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VLC update ushers in 4K readiness, improved MKV and audio support
It's been a while since ever popular VLC has seen a major update, and today's debut of version 2.1 -- also known as "Rincewind" -- packs a handful of features that are sure to please. Most notably, VLC for both Windows and OS X is now 4K-compatible, but VideoLAN didn't stop there. Also included in the upgrade are improved support for a variety of file types including MKV, AVI and MP4, as well as a beefed up audio core designed to boost performance and fidelity. OS X users will notice adjustments to the player's UI, including a customizable playback menu and the ability to play video as a desktop background. For those of you interested in porting to Android, iOS or Windows mobile devices, there are also a few tweaks to make the process as pain-free as possible. To see the full list of improvements and download the upgrade, head on over to the source link below.
VLC for Mac gets 4K support, dozens of new features including G2M4 playback
The VideoLan Organization has released a major update to the VLC media player for OS X and Windows. VLC 2.1 adds a number of significant updates to the popular open-source media player. For starters, VLC now supports "Ultra HD video," otherwise known as 4K. That means VLC is now capable of outputting video at more than twice the resolution of Blu-ray. This, of course, requires that you have source video files of 4K quality. In addition to 4K support, VLC 2.1 now also offers OpenGL ES, which will make outputting video to iOS and Android devices much easier. The update has also added support for more than a dozen other video codecs. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. VLC 2.1 offers dozens more new features in all areas including audio, formats, inputs, mobile and for developers. On top of all the new features, more than 1,000 bugs were also fixed. For one group of Mac users, the new VLC offers a potential solution to a longstanding pain point. Citrix's GoToMeeting web conferencing platform does a nice job of recording presentations for later review, but recordings made with the default settings in the company's Windows client use a proprietary codec (G2M4) to save space and bandwidth. With no way to play these encoded videos on a Mac, G2M users have resorted to elaborate re-encoding schemes to render the files accessible. There's now light at the end of the G2M4 tunnel; VLC 2.1 lists compatibility with the codec among its new features, so Mac users should be able to play the encoded files without a problem. VLC 2.1 is a free download.
VLC 2.1 for iOS adds audio-only playback, streaming over FTP and UPnP
VLC returned to iOS with big upgrades like AirPlay and Dropbox integration, but it left out a few of the very valuable features we've seen in other media players. The app's new 2.1 update addresses several of those omissions in one fell swoop. VLC can now play audio-only files, and it will stream content from both UPnP devices and FTP servers. Even a few of the smaller additions could be quite useful for some viewers -- there's a video deinterlacing option, for example, as well as support for subtitles in non-Western languages. We're sure that VLC 2.1 won't please everyone, but iOS media lovers who held off on downloading 2.0 will want to give the update a closer look.
VLC returns to iOS after two-year hiatus, brings AirPlay and Dropbox integration
VideoLAN's original VLC for iOS had a brief and rocky history: open source licensing quirks led to the media player being pulled from the App Store just months after launch. More than two years later, it's back with a compatible license -- and it's bringing a slew of new features in return for the wait. VLC 2.0 supports all the file formats of its desktop counterpart while throwing in AirPlay, background audio, network streaming and numerous smaller tweaks. It's also better suited to sharing with support for Dropbox, the iOS sharing prompt, web downloads and WiFi uploads. The revived VLC app is gradually rolling out now, and its source code should be available for tinkering by July 19th.
Daily Update for July 18, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
VLC media player returns to the App Store
After a two and a half year absence, multi-format video player VLC is set to return to iOS. The new VLC app has already gone live in some regions, but should be in all stores, including the US store, by 11PM EST. Once the app goes live, you can download it here. A version of VLC was removed from the App Store in January of 2011 because of complaints from one of VLC's lead contributors who alleged that version of VLC for iOS violated the GPL license. The new version of VLC, released today, is licensed under Mozilla Public License v2, which is applicable to apps distributed on the App Store. Here's some of VLC iOS features: Wi-Fi Upload: Allows users to upload files directly to the iOS version of VLC through a web browser on the PC or Mac. Dropbox Integration: Play media directly from Dropbox or download it for offline playback. Download from Web: Download files from any web server for offline playback Network Streams: Play any network streams support by VLC media player for desktop operating systems 3rd-Party App Integration: Any app with a 'share' dialog can use VLC for iOS for media playback Video Filters: Video playback can be modified for brightness, contrast, hue, saturation or gamma in real time. VLC 2.0 for iOs is a free download.
