IINA is the new macOS video player to replace VLC

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A free open source player with a modern design that can satisfy even the most demanding users and become a complete replacement for VLC.

IINA is the new video player for macOS to replace VLC

The good old VLC, although it copes with its tasks, but in the latest versions of macOS already looks frankly outdated. In this regard, IINA has several advantages at once: the player is developed only for Mac, so it does not get out of the way of Apple's design and supports all proprietary features of the system.

The app is based on the popular cross-platform mpv media player, but it is written in Swift and works on macOS 10.10 and newer. IINA has a laconic QuickTime-style interface and sports a borderless design that looks really cool. However, the external simplicity of the player is quite deceiving, since with its capabilities and an abundance of various options, it is not inferior to the canonical VLC, and in some ways even surpasses the old man.

All settings in IINA are divided into numerous menu items, but it is easier and faster to get to them through the convenient side menu. The options are divided into three tabs, each of which is responsible for video, audio and subtitle settings. The number of settings themselves is simply unrealistic, ranging from the playback speed and appearance of the subtitles, to the cropping configuration and loading of subtitles from external sources.

Ease of management in IINA also did not disappoint. A lot of hotkeys and multitouch gestures are supported, which can be customized. The developers made sure that the owners of the new Mac did not lose their main advantages, and implemented support for Force Touch trackpads and the new Touch Bar. The player has almost all Apple branded chips, including a picture-in-picture mode, which allows you to conveniently watch TV shows in the background.

For advanced users, there is an option to enable advanced features that open access to the mpv configuration files and provide support for custom scripts.

Despite the fact that IINA is still in active development and is only available in alpha version, everything works flawlessly. If you want to help with development, join the Telegram group (enthusiasts are already translating the interface into Russian and Ukrainian).