PotPlayer
PotPlayer is a free Windows video player from Kakao that plays most video and audio formats without installing extra codecs.
Version: 261021| Developer | Kakao Corp. |
|---|---|
| Version | 261021 |
| License | Freeware |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Interface languages | English, Korean |
| File size | 48.9 MB |
| Ads / bundled offers | None |
| Last updated | 2026-11-05 |
PotPlayer is a free video player for Windows distributed by Kakao Corp. Its built-in codecs play common video formats such as MP4, MKV and AVI and audio such as MP3 and FLAC without a separate codec pack, and DXVA, CUDA and QuickSync hardware acceleration (handing video decoding to the graphics chip to relieve the CPU) keeps high-resolution playback light. The official site has moved from potplayer.daum.net to potplayer.tv.
It suits viewers who rely on subtitles or want fine control over picture, sound and hotkeys. Since August 2026 an ARM64 installer is also available, so it runs natively on Windows on ARM laptops. On the downside, the options are so numerous that anything beyond the defaults can be hard to find, there are no macOS or Linux versions, and the official site does not publish its license terms.
Most video and audio formats play without a codec pack, and more codecs can be added through OpenCodec. The January 2026 release added APV decoding. DVD playback and TV/HDTV capture devices are supported as well.
PotPlayer supports DXVA, CUDA and QuickSync acceleration. Version 261021 switched the default renderers to Direct3D 11 for video and WASAPI for audio, and added MPEG4 DXVA support.
It reads text subtitles such as SMI and SRT, DVD VobSub, Blu-ray subtitles and animated ASS/SSA. Since the April 2026 release subtitles can be rendered with libass, and timing, position and size can be adjusted.
Using the Whisper speech recognition engine, PotPlayer can generate and save subtitles from a video's audio track. Since September 2025 it can also create subtitles in real time from the audio being played.
Side-by-side, top-and-bottom and page-flipping 3D output works with 3D TVs and glasses. Version 261021 added 180° video playback and ReplayGain, which evens out loudness between tracks.
Scene and chapter bookmarks, thumbnail previews on the seek bar, sound card selection, and playlist search and sorting are included. Local HLS/DASH stream files can also be played.
Codecs, hardware acceleration, subtitles, 3D and speech-to-subtitle cover almost everything a video player needs. New versions continued to arrive every two to three months through 2026.
Playback works out of the box with the default settings, and the interface is available in several languages. The preferences dialog, however, holds a very large number of options, so changing anything detailed takes time to learn.
Installers are downloaded from the official site potplayer.tv via Kakao's CDN. However, the site's forum link still points to the old potplayer.daum.net address, which no longer resolves, and no license document is published, so the terms of use are hard to confirm officially.
| Operating system | Windows |
|---|---|
| Requirements | Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11 (x86, x64, ARM64) |
PotPlayer's official website is now potplayer.tv. The former address potplayer.daum.net no longer resolves, so downloading from potplayer.tv is safer than using third-party mirrors.
On 64-bit Windows, use the x64 installer. Use the x86 installer on 32-bit Windows and the ARM64 installer on Windows on ARM devices.
Yes. The official site lists support for Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11.
Yes. PotPlayer can create subtitle files from a video's audio with the Whisper speech recognition engine, and it can also generate subtitles in real time during playback.
No. The official site offers Windows installers only, so Mac users need another player such as VLC media player.
PotPlayer is a good fit for Windows users who want nearly every video to play without codec hassles and need fine control over subtitles and picture quality. Its features and update pace are excellent, but the complex settings and unclear license terms and support channel lead to our editor rating of 3 out of 5.
Editor rating 3/5
