Windows install guide

Install Kyro Player on Windows 10 & 11.

Native desktop build with keyboard shortcuts, windowed playback, and Direct3D 11 acceleration. Free to download. No installer needed.

OS

Windows 10 (64-bit, 1809 or later) or Windows 11. ARM64 support is in beta.

GPU

Direct3D 11 capable GPU — Intel HD Graphics 4000+, NVIDIA GTX 650+, AMD Radeon HD 7000+. Required for hardware-accelerated 4K.

Disk space

~200 MB for the app, plus 100–500 MB for playlist cache depending on catalog size.

  1. 1

    Download kyro.zip

    Go to kyroplayer.com/download or click the button above. The archive is about 120 MB and signed. If SmartScreen flags it, click "More info" → "Run anyway."

  2. 2

    Extract the archive

    Right-click kyro.zip → Extract All… Choose a location like C:\Program Files\KyroPlayer or %LOCALAPPDATA%\KyroPlayer. Kyro Player is portable — it doesn't require an installer.

  3. 3

    Launch KyroPlayer.exe

    Double-click KyroPlayer.exe. The first launch may take a few seconds while Windows validates the signature. Pin the app to your Start menu or taskbar for quick access.

  4. 4

    Add your playlist

    In the Playlists panel, click the + button. Choose M3U URL or Xtream Codes. Paste your playlist URL or server credentials, name the playlist, and click Add.

  5. 5

    Wait for catalog sync, then watch

    Large catalogs (50k+ channels) take about 30 seconds on a normal broadband connection. Subsequent launches read from cache and are near-instant.

  6. 6

    Configure hardware acceleration (optional)

    Settings → Playback → enable "Use Direct3D 11 acceleration." This offloads 4K HEVC decoding to your GPU. Leave disabled if you see artifacting or black frames.

Windows tips

Keyboard shortcuts and quirks.

Keyboard shortcuts

Space — play/pause. ← / → — seek 10s. ↑ / ↓ — volume. F — full screen. M — mute. Ctrl+F — search. Ctrl+, — settings. Escape — exit full screen.

SmartScreen blocked the app

Click "More info" → "Run anyway." We sign the build but SmartScreen reputation takes time to build for a new certificate. If you prefer, download via the Microsoft Store once we publish there (on our roadmap).

Audio output device

Kyro uses your Windows default audio device. To route to a specific output (AVR, headphones, speakers), change the system default in Settings → System → Sound.

HDR on Windows

Windows HDR must be enabled system-wide for Kyro to output HDR. Settings → System → Display → Use HDR. Not all GPU/display combinations support HDR in windowed mode; full-screen usually works.

Run multiple instances

Launch KyroPlayer.exe from command line with --instance=2 (or 3, 4…) to open a second independent window with a separate playlist cache.

Portable install on USB stick

Extract the ZIP to a USB drive and carry your playlists with you. All state lives in the app folder — no registry entries.