VLC media player
Developer(s) | VideoLAN | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Initial release | February 1, 2001[1] | ||||||||||||
Stable release(s) [±] | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Repository | |||||||||||||
Written in | Core: Media player | ||||||||||||
License | GPL-2.0-or-later with some libraries under LGPL-2.1-or-later[11][12] VLC for iOS (MPLv2.0) | ||||||||||||
Website | videolan.org/vlc |
VLC media player (previously the VideoLAN Client and commonly known as simply VLC) is a
VLC supports many
The default distribution of VLC includes many free decoding and encoding libraries, avoiding the need for finding/calibrating proprietary plugins. The
History
The VideoLAN software originated as a French academic project in 1996. VLC used to stand for "VideoLAN Client" when VLC was a client of the VideoLAN project. Since VLC is no longer merely a client, that
The cone icon used in VLC is a reference to the traffic cones collected by École Centrale's Networking Students' Association.[23] The cone icon design was changed from a hand drawn low resolution icon to a higher resolution CGI-rendered version in 2005, illustrated by Richard Øiestad.[citation needed]
In 2007 the VLC project decided, for
Version 3.0 was in development for Windows, Linux and macOS since June 2016[41] and released in February 2018.[42] It contains many new features including Chromecast output support (except subtitles[43]), hardware-accelerated decoding enabled by default, 4K and 8K playback, 10-bit and HDR playback, 360° video and 3D audio, audio passthrough for HD audio codecs, BD-J menu support, and local network drive browsing.
In December 2017 the European Parliament approved a budget that funds a bug bounty program for VLC to improve the EU's IT infrastructure.[44]
Release-history
Starting with version 1.1.0, VLC release codenames refer to characters from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels; an exception is release 2.2.1, which came out shortly after Pratchett's death on March 12, 2015, and which was codenamed Terry Pratchett in honor of the author himself.
Version[45] | Codename[46] | Release date |
---|---|---|
1.0.0 | Goldeneye | 2009-07-07 |
1.0.1 | 2009-07-28 | |
1.0.2 | 2009-09-22 | |
1.0.3 | 2009-10-31 | |
1.0.4 | 2009-12-10 | |
1.0.5 | 2010-01-31 | |
1.0.6 | 2010-04-21 | |
1.1.0 | The Luggage | 2010-06-22 |
1.1.1 | 2010-07-21 | |
1.1.2 | 2010-07-29 | |
1.1.3 | 2010-08-18 | |
1.1.4 | 2010-08-27 | |
1.1.5 | 2010-11-13 | |
1.1.6 | 2011-01-23 | |
1.1.7 | 2011-02-01 | |
1.1.8 | 2011-03-23 | |
1.1.9 | 2011-04-12 | |
1.1.10 | 2011-06-06 | |
1.1.11 | 2011-07-15 | |
1.1.12 | 2011-10-06 | |
1.1.13 | 2011-12-20 | |
2.0.0 | Twoflower | 2012-02-18 |
2.0.1 | 2012-03-19 | |
2.0.2 | 2012-07-01 | |
2.0.3 | 2012-07-19 | |
2.0.4 | 2012-10-18 | |
2.0.5 | 2012-12-15 | |
2.0.6 | 2013-04-11 | |
2.0.7 | 2013-06-10 | |
2.0.8 | 2013-07-29 | |
2.0.9 | 2013-11-05 | |
2.0.10 | 2014-02-21 | |
2.1.0 | Rincewind | 2013-09-26 |
2.1.1 | 2013-11-14 | |
2.1.2 | 2013-12-10 | |
2.1.3 | 2014-02-04 | |
2.1.4 | 2014-02-21 | |
2.1.5 | 2014-07-26 | |
2.2.0 | Weatherwax | 2015-02-27 |
2.2.1 | Terry Pratchett | 2015-04-16 |
2.2.2 | Weatherwax | 2016-02-06 |
2.2.3 | 2016-05-03 | |
2.2.4 | 2016-06-05 | |
2.2.5.1 | 2017-05-12 | |
2.2.6 | 2017-05-24 | |
2.2.7 | 2017-11-21 | |
2.2.8 | 2017-12-05 | |
3.0.0 | Vetinari | 2018-02-09 |
3.0.1 | 2018-02-28 | |
3.0.2 | 2018-04-23 | |
3.0.3 | 2018-05-29 | |
3.0.4 | 2018-08-31 | |
3.0.5 | 2018-12-27 | |
3.0.6 | 2019-01-10 | |
3.0.7 | 2019-06-07 | |
3.0.8 | 2019-08-19 | |
3.0.10 | 2020-04-28 | |
3.0.11 | 2020-06-16 | |
3.0.11.1 | 2020-07-29 | |
3.0.12 | 2021-01-18 | |
3.0.13 | 2021-05-10 | |
3.0.14 | 2021-05-11 | |
3.0.16 | 2021-06-21 | |
3.0.17 | 2022-04-19 | |
3.0.18 | 2022-11-29 | |
3.0.19 | 2023-09-30 | |
3.0.20 | 2023-11-01 | |
