Is Potplayer Free

[Rosalyn Pomposo]

Ihave another question

I'm using potplayer to play local video.

I've heard using vapoursynth direct will have a better perfomance? I'm not sure whether this information is correct.

Anyway, I tried it like this:

1.install related software by svp4

2.

- add SVP 4\mpv64 folder to the PATH environment variable

- add new env variable called PYTHONPATH, containing the same SVP 4\mpv64 path

3.enable vapoursynth in potplayer(btw, I've unchecked "only use ...." option)

After all this, I get svp4 work with potplayer. But the video is super stuttering, about 15fps in average.

I think my testing pc's cpu is too slow(it's a i3), but it do works with 60fps when I used the traditional way as offical guide. Shouldn't vapoursynth has a better performance?

Here is my question:

1.Shall I use potplayer vapoursynth direct? Does it have any advantage?

2.If it is recommended, does my option is somewhere wrong which caused the stuttering, or just because of pc spec?

I am bumping this older thread to verify something; Chainik does activating Vapoursynth on PotPlayer and have "Allow output in 10 bit color depth [Vapoursynth]" enabled NOT provide 10-bit color pass-through?

My favorite video player is MPC-HC, though I do use MPV from time to time. Before switching to MPC, I had been using VLC for a long time, and eventually switched to SM Player, and later to KMPlayer. That's about when I started looking for alternatives and PotPlayer seemed to be the perfect alternative, this was about 4-5 years ago.

I ditched PotPlayer after a few years, because MPC seemed to be a lighter alternative at least on my old computer. Later, I came to know that PotPlayer had started shipping adware with options to install third-party software like Opera, and more recently the inclusion of Avast's installer, among other issues.

When Martin asked me to take a look at PotPlayer recently, I told him I was concerned about the program's recent issues. Despite my history with it, I wanted to reassure myself that it was safe. So, I went through many reddit threads and other forums, where users reported that the latest versions of the video player are clean. There was only one way to find out, and I finally decided to give PotPlayer another chance.

I can confirm that the current version (I tested 201209 v1.7.21397) does not contain options for installing third-party software. VirusTotal gave the set up a clean record, except for ClamWin which said it has a generic malware. Here are the screenshots which I took before installing the media player.

Note: The official website of PotPlayer is This is the biggest issue with the program, as there is a similar site that appears on Search results (has Daumpotplayer in the URL), and that one is apparently a fake website. So, you should get your copy from the official page.

The EULA is displayed first, and it has an odd relay clause. I think it is about the broadcast feature, which I couldn't get that to work or even find an option to disable. There is also some random telemetry collection clause, but it seems to be related to the computer's hardware, video playing capabilities. Aside from that, the rest of the EULA seems to be okay.

In the next step, you are offered the option to associate file types with PotPlayer. At the final step, the setup offers to install an additional codec called OpenCodec, I recommend you to uncheck the option, because the player's default codec is more than capable of playing anything you throw at it.

PotPlayer's interface remains the same as it was many years ago, it has a dark theme and 2 panes. The larger pane on the left is the video player, while the right pane is a sidebar that has 2 tabs, one for the built-in file browser, while the other is the playlist pane. These panes can be toggled, detached.

That's a lot of formats, and these work fine without the additional codec that it recommends. In addition to local media, PotPlayer can be used to play streaming content from services like YouTube. Hit Ctrl + U and paste the URL to begin watching the online video. And the player supports YouTube playlists too which is pretty cool.

On a side note, MPC failed to play the audio in a couple of MKV videos (which I had downloaded from streaming services using IDM), but was able to play the rest. MPV and PotPlayer on the other hand were able to handle all of them without any hiccups. Maybe it's an issue with MPC's settings, but I still prefer it over anything else.

One of my favorite features in PotPlayer is that it remembers the file playback position by default, even for online videos. I remembered most of the keyboard shortcuts from my previous time with it (subtitle delay, adjusting the window size, volume, brightness, contrast, etc).

