VLC Media Player 3.0.16: Download Latest Version for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS

The VLC media player is a well-established application that can play almost all types of media files, such as videos, audio, images, and so on.

Also, VLC has more than 3 billion downloads all around the world.

vlc media player main image

The VLC media player is available for both PC and Mobile.

The application was previously known as VideoLAN Client, and this is a free open source cross-platform media streaming software.

Therefore, you can download the software for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Ios, iPad, Tizen, ChromeOS, Windows 10 Mobile, and Windows Phones.

What Is VLC Media Player?

The VLC media player is a simple video player application.

The application first came out as an academic project in 1996, and then it continued as a nonprofit organization.

So this is a free application that comes under the GNU General Public License.

You can download it from this page or any of the digital distribution platforms like Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Microsoft Store, and Amazon Fire Store.

VLC media player support for almost all the types of audio compression file formats as well.

Therefore, you do not have to install multiple media player on your computer or mobile to play different types of file formats.

This player has the ability to stream media content over computer networks and to transcode multimedia files.

When you have the VLC player, you do not have to look for different proprietary plugins for encoding and decoding.

Because the default distribution of the player contains a number of free decoding and encoding libraries.

VLC media player usually uses its own muxers and demuxers. However, it can get many VLC’s codecs from the FFmpeg project libavcodec as well.

Further, VLC is the first media player to supports playback of encrypted DVDs on Linux and macOS.

Also, it uses the libdvdcss DVD decryption library to support encrypted DVD playback.

However, there are certain gray areas regarding the legality of this method. Therefore, it is not included in some software repositories and Linux distributions.

Application Package Information

Application NameVLC Media Player
File Size40.57 Mb
Content Rating12+
Supported PlatformsAndroid, iOS, Firestick, Nvidia Shield, PC & Mac
Supported VersionWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, etc.
CategoryEntertainment

Download VLC Media Player

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How to Download and Install VLC Media Player?

vlc media player download image

The downloading and installation process is so simple. Firstly, you have to be aware of your operating system and bit version (i.e., 32-bit or 64-bit).

After that select the downloading installation process as given below,

How to Download and Install VLC on Windows and Mac?

STEP 01

Download the .exe installer setup file from your Windows 10 PC.

vlc media player official website image

STEP 02

Then double click on the downloaded setup file installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

installer file
installation screen

STEP 03

Once completed, open the application.

How to Download and Install VLC Media player on Android?

 STEP 01

Go to the “Settings” menu in your Android device and then enable apps from “Unknown sources.”

enabling apps from unknown sources

STEP 02

Then download the APK file.

STEP 03

After that, install the downloaded apk file in your Android device.

STEP 04

Once completed, you can find the installed app on your apps list.

How to Download and Install VLC Media player on iOS?

You can simply get the application from the Apple app store and install it on your iPhone.

How to Use the Different Features of the Application? 

How to Install VLC Media Player Add-ons?

Installing add-ons with VLC is simple. You do not have to go through a lengthy installation process.

All you have to do is get the add-ons that you want from the official website.

STEP 01

Download your preferred add-ons in .lua file format form the official website.

STEP 02

Then copy that file and paste it in the following file location.

Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\extensions\

STEP 03

After that, restart your application.

STEP 04

That’s all! You can now see the installed add-ons in the VLC media player.

How to apply a custom skin to VLC Media Player?

Please follow the below instructions to install custom skins on your media player.

As we mentioned in another section of this page, skin features do not work in macOS.

STEP 01

Open the VLC media player

STEP 02

Then go to the “Tools” tab and click on the “Preference” sub-menu.

VLC player tools menu

STEP 03

After that, it will display a new window. There you have to select the “interface” option.

interface sub menu

STEP 04

There you can find a subsection “Look and Feel.” In that check the “Use custom skin” option.

STEP 05

Then click on “Choose” to install and custom skin that you have already downloaded.

browse skins

STEP 06

Now, Click on “Save

STEP 07

Restart the media player. That’s it.

Why is VLC one of the Best Media Player?

As mentioned above, VLC supports many types of operating systems and different types of devices.

The VLC media player is designed with a modular programming technique. Therefore, you can integrate various types of plugins to the media player to get different features out of it.

More importantly, VLC does not display Ads on the player. The only way you can contribute to the development is by donating their official website.

You can have more than 380 different plugins for different purposes in the latest version of the media player.

