# Media Player Classic

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/media-player-classic/

7 people recommended Media Player Classic in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A long-running free Windows video player that people have used for years without issues, often alongside codec packs.

Summary written from 5 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Reliable for years without issues (2 comments in the sample): "I'm still using the Media Player Classic Home Cinema to this day." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45903854)) "I used Media Player Classic without any issues for years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45854903))
- Classic Windows-focused video player (2 comments in the sample): "Agreed, Media player classic is the Winamp of video." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48611338)) "MPC is better if you're on Windows." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48610132))

## Other music players people recommend

- [VLC media player](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vlc-media-player/): 139 recommend, 31 mixed, 79 criticize
- [mpv media player](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mpv/): 68 recommend, 11 mixed, 11 criticize
- [Infuse video player](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infuse/): 61 recommend, 14 mixed, 9 criticize
- [Winamp](https://hackerapproved.com/p/winamp/): 53 recommend, 6 mixed, 6 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Media Player Classic", https://hackerapproved.com/p/media-player-classic/ (7 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 3 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.