VLC Media Player is the video platform of choice for many desktop PC and Mac users and after floating around in beta form for mobiles for some time it’s finally getting a full release for Windows Phone.
Developer VideoLAN released the VLC player in 2001 as an open-source cross media platform for home computers. In recent months the software has gradually made its inevitable advance on the smartphone and tablet market with beta testing available to any who wish to give it a try on Android, iOS and Window Phone operating systems through their respective app stores. As with all betas the stability left something to be desired and full functionality was limited but it at least gave us a taste of what was to come.
The full Windows Phone version is now up for grabs and free to download from the Marketplace and the developer states that most video and audio formats are supported – including full HD playback for video.
The VLC Player will support pretty much any media you throw at it, from the common MPEG, WMV and MP3 as well the lesser known VP9 video and Vorbis audio. This is great for mobile users who might be limited with their pre-installed media player offerings or might have found they have to download multiple apps to support their full video library.
VLC for Windows Phone comes across like a native app and much of the software’s coding is taken directly from the desktop version for Windows 8 and above. The interface on Windows Phone also looks clean and user friendly, allowing users to browse media visually with video thumbnails and album art appearing within the app. The tiling and typeface uniforms the app as well so it looks natural in its environment on Microsoft’s mobile OS.
VLC Player for Windows Phone is now available in full version from the Marketplace. A complete version is also available for Apple iOS from the App Store and the beta version for Android can be downloaded from Google Play.