MPC-HC, with a proper skin system.

MPC-XS (Xperience Skinned) is a fork of Media Player Classic Home Cinema that adds skins: a simple folder format for colours, toolbar art, the background logo and a translucent window backdrop. The playback engine is untouched.

Browse the skins Source code on GitHub

Download MPC-XS 0.1.0 for Windows (64-bit)

Installer (.exe)Portable (.zip)

Not code-signed, so Windows may ask you to confirm.

What it does

• Skins are folders

  A skin.json manifest plus optional art. Copy a folder in, pick it in the options, and the look changes without a restart.

• Safe by design

  Skins are data only. Paths cannot leave the skin folder, bad manifests are skipped, and the built-in look is always the fallback.

• Small on purpose

  Colours, toolbar icons, the logo and a backdrop. It reuses the theme and toolbar code MPC-HC already has instead of replacing the interface.

• Same player

  Same filters, same options, same hotkeys. Your settings and your own toolbar choice are left alone.

• Translucent chrome

  On Windows 11 22H2 and newer the Aurora skin draws its menu bar, seek bar, toolbar and status bar as tinted see-through glass, and Gloss and Zen add a soft blur of what is behind the window.

• Open source

  GPL v3 or later, like MPC-HC. Anyone can add a skin by contributing a folder.

The starter skins

MPC-XS comes with five skins. The skin store has all 15.

• Aurora

  Blue glass with cyan highlights. The menu bar, seek bar, controls and status bar are 40 percent see-through; the glass needs Windows 11 22H2 or newer.

• Gloss

  Icy glass: pale blue frosted bars, 60 percent see-through, over a softly blurred view of what is behind the window, with deep blue text and glass tile buttons. Needs Windows 11 22H2 or newer.

• Cherry Blossom

  Soft pink and white with a plum accent, filled pink icons and a spring sunset logo. A light, gentle skin.

• Nocturne

  Deep violet and neon magenta, a city at night. Soft glowing icons and a violet outline.

• Obsidian

  Black glass with warm gold. Gold icons, a gold outline and a deep black ground.

• Zen

  Dark forest green frosted glass. The bars are see-through over a soft blur, with green icons and a green title bar.

• Africana

  Warm gold on deep brown with African cloth along the menu bar and the seek bar, and a different savanna picture each time the player is idle.

• Maven

  Dark red superhero: black and crimson, a red moon over a city at night.

• Dumah

  Black and silver, a hooded figure in a moonlit ruin. Monochrome with cold white highlights.

• Underwater

  Deep sea teal and cyan: glowing jellyfish over a coral city.

• Astralis

  Celestial violet: floating islands under an aurora.

• Waterfall

  Light and airy: one waterfall picture runs behind the seek bar, the controls and the status bar, under a pale blue veil.

• Planetarium

  Deep space: the solar system on a field of stars, with a star field behind the controls and a different picture each time the player is idle.

• Lumière

  A bright, spacious light skin with bold navy icons and a clear blue accent. Built for legibility.

• Vintage

  Satin metal and warm paper tones with a brushed texture on the control bars, embossed buttons on raised plates, and a golden hour hills logo.