VLC Disadvantages 7:26 PM

by Gee Jay Coleco

VLC, as with any other software programs, has its own share of drawbacks. I made a research on this and found some people who wants VLC to have some improvements on its features and functionalities. Here's what they said about VLC:

1. VLC does not support Real format.
2. Interface needs some improvement. It may easy to use, but not nice to look at. Some people say the skins are not very likable.
3. VLC should provide the ability to manage your playlist, such as tagging and rating features. Also the playlist is not integrated well with the main area.
4. Does not burn CD since VLC is just a media player.
5. Does not rip CD.

Other than that, because VLC is very light and easy to use, it is still one of the leading media players available for everyone's enjoyment. Especially great for movies and videos.

Sources:

http://www.benh.org/techblog/2007/07/vlc-media-player-play-everything-anywhere/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_Transport_Protocol

VLC Key Features 5:20 PM

by Gee Jay Coleco

VLC boasts of several unique features that would make other proprietary media players, such as WMP, bow down and run for their money. The following are some of the key features of VLC Media Player:

• Operating System Compatibility. VLC is compatible with OSs such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and BeOS.

• Play whatever. Be it any format or any codec, they got to play in VLC.

• Simplicity. If you know how to use your DVD player at home, this would be a breeze.

• Network Streaming. It can stream internet video over HTTP, UTP protocol more over it support IPv6.

• Streaming Server. You can broadcast video using unicast or multicast in high bandwidth network.

• Filters. Have some fun on your video. Use the filter options to change color, add waves, etc.

• Highly Portable. VLC is also available as a portable application for Windows. In that way, you can take your audio/video files and VLC with you (saved on your USB drive) and play them on a computer without installation and without leaving any personal information behind.

• Volume Control. I am not sure if anyone has noticed this, but an amazing feature of VLC is it exceed its own volume limit. On its interface, the maximum volume is only 200, but when you use your mouse control to adjust the volume, it doubles the number to 400! I compared the volume of VLC and WMP and there is a big difference between the two. Very useful for those users who's using a poor set of speakers.

• Customizable Controls. VLC has the option for you to customize the interface controls and buttons as you wish.

Sources:

http://www.benh.org/techblog/2007/07/vlc-media-player-play-everything-anywhere/

http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/vlc_portable

Skin Choosers 10:08 AM

by Gee Jay Coleco

According to Wikipedia's definition, skins are custom graphical appearances (GUIs) that can be applied to certain software and websites to suit its the purpose or topic, or the tastes of different users. Applying a skin changes a piece of software's look and feel...[to] make the program more aesthetically pleasing. [One] can rearrange elements of the interface, potentially making the program easier to use.

In short, end-users apply skins to make their application programs more personalized, usable and nice to look at depending on their personal preference.

Both VLC and WMP offer a gazillion of skin choices to download: from serious and professional to wacky and playful. And the best part -- most of them, if not all, are free! :-)

WMP on a Ducky skin

VLC on a WinampModern skin

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_(computing)

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.php

http://www.sizzledcore.com/2007/07/19/best-vlc-media-player-skins/

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/skins.aspx?locale=409&geoid=c9&version=11.0.6002.18065&userlocale=3409

OS Compatibility 9:28 AM

by Gee Jay M. Coleco

One of the greatest advantages of VLC over WMP is its compatibility with a wide array of operating systems. However, its features vary from one OS to another.

The following is a list of OS where VLC can be downloaded:

Binaries

• Windows
• MAC OS X
• BeOS
• Syllable

GNU/Linux

• Debian GNU/Linux
• Ubuntu
• Mandriva Linux
• Fedora
• openSUSE
• Familiar Linux
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Slackware Linux
• ALT Linux
• Arch Linux
• YOPY/Linupy
• Zaurus

Source and other operating systems

For the other operating systems supported, there are no precompiled binaries. You will have to get the source code for VLC and its required libraries and build them yourself:

• NetBSD
• OpenBSD
• FreeBSD
• Solaris
• QNX
• Gentoo Linux
• Crux Linux

For the complete list of features and OS comparison, please click here, or copy this url to your web browser:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html

-oOo-

Windows Media Player meanwhile is only available for a certain number of operating systems. Only two brand names, in fact -- Windows and Mac OS X. An older version of WMP is available for Solaris which is a UNIX-based OS.

The advantage of WMP, unlike VLC, is that there is a version available for Windows Mobile users. Although there was a proposal project before to create a mobile version of VLC, it was discontinued due to the lack of interest of the developers.

For the complete list of WMP versions available on Windows, Windows Mobile and Mac OS X, please click here, or copy this url to your web browser:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/versions.aspx

Sources:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/features.html

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-sources.html

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/versions.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Player#Other_versions

http://thinkabdul.com/2006/08/03/vlc-media-player-for-windows-mobile-pocket-pc/

Understanding Codec 10:28 AM

by Gee Jay M. Coleco

Have you tried opening a file and experienced these errors on your media player?

