Good news for fans of open-source media players: VideoLAN Client, or VLC, has just been updated to version 0.9.2, the result of over two years of development.

VLC’s major claim to fame is that it can handle just about every audio and video format under the sun, even those that usually require proprietary codecs (such as DivX, Real, and QuickTime, among others), without the need for external software packages.  It can play MP3s, CDs, DVDs, streaming video, Internet radio… it can play anything, really, short of the Sicilian Opening.  (And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were hooks in the source code for PGN chess notation!)

New in version 0.9.2 is a much more attractive default user interface (based on the Qt toolkit), GUI controls even in fullscreen mode, a streamlined playlist that makes searching for your favorite Shoutcast streams a pleasure, new video filters and special effects, Last.FM support, direct search and play of YouTube videos (and similar video-sharing websites) in the client, and improved codec support.

Versions for Windows, OSX, and various Unices are currently available at the VLC homepage.  For users of the Official Linux Distribution of Way of the Geek (Ubuntu), the installation process is as follows:

1. First, if you have the current Ubuntu-repo version of VLC (0.8.6), remove it completely:

   $ sudo apt-get remove vlc
   $ sudo apt-get autoremove

2. With root access, edit your /etc/apt/sources.list to include the following two lines:

   deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/c-korn/ubuntu hardy main
   deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/c-korn/ubuntu hardy main

   (If you’re using Ubuntu 8.10 “Intrepid Ibex,” change “hardy” to “intrepid” in both lines.)

   Save the file, then run an update on your repositories:

   $ sudo apt-get update

3. Install the new VLC with the following command:

   $ sudo apt-get install vlc

If all goes well, you should then be running the latest and greatest VLC, and be sufficiently armed to tackle even the toughest media-playback jobs.

If you liked that, try...

1. Ubuntu 8.04 Released
2. Ubuntu Tweaks
3. Ubuntu 8.10 Released
4. Linux May Be Smashing Windows?
5. Freespire 2.0 Released

1 Comment »

1. 
   peter fields
   September 21, 2008 at 9:11 am

   This is all very well, but the repo doesn’t have a signed key. Which means it is completely worthless. You people are SO irresponsible - do you EVER give a second’s thought before giving “advice” to others ?

   [Reply]

Leave a comment