Donations are appreciated. There is now a PayPal option.
Changes from 2.7.0 to 2.7.1:
Updates:
Updated MPC Video Renderer to version 0.10.2.2535
Fixes:
Several small fixes and improvements.
OpenSubtitles download error 406
Subtitle downloads from OpenSubtitles may fail depending on time of day. This is due to our daily download quota being exceeded. Current amount of donations is barely enough to pay for the existing quota. So it is unlikely that quota can be increased and situation will get worse over time.
If you create an OpenSubtitles account and configure it in MPC-HC settings then you may be able to bypass the quota.
Options > Subtitles > Misc > Right-click on OpenSubtitles.com > Setup > Fill in username/password
Overview of features
A lot of people seem to be unaware of some of the awesome features that have been added to MPC-HC in the past years. Here is a list of useful options and features that everyone should know about:
Play HDR video
This requires using either MPC Video Renderer (MPCVR) or madVR.
These renderers can be selected here:
Options > Playback > Output
With other video renderers, the colors will be wrong!
MPCVR is now included and is the recommended renderer for modern systems. MadVR needs to be installed separately. MPCVR also supports Dolby Vision. MadVR does not.
For optimal performance you should change the hardware decoder to D3D11 in LAV Video Decoder settings when using MPCVR on Windows 10/11, because this renderer uses DirectX11.
(Automatic detection of GPU and configuration of the above settings is high on my ToDo list, so MPC-HC will have better default out-of-the-box settings on modern systems in the future.)
The installer of MPC-HC is very basic (and that will not change).
I therefore recommend using K-Lite Codec Pack. That includes MPC-HC and other essential components. It has a very advanced installation that can automatically create file associations, and helps you with easy configuration of important MPC-HC settings, such as preferred subtitle language. It also does automatic configuration of renderer and hardware decoding, for best performance and HDR support.
The Standard version should be sufficient for most people. Use Full version of you like to use MadVR.
Modern GUI Theme (Dark or Light) or the old classic theme
Options > Player > User Interface
It is also possible to change the height of the seekbar and size of the toolbar buttons.
Plus there are options to show audio/video details in the statusbar, such as codec and resolution.
Customizable toolbar buttons
You can add/remove/re-order the player buttons.
There are also several different toolbar designs to choose from.
Video preview on the seekbar
Options > Player > User Interface > Hover type
Ability to search for subtitles
Press D for manual search.
Or enable automatic search in: Options > Subtitles > Misc
Adjust playback speed
Menu > Play > Playback rate
The buttons in the player that control playback rate take a 2x step by default. This can be customized to smaller values (like 10%):
Options > Playback > Speed step
Adjusting playback speed works best with the internal audio renderer. This also has automatic pitch correction.
Options > Playback > Output > Audio Renderer
MPC-HC can remember recently played files and also their playback position, so you can resume playback from when you left
Options > Player > History
You can quickly seek through a video with Ctrl + Mouse Scrollwheel.
You can jump to next/previous file in a folder by pressing PageUp/PageDown.
You can right-click on the framestep button to step backwards. Some other buttons also have right-click actions, such as closing file by right-clicking stop.
You can perform automatic actions at end of file. For example to go to next file or close player.
Options > Playback > After Playback (permanent setting)
Menu > Play > After Playback (for current file only)
A-B repeat
You can loop a segment of a video. Press [ and ] to set start and stop markers.
You can rotate/flip/mirror/stretch/zoom the video
Menu > View > Pan&Scan
This is also easily done with hotkeys (see below).
There are lots of keyboard hotkeys and mouse actions to control the player. They can be customized as well.
Options > Player > Keys
Tip: there is a search box above the table.
You can hide GUI elements even in windowed mode
Options > User Interface > Hide Windowed Controls
That hides most GUI elements during playback. To show them simply move your mouse to bottom of window.
You can even hide everything except the video by pressing 1 (restore normal view with 3).
You can seek inside the playlist by simply typing text (when playlist window has the mouse focus).
MPC-HC also supports Blu-ray playback.
