Open source tip: VLC, the player for just about anything
VLC, the iconic media player, feels like it’s on every computer – and yet, it’s often underestimated. Here’s what sets the open-source software apart, and why it’s remained unrivalled for decades.
VLC Media Player is a classic, installed on countless desktop PCs, laptops, smartphones and TV boxes. Its glowing reputation stems primarily from the fact that it can play a wide range of video and audio formats. That’s containers and the elements they contain, along with their codecs. But only upon closer inspection do you realise it can also work as a streaming server, conversion tool or screen recorder. Behind the simple interface, barely changing over recent years, lies one of the most sophisticated open-source software solutions around.
A nonprofit project steeped in tradition
Our story begins at the University of Paris-Saclay in France, 1996. A student group launches a video streaming project – hence the name VideoLAN. Back then, the player was still called VideoLAN Client, which explains the abbreviation VLC. What began as a university initiative is now a nonprofit project with enormous reach. VLC isn’t developed for profit, but by volunteer devs from around the world – all funded by user donations. Thanks to its GPL license, the software will remain free of charge forever.
Source: Screenshot: Martin Jud
Just as the player natively supports a vast number of video and audio codecs, the software can also run on a wide variety of operating systems. In addition to Linux, macOS, Android and iOS, there are also some lesser-known platforms, such as BSD, Solaris, QNX, BeOS and Haiku.
VLC and the Wild West of codecs
At the heart of VLC lies its ability to play virtually any video and audio format. Or, more specifically, to support their codecs – the technology that compresses video and audio data and decodes it again during playback. If the right codec’s missing, the screen will remain black. Not so with VLC. As a result, it doesn’t require any external codec packs. Thanks to hardware acceleration, VLC uses the GPU whenever possible. This reduces load on the CPU and saves battery power.
Hidden features
But VLC isn’t merely a media player. If you dig a little deeper into the menus, you’ll discover a whole toolbox. For example, VLC can record your screen (go to Media > Open Capture Device and select Desktop) without requiring you to install any additional software. It also converts media into other formats, works as a streaming server and can send content over your network.
Then there are all these little tasks: synchronising subtitles when they don’t line up exactly with the audio track. Adjusting playback speed without making your voice sound like a chipmunk. Rotating, flipping and applying filters to videos. During playback, you can also save still images as snapshots with a single click. If you manage a lot of content, you can also create playlists and browse your media library directly in the player without having to rely on an external file explorer.
A look into the near future – VLC 4.0
Behind the scenes, VLC developers have been working on version 4.0 for years. Recently, it’s become increasingly clear where things are headed. Among other things, a completely redesigned interface is planned, along with AirPlay output and direct connectivity for VR headsets with head tracking. Although VLC can already play 360° videos, native support for the latest VR headsets, such as the Meta Quest or Apple Vision Pro, will be new.
Source: Screenshot: Martin Jud
In May 2026, VideoLAN also announced dav2d, its own open-source AV2 video decoder optimised for x86 (AVX2), ARM (AArch64 NEON) and RISC‑V. AI-powered subtitles are also in the works. The goal is to generate and translate captions locally in over 100 languages, entirely without a cloud service that gobbles up your data. The first live demo took place in January 2026 at CES.
Early beta versions of VLC 4.0 have recently become available – though as of early July 2026, they’re only available for Apple devices. If you want to try out a developer version on Linux or Windows, install the Nightly Builds. There’s no release date for the final version yet.
I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
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