Google AirShow streams Google I/O live from several RC blimps (hands-on video)
Yes, there's a fleet of camera-equipped, remote-controlled blimps live-streaming a bird's-eye view of Google I/O on YouTube, right now. It's called Google AirShow and it's taken over the airspace within Moscone Center. We briefly chatted with Chris Miller, a software engineer with AKQA (the company that put the dirigibles together for Google), about the technology used in each aircraft. It all begins with an off-the-shelf model airship that's flown manually via standard a 2.4GHz radio. Each blimp is outfitted with a servo-controlled USB camera and 5GHz USB WiFi dongle which are both connected to a Raspberry Pi board running Debian, VLC and Python. A custom-designed Li-polymer battery system powers the on-board electronics. The webcam encodes video as motion-JPEG (720p, 30fps) and VLC generates a YouTube-compatible RTSP stream that's broadcast over WiFi. Python's used to pan the servo-controlled camera via the Raspberry Pi's PWM output. The result is pretty awesome. But don't just take our word for it -- check out the gallery and source link below, then watch our hands-on video after the break. %Gallery-188534%
Edison2 shows off an updated Very Light Car EV by exposing its unique frame (hands-on)
We've had a few looks at Edison2's Very Light Car (VLC) project including its gasoline-powered X-Prize winning incarnation, but today's EV looked a bit different. In an event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, CEO and founder Oliver Kuttner showed off the latest version of the vehicle, this time unskinned -- while referencing similar body-less showcases of the Lamborghini Miura and Volkswagen Beetle -- to show off the innovative suspension that contributes greatly to the car's light weight. The in-wheel suspension units connect to single piece axles that bookend the car's chassis and feature fewer contact points than traditional car suspension designs. Kuttner claims this technique will also feed back into conventional car bodies, opening up more space and taking weight out of future vehicles. Check after the break for more details about what's changed and what's next for Edison2, or dive into the gallery to take a look for yourself.%Gallery-185393%
Play .dvdmedia files with VLC
Update 2013-04-11: Thanks to Felix Paul Kühne, lead developer of VLC for Mac, this feature has been added to VLC 2.0.6 without the need for the user to make any changes to the app. If you use that version, or later, you do not need to take the steps below. The article below remains only for reference. -- TjL Lately I have been ripping a bunch of DVDs using RipIt which has an option to save the rips as ".dvdmedia" files. For those who aren't familiar with ".dvdmedia" files, they are a special kind of folder, similar to ".app" or some ".pkg" files which aren't "files" but look and act like them. Inside of a .dvdmedia file is a VIDEO_TS folder as you'd expect from a DVD rip. The good thing about .dvdmedia files is that you can double-click on them and have them open. The bad thing about them is that the only app that I had which recognized the .dvdmedia file extension was Apple's DVD Player.app. In particular, VLC does not recognize it as a valid format. If you are a Mac "power user" you might think, "No problem, I'll just use the 'Open With...' menu and tell Finder to open .dvdmedia files with VLC. That will work." However, if you choose "Change All" to set all .dvdmedia files to open with VLC, not only will it not work, but it will make it so that .dvdmedia files are no longer shown as files at all! (If that happened to you, Tantek Çelik has the solution: use SetFile -a B /path/to/file.dvdmedia and it will undo the change.) The good news is that you can very easily add .dvdmedia as a recognized extension to VLC. You just have to add the appropriate information to the file VLC.app/Contents/Info.plist. Specifically, you have to add this: after the CFBundleDocumentTypes section. (Note: I found that via the VLC forums and tested that it worked for me in VLC version 2.0.5.) If you'd rather not try to edit the file yourself, you can download my Info.plist file and replace the existing file in