This article was published on June 23, 2010

VLC Media Player updates. Better HD, dropped SHOUTcast support.


VLC Media Player updates.  Better HD, dropped SHOUTcast support.

For the past few years of my computing life, I’ve relied on a single media player.  That player is VLC.  For those not in the know, VLC is an open-source, cross-platform media player that…well, to put it simply, plays anything you throw at it.

The newest version of VLC updates quite a few features, and brings it more up to par with high definition technology.  So what’s new?  Here’s the short list:

  • New scripting for personalization
  • WebM encoding/decoding
  • Better web content streaming
  • Support for DVD Audio files
  • 40% speed increase in HD decoding

My sole gripe about the newest feature is actually not at all a gripe at the VLC developers, but rather at AOL.  You see, I listen to a single streaming online radio station pretty regularly.  VLC has always been my player of choice for this.  The problem is, that station broadcasts primarily in SHOUTcast.

SHOUTcast is owned by AOL, and AOL is none too happy about the way in which VLC  does things.  Free is bad, don’t ya know?  So, after being on the business end of a number of injunctions, the VLC team has finally removed SHOUTcast streaming support from the VLC 1.1.0 release.

Don’t let that detract you, however, from giving VLC a try.  It’s an amazing application and deserving of not only your time but also your donations.

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