MPV 0.41 switches to GPU-Next by default, improves Wayland support & Vulkan decoding

MPV 0.41 introduces several major updates for video playback and platform integration. The update sets the libplacebo-based gpu-next as the default rendering backend, a change that affects visual quality and performance across systems. Vulkan hardware decoding is now preferred over other video decoding APIs, shifting hardware acceleration priorities.

Following the rendering changes, color management for gpu-next and Wayland has been improved. Wayland users also benefit from new color representation protocol support and ambient light handling through sysfs ALS on Linux. Expanded input and clipboard features are available as well: tablet input support has been added to Wayland, while clipboard writing is now possible on both Wayland and X11.

Building on usability improvements, MPV 0.41 introduces a context_menu.lua script which adds right-click context menus. Windows users can now take advantage of a built-in helper for easier registration of MPV as a media application. On Android, MPV incorporates an AAudio backend, removing the dependency on Java Native Interface for modern audio output.

These updates accompany new build requirements: MPV 0.41 mandates FFmpeg 6.1 or newer and libplacebo 6.338.2 or newer.