Windows 8.1 App Watch: Metro Media Player Pro

Still waiting for the official VLC Player to launch? Well, don’t wait yourself dry and try out this powerful and feature rich application that plays almost any video your throw at it in the Modern UI.

There have been a lot of pretenders to the VLC Player throne on the Windows Store — no surprises, for the development of the Windows 8 version of this popular program has been a bit of a saga spanning years. It may go live anytime now, but Metro Media Player Pro has almost everything you can ask for.

Before we get down to the nuts and bolts, here is the official description:

“Metro Media Player (MMP) uses a simple design which removes all the clutter found in most modern media players. It is designed to play files from your libraries or stream from a URL.

MMP now supports MKV which is available through purchase, as well as other common media formats like MP4 and WMV. It also supports audio file formats like MP3 and WAV and SRT subtitle files for caption overlays.”

The name of the app may be as generic as they come, but it gets straight to the point with support for a variety of video formats (including MKV, as a $1.49 in-app purchase), subtitles (SRT format), swipe gesture support for adjusting playback rate.

Controls extend beyond simple touch usage to mouse, keyboard, special media keys and media remotes.

This free app also supports PlayTo DNA for those with compatible devices and televisions. All these factors combine to ensure this is one media player that is worth a try, particularly for Windows powered tablet users and those that live and breathe the Modern UI.

Click here to check out Metro Media Player Pro on the Windows Store.