Play Video in Slow Motion - Best Players

Nataliia Paraskeva Mar 15, 2024

Slow motion video playback can produce interesting results. It can reveal the movie details you’ve missed, or give you an alternative perspective on mundane things. Many players across desktop and mobile platforms have a playback speed feature, so it may be hard to choose. We’ve found the best video players in this category - and you only need to check out this list.

Top choice

Elmedia Player

4.5 Rank based on 119503+ users, Reviews(11950)

Direct download

User situation:

I was wondering if anyone knew what the best way is to play a video in slow motion. I have a bunch of harmonica lessen clips that I want to view slowly so I can see the notes I should be playing — Ubuntu Forums

Slow Motion Players for macOS

Elmedia Player

This Mac video player allows you to playback video in slow motion by configuring and reducing its speed. That applies to almost any video you can find, due to its large variety of available codecs. Better yet, the slowed video can be configured using a video tuner, adding visual effects such as rotation or color correction. Elmedia Player can stream to Smart TVs, and the streamed video will also be slowed down.

To decrease the speed select Playback -> Decrease Speed or press ⌘[ on the keyboard. Click the hotkey or a menu option until the desired slow speed is reached.

Note: The slow motion option offered by Elmedia doesn't alter the video speed permanently, however it is quite sufficient for viewing videos and is easy to perform.

Top Features:

Streaming in a few clicks
Audio equalizer, video tuner
Playlists and bookmarks
Compatibility with any formats
Free version availability

Pros

Can play video in slow motion
Any aspect can be configured
The interface is easy to use
Helpful manual and tech support

Cons

Payment needed to unlock the full feature set
Made only for macOS

OS: macOS

Price: free, Elmedia Pro is available for $19.99

QuickTime

Surprisingly, QuickTime offers video play slow capabilities. They are very limited - you can’t just change a setting to play in slow motion; you have to hold K+L or K+J for slow playback. Which is a shame, because QT7 implemented it as a convenient slider. Nonetheless, QuickTime 10 is a possible solution for default macOS users who might not want to install a different player.

Top Features:

It’s a built-in system player
Plays video files natively
Can record your screen
Has tons of minor options

Pros

Default, safe and stable
Always works on the newest macOS

Cons

Limited format selection
Lacks the customizability of third-party players

OS: macOS

Price: free

Filmora Wondershare

A media app allows you to temporarily watch videos playing in slow motion. But if you want the speed changes to stick, you should use a video editor - for example, Filmora Wondershare. It can reduce the speed of any clip by a lot - all the way down to 0.1x. You’ve got to have a very high frame rate to make use of this kind of slowdown. And once it’s saved, any player will open your video at the same speed.

Top Features:

Edits video in many different formats
Has motion tracking for easy edits
Can handle high-resolution videos

Pros

You’ll be able to save video in slow motion
Other effects available - mix and match

Cons

A video editor is slow compared to a video player
You can only watch one video at a time

OS: macOS, Windows, iOS, Android

Price: free, Subscription plan prices start from 49.99 /year

Windows Software to Play Video in Slow Motion

Windows Media Player

This player comes installed by default on every Windows 10 copy. It is a slo mo video player, which can slow videos down up to 16 times; as usual, you need a very high framerate to make full use of this feature. Other useful aspects include its library sync feature, and support for Microsoft proprietary formats.

Top Features:

Windows cloud synchronization
Supports many formats, including Windows exclusives
Powerful library with flexible search

Pros

Installed by default
Perfectly integrated with Microsoft services

Cons

The library gets in the way if you don’t like it
Takes a while to load

OS: Windows, macOS

Price: no cost

Slow Motion Video

Slow Motion Video (also known as SloMo Video) is a Microsoft Store app that does just that - and nothing more. Playback video in slow motion or edit it to be slow, and that’s about it. No playlists, no subtitles, etc. There’s an advantage to this simplicity: you don’t need to figure out the interface. And, since this is a Microsoft Store app, it can also run on XBox One.

Top Features:

It’s a slow motion player
Can modify video speed and save it

Pros

Simple
Available on Microsoft Store

Cons

Too simple
Not enough features for everyday use

OS: Windows

Price: free

VLC

Far from being a Windows exclusive, VLC is available on a whole range of systems, including macOS and Android. And it’s certainly a convenient option for a slow video player. In VLC, you can open a playback speed slider which allows you to set or reset it. You can go up to 4 times faster or slower.

Top Features:

Playback settings
Large variety of settings in general
All-encompassing compatibility
Can convert and stream

Pros

Will open any file and play it in slo-mo
Many other aspects to customize

Cons

Streaming and conversion are hard to use
Too many settings to find them easily

OS: Windows, macOS, Android Linux, iOS

Price: free

PlayBack Video in Slow Motion on iOS

Slow Motion'

It’s a quick, compact video editor - just as you’d expect from a mobile app designed to make video play slowly. Slow Motion’ can apply multiple effects to the same track - for example, slow one part, and speed up another. It’s not as quick as a player, and doesn’t have as many playback options, but it does the job.

Top Features:

Saves slowed video
Can apply multiple effects at the same time

Pros

Extremely simple UI
Edited videos are permanently slowed

Cons

Not as good at playing video
Tedious to slow down video without modifying it

OS: iOS

Price: free, in-app purchases

SloPro

This app can bring your footage down to incredibly low speeds, 0.001x at most. While an iPhone camera can’t produce such high framerates, it uses optical flow technology instead to draw the missing frames. It’s probably the most slow video playback that can be achieved.

Top Features:

Extremely high video slowdown
Can save slow-mo videos to be played in other apps

Pros

Highest degree of slow-motion available for normal footage
Very easy to use

Cons

Predicted frames aren’t authentic
Not good for playing videos normally

OS: iOS, Android

Price: free, upgrade to Pro services for $3.99

Slow Video Players on Android

Slow Motion Frame Video Player

A simple video player with slow motion. The app quickly opens any video and allows you to adjust its current framerate. No editing features, or anything else - you can just open and view. The speed can become quite slow, and it’s free to use, too.

Top Features:

A simplistic player with slow motion

Pros

The interface is very simple
Free to use

Cons

Limited even when compared to other players
Doesn’t loop video

OS: Android

Price: free

Slow motion video FX

Slow Motion Video FX not only allows you to slow down video but also to record and convert existing videos to slow motion. It is very convenient and easy to use, so even beginners won't have a hard time learning the app.

Top Features:

Built-in player
Advanced workflow allows to choose points on the timeline for both stopping and starting
Video filters

Pros

Wide range of creative tools
Simple graphical interface
Quick and responsive

Cons

There are very limited speed change options

OS: Android, iOS

Price: free

Elmedia Player
Slow motion video player

#1 at Video

Elmedia Player

4.5 rank (Learn more)

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Requirements

Requirements: OS X 10.12+

Latest version

Latest version: v8.21(3438), released 22 Jan, 2025 Release notes