VLC Media Player

3.0.20 Media player app for Windows

Fernando Ortega

Multimedia player capable of playing a wide range of audio and video formats with several different customization options.

Free and open source VideoLAN client software download, reviewed by Fernando Ortega
The gold standard in media playback with support for almost every type of media file - Screenshot of VLC Media Player
Apply different effects, filters and modify audio and video synchronization - Screenshot of VLC Media Player
Modify the video track being played, change the zoom or aspect ratio and apply cropping and deinterlacing from the
Modify the user interface of VLC where you can toggle controls, resize the video and change the skin from the settings dialog - Screenshot of VLC Media Player
Play files in MKV, FLV, WMV, SWF, and other formats as well as toggle different audio controls with time-stretching, gain mode a - Screenshot of VLC Media Player
Smart decoding, - Screenshot of VLC Media Player
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A powerful media player which supports next to every type of video, audio or media file, or radio stations.

VLC Media Player (formerly known as VideoLAN Client) is a media player that allows you to play virtually any video format. Being an open source and cross-platform program, it seeks to offer you a tool that will help you view all your video files. Thus, VLC Media Player is one of the most used programs today.

VLC Media Player is a superb media player that does almost everything a media player could do. Not only is it fast and compact, but it brilliantly displays video files without the need to download additional codecs. Users can interact with this media player by normal mouse buttons or with the mouse wheel to control volume.

The most used features in a media player

The suite of VLC Media Player features are vast, thanks to its reliance on active open source projects making video and other multimedia playback possible and to the community of users and programmers that work on it. Some worth mentioning are its ability to use GPU and hardware decoding, audio and video filters, online media streaming and robust support for both old and new technologies and standards.

While playing videos, you have the option of speed controls and live recording of video streams. It also comes packed with skinning support. Skins can be downloaded from a variety of sites on the web.

Support for the widest array of formats without the need for a codec pack

With VLC Media Player, as we have said, you will be able to watch all kinds of video files. It supports MPEG, DivX, AVI, WMV, MP3 and many more container formats and codecs. You will be able to watch Blurays, DVD, VCD and even various playback protocols via streaming.

VLC Media Player can even read incomplete video and audio files. It also supports several types of subtitle formats and you can activate or deactivate them in the options. It also supports playing back of compressed ZIP files!

A playlist function allows several films to be played one after the other. This is especially useful if you downloaded a clip in multiple parts or want to watch many smaller videos.

Once downloaded, you can artificially increase the volume of the film or other media file such as audio formats up to 200 percent if it's too quiet. In addition, the utility can search for album covers for your media collection.

New features and free updates

New features are released constantly and with newer versions of VLC Media Player, the program will, by default, attempt to download the newest version with your permission.

The media player is fully customizable and provides a number of themes from the web, along with numerous different settings which can be applied to audio or video playback.

In conclusion

VLC Media Player is certainly among the very best of media players, be it open-source, commercial or shareware. With this program, you have a tool that can play almost anything, regardless of the format. This will prevent you from having to download different programs to view each of the video or audio files on your PC.

A must-have.

Features of VLC Media Player

  • Integrates with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
  • Completely Free, 0 spyware, 0 ads and no user tracking.
  • Equalizer: Built-in equalizer that allows you to adjust the audio output of your media files.
  • Media Conversion and Streaming.
  • Multiple audio and subtitle tracks: Select and switch between different audio and subtitle tracks when playing a media file.
  • Playback speed control: Adjust the playback speed of your media files.
  • Playlist support: Create and manage playlists of your media files.
  • Plays a wide range of media formats: Play a wide range of media formats, including MP3, MP4, AVI, WAV and many others.
  • Plays everything: Files, Discs, Webcams, Devices and Streams.
  • Plays most codecs with no codec packs needed: MPEG-2, DivX, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3 and MANY more.
  • Runs on all platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix.
  • Simple, fast and powerful media player.
  • Skins: Customize the appearance of the player using skins.
  • Video filters: Range of video filters that can be used to adjust the appearance of your media files.
  • Volume normalization: Feature that automatically adjusts the volume of your media files to a consistent level.

Compatibility and License

VLC Media Player is available for free and released under the open source GPLv2 license on Windows from media players. The license provides the options to freely download, install, run and share this program without any restrictions. The source code for VLC Media Player should be freely available and modifications are certainly permitted as well as the option to inspect the software.

VideoLAN Organization accepts donations for the continued development of this free software.

Is VLC Media Player for Windows 10?

Yes. It can run on a PC with Windows 11 or Windows 10. Previous versions of the OS shouldn't be a problem with Windows 8 and Windows 7 having been tested. It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit downloads.

Other operating systems: The latest VLC Media Player version from 2024 is also available for Android, Mac and iPhone. These are often available from the app store.


Filed under:
  1. VLC Media Player Download
  2. Free Media Players
  3. Open source and GPL software
  4. VideoLAN Client Software
  5. Software for Windows 10
  6. 64-bit downloads
VLC Media Player has been picked by our editors as excellent.
VLC Media Player has been tested for viruses and malware.
We have tested VLC Media Player 3.0.20 against malware with several different programs. We certify that this program is clean of viruses, malware and trojans.