Comparison

D Media Player vs Aether Player

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

Head to head
About

D Media Player

Features
Read full description

D Media Player is a powerful all-in-one media player for iOS. Play local files, stream online content, import IPTV playlists, and connect to your personal media server — all in one app. ▸ PLAY LOCAL FILES Import and play video files (MP4, MOV, MKV) and audio files (MP3, AAC, FLAC) directly from your device. Full subtitle support (SRT, ASS) and background audio playback. ▸ M3U8 / HLS STREAMING Paste any M3U8 or HLS streaming URL and play it instantly. Perfect for live streams and adaptive bitrate content. ▸ IPTV PLAYLIST SUPPORT Import M3U/M3U8 playlists to browse and play IPTV channels with logos, group sorting, and EPG metadata. ▸ MEDIA SERVER CONNECTION Connect to your personal media server via custom JSON API endpoints. Map your server's REST API to browse and stream your content library. ▸ PRO FEATURES (One-Time Purchase) • Unlimited streaming sources • Playback history with resume support • Source analytics dashboard • Priority support ▸ MORE FEATURES • Face ID / Passcode app lock • Dark mode support • Background audio playback • Cache management • Onboarding guide for new users D Media Player does not provide, host, or distribute any media content. All sources are configured by the user. Privacy Policy: https://dmediaplayer.nekosoftech.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://dmediaplayer.nekosoftech.com/terms

About

Aether Player

This app is a personal media player that connects to your Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby servers, or plays your own files. It supports a wide range of formats and offers features like offline downloads, user profiles, and advanced subtitle handling.

Highlights
  • Connects to Plex, Jellyfin, Emby servers
  • Plays local media files
  • Supports wide range of formats (MKV, HEVC, HDR)
  • Offline downloads and Smart Downloads
  • User profiles with age restrictions
  • Advanced subtitle customization and search
  • Music playback and Live TV support
Features
Read full description

Aether is a personal media player for Plex, Jellyfin, Emby and your own files — built natively for every Apple screen. Connect your server and your whole library appears: movies, shows, music, Continue Watching, Recently Added. Add a second server and both merge into one deduplicated view, with a picker that tells you which copy is the better file. Your media, not theirs. PLAY ANYTHING • Direct play or server-transcoded — Aether follows the best path automatically, per title. • MKV, HEVC, HDR, lossless audio: formats other players choke on play through a modern engine, GPU-accelerated for smooth 4K. • Picture in Picture, AirPlay, surround sound, lock-screen controls. • Switch audio and subtitle tracks mid-playback on every platform. • Offline downloads, including whole seasons — and Smart Downloads that keep the next unwatched episodes ready. EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE • Profiles: separate Continue Watching, watchlist, ratings, Home rails and trackers, with a PIN on the way in and per-profile library visibility. • A child's profile can be held to an age rating. • Pair a profile to your Plex Home profile, or to its own Jellyfin or Emby user, so watched state stays separate on the server too. • Two profiles are included; up to five with Supporter. SUBTITLES, DONE PROPERLY • Aether reads subtitle files itself and times them against the picture, so they sit where you put them — in the black bars or over the video, in your own style, with sync and size adjustable in the player. • Search OpenSubtitles from a title's own page in thirty-one languages, ranked against the exact file you're playing. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR WAY • One library across every connected source, filtered by genre, year, rating, country, audio language, server or the libraries you curated on them. • Continue Watching, Up Next and a Discover tab with trending titles and Where to Watch availability in your region. • Person pages, franchise collections, and ratings from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb. • Music as its own tab — artists, albums, playlists, and a player built for it, with the catalog kept on disk so it opens offline. • Live TV from a playlist you already have, with a full guide, categories you make yourself, Xtream Codes accounts and HDHomeRun tuners. Bring-your-own: Aether provides no channels. BEAUTIFUL ON EVERY SCREEN • iPhone and iPad: cinematic hero art, a page that grows out of the poster you tapped. • Apple TV: precision focus design, and your Continue Watching in the top shelf. • Apple Vision Pro: an auditorium around the picture — raked seating, masking walls, house lights down. • Mac: a native app with a menu-bar mode, a series browser, and Apple's own decoder for what it can play. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Aether connects only to the servers you configure. No account of ours, no cloud, no ads, no cross-app tracking. Your ratings, watchlist and resume positions live on your devices and in your own iCloud. Optional anonymous usage statistics can be turned off any time. SOURCES • Plex (multi-server, multi-account) • Jellyfin (multi-server) • Emby (multi-server, Live TV, music) • Silo • SMB / network shares, with Bonjour discovery • WebDAV • Local files Optional, all bring-your-own: connect your own Seerr to request what you don't have, your own Trakt or Simkl account to track what you watch, and your own OpenSubtitles account for subtitle search. Aether requires a Plex, Jellyfin, Emby or Silo media server, an SMB or WebDAV share, or local video files. It is not a streaming service and does not provide any content. Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Silo, Trakt, Simkl and OpenSubtitles are trademarks of their respective owners. Aether is an independent, third-party client and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by them. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://aetherplayer.com/privacy

Screenshots

D Media Player4 screens
Aether Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Aether Player at 5 against D Media Player's 2. D Media Player's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. D Media Player sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Aether Player sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

D Media Player ships an update every 8 days, Aether Player weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
D Media Player versus Aether Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterD Media PlayerAether Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating—2.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB164 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTran Huu DungVaclav Zmrhal

In-app purchases

1 purchases

D Media Player

One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$2.99
6 purchases

Aether Player

Subscriptions2
  • Supporter (Monthly)14 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Supporter (Yearly)14 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Aether Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is D Media Player free?
D Media Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aether Player free?
Aether Player is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do D Media Player or Aether Player have ads?
Neither D Media Player nor Aether Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, D Media Player or Aether Player?
D Media Player ships an update every 8 days, and Aether Player weekly. Most recently, D Media Player was updated on November 9, 2026 and Aether Player on November 10, 2026.

Other comparisons