Media Player Classic - BE (MPC-BE) - Best settings

byraiden -September 11, 2020

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Tutorial on how to do basic settings in the MPC-BE app for better playback of media files.

This also contains a guide for doing advanced settings in the MPC-BE app.

Media Player Classic Black Edition(MPC-BE) is an open-source video and audio player.

My System Config:

Software: MPC BE 1.5.5 x64
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro x64

MPC-BE System Requirement: Windows 7 or later OS

The default settings in the MPC-BE app have been done for better compatibility with

Basic Settings

1. Keep the MPC-BE app window at the top while playing a video file

Users have the option to keep the MPC-BE app window on top while playing a video file. It is useful in keeping the video frame always in view while playing a video file in the MPC-BE app.

Select View > On Top > While Playing Video from the MPC-BE app menu bar.

To open the MP-BE app Options window do the following:

Open View > Options from the menu bar. (Shortcut key: O)

2. Set Process priority above normal

Set the MPC-BE app to run with the CPU process priority level set to above normal. This will improve the payback of media files.

Select the Player tab.
Check the check box labeled Process priority above normal in the group box labeled Other.

3. Associate video files to open by default with the MPC-BE player

When the video files are associated with the MPC-BE app, it will be used as the default app for playing video files in Windows OS.

Select Player > Formats tab.
Select the Modify button in the group box labeled Association to open a new window with administrative access.

Click on the Video button to select File extensions of video file formats which will be associated with the MPC-BE app.
Select the Apply button.

In Windows 10 the Settings window will open which allows the user to set the default apps.
Select MPC BE x64 under the Video player.

Close the window

4. Limit window proportions on resize

This setting will keep the MPC-BE app windows size in proportion to the video frame size of the video file that is being played in the MPC-BE app.

Select Player > Window size tab.
Check the check box labeled Limit window proportions on resize.

5. Volume step setting

Volume Step settings allow the user to set the step size (in percentage) in which the volume will increase or decrease when done by using a keyboard shortcut or mouse buttons.

To set the Volume step, do the following:

Select Playback tab
Set the Volume step to 2 in the group box labelled Control.

6. Speed Step setting

Speed Step allows the user to set the step size (in percentage) in which the playback will increase or decrease when done through keyboard shortcuts or mouse controls.

The default keyboard shortcut for Increase rate: Ctrl + Up
The default keyboard shortcut for Decrease rate: Ctrl + Down
The default keyboard shortcut for Reset rate: Ctrl + R

To set the Speed step, do the following:

Select the Playback tab.
Set the Speed step to 0.1 in the group box labeled Control.

7. Presentation mode

Users with Microsoft Windows 7 or later OS can use the Flip mode presentation of the video. It offers better synchronization between video and audio streams. It offers faster recovery from video playback glitches.

To set presentation mode, do the following.

Select the Video tab.
Select Flip/FlipEx from the drop-down list labelled Presentation mode.

8. Video Resizer

Here user can set the Resizer algorithm which will be used to upscale the video. It will also be used to downscale the video when the video frame size(resolution) is lower than 50% of the original frame size of the video file.

The resizer settings are used when Enhanced Video Renderer ( custom presenter) or Sync Video Renderer is used as Video Renderer.

Option 1

The default Catmull-Rom algorithm is good for most users.

Option 2

Mitchell-Netravali is also recommended.

Option 3

Users can use DXVA-HD if the computer has Intel GPU.

Option 4

If the user wants to use the least computing power then the user should set Bilinear as Resizer.

9. Downscaling

Downscaling <50% setting is used to set the video down-scaling filter. It will be used to downscale the video frame when the playback video frame size (resolution) is lower than 50% of the original frame size (resolution) of the video file.

Option 1

Hamming filter outputs good image quality using moderate computing power.

Option 2

If the user wants to use the least computing power for video down-scaling then the user should set Simple averaging for down-scaling.

Option 3

Users can use DXVA-HD for down-scaling if the computer has an Intel GPU.

Option 4

Lanczos filter outputs the best image. Requires high computing power.

10. Color Control Settings

Color control settings can be used to increase or decrease the Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation of the video.