the app. To do so, download the file to your Desktop (or wherever you will easily be able to find it) and then locate the VLC.app. Make sure the app is not running, and then Control-Click on the app and choose "Show Package Contents" from the context menu. Inside you will find a "Contents" folder. Open it and you will see a file named "Info.plist" which you can delete (rename to something like "Info.plist.original") and then drag the Info.plist file which you downloaded into the "Contents" folder. After that you will need to log out and then log back in to see VLC offered as an option to open .dvdmedia files. Once it is set as a recognized app for .dvdmedia you can set it to "Change All" so that other .dvdmedia files you have or create in the future will also open with VLC. If you ever decide you don't want to use .dvdmedia anymore, simply rename the files and remove the extension, and it will immediately appear as a folder once again. Caveat: Because you are replacing an app inside the VLC app wrapper, you may need to fix the Info.plist file again when VLC.app is updated. Hopefully VLC will eventually include this feature by default. Alternative fix via Terminal.app If you are comfortable with the command line, you can do all of the above much more easily. Again, be sure that VLC.app is not running before making this change. (Note: I assume VLC.app is installed in /Applications/. If you have installed it somewhere else, change the "cd" line below.) These four lines will: a) change directory to the correct folder, b) rename the existing "Info.plist" file to "Info.plist.original," c) download the new "Info.plist" file and d) register VLC as an application capable of opening .dvdmedia files: Make sure that last command (which starts with /System/Library/) is all one long line. If you use that command, you don't have to log out and back in to open .dvdmedia files with VLC. (Hat tip to Mac OSX Hints for that one!)
Outstanding Technology brings visible light communication to phones and tablets via dongle and LEDs
Data transmission via visible light is no longer a technological novelty, but it has yet to make its way into consumer's hands. Japanese firm Outstanding Technology is aiming to change that with its Commulight location system, which relies on a pair of receivers to get smartphones and tablets downloading info using photons instead of radio waves. One dongle is of the USB variety, but since most mobile gadgets lack such a socket, there's another that plugs into any device's 3.5mm jack. Each employs a sensor that grabs relevant location-based info from an overhead data-transmitting LED light. According to its maker, Commulight's destined for use as a way to give museum goers exhibit info, to transmit coupons, and even provide precision indoor location services more accurate than GPS or WiFi. Want to know more? Check out the video of tech in action after the break.
Official VLC app now out for Android: only an unstable beta, but it works
Okay, so VLC may not be the media darling it once was, but it still has a legion of fans -- as evidenced by the (official) beta version's warm welcome over at Google Play. Despite a clear warning that the build is unstable and might "kill your kitten," users report mostly smooth multi-format video playback on a wide range of devices running Android 2.1 and up, and any jitters will no doubt be resolved over time -- the whole point is that it's open-source and ripe for improvement.
VLC 2.02 adds Retina display support, ditches font cache interruptions
The latest version of everyone's favorite file-type-friendly media player has been updated on both Windows and OS X, although the Apple iteration gets the most major addition -- playback support on the new MacBook Pro's Retina display. Alongside sharper menus, VLC's latest update extends functionality to the video itself, maintaining crispness on smaller viewing windows and even fully-blow 4K video. Good news on all platforms though, as the developers have now nixed that grating "building font cache" pop-up window. Smaller changes include support for Growl and the return of the "keep aspect ratio" option. Hit up the changelog for a full run-down of the other changes.
