It has been a long time people consider VLC as the best video player for Mac. However, if you have ever tried it, this is quite a simple app and still far from perfect. VLC excels at the video playback features but its media library is so confusing and you would not want to use it to manage your movies and music.
Part 1: A Simple Guide About VLC Media Player Brief review about VLC Media Player. VLC media player is more than a multimedia player for Windows and Mac. It supports almost all file formats without downloading extra code. Is that all for the program? Actually, there are some excellent features you should know about the program. Top reasons why people like VLC for Mac: 1. It can also convert videos 2. It can play most formats, and many other players cant 3. Plain ugly interface. VLC Media Player is one of the most popular media players today. Not only is it free to use, but it also supports a number of file formats without the need to purchase or download any additional components. You can use it to optimize audio and video for your preferred device. It can support DivC streaming and MPEG.
Recently I’ve had the chance to try the free app called 5K Player on my Mac. This is a promising app because it is said to be the combination of a HD video player, a music player, a radio player, AirPlay media streamer and Youtube video downloader. Let’s check it out.
Key Features of 5K Player
First and foremost, this is a video and music player. I tried to use it with all media files on my Mac and it didn’t have any problem playing them at all. It can play MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV video files, MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC and ALAC lossless audio files.
Besides, it also has a built-in radio player with some preset Internet radio stations like BBC Sports, CBS Sports, NBC, Hotmix radio, ABC Lounge, HeartFM, etc. If your favorite station is not included in the list, just put in the radio URL and it will show up in the list next time.
Of course, you can also insert your DVD and play it with the software. I even see the option to rip the DVD, unfortunately, you will have to pay more than $30 for another app. At the moment, I feel fine with playing my DVD because there are solutions to rip Blu-ray/DVD for free.
Another interesting feature of the 5K Player app is its built-in Airplay streaming support. Of course, you can stream your content with Airplay from your iPhone to your Mac or from your Mac to your TV anytime because the technology features in all those Apple’s products. 5K Player just made it a little easier with an Airplay button on top right corner. Just click on that button and choose the destination and you are done.
If you often use online services to download videos on Youtube, you might also find the app useful because it is built with a Youtube video downloader. Just paste the Youtube URL and click on the Download button, you can also choose among tons of video formats for the file.
Performance
As mentioned above, the app works pretty well with my video and audio files. I also love its interface and the media library. It is much more beautiful and intuitive than the VLC’s library.
The only problem I got is probably the video quality. The colors of videos seem a little washed out and look brighter than other video players I’m using. Therefore, you might see that the image quality is inaccurate and loses a lot of details. You can check out some screenshots below, click on the pictures to see them clearer.
As you can see, the video quality of VLC is much more accurate with a lot more details. Then I found out that 5K Player has Video Tuner to adjust brightness, saturation, contrast, gamma, and hue. I tried to make colors of the video close to the one on VLC but obviously the image quality couldn’t be as sharp and smooth. You can see that the text in the video even got pixelated.
The 5K Player is currently available for free here. Check it out and let me know what you think of the app.
Download Vlc Player For Mac
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The commission help keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!