It's Playing vs HD Player
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
It's Playing
Stream videos directly from cloud storage or local network devices without conversions. Enjoy high-performance playback, subtitle search, and advanced playback controls. Supports a wide range of audio and video formats for a seamless entertainment experience.
- Direct cloud and local network streaming
- High-performance 1080p playback
- Direct subtitle search and download
- Support for MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, VOB, RMVB
- One-click access to Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive
- Background playback and earbud controls
- Frame by frame video navigation
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Every video, no conversions, pure entertainment. Direct cloud and local network media streaming, anywhere you are. Featured in Wired, Gizmodo, Cult of Mac, TUAW with brand new features in each update. • Spotlight · High performance playback, up to 1080p; · Direct subtitle search and download; · TV-Out and Air Play; · Easy gestures, including pinch-to-zoom. • Formats · Video playback for MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, VOB, RMVB; · Audio playback for MP3, M4A, WMA, OGG, FLAC; · Consult the detailed format list on our website. • Cloud · PUT.IO® enables background downloading and cloud hosting (Pro); · Dropbox® one click access to over-the-air movie playback; · OneDrive, Google Drive one click access to over-the-air movie playback (Pro); · Youtube® video playback (Pro); · HTTP media file playback (Pro); · and It's playing videos cloud channel. • Network · Access Macs, NAS (network disks), Windows, Ubuntu, Airport disks, etc; · Native support for SanDisk Connect™ Wireless Media Drive (Pro); · Native support for SanDisk Connect™ Wireless Flash Drive (Pro); · Native support for SanDisk iXpand™ Flash Drive (Pro); · Native support for Maxell Airstash® (Pro); · Native support for Seagate Satellite™ (Pro); · Native support for iUSBport Mini (Pro); · It's playing Desktop Helper is the easiest path to stream from your media library. • Playback · Background playback and earbud controls; · Auto-advance/playlist within folders; · Auto-repeat mode; · Audio gain; · Playback speed, from 1/8x to 8x adjustments; • Video forensics · Frame by Frame video image navigation; · Photographic pinch-to-zoom gestures; · Image contrast, brightness and saturation adjustments; • International features · multi language audio tracks; · multi channel audio support; · fetch subtitles for any movie with one tap; backed by OpenSubtitles.org. • Files management · user friendly, cut, copy, paste & rename controls; · you can also choose to store files in a secured private folder. (Pro) Only available in Pro In-app purchase. (*) It's playing aims at handling every video from anything around your iPhone/iPod/iPad. You'll always be able to find videos that surpass your devices processing capabilities or which are encoded in unsupported audio or video formats. (**) DTS playback is currently unavailable, check our website for updates or use the helper app. •• Check out http://itsplayingapp.com for demonstration videos and detailed information •• Contact us at support@itsplayingapp.com
HD Player
This app is a powerful video player designed to correctly display high-dynamic-range content like Dolby Vision and HDR10+. It supports a wide range of codecs, hardware acceleration for smooth playback, and various file transfer methods. Manage your video library with playlists and passcode protection.
- Dolby Vision support
- HDR10+ support
- Hardware-accelerated decoding
- Wide codec compatibility
- iTunes & Wi-Fi file sharing
- Playlist management
- Passcode video protection
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HD Player is one of the few video players that can present Dolby Vision & HDR10+ videos correctly. Some user reviews: "Best Player I've come across." by AhmedGad. "AMAZING video player. OH MY GOD! OMG! OMG! Now i can play 4k resolutions videos from my 5s. Thank you so much!" by Ash aby. "Best video player. With its simple design, this app plays .mkv formats with ease." by Brandope. "Excellent for 1080P on iPad Air." by smunsch. "Thanks for that great app!!" by Katara Moonlight. "Great - One of the best apps for video..." by Vhdgoat. Features: • Supports most of video and audio codecs. • Supports Dolby Vision videos. • Supports HDR10+ videos. • Hardware-accelerated H264 decoder. • Hardware-accelerated HEVC decoder. • Thanks to Hardware-accelerated decoder, HD Player provides an excellent video playback time than other software-based player. • Thanks to Hardware-accelerated decoder, HD Player consumes less energy than other software-based player. • Muti-core decoding. • TV Output & Bluetooth Headset. • iTunes & Wi-Fi file sharing. • WebDAV & SMB file sharing • SSA subtitle is fully supported. • HD Player supports many playing mode: normal mode, repeat mode and shuffle mode. • Manage your videos by playlist. • Save the video exit time, so it can start playing from beginning or where left off. • Protect your videos with passcode. HDR10+ playback requirements: • iOS 13.4. • iPhone, iPad with A10 processor and later. Dolby Vision playback requirements: • iPhone, iPad that supports Dolby Vision. Compatible OS: iOS 13.4 and later. Video resolution supported: • Up to FullHD on iPhone 5s, 6S & 6S Plus. • Up to 4K on iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and later. • Up to 4K on A10 processor iPad. Compatible devices: • iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone 6S/6S Plus. • iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4. • iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro. How to copy your videos to HD Player? • iTunes File Sharing. • WiFi transfer. • iCloud Drive. • WebDAV. • Windows & Mac file sharing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HD Player at 4.5 against It's Playing's 4.0. On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. It's Playing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and HD Player sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
HD Player holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 69 and 197 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of It's Playing's written reviews are positive against 50% of HD Player's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 8, 2026 and August 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | It's Playing | HD Player |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (69 ratings) | 4.5 (197 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.0% of reviews — better | 49.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 69 | 197 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Addition, Lda | Khoa Tran Anh |
Customer experience
It's Playing
HD Player
User reviews
It's Playing
From 69 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Plays a wide range of video formats
- 🚀 Smooth playback even for high-quality files
- 📁 Convenient file management and organization
- 🔊 Useful audio controls (volume boost, pitch adjustment)
- 🎨 Customizable video settings (brightness, contrast, etc.)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and playback issues
- 🔇 Lack of support for some audio codecs (AC3, DTS)
- 🔍 Difficulty browsing long file names
- 🔌 Performance issues on older devices
- 🔒 Unreliable network connectivity and file sharing
HD Player
From 197 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Plays Dolby Vision and HDR10 videos
- 🚀 Smooth playback on old devices
- 👍 Great for 4K and 10-bit video
- 👍 Supports subtitle encoding and importing over WiFi
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes after iOS 17 update
- 🐛 Can't remove subtitles
- 🔋 Ads interrupt video playback
- 💰 Paid version removed from App Store
Bugs and requests
It's Playing
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when playing certain video files
- Playback freezes or stutters on high-bitrate content
- Issues with audio/video sync and codec compatibility
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for Chromecast and AirPlay
- Implement a queue/playlist feature
- Improve file management with better folder support
- Provide better integration with cloud storage services
HD Player
Reported bugs
3 issues- Resume feature broken, audio stops when seeking
- Subtitles disappear during fast motion scenes
- Doesn't work on older iOS versions after updates
Requested features
2 requests- Add option to sort playlist by year, newest, or custom order
- Add editing option to customize movie cover and title
In-app purchases
It's Playing
- Pro$9.99
HD Player
- Remove Ads$0.99
- Full HD playback$0.99
