diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index bcecf71c5..c064b5ce4 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -125,6 +125,7 @@ option(FORCE_BUNDLE_ICONS "Forcibly bundle icon themes into RSS Guard." OFF)
 option(ENABLE_COMPRESSED_SITEMAP "Enable support for gzip-compressed sitemap feeds. Requires zlib." OFF)
 option(ENABLE_MEDIAPLAYER_QTMULTIMEDIA "Enable built-in media player. Requires QtMultimedia FFMPEG plugin." OFF)
 option(ENABLE_MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV "Enable built-in media player. Requires libmpv library." ON)
+option(MEDIAPLAYER_FORCE_OPENGL "Use opengl-based render API with libmpv." ON)
 
 # Import Qt libraries.
 set(QT6_MIN_VERSION 6.3.0)
@@ -168,6 +169,16 @@ if(ENABLE_MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV)
     set(LibMPV_ROOT "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/resources/scripts/libmpv")
   endif()
 
+  if(MEDIAPLAYER_FORCE_OPENGL)
+    list(APPEND QT_COMPONENTS OpenGL)
+
+    if(BUILD_WITH_QT6)
+      list(APPEND QT_COMPONENTS OpenGLWidgets)
+    endif()
+
+    add_compile_definitions(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+  endif()
+
   add_compile_definitions(ENABLE_MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV)
 endif()
 
diff --git a/src/librssguard/CMakeLists.txt b/src/librssguard/CMakeLists.txt
index 7862fdaac..6a9c8ba26 100644
--- a/src/librssguard/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/librssguard/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -832,13 +832,27 @@ endif()
 
 if(ENABLE_MEDIAPLAYER_QTMULTIMEDIA)
   target_link_libraries(rssguard PUBLIC
+    Qt${QT_VERSION_MAJOR}::OpenGL
     Qt${QT_VERSION_MAJOR}::MultimediaWidgets
   )
 elseif(ENABLE_MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV)
+  if(MEDIAPLAYER_FORCE_OPENGL)
+    target_link_libraries(rssguard PUBLIC
+      Qt${QT_VERSION_MAJOR}::OpenGL
+    )
+
+    if(BUILD_WITH_QT6)
+      target_link_libraries(rssguard PUBLIC
+        Qt${QT_VERSION_MAJOR}::OpenGLWidgets
+      )
+    endif()
+  endif()
+
   target_include_directories(rssguard AFTER
     PRIVATE
     ${LibMPV_INCLUDE_DIRS}
   )
+
   target_link_libraries(rssguard PUBLIC
     ${LibMPV_LIBRARIES}
   )
diff --git a/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvbackend.cpp b/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvbackend.cpp
index d00dbe11f..791b90d3b 100644
--- a/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvbackend.cpp
+++ b/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvbackend.cpp
@@ -48,12 +48,10 @@ LibMpvBackend::LibMpvBackend(Application* app, QWidget* parent)
 
   setMouseTracking(true);
   layout()->addWidget(m_mpvContainer);
-
   m_mpvContainer->bind();
 
   mpv_set_option_string(m_mpvHandle, "msg-level", "all=v");
   mpv_set_option_string(m_mpvHandle, "config", "yes");
-  mpv_set_option_string(m_mpvHandle, "force-window", "yes");
   mpv_set_option_string(m_mpvHandle, "script-opts", "osc-idlescreen=no");
   mpv_set_option_string(m_mpvHandle, "hwdec", "auto");
   mpv_set_option_string(m_mpvHandle, "osd-playing-msg", "${media-title}");
@@ -121,6 +119,7 @@ void LibMpvBackend::loadSettings() {
 }
 
 LibMpvBackend::~LibMpvBackend() {
+  m_mpvContainer->destroyHandle();
   destroyHandle();
 }
 
@@ -155,7 +154,7 @@ void LibMpvBackend::handleMpvEvent(mpv_event* event) {
     }
 
     case MPV_EVENT_SHUTDOWN: {
-      destroyHandle();
+      // destroyHandle();
       emit closed();
       break;
     }
diff --git a/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.cpp b/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.cpp
index 503b5862d..6bb286d83 100644
--- a/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.cpp
+++ b/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 
 #include <mpv/client.h>
 
