John Carl Villanueva08 July 2009, 3:17 PM
The open-source media player that holds a master key has just turned v1 after 8 years.
It has just hit version 1.0.0? I can almost hear that question and picture the puzzled look on many VLC users worldwide who haven't actually kept track of or paid attention to its version number. After all these years, after showcasing its extreme versatility, of being able to play practically any video format out there, it has just hit version 1?
Imagine what a version 2 would have in store for us.
For those who haven't tried VLC, erstwhile known as the VideoLan Client, this is the media player one would turn to when all favorite players fail to open a particular video format. In nearly a decade of existence, VLC held the reputation of holding a sort of master key that could unlock all the keyholes of various formats, codecs, and streaming methods.
It did this with lesser configuration steps than other media players and ran without as much demand on system resources.
Aside from its ability to play almost any video file, VLC also takes pride in being able to run on all the major operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and a number of obscure OSes.
Among the finer features of its first version are the following:
- Play incomplete, unfinished, or even damaged downloaded video files. Depending on the specs of your system, it can take up a considerable time before showing what it can.
- Access .iso files in order to play files stored in a disk image.
- Play DVD regardless of the DVD region coding.
- Record the desktop and perform video screen captures. This can be very useful in demos wherein you want to show a program's features.
- Provide support for new HD codecs like AES3, Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD, Blue-Ray Linear PCM, Real Video 4.0, and many more.
Be forewarned. After you install VLC, the first thing that will catch your attention is its unassuming user interface. That's just a facade. Wait 'til you play your first video on it.