VLC Media Player is a long-time open-source favorite, and the latest
version is also the first to be out of beta development. It's not the
only option for free video playback, but it's one of the best, and the
feature updates in version 1 make it well worth the upgrade.
Users can now get frame-by-frame advancement, granular speed controls
allowing for on-the-fly slower or faster playback, and live recording of
streaming video. The toolbars are fully customizable, so you can have
only the buttons you need in the interface, there's AirTunes streaming,
and there's better integration in Gtk environments. Along with the
improvements, VLC continues to offer robust support for a wide range of
video and audio formats, including OGG, MP2, MP3, MP4, DivX, HD codecs
like AES3, Raw Dirac, and even support for playing back zipped files.
The default interface is still a stripped down player that belies VLC's
functionality and features. Skinning can fix that quickly, but behavior
can still be a bit unpredictable depending on the quality of the skin.
VLC's open-source foundation and community ensures that it evolves
quickly and often, with new features and fixes released frequently.
Overall, VLC Media Player is a must-have application for its ability to
open just about any type of video file you throw at it.
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