If
you want to play video or music files in just about any format, VLC
media player is probably your answer.
Features
Version
2 ("Twoflower") brings a new interface, faster decoding, support for
more formats and the ability to play HD and BluRay. It still remains however
the most stable, flexible and lightweight audio and video player around today.
While other media players will play unusual formats after downloading a codec,
or simply refuse to play things, VLC media player handles tons of
formats from MPEG to FLV and RMBV files.
Version 2 has seen some important additions too such as support for 10 bit
codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM.
Also
useful is the fact that you can use VLC media player to preview files you are
downloading since it plays incomplete parts of video files. VLC media player is
not just for video playback however. It also offers superb integration with
video channel streaming services such as Channels.com giving you access to
channels such as ESPN, Reuters and National Geographic. Just
right-click or CMD-click on the playlist, select Services Discovery and Channels.com. Channels.com
will then appear in your VLC media player playlist. Click on it to reveal the the
different categories of channels available. Click on the category you want and
a drop down list of all available channels appears in VLC media player. Just
click on the channel you want to watch and streaming should begin almost
immediately.
Usability
VLC
media player also has great hotkey support and if you take the time to learn
the shortcuts so it can be controlled without touching your mouse. If you're
watching DVDs or video files through it, this is not an issue. For music, it
plays more or less any file and features an equalizer and playlist creation.
VLC media player isn't as intuitive as iTunes as a media manager, but it's a
much more flexible player in terms of file formats. You can even use VLC to
convert your files, and on top of all the formats and physical media it will
play, many streaming protocols and TV capture cards are supported. VLC
media player makes it easy to add subtitles to your video
files too - just add the SRT file to the folder where your
video is kept, and it will automatically play with subtitles.
Finally,
the interface in VLC media player has been somewhat improved in version 2
although it remains strictly functional. However, you can download skins to
completely change VLC media player's appearance. The preferences menu is
comprehensive without being overwhelming, and there is extensive documentation
online.
Conclusion
VLC
Media Player is quite simply the best multimedia application for Windows and
Mac. It plays just about anything, hassle free - what more could you need?
What's
new
Rework
and fixes of the Mac OS X interface
Fix
Pulseaudio initial synchronization
Fix
MKV, SWF, AIFF and subtitles demuxer crashes
Translations
updates and new Welsh translation
DVB-S
delivery system detection
Fix
audio and video track selection through libVLC
Fix
system sleep issue on Mac OS X 10.5
VLC
media player supports the following formats
MKV,
WMV, MPEG, MP4, MOV, AVI, DIVX, XVID, FLV, FLAC, WAV, REAL, VOB plus many more
Review
last updated: 20/06/13
Pros
· Supports
a wide range of formats
· Good
hotkey support
· Easy
to use
· Very
flexible and lightweight
· Integration
with web channel streaming services
· Improved
interface in version 2
· More
format support in version 2
· Plays
BluRay and HD
Cons
· User
interface is quite basic
· User
interface slicker in Mac version