4.0.x | Otto Chriek |
Design principles
Modular design
VLC, like most
Interfaces
The default
Features
Effects (desktop version)
The desktop version of VLC media player has some filters that can distort, rotate, split,
An interactive zoom feature allows magnifying into video during playback.[57] Still images can be extracted from video at original resolution,[58] and individual frames can be stepped through, although only in forward direction.[59]
Playback can be gamified by splitting the picture inside the viewport into draggable puzzle pieces, where the row and column count can be set as desired.[60]
For audio playback, this feature includes an equalizer and other filters that help customize sound quality.
Formats
Because VLC is a
VLC supports all audio and video formats supported by
VLC media player can play
VLC can be installed or run directly from a USB flash drive or other external drive. VLC can be extended through scripting; it uses the Lua scripting language.[64][65] VLC can play videos in the AVCHD format, a highly compressed format used in recent HD camcorders. VLC can generate a number of music visualization displays. The program is able to convert media files into various supported formats.[66]
Both desktop and mobile releases are equipped with an audio equalizer.[67]
Christmas logo
A red Santa hat appears on top of VLC's traffic-cone logo during Christmas seasons.[68]
Keyboard shortcuts
There are single-button shortcuts in VLC that don't require Ctrl or Alt button.
Say, pressing keys F and G while a video file is running in VLC shifts the file's audio/video sync for 50 millisecond per adjustment.[69] This is useful to fix an issue with the sound being ahead or lagging behind the video.
Operating system compatibility
VLC media player is
Windows 8 and 10 support
The VLC port for Windows 8 and Windows 10 is backed by a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to add support for a new GUI based on Microsoft's Metro design language, that will run on the Windows Runtime. All the existing features including video filters, subtitle support, and an equalizer are present in Windows 8.[74] A beta version of VLC for Windows 8 was released to the Microsoft Store on March 13, 2014.[75] A universal app was created for Windows 8, 8.1, 10, Windows Phone 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile.
Android support
In May 2012, the VLC team stated that a version of VLC for Android was being developed.[76] The stable release version 1.0 was made available on Google Play on December 8, 2014.[77]
Use of VLC with other programs
Bindings
Developer(s) | VideoLAN Project |
---|---|
Initial release | February 1, 2001 |
Stable release | 3.0.10[78]
|
Repository | |
Written in | C |
Type | Multimedia Library |
License | LGPL-2.1-or-later |
Website | wiki |
Several
- libVLC API – the VLC Core, for C and C++[79]
- VLCKit – an Objective-C framework for macOS[80]
- LibVLCSharp – Crossplatform VB)[81]
- JavaScript API – the evolution of ActiveX API and Firefox integration[82]
- D-Bus controls[83]
- Go bindings[84]
- Python controls[85]
- Java API[86]
- DirectShow filters[87]
- Delphi/Pascal API: PasLibVlc by Robert Jędrzejczyk[88]
- Free Pascal bindings and an OOP wrapper component, via the libvlc.pp and vlc.pp units. This comes standard with the Free Pascal Compiler as of November 6, 2012.[89]
- The
Applications that use libVLC
VLC can handle some incomplete files and in some cases can be used to preview files being downloaded. Several programs make use of this, including eMule and
Format support
Input formats
VLC can read many formats, depending on the operating system it is running on, including:[92]
- HEIF, AVIF
- Capture devices: ATSC, Clear QAM)
- Network protocols: Smooth Streaming
- Network streaming formats: RTSPISMA/3GPP PSS, Windows Media MMS
- Subtitles:
- WMV.