WMP Codec Error 1

WMP Codec Error 2

VLC Codec Error

Arguably the most common error one might experience is a "Codec error." This error may be experienced in both WMP and VLC media players whenever we try to play or open certain audio and/or video files.

But what exactly are codecs?

According to Wikipedia, a codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau (word used to mean a blend of two or more words) of 'compressor-decompressor' or, most accurately, 'coder-decoder'.

Simply put, it makes your audio/video file smaller in size to make it playable on your media player. Which means, if you are receiving this error message, you probably don't have the right codec program installed on your computer in order for your media player to read the file.z

If you are receiving this kind of error, then most likely you don't have the correct codec installed in your computer. Hence, your medial player cannot read your audio/video files.

About.com said that video and audio files are normally large in size. Because of this, files are difficult to transfer across the Internet quickly. To help speed up downloads, mathematical "codecs" were built to encode ("shrink") a signal for transmission and then decode it for viewing or editing. Without codecs, downloads would take three to five times longer than they do now.

So which codec should I use if I experience these errors?

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of codecs available on the Internet. Different types of media files -- mp3's, movies, voice recording, screen captures, streaming videos, etc. -- use different sets of codecs. There is no specific codec that is compatible with certain file types.

Because of the number of choices available for download, About.com suggested that user should download codec packs instead. Codec packs are collections of codecs gathered in single large files.

For suggested codec packs, please visit the About.com website.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/multimedia/f/codec.htm

Multimedia Files Supported by VLC and WMP 12:35 AM

by Frannie Pacifico

Have you ever found yourself trying to open a file in a media player (not necessarily WMP) and it just wouldn't budge? I know I have and it annoys me more than anything to find out that I can't open a file just because it's not compatible with the player. Usually, when I am faced with this kind of problem I go to Google and type "Players that play (file extension e.g. .mpeg/.avi/.mov/.aac etc)".

After going through a vast list of media players, I end up going to the website of VideoLan (VLC). I learned after years of encountering the "file extension not supported" pop-up that if Windows Media Player can't play it, VLC can. This holds true MOST OF THE TIME, but not ALL THE TIME. Technical terms drive me crazy and I am sure that a person who is not tech-savvy would feel lost if presented with a myriad of file extensions. So, below is a short-list of common file extensions for both video and audio files.

The most common video files are the following:

.3g2 3GPP2 Multimedia File
.3gp 3GPP Multimedia File
.asf Advanced Systems Format File
.asx Microsoft ASF Redirector File
.avi Audio Video Interleave File
.flv Flash Video File
.mkv Matroska Video File
.mov Apple QuickTime Movie
.mp4 MPEG-4 Video File
.mpg MPEG Video File
.qt Apple QuickTime Movie
.rm Real Media File
.swf Flash Movie
.vob DVD Video Object File
.wmv Windows Media Video File

The most common audio files are the following:

.aac Advanced Audio Coding File
.aif Audio Interchange File Format
.iff Interchange File Format
.m3u Media Playlist File
.mid MIDI File
.midi MIDI File
.mp3 MP3 Audio File
.mpa MPEG-2 Audio File
.ra Real Audio File
.wav WAVE Audio File
.wma Windows Media Audio File

source: http://www.fileinfo.com/common.php

Windows Media Player supports certain multimedia formats. Most of the common formats can be played in the Media Player. Click on the link for a detailed list and description of the file formats supported and not supported by Windows Media Player.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/knowledgecenter/mediaadvice/0071.mspx#E5F

Like I said earlier, most of the files that cannot be read by Windows Media Player can be read by VLC. Click on the link for a detailed list of files supported by VLC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_media_player#Format_support

VLC Brief History 4:15 PM

by Gee Jay Coleco

VLC media player is an open source, free software media player written by the VideoLAN project. VLC used to stand for VideoLAN Client, but that meaning is now deprecated.

The VideoLAN Project

The VideoLAN project is a project, lead and composed by a team of volunteers, that believes in the power of open source when dealing with multimedia.

VideoLAN logo on their website

The project started as a student project at the French École Centrale Paris, in 1996. After a complete rewrite in 1998, it became Open Source, based on the agreement of the École Centrale Paris in 2001.

The project started to open up to developers outside of the École. It is now a worldwide project with developers from 20 countries. Since 2009, the project is completly separated from École Centrale Paris, and is backed up by an autonomous non-profit organisation.

VLC v.1.0.1 announcement of released on their website last July 28, 2009

Although VLC media player is the most well-known VideoLAN project, they do host several other video-related projects, mostly aimed at software developers.

VLC on stand-by mode

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_media_player#History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VideoLAN

http://www.videolan.org/