subject: The Many Useful Features Of The Vlc Media Player [print this page] VLC is a universal media player as well as an encoder and streamer, and it is free under the GNU General Public License. One of the things people like most about the VLC player is that it can play incomplete or broken video files, and plays ISOs without unpacking the files. It comes with a basic "skins" editor that lets users create skins for the application without having to know XML by providing an easy-to-use interface.
The software can be used as a server or client to stream or receive network streams. It can stream MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 files, as well as digital satellite channels, live video, television channels, and DVDs.
Some of the formats that this media player can play include MPEG-1, -2, and -4 files from a disk or a CD-ROM drive, audio CDs, VCDs, DVDs, DVB-S from satellite cards, network streams including UDP/RTP Unicast, HTTP, RTSP, UDP/RTP Multicast and others. The Windows version can play files from acquisition or encoding cards too.
One of the more popular additions to the latest version of VLC is that it can record media on the fly, including CSS-protected content. And you can even start playing a transcoded file before it's through being transcoded. It can also do playback one frame at a time, can pause instantly, and has Blu-Ray and HD audio support. The latest version can record live TV from a decoder card, acting as a DVR. The fact that VLC doesn't hog disk space and is self-contained after installation is also a big advantage. You don't have to do additional installs or add codecs.
The VLC download is one of the few open source programs out there that appeals just as strongly to the technologically impaired as it does to those with advanced computer skills. It's done in modules and is open source, so those who know how and want to modify the program can do so freely. At the same time, those who simply want to download it and start using it to watch video or listen to audio can do so without hassles.
The default controls are very easy to understand, and you can always change them if you want your control panel to be more geared to your specific needs. It is one of the few open source DVD players that ignores DVD region coding on drives with RPC-1 firmware (but not RPC-2 firmware), making it a region-free player for many users.
You can get a version of the VLC Player for the iPad, the iPod Touch, and the iPhone 4, and a version for Android is scheduled for early 2011 release. You can also get adjunct applications, such as one that lets you use your iPhone as a remote controller for the media player. You can also control the player with configurable hot keys, mouse gestures, infrared controllers, and laptop motions.
Using VLC Media Player is a matter of downloading the free software and installing it. You don't have to do any customizations to begin using it to enjoy your media right away.
