Who it's for
Sometimes you just need to watch one video file, and the computer in front of you doesn't have a player that can open it. Installing one isn't always possible or worth it:
- Work computers. Many company laptops don't let you install software without admin rights, and asking IT for a media player takes time. Simple Video Player is a web page, so there is nothing to install or approve on the computer itself.
- School computers and Chromebooks. Chromebooks can't run desktop players like VLC for Windows, and school-managed devices often limit apps. If you can open a website in Chrome, you can open your video here.
- Borrowed or shared computers. At a library, a friend's place or a hotel business center, you may not want to install anything, or leave anything behind. Close the tab and the player is gone.
- A quick check. When you only want to see what's in a file, opening a web page is faster than downloading and installing an app.
This isn't a way around your organization's rules. If your IT team blocks a website or a kind of file, that still applies here. It's simply a player with nothing to install.
What it can do
It plays the files your browser can play, MP4, WebM and MOV for example, and also MKV with audio codecs supported by the browser (see play MKV online). On top of plain playback:
- Subtitles: add an SRT or VTT subtitle file from the ⋯ menu, and turn it on or off with the CC button.
- Volume up to 400%: quiet recordings can be boosted well past the normal maximum, with the slider or the ↑ ↓ keys. There's also an option to even out loud and quiet audio.
- Resume: close the tab and open the same file later, and it continues where you stopped. The position is saved on this device only.
- Cut: mark parts to skip while watching, or save a new file without them, or with only them. See trim a video without uploading it.
- Picture adjust: an automatic setting lifts dark, flat videos, and you can set brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness yourself.
- Keyboard shortcuts: Space to play or pause, arrow keys to skip and change volume, ? for the full list.
If a file can't be played, for example because its video codec isn't supported by this browser, the player tells you why and what to try instead of showing a black screen.
Private by design
Your files never leave your device. Everything plays right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere. Not even to us.
When you choose a file, the browser hands the page a reference to it on your disk, and the video is decoded in the tab, the same way a desktop player reads it. Your playback position, cut marks and picture settings are kept in this browser's local storage on your device. We count anonymous events, such as "an MKV file was opened", to know which features are used, but never file names, file contents, subtitle text or cut times. The details are in our privacy policy.
How to use it
- Click Choose a video above, or drag a video file onto this page.
- It starts playing. Move the mouse or press a key to show the controls.
- When you're done, close the video with × or simply close the tab.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need admin rights?
No. Nothing is installed: it's an ordinary web page that plays the video in your browser tab. If your organization limits which websites or files you may use, those rules still apply.
Does it work on a school Chromebook?
It runs in Chrome, the browser on a Chromebook, with no extension or app to add. If your school's settings block this website or opening local files, ask your school's IT team.
Is it safe for work files?
Your files never leave your device. The video is read by your browser and played in the page; it isn't uploaded, stored on a server, or sent anywhere, not even to us. We only count anonymous events such as which file type was opened, never file names or contents.
Does it work offline?
Not yet. The page has to be loaded with an internet connection. Some formats, such as MKV, also load extra player code the first time they're used. There is no installable offline version yet.