How to Play Video on Windows 8 with Free Windows 8 Video Players
On Oct.26, 2012, Microsoft announced the commercial version of its latest operating system Windows 8. With redesigned UI and features, Windows 8 had changed users' habits and ways of using operating system just as it expected. Relative to previous versions, Windows 8 is a radical change which has a number of implications for video playback. The most discussed is the omission of Windows Media Center which removed the native ability of DVD playback. Besides, though applying the most recent version of Windows Media Player as free Windows 8 video player, it is still bare necessity for users to look for free alternatives to meets their up-to-date video playing requirements.
>> Top 3 Free Windows 10 Video Players
>> Best Windows 8.1 MKV Player
So, what are the best free Windows 8 video players?
Option 1: 5KPlayer
5KPlayer is all-in-one video audio player that is compatible with Windows 8/8.1 and the latest Windows 10. Except regular video audio formats, 5KPlayer performs remarkably in high definition videos playback, including AVCHD, MKV, TS, M2TS, etc. The built-in tons of video audio codecs guarantee smooth playback of any inserted video types.
Key Features of 5KPlayer - The Outstanding Free Windows 8/10 Video Players.
- Support both commercial and homemade DVD videos as the top Mac/Windows DVD player.
- Support all 1080P/1080i HD videos at low CPU cost, including M2TS, AVCHD, TP, MPEG-TS, EVO, MKV, AVC, MOD.
- Support for 4K 5K UHD videos playback.
- Support up to 8 channels audio system, Multi-channel DTS, TrueHD, AC3/Dolby.
- Additional hot features: play any music files, free download movies/videos/music songs, free stream videos audios for AirPlay-enabled devices, play radio from BBC, Capital, etc.
5KPlayer is a totally free Windows 8 video player. Now go to Softonic to download 5KPlayer absolutely free and safe!
Option 2: Windows Media Player 12 + WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe
If you are a big fan of Windows Media Player and used to watching videos with this free video player, you can keep it to play some of your video collections, though not all. This free Windows 8 video player app has a limited native support for AVI, MP4, WMV, MOV, H.264, and MPEG-4 part 2 video formats.
To play more videos on Windows 8 for free, a video converter like WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe will be helpful. It is fully compatible with Windows 8 and able to convert between mainstream HD and regular videos including MKV, M2TS, MTS, AVCHD, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, AVI, MPEG, MP4, WMV, MOV, FLV, RM, RMVB, WebM, Google TV, etc. It also supports converting HD camcorder videos to general videos for playback on free Windows 8 video players.
Option 3: VLC Media Player
With the removing of Windows 8 to play DVDs, free (HD) video players for Windows 8 that support DVD playback becomes a hot topic. VideoLAN, aka VLC, is widely known as a cross-platform media player for free. It supports a variety of video, audio formats as well as DVDs. It is a decent choice for ordinary video/DVD playing needs. But when comes to choosing an all-in-one free Windows 8 video player, VLC should give way to 5KPlayer.
★★★★★ Software Recommendation - WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe
* Convert videos in SD, HD & UHD videos in MP4, AVI, M4V, WMV, FLV, 3GP, MPEG, H.264, WebM, RM, 3GP, etc easily.
* With unmatchable video transcoding tech, incl. hardware encorder, it delivers the No.1 fast conversion speed in the world.
* The embedded High Quality Engine and De-interlacing Engine together optimize the video image quality dynamically.
