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VLC media player

VLC media player is a free software media player by the VideoLAN project. It is a highly portable multimedia player, encoder, and streamer supporting many audio and video codecs and file formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It is able to stream over networks and to transcode multimedia files and save them into various different formats. VLC used to stand for "VideoLAN Client", but that meaning is deprecated. It is one of the most platform-independent players available, with versions for BeOS, BSD, Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Windows CE, and is widely used with over 50 million downloads for version 0.8.6.VLC uses a large number of free decoding and encoding libraries. Many of its codecs are provided by the libavcodec codec library from the FFmpeg project, but it uses mainly its own muxer and demuxers. It also gained distinction as the first player to support playback of encrypted DVDs on Linux by using the libdvdcss DVD decryption library. Version 0.8.6, which adds support for WMV version 9 and enhances support for H.264, was released on 10 December 2006. The current version 1.0 was released on July 9th 2009.

VLC media player
MSRP $0.00
Release date February, 2001
Brand VideoLAN
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Pros & Cons19
Reviews40
Details
Buy It
Competitors8
Comments3
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
38 reviews
86
negative
mixed
positive
36 positive
2 mixed
0 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
•
Supports lots of codecs
+39agreedisagree

•
Does not use much memory and opens quickly
+30agreedisagree

•
Available for Windows and Macintosh
+23agreedisagree

•
Plays anything you throw at it from any source including local, disc, network, or Web
+15agreedisagree

•
Overrides regional restriction of dvd drives.
+13agreedisagree

•
Play ripped DVDs
+11agreedisagree

•
Can be used to rip DVDs
+8agreedisagree

•
Convert videos to your iPod or iPhone
+8agreedisagree

•
Can be used to stream video to other network players
+8agreedisagree

•
Available for BSD and Linux, and Solaris.
+6agreedisagree

•
free and open source
+5agreedisagree

•
Can create playlists, select multiple objects and play them in succession.
+1agreedisagree

•
Works well on old computers
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
•
Can't select multiple objects and have them play in succession
+2agreedisagree

•
Can't handle dynamic soft subtitles as well as some competitors.
+2agreedisagree

•
Artifacts sometimes appear when skipping through some filetypes.
+1agreedisagree

•
Subtitles looks ugly
+1agreedisagree

•
No support for hardware decoding like CUDA or DXVA
+1agreedisagree

•
Full-screen interface
-5agreedisagree


40 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!
See individual votes »

Details

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This report was started January 28, 2008 at 12:51 pm by Jan
with the last edit occurring Friday, 8:40 AM by Fugazi
This page has been viewed 2741 times, with 365 edits by 43 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

VLC media player is ranked 1st among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Media Software »
foobar2000

foobar2000

MSRP  $0.00    Released  December, 2002
Pros
  • limited memory usage
  • highly customizable
  • Supports a wide range of audio codecs
  • Supports many tagging formats for metadata
Cons
  • Windows only
  • does not work with some media keyboards, or difficult to configure.
ProSCORE
12 reviews
82
Vote! (2 votes)
vote VLC media player 0% vs. vote foobar2000 100%
Media Player Classic

Media Player Classic

MSRP  $0.00    Released  --
Pros
  • Lightweight compared to competitors
  • Very stable
Cons
  • Poor playlist support
  • Playlist interface (6.4.9.0)
ProSCORE
11 reviews
70
Vote! (15 votes)
vote VLC media player 60% vs. vote Media Player Classic 40%
Winamp

Winamp

MSRP  $0.00    Released  June, 1997
Pros
  • Extensive plugin support
  • Not a computer resource hog like WMP
  • Great UI, with easy to access library, playlist, EQ, visualization, etc.
Cons
  • Windows Only
  • default installation includes a lot of useless bloat
  • owned by AOL
ProSCORE
30 reviews
82
Vote! (17 votes)
vote VLC media player 71% vs. vote Winamp 29%
Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player

MSRP  --    Released  --
Pros
  • Mini-player
  • has all the bells and whistles you would expect
  • Good for most videos.
Cons
  • Awful library management functions
  • Will not play licensed media without internet connection or licence
  • Bloatware
ProSCORE
19 reviews
22
Vote! (19 votes)
vote VLC media player 74% vs. vote Windows Media Player 26%
Zoom Player

Zoom Player

MSRP  --    Released  --

Zoom Player is a music and video playing software program that works on Windows operating systems. The player can play any software that is able to play on a PC so long as the appropriate codecs are installed. Since Zoom Player is so customizable, many home theater enthusiasts have found it useful and appreciate...

ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (13 votes)
vote VLC media player 92% vs. vote Zoom Player 8%
DivX Player

DivX Player

MSRP  $0.00    Released  January, 2007
Pros
  • Works with Advanced and Ultra DivX features
Cons
  • No Audio EQ
  • No Video Controls (Brightness, Color Balance, Etc.)
ProSCORE
2 reviews
33
Vote! (15 votes)
vote VLC media player 100% vs. vote DivX Player 0%
Kantaris Media Player

Kantaris Media Player

MSRP  $0.00    Released  --

Haven't used it, but here it is  http://www.kantaris.org/

ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (6 votes)
vote VLC media player 100% vs. vote Kantaris Media Player 0%
RealPlayer

RealPlayer

MSRP  --    Released  --
ProSCORE
0 reviews
N/A
Vote! (15 votes)
vote VLC media player 100% vs. vote RealPlayer 0%

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Comments

34 taps
show more
1.  avatar Howlsthunder said:

VLC is the go-to all-in-one for all the many formats that don't run on Macs. The built-in codecs make viewing video a breeze. I literally don't use or need anything else. Old versions were a bit unstable but the current version seems to run okay.
Apr 16, 2008 4:38pm
2.  avatar rabidpotatochip said:

This program plays everything out of the box. What's not to love?
Apr 23, 2008 5:10pm
3.  avatar GT-D said:

I liked it but it crashed on my system all the time... I've been using Media Player Classic as distributed in the CCCP package.
May 29, 2008 10:32am
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

fractalhorizon

avatar
October 19, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
12 pros
0 cons
trustedtrusted
love itlove it
have ithave it
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh
  • Plays anything you throw at it from any source including local, disc, network, or Web
  • Overrides regional restriction of dvd drives.
  • Play ripped DVDs
  • Can be used to rip DVDs
  • Convert videos to your iPod or iPhone
  • Can be used to stream video to other network players
  • Available for BSD and Linux, and Solaris.
  • free and open source
  • Can create playlists, select multiple objects and play them in succession.

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Competitors

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

dialupinternetuser

avatar
September 16, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
90
negative
mixed
positive
9 pros
1 con
trustedtrusted
have ithave it
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh
  • Plays anything you throw at it from any source including local, disc, network, or Web
  • Overrides regional restriction of dvd drives.
  • Play ripped DVDs
  • Can be used to rip DVDs
  • Convert videos to your iPod or iPhone
  • Can be used to stream video to other network players

Cons

  • Can't select multiple objects and have them play in succession

Competitors

dialupinternetuser prefers Winamp over VLC media player
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Erik

avatar
September 16, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
100
negative
mixed
positive
7 pros
0 cons
trustedtrusted
love itlove it
have ithave it
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Plays anything you throw at it from any source including local, disc, network, or Web
  • Play ripped DVDs
  • Can be used to rip DVDs
  • Convert videos to your iPod or iPhone
  • Can be used to stream video to other network players

Cons

Did not agree with any cons

Competitors

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

anon

avatar
January 9, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
90
negative
mixed
positive
9 pros
1 con
trustedtrusted
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh
  • Plays anything you throw at it from any source including local, disc, network, or Web
  • Overrides regional restriction of dvd drives.
  • Play ripped DVDs
  • Can be used to rip DVDs
  • Convert videos to your iPod or iPhone
  • Can be used to stream video to other network players

Cons

  • Can't select multiple objects and have them play in succession

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

dr13zehn

avatar
July 27, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
60
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
2 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Overrides regional restriction of dvd drives.

Cons

  • Can't select multiple objects and have them play in succession
  • Full-screen interface

Competitors

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Ueberu

avatar
September 13, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh
  • Overrides regional restriction of dvd drives.

Cons

  • Can't select multiple objects and have them play in succession

Competitors

Ueberu prefers Media Player Classic over VLC media player
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Snyke

avatar
July 3, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
love itlove it
have ithave it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh

Cons

  • Full-screen interface

Competitors

Snyke prefers Winamp over VLC media player
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

asatruer

avatar
June 12, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
have ithave it
love itlove it
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh

Cons

  • Full-screen interface

Competitors

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Howlsthunder

avatar
May 27, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
have ithave it
love itlove it
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly
  • Available for Windows and Macintosh

Cons

  • Full-screen interface

Comments

"VLC is the go-to all-in-one for all the many formats that don't run on Macs. The built-in codecs make viewing video a breeze. I literally don't use or need anything else. Old versions were a bit unstable but the current version seems to run okay."

Competitors

Howlsthunder prefers VLC media player over Windows Media Player, Winamp, Media Player Classic, DivX Player, RealPlayer
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Kerii

avatar
May 20, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
2 pros
2 cons
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pros

  • Supports lots of codecs
  • Does not use much memory and opens quickly

Cons

  • Can't select multiple objects and have them play in succession
  • Full-screen interface

Competitors

Kerii prefers Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic over VLC media player
Kerii prefers VLC media player over Zoom Player, Winamp, DivX Player, RealPlayer
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No
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