PotPlayer

{{Short description|Multimedia software player developed for Microsoft Windows}}

{{Infobox software

| name = PotPlayer

| logo = PotPlayer-.png

| screenshot =

| caption =

| collapsible =

| author = Kang Yong-Huee

| developer = Kakao

| operating system = Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

| size = ~ 33.6 MB

| language count = 33

| language = Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijan, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hong Kong, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tajik (Cyrillic), Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Uzbek (Latin)

| genre = Media player

| license = Freeware

| website = {{URL|https://potplayer.daum.net/}}

}}

PotPlayer is a multimedia software player developed for the Microsoft Windows operating system by South Korean Internet company Kakao (formerly Daum Communications). It competes with other popular Windows media players such as VLC media player, mpv, GOM Player, KMPlayer, SMPlayer and Media Player Classic. Initially, the player was released under the name Daum Live.{{Cite web |title=Version History of the PotPlayer |url=https://t1.daumcdn.net/potplayer/PotPlayer/v4/Update2/UpdateEng.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808033349/https://t1.daumcdn.net/potplayer/PotPlayer/v4/Update2/UpdateEng.html |archive-date=August 8, 2024 |access-date=August 9, 2024 |website=t1.daumcdn.net}}

PotPlayer is praised for its wide range of settings and customizations, its lightweight nature and its support for a large variety of media formats. TechRadar placed it among the best free video players, describing it as "an incredibly powerful program". XDA noted the extensive customization options and the improved playback on low-end hardware, naming PotPlayer "the best media player that you've never heard of".{{cite web |last1=Gordon |first1=Whitson |date=July 19, 2011 |title=The Best Video Player for Windows |url=https://lifehacker.com/5822672/the-best-video-player-for-windows |access-date=April 28, 2016 |website=Lifehacker}}{{cite web|last1=Dragomir|first1=Mircea|title=PotPlayer|url=https://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Video-Players/PotPlayer.shtml|website=SoftPedia|access-date=April 28, 2016}}{{Cite web |last1=Baxter |first1=Daryl |last2=Graw |first2=Michael |date=January 18, 2024 |title=The best free video players 2024 |url=https://www.techradar.com/best/free-video-player |access-date=August 9, 2024 |website=TechRadar}}{{Cite web |last=Conway |first=Adam |date=May 23, 2024 |title=PotPlayer is the best media player that you've never heard of |url=https://www.xda-developers.com/potplayer-software-best-media-player/ |url-status= |access-date=August 9, 2024 |website=XDA Developers}}

LifeHacker observed that PotPlayer's quantity of options was one of its biggest weaknesses—"It has many different settings[,] which unfortunately makes wading through the checkbox-laden settings menu kind of a pain"—and that its options menu was "confusing".{{cite web|last1=Park|first1=Chris|title=Powerful media player with support for lots of formats|url=https://potplayer.en.softonic.com/|website=Softonic|access-date=April 28, 2016}}

In 2019, some versions of PotPlayer began to be bundled with third-party software, causing concerns from its user community; however, the installers allowed users to opt-out before the extra software was installed. The player also started showing ads in its lower right-hand corner. As of 2021, the software no longer installs adware or shows ads.{{Cite web|title=PotPlayer now Adware!|url=https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/393452-PotPlayer-now-Adware%21|website=VideoHelp Forum}}{{Cite web|title=PotPlayer now Adware! - Page 2 - VideoHelp Forum|url=https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/393452-PotPlayer-now-Adware!/page2#post2567556|website=VideoHelp Forum}}