MediaElement.js vs QMPlay2
MediaElement.js
mediaelementjs.comQMPlay2
github.comSide by side
| Figure | MediaElement.js | QMPlay2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Video Player Software | 8.4 (#8) | 8.2 (#13) |
| License | The project repository identifies the software license as MIT. | The repository identifies its license as LGPL-3.0. |
| Media support | The site lists MP4 and MP3 media files, HLS and MPEG-DASH streams, and embedded players including YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, DailyMotion, Facebook, and SoundCloud. | It also supports Audio CD, raw files, and chiptunes. |
| Product | MediaElement.js is an HTML5 audio and video library that provides a unified player interface across browsers. | QMPlay2 is a video and audio player that supports formats handled by FFmpeg, Audio CDs, raw files, and chiptunes. |
| Purpose | MediaElement.js is an HTML5 audio and video player framework that provides a consistent interface across browsers. | QMPlay2 is a video and audio player that can play formats supported by FFmpeg. |
| Support | The product site directs users with accessibility concerns to create an issue on GitHub. | The project repository provides Issues and Discussions as places for community reports and questions. |
Plans
In their own words
MediaElement.js
MediaElement.js is an HTML5 audio and video library for presenting media through a common player interface across browsers. It includes an HTML and CSS player and a shared MediaElement API. Supported media includes MP4, WebM, MP3, HLS and DASH; embedded sources include YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, DailyMotion, Facebook and SoundCloud. The product site says its video player meets WCAG 2.1, BITV 2.0 and EN 301 549 accessibility requirements. Captions, subtitles and chapters can use HTML track elements with SRT or VTT files. For cross-browser caption handling, those files must be hosted on the same domain as the player. Installation options include a package, CDN, Git, npm, Bower and Meteor, with usage guidance for JavaScript, jQuery, RequireJS and React. The project also documents WordPress and Drupal integration. It supports browser versions including IE11+, Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Safari, as well as iOS 8+ and Android 4.0+. The library is MIT-licensed and free; add-ons include Chromecast, AirPlay, playlists, ads and playback speed control.
QMPlay2
QMPlay2 is a free video and audio player for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It handles formats and codecs supported by FFmpeg, along with Audio CDs, raw files, and chiptunes. Playback features include subtitles, network playback, hardware acceleration, spherical view, automatic interlace detection, and deinterlacing filters. A YouTube browser is included; playback requires yt-dlp, which QMPlay2 can download automatically. The documentation also describes using Streamlink as the player and an optional Last.fm extension for scrobbling with a configured account. Hardware video decoding options vary by system and include Vulkan Video, NVIDIA CUVID, Windows DXVA2 and D3D11VA, Linux/BSD VA-API, and macOS VideoToolBox. On Linux and BSD, multimedia-key controls and MPRIS2 commands are documented. QMPlay2 is licensed under LGPL-3.0. The latest macOS release requires Big Sur or later. Windows XP builds and the offline Windows build have stated service limitations, and the latest release page says the experimental Android package and Linux AppImage are no longer provided.