Want to change the window size quickly? Tap the number keys from 1-4 to switch between 0.5x, 1x, 1.5x and 2x. Press 0 to set a custom size. Hit Enter to toggle full-screen mode. Use the Space bar to pause, play the media. Rewind or fast-forward with the Left and Right arrow keys. Increase or decrease the volume with the Up and Down arrow keys. That should be enough for basic playback, but there are a ton of other shortcuts, you can view them by right-clicking anywhere in the player pane > About > Keyboard Shortcuts.

I also used it for listening to music, and the mini player - compact interface for audio is nice. The Playlist pane can be detached, and acts as a floating window. You may pin and resize it like WinAmp's playlist. The PotPlayer Control Panel comprises an equalizer, video settings (brightness, contrast, color, saturation), subtitle customization, and some playback options.

The media player has many video and audio renderers that you can switch to. There are a few built-in skins that you can enable if the default theme isn't to your liking. PotPlayer supports many subtitle formats, and if you don't have subs for a video, access the right-click menu > Search Subtitles. The search option opens the result in your browser where you can manually obtain the files from. For a simpler way, use the built-in subtitle search/download option and save it to your computer. I couldn't test the 360 and 3D video settings, because I don't have such video files.

My two primary concerns with PotPlayer were adware installations and ads. I've already mentioned that the installer was clean. I also double-checked Programs and Features to see if something had snuck in, and the desktop to see if it had placed any additional shortcuts, and there was nothing amiss.

Note: A large PotPlayer logo appears near the system tray when you open the program (happens once a day), but it disappears in a few seconds. It doesn't display any ads or banners. I don't use system-wide ad blocking solutions or a modified Hosts file either, and I did not get any ads in PotPlayer even playing videos, or just having it open in the background without playing media, or during the installation.

These seem to belong to Kakao, which owns a messaging platform called KakaoTalk. PotPlayer has options for chat and that broadcast feature probably uses the same, and as I mentioned earlier I couldn't get it to work. It is possible the program pings the instant messaging servers for providing these services. Or, maybe it uses those servers to check for updates or subtitles? You can block these URLs in your Hosts file to play it safe.

Is PotPlayer worth using? As a media player, it works fine and the playback is just as good as in other players that I use. But it's difficult to recommend a player that has a shady past, and I'm not sure when the ads were removed. Above everything else it needs to earn the trust of users, so only time will tell the answer. I wish it was open sourced, but quite frankly I don't see that happening.

I do have one issue with the current state of the player, the options screen still has way too many settings, and I've always felt that the program has more features than required. Modifying a couple of settings shouldn't be this complicated. Some things never change I suppose. Well neither will I, I'll be switching back to MPC because it's my favorite video player.

just so you know, pot player is made by kakao originally and they had km player as well, and a few websites that had plugins to play online videos

so it was weird from the post writer that he said he went to km from pot player, i didnt even knew pot player existed until km started to annoy me with adds, then i looked into it and found pot player, using years ago now

the pot player logo in the box seems like the km player ad box with no adds, so i think its just remnants of code

just like potplayer because some of the skins have the thumbnail seek bar below where you can easily go through it but i find that its difficult to find a good skin that also the browser option functioning. i know theres navigation like current file. but that one does not stay at the spot i want it to be

Was a WiMP user way back in the day when I was a newbie, then stated exploring other options like VLC, MPC (with K-Lite initially, then the far better CCCP), MPC forks etc. Was recommended KMPlayer by a friend and liked it so switched to it, till it got sold and turned into a compete turd.

As a Noob i find all this helpful tech stuff posted way above my head, i like using pot player for its inbuilt rendering, the only problem i have though with pot player is the ability to extract a video after tweaking to be able to keep and use other than only through pot player, am i missing the obvious?

I would appreciate in simple terms if this downloading from pot player can be done and how!

Try MPC-BE and you will switch from MPC-HC. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, install LAVFilters and add them as External filters, set Decoder to NVIDIA CUVID and you will get hardware acceleration for the most video formats including legacy MPEG-4 ASP.

I stopped using PotPlayer years ago when it started phoning home with a new version, with Daum in full control. See, before that, the English version of PotPlayer we first came to love, was a rebuild of the original, by some independent dev who posted updates via videohelp.com. The original was in Korean by Daum, and thus of no use to English folks at that time.

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