GOM Player

Looking for a free multimedia player that goes beyond the basics? GOM Player might just be what you need. It's a safe, totally free application that does more than just play your favorite movies and music tracks. One of its standout features is the ability to handle damaged or partially downloaded files something many other players simply can't do. Plus, it comes with a built in YouTube tab, letting you search and stream videos directly without ever leaving the app. With multiple playback modes and customization options, you can tweak how you experience your media just the way you like.

But GOM Player isn’t your average media software. Behind its clean and simple interface lies a surprisingly rich set of tools. You get codec search support, subtitle integration, and even a remote control feature that lets you operate the player from your smartphone. Where it falls a bit short, though, is file management. It feels more like a media browser than a full fledged library organizer. A lot of users end up using it mainly for YouTube something you were probably already doing in your web browser anyway.

One of the flashier features is the 360 VR mode. It sounds awesome zooming into videos and looking around like you’re part of the scene. But in reality, it’s pretty hit or miss. Unless you’re watching a video specifically shot in 360, the experience can be underwhelming. On devices with less than 8GB RAM, it often turns into a blurry, pixelated mess. So while the idea is cool, the execution still needs work.

Where GOM really shines is its design and ease of use. The interface is intuitive, and most settings are just a right click away making it more user friendly than old school players like Winamp or PotPlayer. It supports a wide range of formats including MP3, MP4, AVI, MKV, and more. One quirk, though: everything you save through the app gets converted to ASX format. Not a dealbreaker, but something to keep in mind if you use multiple media players.

File playback is another area with some odd limitations. GOM doesn’t let you set a default folder, so you have to manually pick files every time you open the app. Even weirder once you close it, your play history is wiped clean. The only way around this is to save everything into playlists, which then get stored as ASX files. It’s a clunky process that makes you appreciate simpler apps.

Customization is both a strength and a weakness. There are tons of options frame rate adjustments, aspect ratio controls, navigation by individual frames which can be great for specific uses like reviewing security footage. But most people won’t need half of these features, and they don’t really improve everyday playback. Plus, all that flexibility comes at a cost: GOM can be a resource hog. Audio quality isn’t as rich as on VLC or Windows Media Player, and streaming YouTube through the app eats up data and RAM.

Then there are the ads. Even though you can turn them off in settings, the pop ups that appear when closing the player can be annoying. Also, the installer often bundles extra software like GOM Audio or GOM Encoder so make sure to uncheck those during setup unless you want unnecessary apps piling up.

At the end of the day, GOM Player offers a lot of features for those who love to tweak and customize. But if you’re someone who just wants to press play and enjoy your media without fuss, there are lighter, simpler alternatives out there that might suit you better.