FreewareFiles Editor's Review
Many media players are compatible with only a few formats, and users are forced to install several programs if they want to play different types of files. With VLC Media Player, however, you won’t need to do this because this free video player accepts all formats from a wide variety of inputs. In addition to playing many audio and video formats, including Blu-Ray, the latest version can also act as a server to stream both multicast and unicast content in either IPv4 or IPv6. The changes in this new movie player put it ahead of the competition.
Features:
- Accepts all types of input, including streaming media, discs, files, webcams and other devices
- Plays most codecs without the need of installing other codec packs
- Zipped file playback
- Live recording
- Finer speed controls
- Frame by frame support
- Video scaling in full screen
- Converts media from one format to another
- Compatible with all computer operating systems
Installation
Installing the player took only a few seconds although you can take slightly longer if you want to select or deselect some of the many options it offers, including installing Web browser plugin.
Using VLC
Considering the wide variety of options VLC Media Player has and the multiple formats it accepts, the movie player is relatively light and fast. We found it easy to interact with the player, and its buttons were responsive. We set the free video recorder as the default player.
The program uses tabs to divide the various options it offers, each of which provides options for making relevant adjustments. For example, users can choose various effects and output modules in the audio tab while the video tab provides options for performing deinterlacing, running on Accelerated Video Output and creating different effects in real time.
We found it convenient to use the keyboard shortcuts the program supports. You can use different key combinations to perform most of the things you can do with a mouse. The free video player does a great job at keeping unused features out of the way but easy to access. While many people will be satisfied using VLC Media Player as their favorite movie player, the program has more functions.
We could customize the player to suit our preferences, including choosing toolbar elements and the position of the toolbar itself. We liked the program’s ability to display the relevant portion immediately even when we paused a video, which made it easy to locate desired sections before playing.
These features would make little sense if the sound quality were not commensurate. Fortunately, VLC Media Player produces high quality audio and accepts several configurations, including adjusting the equalizer and setting surround sound. We particularly enjoyed the sound coming from the headphone.
Pros
- Easy to install and use
- Plays everything
- Records and converts media
- Customizable
- Free and cross-platform
Cons
- Plays in the background when media file is clicked
VLC Media Player is suitable for both basic and advanced users, which makes it a well-rounded program.
Software Product Description
VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a free video player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
Features:
- Free, Open Source and cross-platform
- Independant of systems codecs to support most video types
- Live recording
- Instant pausing and Frame-by-Frame support
- Finer speed controls
- New HD codecs (AES3, Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD, Blu-Ray Linear PCM, Real Video 3.0 and 4.0, ...)
- New formats (Raw Dirac, M2TS, ...) and major improvements in many formats...
- New Dirac encoder and MP3 fixed-point encoder
- Video scaling in fullscreen
- RTSP Trickplay support
- Zipped file playback
- Customizable toolbars
- Easier encoding GUI in Qt interface
- Better integration in Gtk environments
- MTP devices on linux
- AirTunes streaming
- New skin for the skins2 interface
Input formats:
- MPEG (ES,PS,TS,PVA,MP3)
- ID3 tags
- AVI
- ASF / WMV / WMA
- MP4 / MOV / 3GP
- OGG / OGM / Annodex
- Matroska (MKV)
- WAV (incuding DTS)
- Raw Audio: DTS, AAC, AC3/A52
- Raw DV
- FLAC
- FLV (Flash)
Input media:
- UDP/RTP Unicast
- UDP/RTP Multicast
- HTTP / FTP
- MMS
- File
- DVD 1
- VCD
- SVCD 2
- Audio CD (without DTS)
- MPEG encoder 3
- Video acquisition
Video:
Decoders:
- MPEG-1/2
- DIVX (1/2/3)
- MPEG-4, DivX 5, XviD, 3ivX D4
- H.264
- Sorenson 1/3 (Quicktime)
- DV
- Cinepak
- Theora (alpha 3)
- H.263 / H.263i
- MJPEG (A/B)
- WMV 1/2
- WMV 3 / WMV-9 / VC-1 4, 5
- Indeo Video v3 (IV32)
Subtitles:
- DVD 6
- SVCD / CVD
- DVB
- OGM
- Matroska
- Text files (MicroDVD, SubRIP, SubViewer, SSA1-5, SAMI, VPlayer)
- Vobsub
Filters:
- Deinterlace
- Cropping
- Image wall
- Image adjust
- Rotate/Mirror
- Logo overlay
- Magnification
- Image distortion
- Bluescreen
- RSS/Atom feeds
Outputs:
- Native DirectX, GDI
- SDL
- ASCII Art
Audio:
Decoders:
- MPEG Layer 1/2
- MP3
- AC3 - A/52
- DTS
- LPCM
- AAC
- Vorbis
- WMA 1/2
- WMA 3 7
- ADPCM
- DV Audio
- FLAC
- QDM2/QDMC (QuickTime)
- MACE
- Real Audio 8
- Speex
Filters:
- Visualization effects
- Equalizer
Outputs:
- Native DirectX WaveOut
- S/PDIF DirectX WaveOut
- Multi-channel DirectX WaveOut
- SDL
Streaming:
Interfaces and control:
- Default WxWidgets
- Qt 4
- Skins
- Web
- Telnet
- Command line
Miscellaneous:
- SAP/SDP announces
- Bonjour protocol
- Mozilla/Firefox plugin
- ActiveX plugin
- SVCD Menus
- Localization
- CD-Text 10
- CDDB CD info 11
- IPv6
- IGMPv3 Win XP
- CPU acceleration
Software Product Description 
