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MPC-BE vs MPC-HC: catalog facts
MPC-BE	MPC-HC
Free Free and open source under the GPL version 3.	Free Free and open source; no paid version exists.
Windows	Windows
Plays almost any audio or video format without hunting for codec packs Very small and starts instantly compared with modern players	Simple, familiar interface that the maintainer describes as the reason the player is loved DirectShow architecture allows third party filters and renderers to extend playback
Windows only Requires an SSE2 CPU and a DirectX 9.0c card with Pixel Shader 3.0	Windows only The maintainer states he does not accept new feature requests
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: GPL-3.0
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.