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+#include <QOpenGLContext>
+#endif
+
 static void wakeup(void* ctx) {
   // This callback is invoked from any mpv thread (but possibly also
   // recursively from a thread that is calling the mpv API). Just notify
@@ -13,13 +17,27 @@ static void wakeup(void* ctx) {
   emit backend->launchMpvEvents();
 }
 
-LibMpvWidget::LibMpvWidget(mpv_handle* mpv_handle, QWidget* parent) : QWidget(parent), m_mpvHandle(mpv_handle) {
+LibMpvWidget::LibMpvWidget(mpv_handle* mpv_handle, QWidget* parent)
+  : BASE_WIDGET(parent), m_mpvHandle(mpv_handle)
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+    ,
+    m_mpvGl(nullptr)
+#endif
+{
+#if !defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
   setAttribute(Qt::WidgetAttribute::WA_DontCreateNativeAncestors);
   setAttribute(Qt::WidgetAttribute::WA_NativeWindow);
+#endif
+
   setMouseTracking(true);
 }
 
+LibMpvWidget::~LibMpvWidget() {
+  destroyHandle();
+}
+
 void LibMpvWidget::bind() {
+#if !defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
   auto raw_wid = winId();
 
 #if defined(Q_OS_WIN)
@@ -31,6 +49,82 @@ void LibMpvWidget::bind() {
 #endif
 
   mpv_set_option(m_mpvHandle, "wid", MPV_FORMAT_INT64, &wid);
+#endif
 
   mpv_set_wakeup_callback(m_mpvHandle, wakeup, this);
 }
+
+void LibMpvWidget::destroyHandle() {
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+  makeCurrent();
+
+  if (m_mpvGl != nullptr) {
+    mpv_render_context_free(m_mpvGl);
+    m_mpvGl = nullptr;
+  }
+
+  doneCurrent();
+#endif
+}
+
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+static void* get_proc_address(void* ctx, const char* name) {
+  Q_UNUSED(ctx);
+
+  QOpenGLContext* glctx = QOpenGLContext::currentContext();
+
+  if (!glctx) {
+    return nullptr;
+  }
+
+  return reinterpret_cast<void*>(glctx->getProcAddress(QByteArray(name)));
+}
+
+void LibMpvWidget::maybeUpdate() {
+  // If the Qt window is not visible, Qt's update() will just skip rendering.
+  // This confuses mpv's render API, and may lead to small occasional
+  // freezes due to video rendering timing out.
+  // Handle this by manually redrawing.
+  // Note: Qt doesn't seem to provide a way to query whether update() will
+  //       be skipped, and the following code still fails when e.g. switching
+  //       to a different workspace with a reparenting window manager.
+  if (window()->isMinimized()) {
+    makeCurrent();
+    paintGL();
+    context()->swapBuffers(context()->surface());
+    doneCurrent();
+  }
+  else {
+    update();
+  }
+}
+
+void LibMpvWidget::on_update(void* ctx) {
+  QMetaObject::invokeMethod((LibMpvWidget*)ctx, "maybeUpdate");
+}
+
+void LibMpvWidget::initializeGL() {
+  mpv_opengl_init_params gl_init_params[1] = {get_proc_address, nullptr};
+  mpv_render_param params[]{{MPV_RENDER_PARAM_API_TYPE, const_cast<char*>(MPV_RENDER_API_TYPE_OPENGL)},
+                            {MPV_RENDER_PARAM_OPENGL_INIT_PARAMS, &gl_init_params},
+                            {MPV_RENDER_PARAM_INVALID, nullptr}};
+
+  if (mpv_render_context_create(&m_mpvGl, m_mpvHandle, params) < 0) {
+    qFatal("failed to initialize mpv GL context");
+  }
+
+  mpv_render_context_set_update_callback(m_mpvGl, LibMpvWidget::on_update, reinterpret_cast<void*>(this));
+}
+
+void LibMpvWidget::paintGL() {
+  mpv_opengl_fbo mpfbo{static_cast<int>(defaultFramebufferObject()), width(), height(), 0};
+  int flip_y{1};
+
+  mpv_render_param params[] = {{MPV_RENDER_PARAM_OPENGL_FBO, &mpfbo},
+                               {MPV_RENDER_PARAM_FLIP_Y, &flip_y},
+                               {MPV_RENDER_PARAM_INVALID, nullptr}};
+  // See render_gl.h on what OpenGL environment mpv expects, and
+  // other API details.
+  mpv_render_context_render(m_mpvGl, params);
+}
+#endif
diff --git a/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.h b/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.h
index 19568c65d..9248584ec 100644
--- a/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.h
+++ b/src/librssguard/gui/mediaplayer/libmpv/libmpvwidget.h
@@ -3,15 +3,27 @@
 #ifndef LIBMPVWIDGET_H
 #define LIBMPVWIDGET_H
 
