CNET Editors' note: The VLC Media Player source code is also available.
CNET Editors' review
VLC Media Player is a longtime open-source favorite, and the latest version offers fixes and feature enhancements for the Mac version that make it a must download. It's not the only option for free video playback, but it's one of the best, and it's often the go-to media player for Mac users who can't seem to play a specific media file.
VLC Media player offers a number of tools and customization options to manage and watch video. Users 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.
This version comes with improvements to the interface, support for MxPEG files and streaming, and more. Along with minor tweaks, 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. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
The default interface was improved in recent updates, but integrated skinning can make it even better. Behavior can still be a bit unpredictable depending on the quality of the skin, but 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, making it a great option for Mac users having trouble playing certain file types.
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:
- Support for MxPEG files and streams
- New features in the Mac OS X interface for more customization.
- Numerous fixes in the Qt, the Mac OS and the skins interfaces.
- Fixes for HTTP Live Streaming, CDDB, UDP/RTP support.
- Security issues SA-1201 and SA-1202.
- Limited support for Bluray disc... See all new features
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All versions:
4.2 starsout of 316 votes
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Current version:
2.7 starsout of 3 votes
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My rating:
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Results 1-3 of 3
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"The latest version does not display video."
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
Previous version worked great.
Cons
This version will not display video. I have gone back to the latest version of Quicktime Player which plays everything.
Summary
Very disappointing. I used older version all the time. Quicktime Player now plays all the formats I am using so I do not need VLC.
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"good video player"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
Plays all the different formats I have thrown at it.
Cons
Sometimes it does a build font cache which takes a while. Not sure why.
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"old version retained settings"
Version: VLC Media Player 2.0.1
Pros
plays new videos.
Cons
does not open some of my old .flv files. Reverts to small size but the old one did not when you come to the end of a video. Have to resize it.
Summary
last version was better. Can I get it back? How?
Results 1-3 of 3
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