No doubt we all love watching videos, and it’s our one of the primary entertainment sources. In a time of webcasting services like Netflix and Amazon, some still tend to have video files on their phones. That said, we are here with Best Video Players for Android devices which will not only enhance your multimedia experience but will also let you overcome the limitations of the stock player.
Best Video Players for Android devices
Watching videos on stock video player could be quirky at times. They usually skimp on new features and support for necessary codecs, hampering the overall viewing experience. At present, video files come in several other formats apart from MP4, equipped with multiple audio tracks and much more. Furthermore, the stock video player also lacks modern tweaks like gesture scrolling, subtitle processing and ability to play between numerous formats and codecs.
Below is our handpicked list of the Best Video Players for Android devices in 2019. These video players for Android will not only provide a more rich viewing experience but will also serve for multiple purposes.
1] MX Player Beta
MX Player Beta is indeed one of the best video movie players for Android. Notably, it offers a perfect mixture of features and performance. It was one of the first video players for Android to bring support for numerous formats that smartphone users could dream of in the past. Furthermore, MX Player Beta has also pioneered hardware decoding and hardware accelerated playback on Android.
The MX Player Beta offers:
- An intuitive UI with nifty features like swipe gestures to seek forward /backwards during playback.
- Pinch to zoom into the playback frame or to crop it for a particular aspect ratio.
- There’s subtitle support where you can manually insert the subtitle file or look up for the same on the web.
- Incorporates kids lock to keep your kids watching movies without messing up with controls.
- The app also supports almost every virtual codec out there. However, support for DTS and AC3 audio isn’t present in the core app due to licensing issues.
Note: One can load custom codecs available online.
Over time, MX Player Beta has also introduced an online section where you can find trending YouTube videos, movies, and TV shows, as per your region. Interestingly, there’s a dedicated music corner as well. It is free, but you will get to see advertisements here and there.
Download MX Player Beta here!
2] VLC Media Player for Android
VLC Media Player has always been a favourite for Windows users. It houses a slew of novel features, including
- Ability to stream videos from URLs, network streaming and media library organisation.
- It can play any video file format that you can throw at it including MKV and FLAC files.
- It can also play DVD ISOs and has all of its codecs built-in without the need for additional downloads.
- Subtitle support, full media support multiple audio tracks and streaming to Chromecast.
Besides, the player also lets you have the Android O-like Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode on older Android versions. One of the significant advantages of VLC over MX Player is the fact that there are no advertisements, serving a much a cleaner experience.
Download VLC Media Player for Android here!
3] GOM Player
GOM Player is a yet another big name in the industry, thanks to its popularity amongst Windows users. Reminiscent to the Windows version, the GOM Player for Android supports a vast range of file formats. Furthermore, it supports subtitles and comes equipped with speed control, finger gestures and a sleep timer which is quite useful to ones who usually fall asleep while watching videos.
The user interface is quite clean but does have ads on the bottom bar. Notably, GOM Player has a massive advantage over its competitors. It is one of the rare video players for Android that can play 360° videos and VR-supported videos. You can also control the playback from the screen, just like VR Games.
You can use GOM Player to play a variety of non-encoded video files including mp4. It is also possible to connect to Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive, WebDAV, and FTP for media playback. Another USP of GOM is its ability to take screenshots. The app incorporates a direct screenshot option so that you don’t have to mess with power and volume buttons to do so.
Download GOM Player here!
4] Plex
Plex is one of the best video players for Android. I’m saying this for people who either have smartphones with less onboard storage or have too many files to cope with the room.
What Plex does is that it allows you to set up a different server on your computer. After that, it can stream content from your computer to your smartphone, i.e. your computer will act as a remote server and can directly seed videos on your phone. Thus, you don’t need to store the videos in your device’s storage. That said, it also supports Google Chromecast and other streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
Plex will have all your video, music, and photo libraries available along with your preferred podcasts, web shows, and music streaming from TIDAL. Nonetheless, you can also watch and record FREE over-the-air broadcast TV, including major networks with a cooperative tuner and antenna.
Although there’s a trial mode, the monthly pricing of using Plex is $4.99. If you like it, you can opt for the yearly subscription pitted at $39.99. There’s also a lifetime Plex Plass that usually retails for $149.99.
Download Plex here!
5] Mobo Player
Mobo Player is a fantastic video player for Android, thanks to its unique features. The interface is simple and straightforward without any clutters. It is easy to control and supports all video formats (requires switching from hardware to software decoding sometimes).
Well, Mobo Player offers much more than just being able to play videos. The best part of this app is the video editor given within the player. Using which, you can cut your favourite piece from videos without the need for any other application. Moreover, you can create gifs from videos by choosing the start and end point. There’ also an option to save the video in a lower resolution which helps saving data and time if in case you are planning to share the clip on social media.
Moving further, Mobo Player supports pop-up window, screenshots, subtitles, video resizing, playlists, and continuous playback. You can also stream video through HTTP and RTSP protocols if you want to. Not over yet, there are additional plugins to increase its functionality as per needs.
Download Mobo Player here!
So these were some of the best video players for Android in 2019. Let us know what’s your favourite app amongst these. Plus, make sure to reach us via the comments section for queries (if any). Stay tuned for more such articles.
Also, read: Best Photo Editing Apps for Android
