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VLC Media Player
VLC (initially VideoLAN Client) is a highly portable multimedia
player for various audio and video formats, including MPEG-1,
MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, MP3, and OGG, as well as for DVDs, VCDs, and
various streaming protocols. It also can be used as a server for
unicast or multicast streams in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth
network.
When it comes to video files, nothing is ever as easy as it should
be. Thankfully, VLC Media Player offers a one-stop solution for
the file-format problem. The program supports playback of OGG,
MP2, MP3, MP4, DivX, DVD, and a whole slew of other file types. In
addition, it also can function as a streaming media server.
Because of its open-source foundation, VLC Media Player evolves
quickly, with new features and fixes released frequently. Though
the interface varies from platform to platform, the sparseness of
the Windows version leaves plenty to be desired. The skinned mode
perks things up slightly, but the program seems to suffer from
unpredictable behavior when skinned. Also, the basic task of
opening a file is far more confusing than it should be; the
program gives you several options, including the head-scratching
Quick Open File. Overall, though, 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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