Hills for Android

App snapshot

Hills is a flexible media player for Android that handles a broad set of video file types and focuses on high-quality playback. It uses the MPV engine under the hood and takes advantage of hardware decoding so high-resolution content — including 4K and HDR — plays smoothly. The interface is straightforward and configurable, making it appropriate for casual watching and for power users who want more control.

Playback formats and performance

Hills supports many popular container formats such as MKV, MP4, AVI and 3GP, plus others commonly found on mobile devices. Key playback strengths include:

• Hardware-accelerated decoding for fluid high-resolution and HDR video
• Native MPV backend for reliable rendering and compatibility
• Broad file-format compatibility (MKV, MP4, AVI, 3GP, etc.)
• A clean, easy-to-navigate player UI
• Picture-in-picture support for multitasking
• Gesture-driven controls for quick adjustments while viewing

Customization, controls and playback tweaks

The app exposes several options to tailor playback to individual preferences. Users can modify MPV-specific settings for codec behavior and performance, enable automatic skipping of intros, and apply quality-enhancing filters.

Notable controls and customization options:

• Intro skipping to jump past repetitive openings
• Ability to tweak MPV configuration values for advanced tuning
• Anime4K upscaling or similar enhancement filters
• On-screen gesture shortcuts for volume, brightness and seeking
• Picture-in-picture mode for continued playback while switching apps

Subtitles, visuals and presentation

Hills offers robust subtitle handling with controls to change appearance and placement so captions match your viewing needs. Subtitle customization helps accessibility and personal preference alike.

Subtitle and visual options include:

• Fine-grained subtitle styling (font selection, scaling and positioning)
• Compatibility with multiple subtitle formats and encodings
• Visual enhancement tools such as Anime4K for sharper images

Library, discovery and convenience features

Beyond playback itself, Hills includes tools that help organize and locate content faster, plus caching to speed up browsing through large libraries.

Additional convenience features:

• Local media caching for quicker library browsing
• Federated or network-aware search to find files across sources
• Media library organization and indexing for faster access

Suggested substitute — CapCut (free)

If you’re looking for an alternative with a different focus, CapCut (available free) is a commonly recommended option. While CapCut centers on editing rather than pure playback, it can be useful if you need simple trimming, overlays or export options in addition to previewing video.