Only limitation is that you need to use a decrypting tool.
And it also does not support Blu-ray menus, but you can use the navigate menu in the player to select the content to play.
You can stream videos directly from Youtube and many other video websites
Put yt-dlp.exe in the MPC-HC installation folder.
Then you can open website URLs in the player: Menu > File > Open File/URL
You can even download those videos: Menu > File > Save a copy
Tip: to be able to download in best quality with yt-dlp, it is recommended to also put ffmpeg.exe in the MPC-HC folder.
Several YDL configuration options are found here: Options > Advanced
This includes an option to specify the location of yt-dlp.exe in case you don't want to put it in MPC-HC folder.
Note 1: You also need to install Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86)
Note 2: For optimal Youtube support you may also need to put deno.exe in same folder as yt-dlp.
Note 3: yt-dlp nightly build (very latest version made daily)
Note 4: yt-dlp windows7 compatible build
Besides all these (new) features, there have also been many bugfixes and internal improvements in the player in the past years that give better performance and stability. It also has updated internal codecs. Support was added for CUE sheets, WebVTT subtitles, etc.
You should really take a few minutes to look through all the options pages if you are a new user or if you are upgrading from a very old version. Don't forget the advanced options page.
This version includes multiple breaking changes. If you are upgrading from v0.15.x and below, please read the upgrading documentation for more information on how to upgrade from previous versions.
Added
Web UI rewritten from the ground up using the JMAP management API, featuring a refreshed design and addressing 76 enhancement requests and bug fixes.
CLI rewritten from the ground up to use the JMAP management API.
Security enhancements:
Password strength enforcement using the zxcvbn algorithm
Password expiration, rotation policies and IP address restrictions for user accounts
App Passwords with limited access (#1609), labels (#2255), IP address restrictions and expiration dates
API keys with limited access, labels, IP address restrictions and expiration dates
Auto-ban comments and details about the triggering event (#1321)
Auto-ban expiration after a configurable time period (#964)
VIENNA, Austria – April 20, 2026 – Enterprise software developer Proxmox Server Solutions (henceforth "Proxmox") and Kasm Technologies, a leader in zero-trust cloud workspaces, today announced a strategic solution partnership. The collaboration expands the Proxmox ecosystem with a secure, web-native workspace streaming layer for Proxmox VE. This integration enables organizations to deliver virtual desktops, application streaming, and remote browser isolation through any modern browser – on any device and from any location.
Built on the foundation of Proxmox Virtual Environment, Kasm Workspaces adds a modern workspace delivery layer that allows IT and security teams to provision, manage, and isolate workloads across Windows, Linux, and macOS from a unified stack. Kasm’s containerized, zero-trust approach ensures that end-users never interact directly with sensitive data or endpoints, helping organizations reduce risk while simplifying secure remote access.
The Proxmox and Kasm integration provides a DevOps-enabled alternative to legacy VDI environments. The combined solution reduces operational overhead, eliminates proprietary licensing constraints, and delivers a verifiable security architecture that can scale from small deployments to global enterprise rollouts.
Short Quote Kasm Technologies:
“Great technology partnerships are built on shared principles, and Kasm Technologies and Proxmox are united by a common belief: organizations of all sizes deserve infrastructure that works for them,” said Justin Travis, CEO of Kasm Technologies. “Together, we offer a full-stack VDI solution, from the hypervisor layer to the end-user experience, built on the reliability and rapid innovation that Proxmox’s open-source ecosystem is known for delivering.”
Short Quote Proxmox:
“At Proxmox, we believe open-source infrastructure should give organizations more freedom, not more complexity,” said Tim Marx, COO of Proxmox Server Solutions. “Kasm extends Proxmox Virtual Environment with a modern, browser-based workspace experience that aligns with the needs of today’s IT and security teams. This partnership gives customers a flexible and secure path to deliver virtual desktops and applications without the constraints of legacy VDI platforms.”
