VLC 1.0 Released

**Lemur** · 07-08-2009, 05:54

Well, now I can throw out the hodge-podge of media players I've got littering my hard drive. VLC, the media player that can play just about any video file that isn't completely broken, has gone to version 1.0. Woo-hoo! I just downloaded it and tried it out on some files that cause problems with Windows Media Player, and it chugged through them without a hiccup. Great stuff. And we all love that open-sauce free aspect, yessir.

Download it here, and bask in the pure love of a one-stop codec and media heaven. (I may get cocky and unistall my K-Lite Codec Pack, just to be different.)

**rajpoot** · 07-08-2009, 06:56

The best media player there is.....though I never ever understood why do they call it VideoLAN.

**LeftEyeNine** · 07-08-2009, 09:12

(I may get cocky and unistall my K-Lite Codec Pack, just to be different.)

Lemur, avoid blasphemy at all costs.

**Beskar** · 07-08-2009, 16:23

VLC is ugly as sin and using either CCCP/K-Lite Codec allows you to use Media Player 11/12 which looks very good and play any file with it. Also VLC lacks Thumbnail support, so all your video files look like traffic cones and you can't see what the file is at a quick glance and have to read through. Also has no library for easy management of the files.

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 07-08-2009, 17:17

Why did you wait for 1.0 to use it Lemur? It's been fully fuctional (as far as I can tell) for ages.

**Xiahou** · 07-08-2009, 19:01

Originally Posted by Beskar

Also VLC lacks Thumbnail support, so all your video files look like traffic cones and you can't see what the file is at a quick glance and have to read through.

I still get thumbnails using VLC.

Thanks for the heads up on this, Lemur.

**Hooahguy** · 07-08-2009, 19:19

Originally Posted by Beskar

VLC is ugly as sin and using either CCCP/K-Lite Codec allows you to use Media Player 11/12 which looks very good and play any file with it. Also VLC lacks Thumbnail support, so all your video files look like traffic cones and you can't see what the file is at a quick glance and have to read through. Also has no library for easy management of the files.

better than downloading a dozen codecs...

**Beskar** · 07-08-2009, 20:30

The dozen codec are generally in a batch file, so it is only one download. As for Xiahou, did you do anything to make that happen, or is it because you are using 32-bit windows and it just works for that?

**Lemur** · 07-08-2009, 21:18

Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

Why did you wait for 1.0 to use it Lemur? It's been fully fuctional (as far as I can tell) for ages.

I was using it back in the command-line days, so it's not as though I'm unfamiliar with the software. Frankly, I found the interface too kludgy, so I put it on a shelf and only whipped it out when there were files that didn't want to play nice.

Now it's all polished and pretty and I love it with little teddy bear hearts and sparkly fairy magic and unicorn love love love.

As for library management, I don't use it for music, just video, and I organize my educational materials by folder.

**Beskar** · 07-08-2009, 21:27

Could you screenshot version 1? My biggest complaint is the klunky interface.

As for educational material, I don't put that on the library either.

**Lemur** · 07-08-2009, 21:50

Sure, Beskar. Here's the preferences pane open next to the media player itself.

**Beskar** · 07-08-2009, 21:54

That does look far better. I am used to it being like this and it was a pain.

However, if it is good, I retract all my previous negative statements.

**Beskar** · 07-08-2009, 22:18

I will be honest, there are some nice improvements over previous versions I have used. As for skin, if it is easy to do, I might skin one myself to get it just right.

A couple of flaws -
It can't tell that ten is ten, hundred is hundred, etc. (For instance, I loaded a folder of mine up and the first three it played was 1, 10, 100 then 2, etc)
Lack of Library means I have to trawl through my folder system opposed to having them all laid out in front of me.
Some others are closer to pet pevs, etc.

**Lemur** · 07-09-2009, 22:07

Ars Technica gives VLC a little write-up.

The program offers support for playing practically every kind of video content in existence and has an exhaustive feature set that includes many advanced capabilities. [...] VLC can be used for everything from serving up streaming video across your network to reencoding video files. It's a remarkably powerful tool with a long history of delivering value to users. The new version is available for download from the project's website, and we salute the developers for finally hitting the 1.0 milestone.

**Beskar** · 07-09-2009, 22:15

I tried playing an .avi file today and VLC failed to play it only giving sound, whilst Windows Media Player played it fine, weird.

**LeftEyeNine** · 07-09-2009, 22:32

I only use it when I have to.

VLC always seemed to be prioritizing "functionality" before "quality". And as long as I have that swiss army knife called K-Lite Codec Pack installed cleanly, my PC rarely fails to play files properly. Therefore quality-focused programs such as BSPlayer comes first for me.

I'd be willing to be convinced that VLC is a quality player though.

**Hooahguy** · 07-13-2009, 23:42

ok finally installed v1.0, and i dont like it. sure, quality is better, but the controls are kinda messed up (no equalizer settings, like the headphone setting, that makes a huge difference). plus sometimes it gets stuck, which is really annoying.
i wish i could go back to v0.8, which is what i was used to.

**pevergreen** · 07-14-2009, 00:44

I think I have the installer file at home.

**Hooahguy** · 07-14-2009, 01:16

for v0.8? i still have it too. but if you install v1.0 it doesnt let you go back. ive tried uninstalling v1.0 and reinstalling v0.8 but it doesnt work.