The following comparison of video players compares general and technical information for notable software media player programs. For the purpose of this comparison, video players are defined as any media player which can play video, even if it can also play audio files. General Active players Inactive players Operating system compatibility This section lists the operating systems on which the player works. There may be multiple versions of a player, each one for a given operating system. Features Extended features Consumer video format ability Information about what video formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins/filters that provide such abilities. Production video format ability Audio format ability Information about what audio formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins/filters that provide such abilities. Container format ability Information about what container formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or filters that provide such abilities. Streaming support Information about which internet protocols the players understand, for receiving streaming media content. Playlist format ability Information about which playlist formats the players understand. Electronic program guide format ability Information about which Electronic program guide format the players viewable. Subtitle ability Information about what subtitle formats the players understand. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or filters that provide such abilities. Metadata ability Information about what metadata, or tagging, formats the players understand. Most other containers have their own metadata format and the players usually use them. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such abilities. Optical media ability Information about what kinds of optical discs the players can play. Footnotes lead to information about abilities of future versions of the players or plugins that provide such abilities. Playback of Super Audio CD is not possible for any media player, because no suitable hardware exists. All media players capable of audio CD playback will also play the Redbook core of any HDCD disc, providing no sound-quality benefits over standard audio CDs. See also List of codecs Open source codecs and containers Comparison of video codecs Comparison of audio coding formats Comparison of video container formats Subtitles Comparison of portable media players Comparison of video codecs Comparison of DVR software packages Related