- Digital Camcorder formats: MOD and TOD via USB.
Output formats
VLC can
- Container formats:
- Audio coding formats:
- Streaming protocols:
- Video coding formats:
Legality
The VLC media player software installers for the macOS platform and the Windows platform include the libdvdcss DVD decryption library, even though this library may be legally restricted in certain jurisdictions.[96][97]
India
In May 2022, it was reported by
United States
The VLC media player software is able to read audio and video data from DVDs that incorporate
See also
Explanatory notes
- ^ a b Until VLC 1.1.0, to use AMR as audio codec, VLC and FFmpeg had to be compiled with AMR support. This is because the AMR license is not compatible with the VLC license.
- ^ This feature needs sound fonts and might not work on every OS.
- ^ RealAudio playback is provided through the FFmpeg library which only supports the Cook (RealAudio G2 / RealAudio 8) decoder at the moment.[when?]
- ^ As of 2010[update], only supported in mono and stereo, so no multichannel support.
- ^ a b c d This is present in 0.9.0 and newer version.
- ^ Indeo 4 and 5 codecs are not supported.
- ^ From 0.9.9 and over.
- ^ a b c d e This is from the 0.8.6 version.
- ^ VLC must be compiled with mp3lame support.
References
- ^ "15 years of VLC and VideoLAN". Jean-Baptiste Kempf. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "3.0.20". October 30, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ^ "3.5.4". July 6, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
- ^ "VLC - Chrome Web Store". December 23, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
- ^ "Official Download of VLC media player for Windows Store - VideoLAN". www.videolan.org. VideoLAN. July 20, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ "Get VLC - Microsoft Store". www.microsoft.com. VideoLAN. July 20, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ "Official Download of VLC media player for Windows Phone - VideoLAN". www.videolan.org. VideoLAN. July 20, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
- ^ "VLSub". addons.videolan.org.
- ^ "VideoLAN internationalization". VideoLAN. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "VLC engine relicensed to LGPL". VideoLAN. December 21, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ a b "VLC reaches 2.1.2". VideoLAN. December 10, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "VLC media player, Index of /testing/". Retrieved February 9, 2018.
- ^ "VLC Features". VideoLAN. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "Contrib Status – VideoLAN Wiki". wiki.videolan.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "libdvdcss – VideoLAN". www.videolan.org. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ^ Hoffman, Chris (March 2013). "Why Watching DVDs on Linux is Illegal in the USA". How-To Geek. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ^ "VLC for Mobile". App Store. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ Kempf, Jean-Baptiste (November 23, 2006). "VLC Name". Yet another blog for JBKempf. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ VideoLAN Team. "Intellectual Properties". VideoLAN Wiki. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "VLS – VideoLAN Wiki".
