Amongst the must-have software on any given computer, multimedia players make the topic of many discussions. Some users prefer classic yet up-to-date players such as Windows Media Player, while the more adventurous bunch constantly look for performance and a vast array of supported formats.
 
VLC media player is one of the first options when it comes to picking your favorite multimedia player. It is, by definition, an application that supports virtually all formats, regardless of their audio or video nature.
The software comes with some configuration steps straight from the installer, so you can already configure which files you want VLC to handle. The interface perfectly matches the idea behind this product: a simple GUI wrapped around a very powerful application. Although the interface is nothing special, it’s excellent for those who just want to open multimedia files without wasting their time.
For those of you that desire a fancier interface, VLC media player provides skin support and a various selection available on the developers’ website. And if simplicity isn’t exactly the kind of thing that fits you, just enter the settings menu and you might change your mind a little bit. VLC media player has tons of options, not only related to the visual appearance, but also to configure its functionality.
The program also display a wide variety of information regarding the currently opened files. The available plugins further enhance the experience of using an already comprehensive application. VLC media player packs conversion and streaming capabilities alongside video and audio capture. It also supports HTTP, RTP, MMS and RTSP stream playback.
You can further enhance your video and audio streams by accessing the available Adjustments and Effects panel. The selection will provide users with a 12-band audio equalizer and presets as well as a Spatializer for better acoustics according to your room dimensions.
On the video side, the selection of effects goes beyond basic - you can choose between  crop, color fun, image modification, AtmoLight, logo or more advanced filter controls. In addition , you will be given the ability to perform synchronizations of audio / subtitles and video streams.
All in all, VLC is one of the best multimedia players you can get. It comes with a configurable interface, excellent functionality, ease of use and it supports any audio / video format. This is definitely a keeper.

What's New in This Release:
Important changes:
· The licenses of numerous modules have changed from GPLv2+ to LGPLv2.1+
· The --with-tuning and --without-tuning options are removed. To tune compilation for a specific processor type, set CFLAGS manually.
3rd party libraries (contrib):
· /extras/contrib has been replaced by a cleaner system in /contrib
Core:
· Audio core rewrite
· Fix support for .001, .00x split files on Windows
· Full support for UNICODE Windows mode
· Partial support for Windows Store App
· Removed SQL support
· Add an audio fingerprinter
· Disabled and marked obsolete --language selection
· Port to Android
Decoders:
· Support for OPUS via libopus.
· Support for CDXL, Ut Video, VBLE, Dxtory codecs via libavcodec.
· Numerous improvements on the OpenMAX IL codec
· Support for Ulead DV audio
· Support for TechSmith Screen Codec 2, Microsoft Expression Encoder Screen, Microsoft Application Screen Decoder 1 (MSS1) and 2 (MSS2)
· Support for Indeo Audio Coder, RealAudio Lossless
· Add Hardware Acceleration support on OS X for H.264...