Free versatile media player with format support, intuitive touch controls, subtitles, but lacking HD support
Free versatile media player with format support, intuitive touch controls, subtitles, but lacking HD support
Vote (460 votes)
Program license Free
Developer VideoLAN
Version 3.6.5
Works under Android
Also known as VLC for Android
Pros
- Supports Most File Formats VLC supports most file formats and streaming audio and media right within the app.
- Intuitive Touch and Gesture Controls Built with mobile devices in mind, the latest version of the app includes intuitive touch and gesture support that give you more control over your media.
- Native Subtitle and Audio Track Switching Use the built-in subtitle database to find subtitles fast, and switch between native and alternative audio tracks for ad-hoc dubbing on the fly.
Cons
- No HD Support Disappointing, especially when you consider how many free media players for Android do offer HD video support.
- Doesn’t Support Chromecast, Either Chromecast and VLC aren’t compatible, so don’t expect to be able to connect to your Chromecast with this app.
VLC Media Player is a popular portable media player for Android.
Before we get started it’s important to understand that this is an open beta, meaning this version of VLC may be glitchy and crash from time to time. That being said, the beta version still has a lot of neat features worth mentioning.
VLC features support for most audio and video formats (MP3, MP4, MKV, AVI, FLV, etc.) it can even connect to UPnP and other media servers on your network, as well as stream video and audio live from the internet - all in one app!
One of the best features about this app are the intuitive touch and gesture controls; most free media players add touch controls in as an afterthought, but you can really tell that the team worked hard to integrate these into the player. Gestures allow you to use common gestures (think pinch for zoom) or create your own to pause, play, fast forward, rewind and more. We recommend sticking with the default gestures, it can get confusing trying to create your own.
If you watch a lot of foreign shows or prefer subtitles, you'll have everything you need to get set up. Use the built-in search engine and find subtitles for all your favorite movies and shows in just a few seconds. Need an alternative audio source? No problem! All you have to do is point VLC to your alternative audio track file and you’ll be good to go.
While we love what VLC can do, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a beta version of the program. HD support (for both AAC/FLAC audio and HD video) has yet to be implemented, and accessing your Chromecast from within VLC media player isn’t possible either.
If you want a lightweight, fast and most importantly free media player for your devices, VLC is a great way to go. Need Chromecast support or support for HD files? You might want to try an alternative like Media Player Classic instead, just to stay on the safe side.
Pros
- