VLC vs IINA

IINA is a masterclass in native macOS design. Written in Swift, it features a borderless window style, highly customizable floating controls, and a settings menu that resembles Apple's own System Settings. It integrates seamlessly with macOS Dark Mode and uses native vibrancy effects (blur). The playlist slides out smoothly, and the on-screen controller is minimalist and unobtrusive. Every interaction, from the animation of the play button to the way windows resize, feels fluid and consistent with first-party Apple applications like QuickTime or Safari.

IINA is built on top of MPV, which is widely regarded by videophiles as having the highest quality rendering engine available. It supports advanced upscaling algorithms, better color management for HDR content on Apple's XDR displays, and smoother frame pacing. Because IINA leverages MPV's configuration, users can implement advanced shaders for upscaling anime or older content. Out of the box, IINA handles 4K and 8K HEVC content with exceptional fluidity, utilizing Apple Silicon's media engines effectively.

IINA offers best-in-class gesture support. You can two-finger tap to pause, two-finger swipe to seek (with inertial scrolling), and pinch to resize the window or zoom the video. These gestures are fully customizable within a dedicated, easy-to-read GUI. IINA also supports Force Touch for variable speed seeking (press harder to fast-forward faster). The responsiveness of these gestures mirrors the experience of using Safari or Photos, making navigation through long videos incredibly intuitive without ever touching the keyboard.

IINA inherits MPV's superior subtitle rendering, handling complex typesetting in anime fansubs flawlessly with crisp typography. The standout feature, however, is the integrated online subtitle search. With two clicks, IINA can query OpenSubtitles and other databases, download the correct sub, and apply it immediately without leaving the main window. It also allows for 'smart matching' of local subtitle files and offers extensive customization options for font, size, border, and shadow that update in real-time.

IINA is highly optimized for Apple Silicon (M-series chips). It efficiently offloads decoding tasks to the hardware media engines and utilizes macOS's native graphical frameworks to render the interface. This results in significantly lower CPU overhead during playback. For mobile users, this translates to tangible gains in battery life when binge-watching series on a flight or commute. It respects macOS power assertions properly, ensuring the screen dims or sleeps exactly when it should (or shouldn't).

This is VLC's fortress. VLC is not just a player; it is a converter and a server. You can use VLC to rip DVDs, convert MKV files to MP4, extract audio from video files, and stream your desktop or a file to other devices on the network via protocols like RTSP, RTP, and HTTP. It also has robust Chromecast support. If you need to manipulate the media file itself rather than just watch it, VLC offers a suite of tools that IINA simply does not attempt to replicate.

IINA utilizes the `youtube-dl` (or `yt-dlp`) library integration seamlessly. You can drag and drop a YouTube URL (or Twitch, Vimeo, etc.) directly onto the IINA window, and it will parse the highest quality stream and play it without ads. It also offers a Safari extension that allows you to open any web video in IINA with a single click. This integration feels much more modern and user-friendly for consuming web content compared to VLC's manual approach.