Such features may include new file formats, codecs, interfaces, streaming methods, and so on.

Moreover, the main application has the ability to create its own modules for different purposes, depending on the situation.

As a result, you can consider everything that you see in the VLC media player as a module. So the interface of the player, controllers, audio, and video output features are all modules.

Further, the newer version includes some of the important features like,

  • Chromecast output support
  • local network drive browsing
  • audio passthrough for HD audio codecs
  • 4K and 8K playback
  • hardware-accelerated decoding
  • 360° video and 3D audio
  • 10-bit and HDR playback
  • Blu-ray Java menu support

The interface of the player has been developed based on different platforms depending on the operating system.

However, the ultimate navigation and visualization are the same for all the versions.

Also, you can use many types of customizable skins with VLC media player. However, skins do not support for macOS.

Further, you can install the application on an external device like a USB flash drive and run the application on it.

VLC Media Player Features

The VLC media player can play any type of video file as the VLC is a packet-based media player.

Therefore, you can even play some of the video files even if they have issues such as damaged, incomplete, unfinished, still downloading, etc.

Further, you can play m2t MPEG transport streams files as well even while they are still in the completion process from an HDV camera through Firewire cable.

You can also play the video files included in a.ISO files as the VLC can access such data using libcdio.

Not only Video files, but VLC also supports any type of audio file format.

One of the other unique features of the VLC media player is that it has different types of video filters that you can use them on top of any video.

So that it allows you to rotate, split, distort any video files.

Further, you can also display a playing video as desktop wallpaper on a computer. So that there is no wallpaper in the background, and there is a video playing instead.

However, this feature is available only for Windows PCs.

Moreover, you can stream live videos using VLC player by connecting a Firewire from a cable box to a computer.

Similarly, you can use a webcam as well for live streaming through VLC.

Also, you can use the VLC player as a screen recorder and save the recorded video file on your computer.

Therefore, you will not have to install separate software for such functions that are available in the VLC player.

Further, if you are using Microsoft Windows, you can use Direct Media Objects (DMO) frameworks as well with the support of the VLC player.

Latest Improvements

The VLC browser plugin is the latest addition to the media player, and by using that, you play any audio and video files embedded in websites via the VLC media player.

This feature supports all the popular web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and so on.

So when you go to websites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc., you can directly play the videos and media files embedded in them via VLC without downloading the.

Further, it can play media files that are stored in other devices such as USB flash drives.

Nowadays, many people use online media streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, Cinema APK, Disney, CyberFlix TV, and so on.

So, you can use VLC media player easily on these platforms as well.

The user interface of the newer version is so attractive, and it is easy to navigate. You can also use this media player as a single platform to play around all your media files.

Also, one of the most used features in the VLC media player is its subtitle feature. So it allows you to integrate subtitles from any language.

All you have to do is drag and drop the .srt file to the medial player.

Further, the music and audio equalizer feature allows you to customize the audio on different parameters and set it to your preferred levels.

When it comes to security, VLC does not collect any cookies or browsing data for any other purpose, and the developers respect data privacy.

Unlike other media players, VLC uses all the applicable hardware features in your PC or Mobile to get better decoding.

As a result, you can watch all your movies at their best quality.

Further, the media player supports many languages, and the number is continually growing.

Downsides of the application

Why do Heavy Videos get Stuck?

VLC can decode video files so faster.

However, there could be videos file types like AVI files where some of the video clips are massive in terms of the file size, but the video length is low.

So, in that case, your PC to process that video, and it might use a lot of memory to do that.

Therefore, video files with those characteristics might take an extended time to open and play with VLC media player.

It might happen with any other player as well.

As we all know, for you to play high-quality videos on online platforms, you have to have a faster internet connection.

Otherwise, you will face the video buffering issues.

Finally, VLC media players can read almost all types of file formats, unlike other similar applications.

VLC Media Player Alternatives

There are some other players that you can find out there which provide similar features to VLC.

Some of those applications are Winamp, Pot player, Kodi, Mplayer, MX player, and so on.

When you compare VLC with those applications, VLC has its own unique features that other apps do not have.

Also, Players like Winamp are well-established and have been there for decades with their own user base.

So different users prefer different media players according to their desired purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Update vlc media player update?

You will get VLC software update notifications on the player dashboard. you can also check this page for latest updates

Is vlc media player safe?

Yes. we have tested the media player application with VirusTotal technology.