VLC is a popular open source audio and video player for Linux, Windows, and Mac computers. There’s also a version for Android in the works, and earlier this month the developers launched a private beta. But if you didn’t get in on the beta, you can still test out an early alpha build of VLC.

The folks at VideoLan have offered instructions for compiling the app from source for a while, but one developer has been kind enough to do the heavy lifting so that you can just download and install an APK file directly on your phone or tablet. There are two different builds available (NEON and NONEON) as well as instructions for figuring out which version you want.

While VLC for Android is still clearly a work in progress, the app looks pretty good and does an excellent job with video playback. That alone isn’t all that exciting, as there are more than a dozen excellent video players available for Android. But VLC is also a music player, which means it may eventually be the only multimedia app you’ll need on your phone or tablet.

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VLC is a popular media player for Windows, Mac and Linux computers. It was one of the first apps that could support virtually any video codec, which means that as long as you’re trying to watch a video without DRM, you can probably use VLC.

The developers have been working on an Android port of VLC for a while, and now it looks like we’re one step closer to a release. VLC for Android is now in beta testing, and you can sign up to request an invitation to participate in the private beta.

There’s a key difference between VLC for desktop computers and for Android though. Most Android phones and tablets have processors that support hardware acceleration for just a few video codecs. So while VLC may be able to decode videos that aren’t supported by your device’s chipset, it will have to use software to do that, and the performance will likely vary from device to device and video file to video file.

For instance, most recent Android devices have hardware support for H.264 video files, which means you can typically play 720p or even 1080p HD video in that format on some devices. But it’s much less common (although not impossible) to find a device that has hardware support for MKV or DiVX video files. VLC may let you watch movies in those formats anyway, but I wouldn’t expect HD videos to work well unless you have hardware support.

In other words, while it’s certainly pretty cool that VLC is set to become one of the first Swiss Army Knife video players that can run on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, I’d be surprised if it works much better than RockPlayer, MoboPlayer, or any of the other video players currently available for Android.

via reddit

Most Google Android phones and tablets can play videos in a handful of formats using the Gallery application. Common formats including 3gp, H.264, and MP4, but a few devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S can also handle DiVX videos. But what about FLV, Xvid, MKV or other formats? And what if you want advanced features such as slow-motion playback, or video bookmarks?

It turns out there are at least a dozen great apps available in the Android Market which give you more control over video playback and better support for a wide range of video formats. But that wasn’t always the case.

When the first Android phones were launched a few years ago, the Gallery app was your only choice. A year ago I couldn’t have made this list. But today there’s a glut of excellent video players for Android. Hopefully this list will help you find the ones that best suit your needs.

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While the open source VLC media player has been pulled from Apple’s iTunes App Store, a new mobile version is in the works for Google Android. Thanks to Google’s open source roots, the Android version should be safe from the sort of legal/licensing issues that brought down the iPhone version.

If you’ve been impatiently waiting for the popular video player to show up in the Android Market, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that the project is still in the works and one of the developers has posted a detailed progress report. The bad news is that “the project still requires a lot of work before any release.”

The developers are working with Google Nexus One, Nexus S, and HTC Desire phones, but the beta will be open to Android users with all sorts of devices for testing purposes. Right now the best performance is available on devices running Android 2.3, but the goal is to support all versions of Android. The developers also plan to spruce up the UI. The early builds of VLC can play video, but the user interface is rough around the edges, to say the least.

A number of VLC libraries are also still being ported to Android. So it sounds like it will be a while before the app is ready to launch, even in beta. But it’s good to know that it’s still a work in progress.

via Android Central

The VLC Media Player for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad was pulled from the App Store this week due to a complaint over the licensing agreement. Basically, VLC is based on open source software licensed under the GPL. Apps made available in the App Store include Apple’s DRM, and therefore don’t comply with the GPL. Therefore, the app was booted from the App Store.

But as I expected, it’s now available in the Cydia store for jailbroken iOS devices. The Cydia version is fully compliant with the terms of the General Public License. The only catch is that you need to jailbreak your device before you can download VLC now.

via MacStories

It’s taken a few months, but as expected Apple has removed VLC from the App Store. VLC is a sort of Swiss Army Knife of video players, handling a wide range of audio and video formats, including many not natively supported by Apple. Unfortunately the mobile version stutters a bit with some HD video in certain formats, but it still offers more options than you’d get using Apple’s video player.

So why did Apple pull VLC? It’s not because the media player violated Apple’s terms. It’s actually the opposite: the App Store violates the licensing terms of the VLC app.

VLC is open source software developed under the GPL (General Public Licsense). Because iTunes restricts the way apps can be distributed, the version of VLC available from the App Store was in violation of GPL.

It’s possible we could see a version of the app distributed in the Cydia store for jailbroken iOS devices. But it’s not likely it will ever find its way back into the official App Store.

In more positive news, a version of VLC for Android is in the works, and it’s much more likely that the developers will be able to create and distribute the app in such a way that it doesn’t violate the GPL.

via Slashdot

The VLC media player is a popular open source app for Mac, Windows, Linux, and even iOS. The best thing about VLC is that it’s capable of handling almost any video format you can throw at it without breaking a sweat — although the iOS version is limited by the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad hardware, making HD video playback difficult. Still, I can’t help but be a little excited that the developers are working on a version of VLC for Google Android.

The new Android app could be available for download within the next few weeks. Early development was apparently difficult because Android’s multimedia output libraries were written in Java, but Google recently released tools that let the VLC team write native code for Android.

There already a couple of other excellent video players for Android, including Rockplayer, VPlayer, and ArcMedia, but I’m looking forward to seeing what VLC brings to the table.

Well how’s this for a strange turn of events? You know how apps that get booted out of the app store are usually removed by Apple because they violate one or more of the company’s terms for the App Store? It turns out that Apple doesn’t have any problem at all with VLC media player for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. But it looks like the developers of the original VLC software do have a problem with Apple’s app store.

Basically, VLC is open source software licensed under the GPL… which means that the original software and any works derived from it have to be free and open source… which isn’t entirely the case when you get the app from the App Store, since it includes DRM.

Basically, when you get an app from the App Store, Apple imposes restrictions on how you can use and distribute the application, and that’s a violation of the GPL.

The long and short of it is that Apple will likely remove VLC from the App Store, not because it violates Apple’s rules, but because the App Store violates GPL’s rules. Maybe we’ll see a new version of VLC show up in the Cydia store for jailbroken iOS devices at some point, or maybe third party developers will port the app to Google Android or another platform which doesn’t include the same kind of use and distribution restrictions.

Theoretically, fighting to enforce the provisions of the GPL in cases like this could force Apple to see the error of its ways and make changes to accommodate apps like VLC. In reality, that seems highly unlikely, which means that one of the best third party video players for iOS is likely to just disappear from the App Store.

In other words… if you haven’t downloaded VLC for your iOS device yet, you might want to do it now before it’s gone.

Update: And… it’s gone.

via TUAW and iLounge