VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is the multimedia player that has stood the test of time. I tried many of them. Back in the day, it competed with Media Player Classic and later MPC-HC. I saw them fade away or turn into forks, like MPC-BE.

VLC Media Player is the most mature and likely the most popular media player for the past decades. The VLC Team has kept a strong reputation for 24 years. It's not a popular open-source project; the people behind it make it great. I saw how they created a version for all popular OSS and a relentless update process.

So why is this media player so great?

Long story short, it can play almost anything that comes as audio or video. The most popular multimedia formats, like MP4, AVI, MKV, MP3, and FLAC, include some rare old file types that many other players cannot open.

If you're an old guy like me, you might recall the "codecs" days. Back then, you had to download and install them one by one. Sometimes, you need to adjust or find them in different libraries. The situation was frustrating, particularly on slow internet connections. Those were tough times, young people!

Not anymore. With VLC, you do not need to download any extra stuff. It simply plays everything you throw at it!

To summarize it, I made a short list with the things I love about it:

• No adware/spyware - trustworthy after 24 years.
• Plays almost anything that a media player can play
• Watch live videos
• You can convert media files (for example: convert a .mov into .mp4)
• You can use it to record your screen or even your webcam.
• Support for subtitle files, including syncing them manually.
• The ability to play partially or damaged files. etc.

Many other features and options exist, with some being added or improved over time. If this is your first time hearing about it, believe me, you won’t need another free media player.

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