- ^ "The cross-platform streaming solution". VideoLAN. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ Jon Lech Johansen (June 23, 2005). "VLC cone". Jon Lech Johansen's blog. Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ Denis-Courmont, Rémi. "VLC media player to remain under GNU GPL version 2". VideoLAN. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
In 2001, VLC was released under the OSI-approved GNU General Public version 2, with the commonly-offered option to use "any later version" thereof (though there was not any such later version at the time). Following the release by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) of the new version 3 of its GNU General Public License (GPL) on the 29th of June 2007, contributors to the VLC media player, and other software projects hosted at videolan.org, debated the possibility of updating the licensing terms for future version of the VLC media player and other hosted projects, to version 3 of the GPL. [...] There is strong concern that these new additional requirements might not match the industrial and economic reality of our time, especially in the market of consumer electronics. It is our belief that changing our licensing terms to GPL version 3 would currently not be in the best interest of our community as a whole. Consequently, we plan to keep distributing future versions of VLC media player under the terms of the GPL version 2. [...]we will continue to distribute the VLC media player source code under GPL "version 2 or any later version" until further notice.
- ^ Paul, Ryan (July 8, 2009). "VLC 1.0 officially released after more than 10 years of work". Ars Technica. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "VLC on Android". Spill the Beans. February 2, 2011. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ "VLC media player for Android". VideoLan. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ Sorrel, Charlie (September 10, 2010). "Hands-On with VLC Movie Player for iPad". Wired. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Cheng, Jacqui (November 1, 2010). "The VLC-iOS license dispute and how it could spread to Android". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Cheng, Jacqui (January 10, 2011). "VLC for iOS vanishes 2 months after eruption of GPL dispute". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ "Apple pulls VLC media player from the App Store". MacNN. January 7, 2011. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012.
- ^ "Changing the VLC engine license to LGPL". Retrieved October 23, 2011.
- zdnet.com. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
- ^ "Press Release on libVLC relicensing to LGPL". VideoLAN. December 21, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
- ^ "Press Release on modules relicensing to LGPL". VideoLAN. December 21, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
- ^ VLC under Mozilla public relaunched. Accessed October 10, 2013
- ^ "Une nouvelle version du lecteur multimédia VLC, dix ans après sa création" [New version of VLC media player 10 years after its first creation]. Le Monde (in French). February 20, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ vlc-for-the-new-windows-8-user-experience-metro on kickstarter.com
- ^ "Top Project Listings". SourceForge. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ^ "VLC passes 3 billion downloads, will get AirPlay support and improved VR features soon". VentureBeat. January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "VLC media player continuous nightly builds – VideoLAN". nightlies.videolan.org.
- ^ "VLC 3.0.0". VideoLAN. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
- ^ "Subtitles doesn't work when playing via Chromecast". VideoLAN projects. February 11, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "INFORMATICS – The European Commission offers bug bounties for vulnerabilities in open source software". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
- ^ "VLC release history – VideoLAN". www.videolan.org. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ "VLC CodeNames – VideoLAN Wiki". wiki.videolan.org. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
- ^ "VLC media player List of modules". VLC media player trac system. VideoLAN. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013.
- ^ Jean-Baptiste Kempf (February 10, 2007). "Qt4 Interface". Yet another blog for JBKempf. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "Skins". VideoLAN Wiki. VideoLAN. February 21, 2015. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ Popov, Dmitri (March 22, 2007). "VLC beyond the basics". Linux.com. The Linux Foundation. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Skins". VideoLAN. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Documentation:Modules/ncurses". VideoLAN Wiki. VideoLAN. July 20, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Documentation:Modules/rc". VideoLAN Wiki. VideoLAN. December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Console". VideoLAN Wiki. February 26, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Documentation:Modules/http intf". VideoLAN Wiki. VideoLAN. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Interfaces". VideoLAN Wiki. VideoLAN. July 28, 2011. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
- ^ "How to Zoom into Videos in VLC Media Player". VLC Help. September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Take Picture Snapshot of a Video Using VLC Media Player". VLC Help. November 17, 2013.
- ^ "How to Go Frame by Frame in VLC". VLC Help. June 17, 2016.
