[HN Gopher] MPC-HC v1.9.22
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       MPC-HC v1.9.22
        
       Author : scrlk
       Score  : 53 points
       Date   : 2022-07-22 14:03 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (github.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
        
       | microflash wrote:
       | I've been using this for several years. If you need a fast video
       | player for your machine, this is it. Unlike VLC, it can also
       | automatically play the next file in a folder (if you flip that
       | option in the settings). It also has a reasonably nice looking
       | dark theme.
        
       | CoolCold wrote:
       | and in now-days, it's much more easy-peasy:                 PS
       | C:\Users\coolcold> winget search mpc-hc       Name       Id
       | Version  Match       Source
       | ----------------------------------------------------       MPC-HC
       | clsid2.mpc-hc 1.9.22               winget       Pure Codec
       | Dio.PureCodec 20220601 Tag: mpc-hc winget              PS
       | C:\Users\coolcold> winget install clsid2.mpc-hc       Found MPC-
       | HC [clsid2.mpc-hc] Version 1.9.22       This application is
       | licensed to you by its owner.       Microsoft is not responsible
       | for, nor does it grant any licenses to, third-party packages.
       | Downloading https://github.com/clsid2/mpc-
       | hc/releases/download/1.9.22/MPC-HC.1.9.22.x64.exe
        
       | kevinkeller wrote:
       | I thought MPC-BE was the spiritual successor of HC. Good to see
       | it's still alive.
        
         | Sunspark wrote:
         | They both are really. Have both, use both.
         | 
         | The difference between the two is that they both have the same
         | foundation (original mpc-hc) which means they both have similar
         | interface navigation and have the same dependencies on
         | directshow, etc.
         | 
         | The mpc-be team wrote their own audio & video renderer and they
         | also wrote their own decoder. The great thing about the open
         | nature of the original foundation is that even with BE you can
         | continue using other video renderers, decoders, etc. if you
         | want to. This matters because renderers like madvr, etc. are no
         | longer actively developed so diversity of choice is important.
         | Not every renderer does everything the same way or as well, so
         | there are edge cases where one will work better than another at
         | a specific task. They cross-pollinate each other too, mpc-hc
         | bundled in the mpc audio renderer from be which gave people
         | more choice out of the box.
         | 
         | mpc-hc is an odd one. It is maintained, mostly bug fixes. Once
         | in a long while something will creep in. clsid is not receptive
         | to suggestions or requests that are not bug fixes. In practice,
         | this isn't really an issue since the program is already mature.
        
       | account-5 wrote:
       | This has always been part of my portable apps must haves. If
       | windows has one thing going for it above Linux it's portable, no
       | install applications. That and Autohotkey.
        
         | justsomehnguy wrote:
         | You can have a 'portable' app on any *nix distro with a static
         | compilation.
         | 
         | But as a person who had for an almost a decade a bunch of apps
         | neatly stored in a folder which just worked...
        
           | account-5 wrote:
           | I'm aware its possible but it's way easier on Windows.
           | Download and run. With the likes of the portableapps platform
           | and similar you're always up-to-date as well, something you
           | wouldn't get with static compilation without a lot of hassle.
        
         | marcodiego wrote:
         | I still envy windows users for the easiness of downloading a
         | single and being able to install a news software with a few
         | clicks.
         | 
         | When I started using linux, my mind was blown away by how much
         | better apt-get seemed. This continued until packages stopped
         | being updated or when what I needed to install simply wasn't in
         | my repos. This led to inclusion of "shady" repositories or
         | compiling software myself which sometimes required compilation
         | of dependencies which sometimes broke the system or even apt-
         | get itself. In a few months installing new software and
         | maintaining the system was more working the installing an
         | updated version of my distro.
         | 
         | Today I try to use LTS distros and use flatpaks/snaps/AppImages
         | as much as I can. I keep my system stable and my software up to
         | date without one compromising another. My envy for how easier
         | it is to install software on windows is much smaller today.
        
       | whatever1 wrote:
       | With 100 different streaming services asking for $15 / month for
       | the one show/movie you watch per quarter, I can see a come back
       | of video sharing and revival of video players.
       | 
       | Btw the state of video players today (bad support for hdr, Dolby
       | vision, Dolby atmos etc) reminds me their state when divx and
       | Dolby surround were firstly introduced. Lots of work needs to be
       | done.
        
         | hocuspocus wrote:
         | I don't think piracy needs to come back, it never died.
         | 
         | But I'm not expecting a significant revival of video players.
         | Who wants to watch shows and movies on a computer nowadays? On
         | most devices (TVs, set-top boxes, tablets, ... but also
         | computers to a lesser extent) you're limited by the hardware
         | codecs, a custom video player is typically not going to save
         | you.
        
