VLC is undoubtedly the second most popular media player on both Windows and Mac. The app’s ability to play just about any file thrown at it is the thing of legend at this point, and is something that plenty of other developers have tried to replicate. To date, the folks at VideoLAN are the only ones to manage it, and they’ve done a particularly good job of it, too.
Available on just about any platform you’d like to name, VideoLAN’s VLC has today received a rather sizeable update on Windows and Mac, with new features and improved processing of media the order of the day.
Called Rincewind, the update is actually VLC 2.1 and features a whole host of changes both under the hood and on the cosmetic side of things. VLC was already pretty impressive to us, so any addition is welcomed with open arms. This update has its fair share of headline grabbers, too.
Top of the list has to be VideoLAN’s claim that VLC is now all set for Ultra-HD 4K video. More video and audio formats are now supported too, along with improvements to those that were already amongst VLC’s sizeable roster. MKV files, we’re told, received special treatment in this update. Given that’s the file format that we suspect most VLC users are fond of, that’s got to be great news.
VideoLAN has made the move from OpenGL to OpenGL ES with Rincewind too, which should make porting the app to iOS and Android even easier than it already was. Oh, and the iOS app is set to receive an update according to the developer, too.
Beyond the inner workings of VLC, the app’s playback interface is now customizable, and interestingly the app now allows videos to be played as the desktop wallpaper. Which is nice. We suppose.
VLC is as popular as ever, and it’s great to see the developer working hard to keep ahead of the game. Support for Ultra-HD is a prime example of that, and we can’t wait to see where things progress from here.
VLC 2.1 Rincewind is available to download now from the official website videolan.org.
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