About Kasm Technologies Kasm Technologies is a leading provider of cloud workspaces, delivering zero-trust browser isolation, Desktop-as-a-Service, and application streaming through its open-source, web-native container streaming platform. Founded by cybersecurity experts with decades of experience defending U.S. federal and Department of Defense programs, Kasm enables organizations to securely deliver digital workspaces to any device, any network, anywhere in the world. Kasm Technologies is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Learn more at https://www.kasm.com
About Proxmox Server Solutions Proxmox provides powerful and user-friendly open-source server software. Enterprises of all sizes and industries use the Proxmox solutions to deploy efficient and simplified IT infrastructures, minimize total cost of ownership, and avoid vendor lock-in. Proxmox also offers commercial support, training services, and an extensive partner ecosystem to ensure business continuity for its customers. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH was established in 2005 and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. To learn more visit https://www.proxmox.com
Media contact: Michael Hiess, Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH, marketing@proxmox.com
The DistroWatch news feed is brought to you by TUXEDO COMPUTERS. This week in DistroWatch Weekly:
Review: Lakka 6.1
News: FreeBSD Foundation publishes list of compatible laptops, Haiku makes progress on ARM64 port, Mint to extend its development cycle, Linux reaches 7.0 milestone, Debian elects new Project Leader
Questions and answers: Free software distributions and source-based distributions
Released last week: Raspberry Pi....
This May, Apple Arcade is rolling out the red carpet for some of the world’s most iconic and celebrated characters in its family-friendly lineup of fun games.
Apple today announced it will mark its 50th anniversary, celebrating five decades of thinking different and the innovations that helped shape the world.
The biggest change in 4.3 is that surface support is now delivered through a downloadable module system — the same approach already used for connections.
Previously, support for every surface was baked into Companion itself, meaning you needed a full Companion update to get support for a new Stream Deck model or a surface bug fix.
This means:
New Stream Deck models (and other surfaces) can be supported by updating just the surface module, without waiting for a Companion release.
Each surface module can be updated independently, so a fix for one device doesn't require touching anything else.
The same module management UI used for connections applies to surfaces. See the Modules documentation for details.
We hope this will encourage others to add support for new types of surfaces. The development experience is similar to that of connection modules.
Enable and Disable Individual Surfaces
Surfaces can now be individually enabled or disabled from the Surfaces page. Disabling a surface stops Companion from claiming it, but preserves its configuration for when you want to re-enable it.
This is useful when running Companion alongside other software (such as the Elgato Stream Deck app) — you can pick which devices each application manages.
Expressions in Any Action or Feedback Field
The connection module API has had a major revision in this release. The main change is to make it possible for any action or feedback input field to support expressions. Where supported, a toggle button next to the input field lets you switch it into expression mode.
Unfortunately, this requires modules to update to the latest version of the module-api making this opt in. We hope to see many modules start to support this in the coming months — it greatly increases the flexibility of Companion.
Sidebar and Header Bar Improvements
Sidebar.mp4
Add a help menu in the header bar
Add a context menu for managing the sidebar
Free up space by removing the now-redundant sidebar help section
Reduce the number of items in the Variables sidebar group
Manage expand/collapse of sidebar groups (Auto-close aka. Accordion Mode)
Add a new "Always-Narrow" sidebar mode
Modernising the Elgato Plugin
The Elgato Stream Deck plugin has been updated to support connecting over the Satellite API making it the preferred way for the plugin to connect to Companion.
Previously, the plugin communicated with Companion using an older, Elgato plugin-specific protocol. The Satellite API is a more modern, general-purpose alternative that is already used by the Satellite application and other third party software and hardware. Using it for the plugin means consistent behaviour across all surface types and a simpler integration overall.
If you are currently using the Elgato plugin, you can continue using it as before; however, we intend to remove support for the old protocol in a couple of Companion releases' time. When setting up a new connection, the plugin will now guide you toward using the Satellite API instead.
The plugin has also received a number of UI bug fixes.
And more
Surfaces are now implemented through a module system, similar to connections.
Option to enable/disable individual surfaces
This allows Companion to run alongside other software with each using just some of the connected stream decks
Support expressions in any action/feedback field
This requires modules to opt into supporting it for now
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