mpv Media Player

mpv is a free, open-source, and cross-platform media player based on the MPlayer and mplayer2 projects, known for its minimal interface, high-quality video output, powerful scripting, and extensive format support. Forked from mplayer2 in 2013, with over 30,000 stars as of 2026, mpv is favored by power users for its quality and flexibility. Key features include: video output (Vulkan, OpenGL, D3D11, and Metal backends with high-quality scaling algorithms including lanczos, ewa_lanczos, spline36, and custom anime4k shaders, HDR to SDR tone mapping, and ICC profile color management), hardware decoding (VAAPI, VDPAU, NVDEC, VideoToolbox, DXVA2, D3D11VA, and MediaCodec for GPU-accelerated decoding), format support (Matroska, MP4, AVI, WebM, FLV, MPEG-TS, and over 100 container formats via FFmpeg), codec support (H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9, AAC, Opus, FLAC, and all FFmpeg-supported codecs), audio output (WASAPI, PulseAudio, ALSA, CoreAudio, JACK, and PipeWire with high-resolution audio and bit-perfect output), subtitle support (ASS/SSA, SRT, VTT, SUB, and embedded subtitles with custom font scaling, positioning, and styling), scripting (Lua, JavaScript, and Python via plugins for automation, custom OSD, and extension development), OSD and CLI (keyboard-driven interface with on-screen display, command palette, and property observation system), screenshot (capture current frame at source resolution or scaled), stream support (HTTP, HTTPS, RTSP, HLS, DASH, and ytdl hook for YouTube and other streaming sites), configuration (mpv.conf and input.conf for fine-grained configuration), and cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD, and Android).