Elmedia Player - good alternative to VLC on Mac

[usagora]

I normally use VLC Media Player on my Mac when I need a video playlist or play videos with encoding that QuickTime doesn't recognize (e.g. av01), but recently it's been giving me nightmares (VLC version 3.0.20, latest version), constantly freezing and making me force-quit the app if I skip around in a video or try to frame-by-frame. And, incredibly to me, it doesn't let you go backwards frame-by-frame, which is basic functionality! Nor does it have any sort of smooth scrubbing--only choppy scrubbing in 1-second chunks at the smallest). In googling the issue, I came across a recommendation for Elmedia Player, which I've never heard of before. Installed it and it works like a charm so far and far better than VLC for navigating videos.

So just throwing this out there for anyone else looking for an alternative media player that's free (though they do offer a pro version with expanded features). QuickTime is still my favorite, but unfortunately Apple is not keeping it up with the times, so is often unable to play videos.

Free Video Player for Mac with M1/M2 Support - Download Elmedia Player

⭐ Elmedia is a fully-featured video player for Mac with Native Apple Silicon (M1/M2) support. It will play any media file without a hitch. Supports a vast number of formats.

www.elmedia-video-player.com

Don't click the App Store link, as for some reason that's only the full, paid version of the software. Just click any of the other numerous download links on the web page above to download the .dmg file directly, which is free.

 

[bogdanw]

Before spending $20 on Elmedia, maybe give the free IINA a try https://iina.io
It has frame-by-frame shortcuts.

 

[Basic75]

Before spending $20 on Elmedia, maybe give the free IINA a try https://iina.io

That would be my first question, how does Elmedia compare to IINA?

 

[usagora]

Before spending $20 on Elmedia, maybe give the free IINA a try https://iina.io
It has frame-by-frame shortcuts.
View attachment 2321527

The free version of Elmedia which I'm using has the frame-by-frame capability. No need to spend $20 on the pro version. I think you may have misunderstood my post.

Also, with Elmedia, it's just like QuickTime in that you simply use the left- and right-arrow keys to frame-by-frame without the need for modifier keys.

 

[bogdanw]

The free version of Elmedia which I'm using has the frame-by-frame capability. No need to spend $20 on the pro version. I think you may have misunderstood my post.

Also, with Elmedia, it's just like QuickTime in that you simply use the left- and right-arrow keys to frame-by-frame without the need for modifier keys.

I didn’t, but I assume most people would probably click on the big “Download on the Mac AppStore” button rather then on the small “Direct download” link.


The free version of Elmedia has multiple limitations. Saving a frame (take screenshoot), audio settings, video settings (brightness, contrast) require the paid version.



Keyboard shortcuts can be edited in IINA to left/right arrow keys for frame back/forward

 

[usagora]

I didn’t, but I assume most people would probably click on the big “Download on the Mac AppStore” button rather then on the small “Direct download” link.

Ok, that wasn't clarified in your previous post. However, since it clearly says "FREE," I'd assume most people would be smart enough to investigate before spending $20 without question. I don't quite understand why the App Store version is PRO only, but it's easy enough to just do a direct download, and there's multiple download links on that page for the .dmg file. Thanks for clarifying, though. I edited the OP in case anyone is actually confused.

The free version of Elmedia has multiple limitations. Saving a frame (take screenshoot), audio settings, video settings (brightness, contrast) require the paid version.

None of which I care about and never used in VLC. But obviously YMMV, so thanks for sharing the info on the other software for those who do care about those features.

Keyboard shortcuts can be edited in IINA to left/right arrow keys for frame back/forward

Good to know. I figured the primary keys (left and right) might be permanently bound to another function.

 

[bogdanw]

I don't quite understand why the App Store version is PRO only

The free version is under a different developer account in the App Store.

Eltima https://apps.apple.com/developer/eltima/id422552672
with the $19.99 Elmedia:universal video player https://apps.apple.com/app/elmedia-universal-video-player/id937759555

Eltima LLC https://apps.apple.com/developer/eltima-llc/id1011948427
with the free Elmedia Video Player ( $19.99 In-App Purchase for PRO) https://apps.apple.com/app/elmedia-video-player/id1044549675

It’s the same company for both - Electronic Team, Inc. https://www.electronic.us/products/elmedia/

 

[HDFan]

Interesting capabilities. Unfortunately the colors are off for a UHD HD .mkv:



Infuse

 

[usagora]

Interesting capabilities. Unfortunately the colors are off for a UHD HD .mkv:

View attachment 2322182

Infuse

View attachment 2322181

Odd. I don't have Infuse, but I did download the IINA player that was recommended by the other member to compare it to Elmedia. I just opened a UHD video with Elmedia, IINA, and VLC. All three are about the same brightness, but VLC and Elmedia are noticeably more saturated than IINA. All three programs are at default video settings. Elmedia is top left, VLC top right, IINC bottom.

 

[bogdanw]

Depending on the Mac model and the decoder used by the app (hardware/software), each player might produce different results.

Example, in the default configuration VLC has hardware decoding enabled and Post-Processing Quality set to 6.

IINA has Hardware decoder Auto with the mention that “most of the video filters won’t work properly”. The Auto (copy) hardware decoder “will consume double the memory, but work with video filters”. The is also an option to Force the dedicated GPU.

And then there is the whole HDR can of worms https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...players-iina-optimus-movist-all-fail.2380543/

 

[The Main Event]

IINA is great but the lack of Airplay is a deal breaker for me. Elmedia free has all the features I need.

Edit: IINA offers better color accuracy on my system (MBP Intel 2019), however.