HD Player

HD Player is a Windows media player that supports a wide range of media formats.

HiDef Media Player, which is often called HD Player for short, is an excellent alternative to a program like VLC, which has really set the standard for Windows media players. Not only is HD Player feature-rich and highly customizable, but it has an intuitive interface and is easy to use. Beginners can jump right in, but advanced users will certainly get a lot out of the program as well.

A big advantage HD Player has over many other media players is the included support for video and audio codecs. Codecs are by far the aspect of media playing that give casual users the most trouble, and HD Player supports practically every major codec. Everything is preconfigured, and the user doesn’t have to do anything. You can add codecs; however, and you configure them yourself if you choose.

HD Player is not an elaborate program. It takes a streamlined approach and lets you tailor it to your particular purposes with skins, plugins, third-party tools, and so forth. All essentials are included, but some features are a bit buried in the options menus. Plugins let you expand the media player’s feature set, and tools let you use another app without having to leave HD Player.

This media player can play video and audio files, but it can also handle CDs, DVDs, and even devices like webcams. In addition, it handles content streams over the Web, such as Internet TV and radio stations. It gives you control over volume levels, balance, and subtitles. You can adjust timing to get video and audio perfectly in sync, and you can even use the program to broadcast a stream that’s available over your local network or even the Internet.

Pros

• Includes support for many video and audio codes
• Streams audio and video via the Internet
• Supports plugins and third-party tools
• Outstanding hotkey support

Cons

• Simplistic user interface
• Some features are hard to find