It's Playing fills the gap left by VLC with a well-designed video player
Recently, I looked over (but declined to review) a US$9.99 dictionary application. Despite one particularly lovely visual effect, I found it hard to define an audience for the product and thought the price tag hovered on the high side for an awkward app that didn't really do anything useful. In light of that almost-review, I'd venture to say that It's Playing, at $3.99 on iTunes, seems vastly under-priced. I've used quite a number of media player apps over the past few years but none of them feels as tightly put together and with as much consideration for the user as It's Playing. This is a well-featured app that can play most every format you can throw at it and offers hardware decoding for MP4 and MKV files. Hardware decoding means that playback is super fast and very strong. The same MKV files that my VLC app complains about (saying my iPad is too underpowered to play them) presented flawlessly in It's Playing. And that's just where the feature set gets going. It's Playing spares you from having to connect to iTunes every time you want to update your onboard media collection. You can download and stream files directly from your local network using Windows SMB sharing. (Enable this on your Mac in System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing > Options > Share files and folders using SMB.) Just sign in with a local account and you can browse and view on demand. FLV files that I placed in Dropbox were correctly opened and managed in It's Playing as well. VLC users might recall how poorly that app handled external open requests, although I should point out that most other modern video player apps also handle this without issue -- it's really an archaic bug that never got fixed because VLC was pulled so soon from the store. The GUI shows a lot of design consideration. Take the file browsing menu for example. A lot of thought places that menu directly in reach for browsing your video collections, while allowing it to flip up to a "popover" presentation with a single tap on the app's full-screen button. On-screen controls appear with a simple tap, allowing adjustments to brightness, contrast, playback rate, and so forth. A series of gestures let you skip back and forward. For example, a single left swipe goes back 10 seconds, and a double goes 1 minute. I would like to see an integrated volume control here, which I was unable to track down, as well as user settings to control how far the jumps take you in time, e.g. 15 seconds back and 30 seconds forward. A feature that's sure to find an audience among hearing-impaired users is the new "Fetch subtitles from internet" option. Just tap on the info button of any playing video, and the app attempts to automatically download srt files matching that video. Other options on the video info screen allow users to select the playback quality levels and choose between hardware and software decoding. It's Playing worked beautifully with connected AirPlay destinations, providing excellent external playback. Combined with the network feature, this let me play pretty much any video I had on my computer (including AVI and MKV formats) to my Apple TV using the iPad as an intermediary. As you'd expect, It's Playing isn't perfect. I experienced a few crashes during testing (not many) and the TUAW back channel agreed fairly unanimously that we hated its icon. Aside from that, I thought the app was well worth its US$3.99 price tag and that it provides a worthy replacement for the VLC app I've been holding onto on my iPad for so long. B'bye VLC! I've found something better now.
Unofficial VLC beta hits Android, no video format is safe
VLC is the Swiss Army knife (nope, not you Perian) of media players and it has never baulked at any of the increasingly weird and wonderful formats we've thrown at it -- which is good because now it's available on Android. The unsupported, unofficial beta by user adridu59 is tailored to run on selected Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich handsets. It's available to grab from the source link, with the caveat that as an unofficial build, it'll require a little bit of tinkering at your end
VLC 2.0 now available, offering faster decoding, a refreshed UI and experimental Blu-ray support
The release candidate version slipped out a few days ago, but those waiting for the final release will be glad to know that version 2.0 of the open source VLC media player is now officially available for download. It's being dubbed a "major" release of the software, and with good reason. In addition to some UI changes (a big change in the case of the Mac version), VLC 2.0 also brings with it faster decoding on multi-core processors, GPUs, and mobile hardware, and the ability to open yet more file formats, including a number HD formats used by professional users. Also making its debut is support for Blu-ray playback, although it's being dubbed an "experimental" feature at this time. It also promises to fix "several hundred" bugs. Naturally, it remains completely free as ever -- hit the source link below to download it for the platform of your choice.
VLC 2.0 first look: Video player app features new single-window UI and robust media support
A few days ago we told you VideoLAN was readying version 2.0 of its popular video player and now the company has made the final version available for download. This latest version is a major update which features a completely re-designed UI, full-screen support on Lion and experimental support for Blu-ray discs. I've been a long-time fan of VLC and gave this latest version a test run. As expected, VLC lives up to its reputation as the media player that can handle just about everything. I have a video library with a wide variety of file formats and VLC was able to playback every file I threw at it. It handled the standard .mpg, .avi and, of course, .mov files. It also played some oddballs that most Mac players don't support including .swf, .asf, and .wmv files. DVD played back in full-screen mode with full menu support. Besides discs, VLC also played ISO and VOB files from ripped DVDs. Location of the media didn't matter either as I was able to play local media, media on a network attached storage drive, and files on the Internet. The app has a slick, single-window UI that lets you easily switch between your library and the video that is playing. If you don't like the single-window look you can always change back to the traditional UI in the options. Speaking of options, VLC has a lot of them. You can spend at least 15 minutes poring over the preferences and tweaking the app to your liking. The best part about VLC is that it's easy to use, but chock full of features that'll please even the videophiles in our midst. It plays a wide variety of file formats which makes it an excellent companion (or replacement) for QuickTime. VLC 2.0 is available for free from VideoLAN's website.
