Last week we announced that VLC Media Player would be getting a major overhaul as part of an update to version 2.0, and now that update is officially available to download on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
Now, if you’re not familiar with VLC it is a free open-source cross-platform multimedia player which is brilliant for playing pretty much any multimedia content you have including DVD, audio CD and VCD. VLC can also support various streaming protocols as well.
Version 2.0 has been completely re-built to bring faster loading, new features and a more user-friendly interface. The brand new user interface integrates many of VLC’s features into one window, and takes on a simple black and grey look. VLC 2.0 also supports multiple video files contained with RAR archives as well as enhanced video output modes. Mac users will also get Blu-ray media support while Windows users will be treated to a 64-bit version.
VLC developers explained: “Playlist and video output share the same window, service discovery modules can be easily accessed through a sidebar and various audio + video filters are available through the respective panels. Besides that, the interface is noticeably faster and easily expandable”
Asides from the updated interface, VLC 2.0 will decode videos much faster thanks to improved multi-core support. It’ll also work better on mobile devices and support more professional file formats, including HD variants and 10-bit codecs, as well as experimental Blu-ray support.
Make sure to check out the video below which shows developers contribution towards the project throughout 2011 day by day. VLC 2.0 will be out very soon and when released you’ll be able to download it from the videolan website.
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.