mpv

The player is a command‑line media player that runs on multiple operating systems and is released under a free, open‑source license. It can read a broad range of audio and video file formats, supports many codecs, and handles various subtitle types. Users interact through a minimal on‑screen controller that appears over the video for basic playback functions.

Its video output is built on OpenGL, Vulkan, and Direct3D 11, offering features such as high‑quality scaling algorithms, color management, precise frame timing, interpolation, and HDR support. The player can also use hardware‑accelerated decoding via the major GPU decoding APIs on each platform, which can be enabled dynamically.

A C language API lets developers embed the player in other software, and extensive scripting capabilities allow users to customize behavior with scripts from the project wiki. The codebase is actively maintained, with ongoing refactoring and feature additions, and contributions are welcomed through patches or feature requests.