume. SMPlayer can also play, search, and download YouTube videos.

Features:

  1. Automatically find and download subtitles
  2. Thumbnail generator
  3. Many audio and video filters and skins
  4. Available in more than 30 languages
best-free-video-player-06

Part 3: Comparison between 5 Free Video Players

The above best free video players are all highly prized by many users and online editors. Going through the list of the best free video player for Windows 10 and Mac then choosing a proper one for your computer seems to be hard to decide. Thus, this graph is supposed to be helpful for a better understanding and comparison.

Features

Leawo Blu-ray Player

VLC Media Player

Free DivX Video Software

MPlayerX

SMPlayer

All format support

Lossless display

 

 

 

 

4K Blu-ray support

 

 

 

Customizable control

Enriched utilities

 

Disc protection decryption

 

 

 

 

Internal converter

 

 

Video upscaling

 

 

 

 

Part 4: How to Play Video on Leawo Blu-ray Player

This instruction will illustrate the simplest steps to enjoy your video collections with the best free Blu-ray software - Leawo Blu-ray Player.

Step 1.

Download and install the best free video player on Windows or Mac. You can choose the compatible version depending on what system you are running on your computer.

Step 2.

Launch and import your favorite videos. Just drag and drop the video files into the interface, then the application will pick up any media data to stream automatically. You can also click on the “Open File” button.

main-07

Step 3.

Visit the subtitle settings. Click on the first icon after moving the mouse under the banner area. The shortcut menu bar will come with the four options. The first is the subtitles.

subtitles-settings-panel-08

Step 4.

Audio parameter setting. Click on the speaker icon from the drop-down bar to confirm volume and more.

audio-settings-panel-09

Step 5.

Browse video parameters. Right-click on the playback and choose “Video” to make some changes in this dialog box.

video-settings-panel-10

Part 5: Conclusion

Even though lists of the best free video player for Windows 10 are everywhere, you could find rather few free video players for Mac computers. Hereby we made this list of best free video players for Mac and Windows. All of these top free video players own very big fame on some famous websites like PCWorld and CNET. Check these top free video players and then select one as your PC’s default video player to enjoy movies. I strongly put forward the Leawo Blu-ray Player as it is obviously more powerful through the parallel. Overall, the neat graphic design and easy guide are suitable for all novices.