Gom Player 2.3.103 Build 5373

★ Winner of Best Video Player in 2017 and 2014.

Overview

GOM player is one of the very few media players that are free and yet packs serious functionality. It has the capability to become anyone’s default media player mainly because of the concise features, sleek design and easy to use interface. GOM player supports almost all of the famous formats like DAT, MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV, ASF, AVI, MOV, along with some popular codecs that include FLV1, AC3, OGG, MP4, and H263.

Installation

Downloading and installing GOM player is as simple as typing GOM in the search box. All you have to do is follow simple instructions, shown by GOM installer.

At the end of the setup process, you'll see a popup offering you the option to download and install GOM Encoder or GOM Audio, but this part is optional as you can skip it if you wish.

GOM player is versatile enough to support almost all editions of Microsoft Windows and requires only 20 MB of storage space on the hard disk, though the actual setup file has 7.21 MB (compressed form).

Interface

For me the best feature of GOM player is its interface. It stands out from the cluttered media player market simply on the grounds of compact and neat look. It doesn’t look messy, doesn’t show too many buttons and doesn’t respond sluggishly. It offers all the functionalities and customizing options in a stealth way, through its preference button and through its neat menu which is easily accessed by pressing the GOM logo on top left. Main buttons play/ pause, stop, forward and rewind are on the bottom left, with volume controls on extreme right. Through the preference button, it offers extensive customization. The user interface is simple yet modern and elegant compared to other media players.

I consider myself an intermediate movie enthusiast, as I don’t spend time on fixing screen resolutions and audio bit rates. I simply go with the default settings GOM player provides for each codec or format and that works great for me.

Pros

GOM player has many features which make it stand out from the crowd, some of these features are:

• Superior keyboard controls with one of a kind arrow keys control
• Supports all the codecs and formats generally used
• Attractive skins are available easily
• Easy to use user interface
• Comes with a productive add-on like Google search bar

Cons

• Crashes while playing some not so widely used formats
• Limited support available
• Fewer options for customization compared to other media players available

Alternatives

For me there is no real alternative to this player but close rivals include VLC Player, Media Player Classic and BS player.

Conclusion

Considering the number of media players that I have tried and the uneasy controls that most of them provide, I will suggest GOM player to anyone who is looking for a player that handles almost every format thrown at it with style and makes you look good while playing movies. Almost none of the players present on net offer similar control through keys as GOM player do. It is one of very few freeware that don’t include troublesome advertisements with them. It also offers free updates and prompts whenever there is one available, however, users can always turn this prompt update message off, from its preferences. Overall GOM offers a lot of control, with elegant and functional styling. These features make it a must have for anyone who is looking for a smart and user friendly media player.