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View audio, video and streaming media at full-screen resolution 

View audio, video and streaming media at full-screen resolution 

Vote: (431 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: VideoLAN

Version: 3.5.4

Works under: Android

Also available for Windows Mac

Vote:

Program license

(431 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

VideoLAN

3.5.4

Works under:

Also available for

Android

Windows Mac

Pros

  • Supports Most File Formats VLC supports most file formats and streaming audio and media right within the app.
  • Intuitive Touch and Gesture Controls Built with mobile devices in mind, the latest version of the app includes intuitive touch and gesture support that give you more control over your media.
  • Native Subtitle and Audio Track Switching Use the built-in subtitle database to find subtitles fast, and switch between native and alternative audio tracks for ad-hoc dubbing on the fly.

Cons

  • No HD Support Disappointing, especially when you consider how many free media players for Android do offer HD video support.
  • Doesn’t Support Chromecast, Either Chromecast and VLC aren’t compatible, so don’t expect to be able to connect to your Chromecast with this app.

VLC Media Player is a popular portable media player for Android.

Before we get started it’s important to understand that this is an open beta, meaning this version of VLC may be glitchy and crash from time to time. That being said, the beta version still has a lot of neat features worth mentioning.

VLC features support for most audio and video formats (MP3, MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV, etc.) it can even connect to UPnP and other media servers on your network, as well as stream video and audio live from the internet - all in one app!

One of the best features about this app are the intuitive touch and gesture controls; most free media players add touch controls in as an afterthought, but you can really tell that the team worked hard to integrate these into the player. Gestures allow you to use common gestures (think pinch for zoom) or create your own to pause, play, fast forward, rewind and more. We recommend sticking with the default gestures, it can get confusing trying to create your own.

If you watch a lot of foreign shows or prefer subtitles, you'll have everything you need to get set up. Use the built-in search engine and find subtitles for all your favorite movies and shows in just a few seconds. Need an alternative audio source? No problem! All you have to do is point VLC to your alternative audio track file and you’ll be good to go.

While we love what VLC can do, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a beta version of the program. HD support (for both AAC/FLAC audio and HD video) has yet to be implemented, and accessing your Chromecast from within VLC media player isn’t possible either.

If you want a lightweight, fast and most importantly free media player for your devices, VLC is a great way to go. Need Chromecast support or support for HD files? You might want to try an alternative like Media Player Classic instead, just to stay on the safe side.

Pros

  • Supports Most File Formats VLC supports most file formats and streaming audio and media right within the app.
  • Intuitive Touch and Gesture Controls Built with mobile devices in mind, the latest version of the app includes intuitive touch and gesture support that give you more control over your media.
  • Native Subtitle and Audio Track Switching Use the built-in subtitle database to find subtitles fast, and switch between native and alternative audio tracks for ad-hoc dubbing on the fly.

Cons

  • No HD Support Disappointing, especially when you consider how many free media players for Android do offer HD video support.
  • Doesn’t Support Chromecast, Either Chromecast and VLC aren’t compatible, so don’t expect to be able to connect to your Chromecast with this app.

VLC Media Player is a well-known program that is capable of playing a variety of media files. This version is specifically for Android devices and, despite frequent glitches, can play many videos smoothly in full screen resolution. Various file formats of audio, video and streaming media are allowed, and the program also supports subtitles. Settings such as volume and brightness are easily changed using the touchscreen. Despite these conveniences, VLC Media Player has a difficult time when encountering high definition videos and often lags or crashes when a file as large as 1080p is loaded. The player works best when executing audio files.

This download is no longer available. This could be due to the program being discontinued, having a security issue or for some other reason.

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