Open source media player VLC to get complete rewrite and Blu-ray playback
VideoLan says it will soon release a major 2.0 release of its open source VLC media player, which will contain many new features of interest to OS X users. The new VLC will support Blu-ray playback, if you have the proper hardware, a full screen mode in Lion, and a new interface that looks similar to iTunes. The 2.0 version is currently available as a release candidate, but it may, of course, still have some unsquashed bugs. Steve Jobs was famously against building Blu-ray support into the Mac, calling licensing issues a "bag of hurt." The Mac does support internal and external Blu-ray drives for data storage. With the VLC software, those drives should be able to play Blu-ray movies. There have been some 3rd party Blu-ray software solutions, but this will be free, and we hope, reliable. Update: There is a bit of confusion out there (both us and readers) about the playback of commercial or encrypted Blu-ray disks by VLC 2.0. I talked with Jean-Baptiste Kempf, one of the developers at VideoLan. He says both Lion and Snow Leopard can play unencrypted Blu-rays, but for legal reasons VLC can not ship the 2 libraries and the keys needed to play the encrypted discs. He says that users will have to locate them on their own, and if present, VLC will play the discs. Of course, if you have the software to rip the discs, VLC will play them directly off your Mac. [via MacStories]
VLC hits version 2.0: brings presents to all the platforms (update: it's the RC version)
Open-source friend to all the video codecs, VLC media player, has hit version 2.0, bringing with it a raft of new features across Mac OS, Windows and Unix versions. VideoLAN's also brought the player kicking and screaming into this decade with a better (read; less Windows 98-looking) makeover. The PC version will include a new 64-bit edition, while Mac OS X users will get a new iTunes-esque look, playback for Blu-ray and a new native full screen mode for Lion. There's also a new subtitle manager and support for multiple videos inside RAR files. There's also two extra surprises; an iOS version makes a return to the fold, with the development of an Android version appearing in the change log. Willing to give the first release a try? The files are available for your platform of choice at the source link below. Update: This is the release candidate version, so you won't be able to update your existing version. And it looks like 64-bit Windows users will have to wait a little longer. Image credit: Felix Kühne
TUAW's Daily Mac App: VLC
Yesterday on the Daily Mac App, we showed you how to bestow QuickTime Player with the ability to play a multitude of formats and codecs, but sometimes even Perian won't cut it, and that's where you can turn to VLC to get the job done. VLC is a free, open-source, cross-platform multimedia player that we've covered extensively in the past, and for good reason. It'll play almost everything under the sun without requiring any additional codec packs or plug-ins. That means you can literally throw just about any media file you can find at it and marvel as it plays back in a fast and smooth fashion. No fuss -- it just works. If you like to delve into a myriad of settings and features, VLC comes up trumps. From being able to set playback delay for audio, ironing out those sync issues, to spitting out AC3 or DTS through an optical cable, it's all there in the preferences. VLC resembles the iTunes Mini Player and, for the most part, the UI is usable and gets out of your way. When you're playing video, you get a familiar disappearing media playback control bar that sinks into the background when not in use leaving you with your media. VLC is available free from the VideoLAN website, and it's an absolute must download if you ever play non-Apple approved media formats on your Mac. There are quite a few decent alternatives to VLC available on the Mac. If you've got a favorite, shout out in the comments and tell us why you prefer it over other options.
The GPL, the App Store, and you
My colleague Chris wrote a post about the popular video playback client VLC being pulled from the App Store following objections from a developer who worked on the project that it was in breach of the GNU Public License. [The app has now been released on Cydia for jailbroken devices.] This unpopular move had provoked strong reactions throughout the Mac blogging world, and Chris made a strong case for the prosecution in his post. However, every story always has two sides (and somewhere between them lies the truth). I'm here today to present the case for the defense: why Rémi Denis-Courmont was absolutely in the right to do what he did. However, to do so, I'm going to have to lay out some open source history to give structure to my arguments. Please follow me on.
