There is a popular open-source media player called mpv that is often included in many video editing packages. This media player is perhaps the fastest media player that does not consume too many system resources. Only one drawback with mpv is that it does not feature a full-fledged GUI like some other media players. This is because it originated as a media player program for Linux. But if you are a Windows user who wants to use mpv, you can instead use mpv.net media player which is actually based on mpv and offers much better GUI.
Just like mpv, mpv.net media player is also an open-source project and you can download binaries as both setup installer and as a portable application. In either case, you can just launch mpvnet.exe which will display a media player window. Now you can drag-n-drop any media file (video and audio both supported) on this window in order to start playing it. You can also drop a URL to play a video straight from its online source.
If you have decided to use the portable version of the media player, it will ask you whether you want to save the configuration files in the same folder where “mpvnet.exe” is located, in your Windows user profile folder, in the user profile folder for mpv media player, or whether you want to use a custom folder of your own. For portable version, you should choose a sub-folder in the same folder where mpv.net media player is located.
The media player window displays basic controls when you hover your mouse pointer over it – only if you are playing a media file in it. Many controls are visible such as play, pause, time-line, time remaining, subtitles, audio level and a switch-to-full screen button. But if you want many more options then you can simply right-click on the mpv.net media player window.
mpv.net media player is essentially same as the mpv media player but adds many new user interface features that make it easier to use. It is slim, fast and can play all types of media files out there.
You can download mpv.net media player from https://github.com/stax76/mpv.net.