I have done some comparisons with DVDs that I've burnt and I find MPC to have much better quality.
Also, you can seek throughout the movie while still in fullscreen with MPC, but in VLC you have to exit fullscreen to seek, which is annoying while watching videos.
Here are the default hot keys for the Windows version.(I assume that's what you use) Do not ask, and ye shall receive.
Basic playback: spacebar - Play/Pause
S - Stop
N - Next file in playlist
P - Previous file in playlist
Time shifting: Shift+Right arrow - Very short skip forward (3-second default)
Shift+Left arrow - Very short skip backward
Alt+Right arrow - Short skip forward (10-second default)
Alt+Left arrow - Short skip backward
Ctrl+Right arrow - Medium skip forward (1-minute default)
Ctrl+Left arrow - Medium skip backward
Ctrl+Alt+Right arrow - Long skip forward (5-minute default)
Ctrl+Alt+Left arrow - Long skip backward
- (minus sign) - Slow playback by half (up to .125x)
+ (plus sign) - Double playback speed (up to 8x)
Display settings: A - Toggle aspect ratio (16:10; 16:9, 1:1, 221:100, 4:3, 5:4, default)
C - Toggle crop (same ratios)
T - Show time played/time left
I - Bring VLC interface to front
Ctrl+H - Increase subtitle delay by 50ms (for infinity)
Ctrl+J - Decrease subtitle delay by 50ms
K - Switch subtitle track
Audio: M - Mute on/off
Ctrl+Up arrow - Turn volume up (1/32)
Ctrl+Down arrow - Turn volume down
Ctrl+K - Increase audio delay by 50ms (for infinity)
Ctrl+L - Decrease audio delay by 50ms
L - Switch audio track
Miscellany: Ctrl+Alt+S - Takes screenshot of current frame
Ctrl+Q - Quits program completely
So how do you get to full-screen mode in VLC? Just hit F to enter or exit full-screen view. If you're the mousing sort, just double-click. There is a way to control playback with mouse gestures, but that's a mystery for another day.