Color settings done here will work only if VMR-9, EVR, or madVR is used as a Video renderer in

Increasing the brightness and contrast enhances the details in the video.

You may increase or decrease the color saturation to a level that looks good to you.

Brightness: Keep level between -10 to +5.

Contrast: Keep the level between 0 to +30.

Saturation: Keep level between -40 to +30.

Example Setting 1

Set Brightness to "0"
Set Contrast to "+15"
Set Saturation to "-15"

11. Audio renderer settings

To set Audio renderer, do the following:

Select the Audio tab.
Select MPC Audio Renderer from the drop-down list labelled Audio Renderer.

MPC-BE Advanced Settings

Add similar files to the Playlist

MPC-BE has a feature to add files with similar names to the playlist when a media file is played.

With this feature enabled, when the user plays a media file from a folder (Directory) with MPC-BE, it will search for media files in the same folder with a filename that has similar words and extensions. All similar media files found in the folder will be added to the Playlist.

To enable adding similar files to the playlist, do the following:

Select the Playback tab.
Check the checkbox labeled Add similar files to the playlist.

To disable adding similar files to the playlist, do the following:

Select the Playback tab.
Uncheck the checkbox labeled Add similar files to playlist.

Increase/Decrease playback volume

Playback volume can be increased or decreased using the Gain slider in the group box labeled Volume Control.

It is useful when playing a media file with a low volume level.

To increase the volume gain, do the following:

Slide the slider labeled Gain and set it to a positive value.

To decrease the volume gain, do the following:

Slide the slider labeled Gain and set it to a negative value.

Output Video with 10-bit color depth

If the display monitor supports 10-bit color depth then you can set MPC-BE to output video with 10-bit color.

To set the output video color depth to 10-bit, do the following:

Select the Video tab.
Set Surface format to 10-bit Integer.

Save and Restore the MPC-BE settings

The custom settings of done MPC-BE player can be saved in a file.

To save/Export the MPC-BE settings, do the following:

Select the Miscellaneous tab.
Select Export button.

Select a Folder where the MPC-BE settings will be saved.
Enter a File name if required.
Select the Save button to save the settings.

To restore/import the previously saved MPC-BE settings, do the following:

Close the MPC-BE app if it is open.
Browse the MPC-BE settings file using File Explorer.
Right-click on it and select Merge.

Follow the Microsoft OS instructions and allow the addition of the MPC-BE app setting in the registry.

MPC Audio Renderer (WASAPI) Exclusive mode

MPC Audio Renderer uses Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI) .

WASAPI offers two output modes shared and exclusive.

Shared Mode: By default shared mode is used. In this mode, audio stream from MPC-BE and other apps will be mixed before rendering into the selected audio adapter device.

Exclusive mode: When the exclusive mode is used only the MBC-BE audio stream will renderer to the selected audio adapter device. Audio from all other apps will not be renderer to the selected audio adapter device.

To use Exclusive Mode, do the following:

Select the Audio tab.
Select MPC Audio Renderer from the drop-down list labeled Audio Renderer.
Select the Properties button.

Select Exclusive as WASAPI mode.
Select the Apply button.

To use Shared Mode, do the following:

Select the Audio tab.
Select MPC Audio Renderer from the drop-down list labeled Audio renderer.
Select the Properties button.
Select Shared as WASAPI mode.
Select the Apply button.

MPC Audio Renderer - Select Sound Device

If you are using MPC Audio Renderer then you have the option to select a sound output device from the MPC-BE player. This is helpful when there are multiple Audio Adapter devices installed in the computer.

By default, the Primary Sound Device is used as a sound device. It uses the default sound output device selected in the Windows OS sound setting.

To select an output sound device in MPC-BE, do the following:

Select the Audio tab.
Select MPC Audio Renderer from the drop-down list labeled Audio Renderer.
Select the Properties button.

Select the Audio adapter device from the drop-down list labeled Sound Device.
Select the Apply button.

Reset MPC-BE app settings to Default Setting

If the custom setting done by the user is not working properly, then the user has the option to reset the MPC-BE app to the default setting.

To Reset the MPC-BE app settings, do the following:

Select the Miscellaneous tab.
Click the Reset button in the group box labeled Settings Management.