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+#include <QOpenGLWidget>
+
+#include <mpv/render_gl.h>
+
+#define BASE_WIDGET QOpenGLWidget
+#else
 #include <QWidget>
+#define BASE_WIDGET QWidget
+#endif
 
 struct mpv_handle;
 
-class LibMpvWidget : public QWidget {
+class LibMpvWidget : public BASE_WIDGET {
     Q_OBJECT
 
+    friend class LibMpvBackend;
+
   public:
     explicit LibMpvWidget(mpv_handle* mpv_handle, QWidget* parent = nullptr);
+    virtual ~LibMpvWidget();
 
     void bind();
 
@@ -19,7 +31,23 @@ class LibMpvWidget : public QWidget {
     void launchMpvEvents();
 
   private:
+    void destroyHandle();
+
     mpv_handle* m_mpvHandle;
+
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+  protected:
+    virtual void initializeGL();
+    virtual void paintGL();
+
+  private slots:
+    void maybeUpdate();
+
+  private:
+    static void on_update(void* ctx);
+
+    mpv_render_context* m_mpvGl;
+#endif
 };
 
 #endif // LIBMPVWIDGET_H
diff --git a/src/librssguard/gui/tabwidget.cpp b/src/librssguard/gui/tabwidget.cpp
index d7354a5b4..234b72cf9 100644
--- a/src/librssguard/gui/tabwidget.cpp
+++ b/src/librssguard/gui/tabwidget.cpp
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ int TabWidget::addMediaPlayer(const QString& url, bool make_active) {
     player->setFocus(Qt::FocusReason::OtherFocusReason);
   }
 
-  QTimer::singleShot(500, player, [player, url]() {
+  QTimer::singleShot(3000, player, [player, url]() {
     player->playUrl(url);
   });
 
diff --git a/src/librssguard/miscellaneous/application.cpp b/src/librssguard/miscellaneous/application.cpp
index 2b46e1524..7998c4648 100644
--- a/src/librssguard/miscellaneous/application.cpp
+++ b/src/librssguard/miscellaneous/application.cpp
@@ -44,6 +44,10 @@
 #include <QThreadPool>
 #include <QTimer>
 
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+#include <QQuickWindow>
+#endif
+
 #if defined(Q_OS_UNIX) && !defined(Q_OS_MACOS)
 #include <QDBusConnection>
 #include <QDBusMessage>
@@ -79,6 +83,16 @@
 
 Application::Application(const QString& id, int& argc, char** argv, const QStringList& raw_cli_args)
   : SingleApplication(id, argc, argv), m_rawCliArgs(raw_cli_args), m_updateFeedsLock(new Mutex()) {
+
+#if defined(MEDIAPLAYER_LIBMPV_OPENGL)
+  // HACK: Force rendering system to use OpenGL backend.
+#if QT_VERSION_MAJOR < 6
+  QQuickWindow::setSceneGraphBackend(QSGRendererInterface::GraphicsApi::OpenGL);
+#else
+  QQuickWindow::setGraphicsApi(QSGRendererInterface::GraphicsApi::OpenGL);
+#endif
+#endif
+
   QString custom_ua;
 
   parseCmdArgumentsFromMyInstance(raw_cli_args, custom_ua);