When comparing MPC-HC vs MPlayer, the Slant community recommends MPC-HC for most people. In the question“What are the best media players for Windows?” MPC-HC is ranked 5th while MPlayer is ranked 15th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Supports H.265, and has for over 5 years
Pro Is actively developed by clsid2 on github
Pro Supports frame stepping with Ctrl+Left/Right
Useful for game development frame debugging. Your average user won't need this. VLC has frame advance, but it's hidden and non-intuitive; not clear if VLC can step backwards.
Pro Needs no additional codecs
Everything MPlayer needs to play media files is contained within which means no outside codecs are needed.
Pro Easy shortcut keys
Quick skip ahead buttons and other shortcut keys.
Pro No bugs , no lag in the video display
Pro Works via CLI and has multiple frontends to choose from
Some of the more popular frontends include Deepin Media Player, GNOME MPlayer, KPlayer, KMPlayer, Rosa Media Player, SMPlayer and Xt7-Player.
Pro Nice theme available to choose from
Also, the video window is separate from the main window making it less cluttered while playing audio
Cons
Con Discontinued
It's been discontinued since 2017.
Con Windows only
MPC-HC supports only Windows operating systems.
Con Not much documentation on the use and configuration
Con Contrary to review, some media that play well in vlc does not play in mplayer
Con Doesn't support directory playback
Con Lacks a built-in visualizer
