QMPlay2 vs QuickTime Player

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.

QuickTime Player is Apple’s free player for video and audio files on macOS. It supports MOV, H.264, HEVC, MPEG-4 audio, and AAC, along with network playback, subtitles, hardware acceleration, and 4K playback. Controls include play, pause, rewind, fast-forward, and speed settings from 2x through 60x, with smaller steps between 1.1x and 2x. Files can play through AirPlay or in a picture-in-picture window. QuickTime Player trims, rearranges, rotates, and splits movies, records the whole Mac screen or a selected area, and captures connected iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch screens. Camera recording can use built-in or external hardware. Movie exports are.mov using H.264 or HEVC; audio-only exports use MPEG4 audio, and MP4 video export is not available. Export resolutions include 4K, 1080p, 720p, 480p, and Audio Only, subject to the source. It is included with macOS at free.