- ^ Awasthi, Abhishek (February 6, 2016). "How to turn any video into an interactive puzzle in VLC media player". TechWorm. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
- ^ "Documentation:Advanced Use of VLC – VideoLAN Wiki". wiki.videolan.org. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "Documentation:Streaming HowTo New – VideoLAN Wiki". wiki.videolan.org. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "How to Record Your Desktop Using VLC Media Player". VLC Help. November 9, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "Addons for VLC". www.vlc-addons.org. VideoLAN. January 10, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "Scripting VLC in lua". the videolan forums. VideoLAN. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ Chacos, Brad (October 10, 2012). "How to master VLC, the ultimate Windows media player for power users". Video players review & comments. PC World. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
- ^ "VLC Android: Access Graphic Equalizer & Other in-player Options". VLC Help. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Jason (December 22, 2009). "VLC Gets Dressed Up for Christmas". Lifehacker. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ A notion from 2009 on the use of keys F and G in VLC
- ^ "Official Downloads of VLC media player". Videolan.org. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ^ "VLC 2.0 and Windows 2000". VideoLAN Forums. VideoLAN. February 28, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
- ^ "Download official VLC media player for Windows". Videolan.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
- ^ First 64-bit build of VLC for 64-bit Windows.
- ^ "Beta for Windows 8 VLC app to be sent to Kickstarter backers this month". neowin.net. March 11, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- ^ Ian Paul (March 13, 2014) Hands-on with VLC's beta Metro app: Already better than Windows 8's Video app. PC World. IDG Consumer & SMB. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
- ^ "VLC media player for Android". VideoLAN. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "VLC for Android Finally Reaches Full, Stable Version". Lifehacker. December 8, 2014. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
- ^ "libVLC". VideoLAN Wiki. April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- ^ "VideoLAN / Libvlcpp".
- ^ "VideoLAN / VLCKit".
- ^ Martin, Martin (April 29, 2020), LibVLCSharp: official crossplatform .NET/Mono bindings for LibVLC, retrieved April 29, 2020
- ^ "Node-VLC-ffi". GitHub. August 14, 2020.
- ^ "DBus – VideoLAN Wiki".
- ^ Bostan, Adrian-George (November 5, 2019), Go bindings for libVLC 2.X/3.X/4.X used by the VLC media player: adrg/libvlc-go, retrieved November 5, 2019
- ^ "Python bindings – VideoLAN Wiki". Wiki.videolan.org. September 30, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ "Java binding Project". Wiki.videolan.org. January 25, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
- ^ Anderson, Dean; Lamberson, Jim (2007). "Using VideoLan VLC in DirectShow". An open source bridge from VLC to DirectShow. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- ^ "libvlc for Delphi and FreePascal". Prog.olsztyn.pl. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ^ "SubVersion commit r22943 in the Free Pascal repository". Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ Larabel, Michael (November 5, 2013). "Phonon Now Supports Qt5, Likes VLC Over GStreamer". Phoronix. Archived from the original on July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Suryawanshi, Swapnil (September 11, 2017). "MX Player Vs VLC for Android – Detailed Comparison". GeekySwap. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- ^ "VLC features list". VideoLAN Project. Retrieved February 24, 2007.
- ^ "VLC 2.0.4 Twoflower". VideoLAN. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
- ^ VideoLAN team. "VLC playback Features". Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c "VLC 2.1.2 Rincewind". VideoLAN. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
- ^ "VideoLAN – Frequently Asked Questions". VideoLAN. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "VideoLAN – Legal". VideoLAN. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "VLC's website has been down for over two months in India". MediaNama. May 19, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ^ DelhiAugust 12, India Today Tech New. "VLC Media Player banned in India, website and VLC download link blocked". India Today. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Popular VLC Media Player banned in India: Report". HT Tech. August 13, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ^ "Do you use VLC media player? Beware! Hackers in China have launched malware attack". HT Tech. April 10, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ^ "Chinese hackers abuse VLC Media Player to launch malware loader". BleepingComputer. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ "VLC says India internet providers blocking site poses threat to users". TechCrunch. August 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "India lifts download ban on VLC". Tech Crunch. November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ PCWorld. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
- US Copyright Office. July 28, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
- ^ von Lohmann, Fred (2005). "DMCA Triennial Rulemaking: Failing Consumers Completely". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2010.