Comparison

Arcroom vs Photon Player

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Arcroom

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Arcroom keeps your movies and shows in libraries you own — on your Mac or your NAS — and plays them beautifully on every Apple screen. Import once, play everywhere. When you add a video, Arcroom converts it into a streaming-friendly format, so playback starts instantly and scrubbing stays smooth — and iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro all play the same library natively. You can even start watching while the import is still running. YOUR STORAGE, YOUR RULES Libraries are plain folders on storage you control: this device, an SMB share on your NAS, or a library another Mac shares over WebDAV. No server software to install, no account to create. MADE FOR EVERY SCREEN One library, four platforms. Browse on your phone, pick up on the couch, continue on Vision Pro. Playback progress syncs privately through iCloud. BEAUTIFUL METADATA Match your files against TMDB for artwork, descriptions and episode details — or keep your own titles. Your library, your language. SUBTITLES DONE RIGHT Text and image-based (PGS) subtitles render crisply on every platform. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Arcroom runs no servers and collects nothing. Your media never leaves storage you control; sync happens in your private iCloud database. Arcroom uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

About

Photon Player

Features
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Photon is a native player for the library you already own. Connect your media servers, your cloud and network storage, and your Live TV subscription, and everything you can watch appears in one place — on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac, from a single purchase. YOUR OWN LIBRARY, TOGETHER • Works with Jellyfin, Emby, Plex and Silo • Connect a server free, or as many as you like with Pro. Home and Search bring them all together; the Library tab keeps each source's own shelves separate, so you can still ask what is on one server. • Play straight from an SMB, NFS, FTP or WebDAV share, a UPnP server on your network, or Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive, with no media server at all • Live TV from an Xtream Codes subscription: a full program guide, favorites, and a channel list built for thousands of channels • Open a video from Files or the Finder and it becomes a title like any other — with a resume point, artwork and a name you can match against your servers AS IT WAS MADE • Dolby Vision and HDR, with AVPlayer driving the display for real HDR output • MKV and 4K play as they are. Nothing is quietly downscaled or re-encoded behind your back. • Dolby Digital Plus with Atmos passed through untouched; TrueHD and DTS-HD decoded losslessly rather than folded to stereo, and with Pro, TrueHD Atmos rendered with its height • Subtitles drawn as overlays, never burned into the picture • Standing choices for audio language, subtitle language, and when subtitles should come on at all • Skip intros and credits, and go straight into the next episode EVERYWHERE YOU WATCH • Download for offline with Pro. Transfers carry on while you are elsewhere, with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and a notice when a title lands. • Handoff picks a film up on the next device at the frame you left it • Spotlight opens a title directly • Top Shelf on Apple TV, a real menu bar on the Mac, and one design across all four platforms BUILT FOR THE PLATFORM Written in SwiftUI for iOS, tvOS and macOS, with full Dynamic Type, VoiceOver labels on every control, and Reduce Motion respected throughout. There is no account to create and no service of ours in the path: Photon talks to your servers and to your own iCloud, and to nothing else. PHOTON PRO The free app is the whole player: one media server and one Live TV subscription, every drive and network share, and every format — 4K, MKV, Dolby Vision, TrueHD and DTS — with browsing, search, Handoff and SharePlay, no advertising and nothing to sign up for. Pro adds: • Every source at once: as many servers and Live TV subscriptions as you like, together in Home and Search • Downloads, for watching offline • Dolby Atmos from TrueHD soundtracks, rendered for your speakers or headphones • AirPlay to an Apple TV or any AirPlay screen • Your servers, settings and the way you have arranged Home, on every device you sign in on Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-off Lifetime purchase, with a free week on either subscription. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. Photon plays the media you already have on servers and storage you control. It is an independent client and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Jellyfin, Emby or Plex. Terms of Use (EULA): https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://photon.oliverwalton.uk/privacy/

Screenshots

Arcroom4 screens
Photon Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Arcroom at 18.4 against Photon Player's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Arcroom sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Photon Player sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Arcroom versus Photon Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcroomPhoton Player
PriceFreeFree
Update frequency—Daily
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro
Requires iOS18.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHangzhou Hu Di Shen Shan Technology Co., Ltd.Oliver Walton

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Arcroom

One-time1
  • Beyond This Device$19.99
3 purchases

Photon Player

Subscriptions2
  • Photon Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Photon Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Photon Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Arcroom free?
Arcroom is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photon Player free?
Photon Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Arcroom or Photon Player have ads?
Neither Arcroom nor Photon Player shows ads.

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