CNET Editors' note: The VLC Media Player source code is also available.
CNET Editors' review
VLC Media Player is a long-time open-source favorite, and the latest version is also the first to be out of beta development. It's not the only option for free video playback, but it's one of the best, and the feature updates in version 1 make it well worth the upgrade.
Users can now get frame-by-frame advancement, granular speed controls allowing for on-the-fly slower or faster playback, and live recording of streaming video. The toolbars are fully customizable, so you can have only the buttons you need in the interface, there's AirTunes streaming, and there's better integration in Gtk environments. Along with the improvements, VLC continues to offer robust support for a wide range of video and audio formats, including OGG, MP2, MP3, MP4, DivX, HD codecs like AES3, Raw Dirac, and even support for playing back zipped files. The default interface is still a stripped down player that belies VLC's functionality and features. Skinning can fix that quickly, but behavior can still be a bit unpredictable depending on the quality of the skin. VLC's open-source foundation and community ensures that it evolves quickly and often, with new features and fixes released frequently. Overall, VLC Media Player is a must-have application for its ability to open just about any type of video file you throw at it. Watch the CNET video review of VLC Media Player:
Publisher's Description
From VideoLAN Project:
VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, MP3, and OGG, as well as for DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It also can be used as a server for unicast or multicast streams in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
What's new in this version: Version 2.0.1 includes fixes for HTTP Live Streaming, CDDB, UDP/RTP support, Support for MxPEG files and streams, and fix for splitted RAR files playback.
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All versions:
4.3 starsout of 3,267 votes
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Current version:
3.7 starsout of 56 votes
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My rating:
Write review
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"Good - enter ten characters"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
I like the easy to click on slower speeds
Cons
Can't think of any
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"Easy to use"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
Can use almost any codec you use, built in equalizer.
Cons
Sometimes going to full screen, it keeps your taskbar on the bottom until you exit full screen and go back to full again.
Summary
I've been using VLC for a long time with great results. The built in EQ allows you to boost overall levels on quiet videos (or adjust sound to match your equipment). Also it's very easy to advance or retard the soundtrack in case it doesn't match the video. Easy to use overall.
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"generally its good"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
i like how this is able to play such a wide variaty of media and that is easy to use
Cons
as above however the playback of mausic media is somewhat lacking iv'e used this to playmusic when other ones (realplayer.or itunes have refused to play
certain types it lacks the abilaty to play seemless tracks without giving a pronounced blip ie alan parson's project/ I Robot // I havent found out how to use all the setting s nb:- itunes allows you to preset how much track overlap you want this then makes gappedtacks to appear seamlessSummary
Ilove it in general but it could dowithout the abvious gap inmusic playback
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"It is better than average..."
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
Easy to use.
Cons
There are still some formats that it does not handle...
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"Best media player for free"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
It is the best. Plays all media formats that I use and does the job without any issues.
Cons
None. No cons.
Summary
Best media player for free.
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"good video player"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
easy and faster is the unique feature. and will play all type of video.
Cons
easy and faster is the unique feature. and will play all type of video.
Summary
easy and faster is the unique feature. and will play all type of video.
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"Fantastic software"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
easy to operate
Cons
none at this time
Summary
fantastic and easy to download.
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"works for everything I use............."
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
Fast and not a big app
Cons
none works very well
Summary
Alway good to have a spare media player , even tho I use this as my primary
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"This program just busted the fact "nothing is perfect""
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
i can play almost all of audio or video formats on earth
i can also amplify the video with weak audio supportCons
sure thing i see nothing
Summary
great ! i just wish that my crush, Seth Rosenblatt, gave it a spetacular rating ! anyway, thanks i found this gem here on cnet
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"Excellent Media Player"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
Plays virtually any format; excellent audio quality and easy to use (for the most part).
Cons
Video quality could be better out the the box - UM Player and even Windows Media Player (on commercial DVDs) have better picture quality. Large memory footprint and heavy on system resources. Settings menus can be overwhelming when you start drilling deep.
Summary
If you need to be able to play virtually any format, VLC is still the defacto standard. But if, like me, you only need to handle a few, it may be more than you need. Although it has some of the best audio quality I've heard from any player, at 48MB I expected better video quality- I found tweaking the contrast a bit helped - but still could use improvement. Still, it's a pleasure to use, and I love the fact that it's open source. I tend to agree that it may try to do too much, but it's a great player nevertheless.
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