Tiny App Tuesday #5 - VLC
One of the more unusual skins for Windows Media Player
I guess Windows 95 was the first version of Windows where I actually got onto the internet and downloaded software from various sources. By the early 2000s, I was serious about multimedia on my PC. Of course, Windows users had Windows Media Player. When it first showed up on my Windows PC it was fine but almost immediately you would discover that it wouldn’t play certain formats of multimedia. Microsoft tried to compete with some of the new media players by adding cool features like being able to skin the player, however the problem was that Microsoft was like your Dad. They just were never going to be cool.
Winamp 5 with one of the optional skins
As filesharing and MP3s became more popular I started looking at other media players that offered more capabilities. I recall using Winamp for a time. It offered skins like Microsoft Media Player but they reminded me more like the components of your home stereo system. Winamp had a really neat parametric equalizer built-in, which Microsoft eventually added as well. But Winamp was cool because it wasn’t Microsoft.
I used iTunes for a time when you could store your entire library in their cloud service but again, their product wouldn’t play everything that I wanted to play.
VLC media player version 3.0.16 Vetinari, currently installed on all my PCs
Eventually, I stumbled upon Video Lan Client or more commonly called VLC. VLC is what I use presently and I don’t recall when I started using it but my guess was during the Windows XP era. VLC is open-source, which means that the software is written by people like me and you. There is no big company like Microsoft or Apple behind it. I have used it for so long because I can install it on my current PC in seconds and it plays everything (certainly everything I need it to play). I have to admit that some of the videos I have on my media PC are not official copies of movies so the formats of some of the videos I keep on my media PC are sometimes bizarre. I’ve even discovered strange encoding that wouldn’t play on Windows Media Play will play just fine in VLC.
When Windows 8 came there was Groove Music and I thought I would try it out. It was really just a front end for the music streaming service from Microsoft, which you know will ultimately be a failure. Sure enough, Groove Music Pass has been discontinued. You could still use the player in Windows 10 but I think most people have walked away. It’s one of the first things I uninstall on my Windows 10 installation.
For me, it really just comes down to the fact that for over a decade I have used VLC because it just works. It’s my default music player, it’s my default video player, it’s fast and installs super easy and just works. Also because it’s open-source I never have to worry about it installing advertising or tracking. Here is a cool interview with the founder that should give you an idea about how trustworthy he and his company are (I’m not even sure if they count as a company).
There are a ton of features in VLC I don’t take advantage of but if you wish to stop using other media players or wished you had a nice simple media player that plays videos and audio. VLC would be my recommendation. It’s one of the first items I install on new PCs. Here is the link to download the latest version. https://www.videolan.org/
