VLC - the cross-platform media player and streaming server. VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia 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.
Fast - Hardware Decoding. VLC has hardware decoding on most platforms. It supports 0-copy on the GPU and can fallback on software when required.
Plays all formats MPEG-1/2, DivX® (1/2/3/4/5/6), MPEG-4 ASP, XviD, 3ivX D4, H.261, H.263 / H.263i, H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, Cinepak, Theora, Dirac / VC-2, MJPEG (A/B), WMV 1/2, WMV 3 / WMV-9 / VC-1, Sorenson 1/3, DV, On2 VP3/VP5/VP6, Indeo Video v3 (IV32), Real Video (1/2/3/4).
Supports a wide range of formats. Good hotkey support. Easy to use. Very flexible and lightweight. Integration with web channel streaming services. Plays BluRay and HD.
VLC media player is the most stable, flexible and lightweight audio and video player around today, especially when compared to others that will play unusual formats after downloading a codec, or simply refuse to play things.
The program handles tons of formats, from MPEG to FLV and RMBV files. V10 bit codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM, as well as the ability to play HD and BluRay.
Also useful is the fact that you can use VLC media player to preview files you are downloading since it plays incomplete parts of video files. VLC media player is not just for video playback however. It also offers superb integration with video channel streaming services such as Channels.com giving you access to channels such as ESPN, Reuters and National Geographic. Just right-click or CMD-click on the playlist, select Services Discovery and Channels.com.
Channels.com will then appear in your VLC media player playlist. Click on it to reveal the the different categories of channels available. Click on the category you want and a drop down list of all available channels appears in VLC media player. Just click on the channel you want to watch and streaming should begin almost immediately.
VLC has plenty of new stuff such as the ability to browse network drives and support for HDR video. Other enhancements include 360 video with 3D audio, support for newer video formats and codecs such as WebVTT, TTML, HQX and 8K video playback. VLC 3.0 activates hardware decoding by default, to get 4K and 8K playback!
Can stream to Chromecast devices, even in formats not supported natively. Can play Blu-Ray Java menus: BD-J. VLC supports browsing of local network drives and NAS. HEVC hardware decoding on Windows, using DxVA2 and D3D11. Stream to distant renderers, like Chromecast. Support EAC3 and TRUEHD pass-through for PulseAudio.
