IINA for Mac 1.5.0 beta

IINA is a video player written specifically for macOS, and version 1.5.0 is the biggest redesign it has had since the project started.

The build on this page is a beta, which matters more than usual this time round.

Almost every window you interact with has been rebuilt, so there is far more new surface here than a normal point release would carry.

What Is New in 1.5.0

The headline change is the interface. Settings has been rebuilt from scratch as a proper multi-page window, and the Video and Audio pages that used to be crammed together are now separate.

• A plugin store now lives inside Settings, so extensions no longer need hunting down by hand.
• The Quick Settings sidebar gained a Layout pane that docks the sidebars, the on-screen controls and the titlebar wherever you want them.
• Sidebars are resizable and no longer cover the top and bottom controls.
• Window aspect ratio can be unlocked and dragged freely.
• Live Text works on a paused frame, so you can select and copy text straight off the video on Monterey and later.
• The interface picks up the Liquid Glass look on macOS 26.
• The seek bar now shows the chapter name next to the time.
• Thumbnail preview width is configurable.

Under that, the playback engine moved to mpv 0.41.0 with FFmpeg 9.0.1, and the updater to Sparkle 2.9.6. HDR tone mapping on an SDR display was broken for years and now works, and the on-screen controls no longer freeze when you drag the slider - a bug that had been open since issue number 168.

Why a Mac-Native Player Is Worth the Switch

Most cross-platform players are a Windows or Linux codebase with a Mac coat on. They work, but they never quite behave like Mac software, and after a while the small mismatches add up.

IINA is written in Swift against Apple's own interface guidelines, so it follows system dark mode, it uses real macOS windows and menus, and it drops into Picture-in-Picture the way Safari does. It also runs natively on Apple Silicon with no Rosetta translation, which shows up as faster launches and better battery life on a laptop.

Hardware decoding goes through Apple's VideoToolbox framework, so 4K and HDR files play back without the fan spinning up. If you still have one of the MacBook Pros with a Touch Bar, IINA puts a scrubber there too.

Every Format, No Codec Packs

IINA plays MKV, MP4, AVI, MOV, HEVC, AV1, VP9, WebM, FLAC and effectively anything else you are likely to meet, straight after installation. There is nothing to install alongside it and no codec pack to hunt for, because FFmpeg is built in.

That includes the awkward files. Discs ripped with MakeMKV for Mac arrive as MKVs with several audio tracks, embedded subtitles and chapter markers, and IINA reads all of it without complaint.

If you want to know what is actually inside a file before you open it, MediaInfo reads out the codecs, bitrates and track list in a few seconds.

Subtitles Without the Fiddling

Drop an SRT, ASS or SSA file on the window and IINA loads it, works out the text encoding on its own, and lets you nudge the timing, size and position from the sidebar rather than from a preferences pane three levels down.

There is also a built-in search that pulls matching subtitles from online databases for the file you have open. It is not perfect on obscure releases, but it saves a browser trip most of the time.

Playback Controls Worth Knowing

Speed runs from a quarter of normal up to 16x with pitch correction, so sped-up dialogue stays understandable rather than turning into chipmunks. A and B loop repeats a marked section, which is what makes IINA popular with language learners and musicians.

Video filters cover deinterlacing, denoising and colour adjustment for source material that needs help. The playback history window was rebuilt in 1.5.0 and now shows media titles instead of bare filenames.

Streaming and Network Playback

Paste a network stream or an online video URL into IINA and it opens it in the player rather than a browser tab. HTTP, RTSP and the usual network protocols work for pulling files off a NAS or a media server on the same network.

Online video sites go through a yt-dlp helper, and that is the part most likely to break: when a site changes its player, playback stops working until the helper is updated. It is worth knowing before you rely on it.

If you run Jellyfin Server at home, pointing IINA at the stream gives you better playback control than the browser interface does.

The same applies to Plex Media Server and Emby libraries.

How IINA Compares With Other Mac Players

VLC Media Player for Mac plays everything IINA does and has been doing it for twenty years, so it is the safe default. IINA is the better-looking, better-behaved Mac citizen; VLC is the one you keep for the file that defeats everything else.

mpv player for Mac is the same engine underneath IINA, without the interface. If you are happy editing a config file and typing keyboard shortcuts you already know, use mpv directly and skip the wrapper.

Elmedia Player looks similarly at home on a Mac but keeps AirPlay, downloading and several other features behind a paid upgrade. IINA has no paid tier, no trial and nothing held back.

Where IINA Fits in a Mac Media Workflow

IINA is the playback end of a chain, and the rest of it is on this site. Shotcut for Mac handles proper timeline editing with a universal Apple Silicon build.

For quick work, LosslessCut trims and joins clips without re-encoding a frame, and MKVToolNix for Mac retags and reorders MKV tracks on Ventura or newer.

When something genuinely needs converting, HandBrake is the usual answer, and ffWorks puts a Mac interface on FFmpeg for jobs HandBrake will not do.

For sources, Mac DVDRipper Pro handles discs and 4K Video Downloader for Mac saves online clips to a file IINA can open offline.

Recording your own screen or camera is OBS Studio for Mac, and the rest of the catalogue sits in the Mac downloads section.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

Check the About This Mac panel before you download. If it says macOS Catalina or older on an Intel Mac, or macOS Big Sur on an Apple Silicon Mac, IINA 1.5.0 will not launch and you want an older IINA release or VLC instead.

IINA also will not open commercial DRM-protected files - iTunes Store movies, rented titles, anything with a licence attached. No third-party player opens those, and a player that claims it can is lying to you.

And if you want a media server with a library, remote access and apps on the TV, a player is the wrong tool. That is a Jellyfin, Plex or Emby job.

System Requirements

IINA 1.5.0 needs macOS 11 Big Sur or later on an Intel Mac, and macOS 12 Monterey or later on an Apple Silicon Mac. The developer expects to drop macOS 11 in the release after this one, so Intel users on Big Sur should plan for that.

The download is a universal build that runs natively on both processor families, with no Rosetta involved on Apple Silicon.

Installing It and Making It the Default

The download is a standard macOS DMG. Open it and drag IINA into your Applications folder, which is the whole installation.

On first launch macOS may ask you to confirm you want to open software downloaded from the internet. IINA is signed and notarised by Apple, so a single confirmation is all it takes.

To make it your default player, right-click any video file, choose Get Info, pick IINA under "Open with" and click "Change All". That applies to every file with the same extension, so repeat it for MKV, MP4 and anything else you use.

Quick questions

Download IINA 1.5.0 beta and see how it handles your files, or tell us how you got on if you have used it before.