Updated August 2, 2019: With the news that Ninja will exclusively stream on Mixer coming out, many users will check out the platform for the first time. You can check out his channel on this excellent Mixer client. The original review follows with some minor edits.
Mixer Go was one of my favorite apps to review last year. Its implementation of Mixer features within a UWP app was excellent, and at the time, I asked why Microsoft hadn't made the app themselves.
That sentiment is only stronger now that Mixer Go has been rebranded to Mixplay for Mixer. The rebrand brings a complete app overhaul, support for Mixer's Faster Than Light (FTL) low latency streaming, Hypezone, and Mixer Season 2 features.
Mixplay for Mixer took what I loved about Mixer Go and removed or improved the few flaws that it had. It's available for free on Windows 10 and Surface Hub.
FreeBottom line: Mixplay is a gorgeous Mixer client that supports FTL, Hypezone, and lets you watch your favorite streamers on Mixer.
For
- Gorgeous design
- FTL support
- Hypezone support
- Provides a UWP Mixer experience on Windows 10
Against
- Minor bugs
- Requires a lot of permissions
What's new in Mixplay
Mixplay for Mixer brings a number of features compared to its last version, adding up to a refreshed experience. You can now use it to watch costreams, browse Hypezone channels, and whisper to people in the chat. The full changelog is available within the app but this update focused largely on bringing support for Mixer platform features that came out since Mixer Go's latest large update.
Mixplay for Mixer also supports Mixer's FTL streaming. This technology is one of Mixer's biggest draws, allowing viewers to watch streams and interact with content creators with less than a second of latency.
Generally, the app update fills the gaps that were created when Mixer received new features and also brings new features within the app. It also seems to have fixed the buffering issues I ran into previously. Both live streams and previous broadcasts were smooth for me when I had a good internet connection. If you do have buffering issues, you can turn off FTL to have a more stable stream at the cost of interaction speed.
Why I love Mixplay for Mixer
The strange thing about me loving Mixplay for Mixer so much is that I don't even watch Mixer that often. I just love what the developers of Mixplay for Mixer are doing. I occasionally open up streams or watch the Windows Central Podcast, but I'm not a diehard Mixer user. I just love seeing services that don't have first-party apps in the Microsoft Store be made into fully-fledged UWP apps.
Mixplay for Mixer does more than just wrap the Mixer web experience into an app. You can pop a video into picture-in-picture mode while you continue to browse content on the app or you can put an entire stream into picture-in-picture mode while you use other programs on your PC. You also get notifications for users to make sure you don't miss their streams.
What pushes Mixplay for Mixer over the top for me though is the attention to detail the developer puts into it. Little things stick out like the option to right-click the app to get a jump list of recent streams. You can even connect Mixplay for Mixer to MyPeople, a feature that Microsoft seems to have forgotten about. These integrations and features aren't even present in some big-name apps made by Microsoft. I wish the developers of Microsoft's first-party apps dug deep into the UWP APIs the way the maker of Mixplay for Mixer does.
A beautiful upgrade
It should be pretty obvious that I'm a fan of Mixplay for Mixer. It looks great, works well, integrates with a plethora of Windows 10 features, and provides a solid Mixer experience. I put Mixplay for Mixer in the same echelon of UWP apps as myTube! and Huetro for Hue, which couldn't be a bigger complement from me.
The only complaints I have are that the app requires more permissions than some would like. I don't mind, but that's an issue for some users. Also, it's a shame that Microsoft doesn't work with this developer to get features ready before things are publicly released. That's not the developer's fault though. Similarly, notifications only come up every fifteen minutes instead of pushing, but that's a restriction that the developer can't fix without Microsoft's help.
A top-tier Mixer client
FreeMixplay is a gorgeous Mixer client that supports FTL, Hypezone, and lets you watch your favorite streamers on Mixer.
