Media Player Classic - Home Cinema (MPC-HC) is a free, open-source DirectShow audio and video player for Windows. It provides lightweight, ad-free media playback out of the box with zero telemetry and broad codec support.

Technical Overview of MPC HC

Operating as a DirectShow-based media player, MPC-HC integrates internal LAV Filters to decode modern codecs like HEVC, AV1, and VVC without external packs. It distributes via standard installer and standalone portable builds, allowing complete offline execution with full customizability through third-party filters and renderers. Because the project is licensed under GPL v3, users receive a fully independent media engine completely free of tracking, bundled adware, or forced online components.

Core Features of MPC HC

Modern format playback natively decodes AV1, HEVC, VVC, and AC4 streams using updated internal LAV Filters.
Advanced rendering options support HDR video output via the included MPC Video Renderer or madVR.
Built-in subtitle tools offer automatic online subtitle searching along with fast libass and WebVTT rendering.
Direct stream integration enables playback and saving of online videos using external yt-dlp executables.

System Compatibility

MPC-HC is compatible with Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11.