The output quality is nearly the same in both, but that's probably because I use the same settings and filters for MPC-BE and HC. The latter takes quite a few seconds to start the playback. Though I have always noticed that MPC-BE is slightly faster, when it comes to opening files than MPC-HC. I did not notice any major difference in the resource usage between MPC - BE and MPC - HC when playing videos. Once you have done that, go to MPC-BE's Options > External Filters > Add Filter and set the LAV Video Decoder and Audio Decoder Filters as the preferred one. But that's not a big issue since the LAV Filters are also open source, meaning you can download and install them on your computer. This is one area where MPC-HC is better by default, because it ships with LAV Filters, ready to use. from the Output settings are broken down into their own sections, like Video, Audio, etc. Mostly the options are re-arranged in the same page, but some pages, for e.g. The settings page in Media Player Classic - BE is quite different compared to HC's.

Windows media player dark theme