Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Video, Open Source
VLC 1.0.2 includes 64-bit Mac port and security fixes
VideoLAN's popular cross-platform open source media player VLC 1.0.2 is now available with an important security update. The rest of the release notes are rather terse and nerdy: "BEWARE: this release is not compatible with Tiger. This version introduces many fixes, notably for SSA decoding, v4l2, MacOS interface, ogg/theora, x264 modules and security issues. It also introduces the port to 64bits for Mac OS platform and 2 new languages (Kazakh and Croatian)."
I'm not sure what "Mac OS interface" fixes were included (the app looks the same to me, but perhaps it refers to minor fixes rather than major changes), but two things probably jumped out to you: the first is that the app is not compatible with Tiger, although this is not new with 1.0.2 (downloads for older versions of Mac OS X are still available).
The second is the "big" news: VLC is now 64-bit. Again, this is not a change that end-users are likely to notice, but if you have been following news about Snow Leopard you know that 64-bit has gotten a lot of emphasis, and it's great to see VLC is keeping up.
Someone recently asked why I would use VLC on the Mac when I had QuickTime Player or Apple's built-in DVD app. My answer was two-fold and simple: I use it because when I want to watch DVDs I can press command+D (to open the DVD), press enter, and VLC automatically takes me to the main menu of the DVD, skipping all the ads and previews and other nonsense that the movie companies try to force you to watch every single time you put in a DVD. The other big reason I use VLC is because is has an option (under the "Video" menu item) called "Float on Top" which, as you would expect, keeps the video window above other windows. I was disappointed to see that even QuickTime Player X does not offer a similar feature.
VLC may not be beautiful to look at, and its advanced preferences are enough to make a normal person go cross-eyed with confusion, but it is a video playback workhorse, especially when paired with the US$3 iPhone remote control app (iTunes link).
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob said 12:05PM on 9-28-2009
vlc is great but I like Mplayer OSX Extended better.
see http://mplayerosx.sttz.ch/
(Don't confuse Mplayer OSX Extended with Mplayer)
Reply
William Hook said 12:13PM on 9-28-2009
VLC may be ugly, but you can make it pretty sexy pretty easily with this: http://cypohirogen.deviantart.com/art/BlackPearl-V2-Single-Window-101529514
Only problem is it's not always compatible, and it has to be reapplied with each update.
Reply
jack said 12:14PM on 9-28-2009
I didn't know that the 1.0.2 I'd downloaded recently was also available in 64-bit. Thanks for the heads-up! Trying it now.
Reply
Ultima Thule said 12:26PM on 9-28-2009
1.0 wasn't available for Tiger, either, and it's one of the reasons I'll be updating to Snow Leopard ASAP.
Interface is so-and-so and handling advanced preferences is a pain in the a**, by the way VLC suits most of my needs and it's my default player for most video formats.
Reply
Gazoobee said 12:42PM on 9-28-2009
Fail. There is no 64 bit version nor any mention of 64 bit versions on the VideoLAN site. The one I downloaded is 32 bit and 15 minutes of searching their awfully arranged site has not found any other versions.
It's a good program, and I use it a lot, but for the balanced review ... it often has a lot of bugs and it often doesn't do what you want it to do because of the impenetrable poorly designed interface.
I use it and I promote it to others, but this gushing has to stop. VLC has its flaws, some of which are quite serious and the people behind it can't communicate worth a damn and don't know anything about designing interfaces or software in general. They are video geeks.
Reply
bradleyjx said 12:50PM on 9-28-2009
It's under the "Mac OSX" in the downloads area, third option is the 64-bit Intel download. (after the universal binary and the 32-bit download)
Eugene said 12:49PM on 9-28-2009
You have to look harder next time.
64-bit (41MB):
http://www.videolan.org/mirror-geo.php?file=vlc/1.0.2/macosx/vlc-1.0.2.dmg
32-bit (18.1MB):
http://www.videolan.org/mirror-geo.php?file=vlc/1.0.2/macosx/vlc-1.0.2-intel.dmg
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
Ditty said 12:50PM on 9-28-2009
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
it is available in both 32 and 64 version
Glenn said 12:56PM on 9-28-2009
Check again. :)
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
64 bits Package for Intel-based Macs (18.8MB)
I have to agree about VLC. I've tried most of the video players avaible for OS X but I keep coming back to VLC. Would be great if we got OpenCL support, but i guess that wouldnt work on any other plattform.
alex cutter said 3:48PM on 9-28-2009
Dumb-ass.
Ekauq said 12:42PM on 9-28-2009
in case anyone is wondering, there is a free version of VLC Remote that's linked in the article
Reply
Skoalbandit said 12:50PM on 9-28-2009
VLC is good to have around. Plays things that quicktime has trouble with. Use it to play flash files that QT has trouble with. Also it plays windows files instantly with out the stupid loading bar flip for mac has.
I like using it under xp even more because microsoft's media player is really terrible.
Reply
Eugene said 12:51PM on 9-28-2009
Also, if your update via VLC.app itself, it might download the 32-bit version. The file size is a dead giveaway, the 64-bit weights in at 41MB, if you're downloading a 18.1MB file it's the 32-bit version.
64-bit (41MB):
http://www.videolan.org/mirror-geo.php?file=vlc/1.0.2/macosx/vlc-1.0.2.dmg
32-bit (18.1MB):
http://www.videolan.org/mirror-geo.php?file=vlc/1.0.2/macosx/vlc-1.0.2-intel.dmg
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
Reply
Esaú said 12:59PM on 9-28-2009
By the way someone have problem with the subtitles? everytime i update VLC i have problem with that
Reply
drphred said 1:18PM on 9-28-2009
the 64bit version has a bug in it when trying to play any .MKV file with a subtitle. It will crash. 32 bit version works fine.
Reply
ErnieP said 1:29PM on 9-28-2009
Great, but this was released like a week ago...
Reply
kristofer said 9:28AM on 9-29-2009
I triede to see a 1080p mkv. file here and it uses 90 pct. in the 64 bit version! The 32 bit version uses 40 pct.
What?!
Reply
jakkzen said 4:37PM on 9-28-2009
If you use Handbrake wouldn't you need the 32bit? I would get the 64bit if would be compatable with Handbrake.
Reply
Samuel said 10:41PM on 9-28-2009
Nonsense, I use VLC for the one true advantage it has: codec support. Especially with container formats like AVI, which other players have troubles with. Although Mplayer is very good with AVIs if all else fails.
Reply