           | nix0n wrote:
           | All of those little devices run some form of Linux.
        
             | hocuspocus wrote:
             | Or iOS. But that's a bit moot. For instance my LG TV
             | doesn't support Dolby Vision files outside a few very
             | specific encoding profiles, there's no software fix for
             | that.
        
               | babypuncher wrote:
               | Pretty much no media player supports Dolby Vision profile
               | 7 as it is only used commercially on 4K Blu-Ray discs.
               | 
               | The newer Nvidia shield advertises support, but it is
               | incomplete and does not suport the enhancement layer
               | included on most Dolby Vision discs.
               | 
               | MakeMKV supports preserving all this metadata so I would
               | love a solution that lets me watch my 4K Blu-Ray rips
               | with Dolby Vision.
        
       | CyanBird wrote:
       | Loving it
       | 
       | It is basically the only media player which can easily go frame
       | by frame backwards and forwards
       | 
       | I have got a single complain and that's that wherever you open a
       | file and you have got another one open it does not add it to the
       | playlist
       | 
       | But yeah, exceedingly happy to see it getting support
        
       | scrlk wrote:
       | clsid has continued to maintain MPC-HC after the original
       | development team stopped due to a lack of interest back in 2017
       | (v1.7.13 being the last release).
       | 
       | See: https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=175209
        
       | AdmiralAsshat wrote:
       | Well there's a name I hadn't seen in awhile. This brings back
       | memories of searching for the latest K-Lite Codec Pack and making
       | sure I had all the latest-greatest plugins for watching anime.
       | 
       | At some point I switched to VLC and was blown away by the fact
       | that the standalone exe could play whatever I threw at it without
       | having to grab additional plugins/codecs. But I still remember
       | MPC. If memory serves, it was a bit speedier than VLC on some
       | low-power Windows XP boxes I had been running it on.
        
         | Cyph0n wrote:
         | Yes, back then, MPC was just much more efficient on lower spec
         | machines.
        
         | JulianHC wrote:
         | MPC alone isn't necessary better but with madvr LAVfilter... is
         | still unbeatable.
        
         | babypuncher wrote:
         | VLC wins ease-of-use but MPC-HC is still king of the roost when
         | it comes to picture quality and customization.
        
           | GOATS- wrote:
           | Have you tried mpv?
           | 
           | https://mpv.io
        
             | babypuncher wrote:
             | I use mpv on Linux and I find it a lot less pleasant to use
             | than MPC-HC on Windows. I do not like how the UI elements
             | hover over the content when playing in a window. I do not
             | like how minimal the UI is, with most settings hidden in a
             | configuration file.
             | 
             | One example of a common interaction that bugs me is
             | changing audio or subtitle tracks. With MPV, you can cycle
             | through them by clicking somewhat ambiguous buttons that
             | show the index of the selected track. With MPC-HC, the
             | context menu has audio and subtitle track menus that list
             | each track and present any available metadata on them
             | (language, track title).
             | 
             | Where MPC-HC shines though is in its configurability. It
             | has a ton of options for using different decoders,
             | renderers, and applying post process effects, all exposed
             | through relatively easy to use menus and the settings
             | dialog.
        
       | cercatrova wrote:
       | I used to use MPC before switching to mpv, glad to see it's still
       | updated after the lack of interest in development 5 years ago. I
       | like MadVR but I found it doesn't work as well as glsl filters in
       | mpv like Anime4k and Nvidia Image Scaling.
        
       | baal80spam wrote:
       | Wow, I had no idea this project was picked up by someone! I mean,
       | I don't see any problems with it - and I've been using it daily
       | for many years now - but it's good news!
        
         | scrlk wrote:
         | Not sure why the mpc-hc.org website hasn't been handed over to
         | the new maintainer. That would resolve the discoverability
         | issue with the clsid releases.
         | 
         | In terms of improvements over v1.7.13 - off the top of my head
         | - dark mode UI, youtube-dl support and HDR video playback.
        
       | antonymy wrote:
       | Still my preferred media player as a windows user, been using it
       | for over a decade at this point. There was a time an MPC-HC setup
       | required a lot of plugins (or bulky codec packs) but now all you
       | need is MadVR, and a subtitle renderer (I like xy-subfilter) and
       | you're good. Doesn't really have the utility of VLC or MPV but
       | the playback quality is fantastic with MadVR.
        
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       (page generated 2022-07-22 23:02 UTC)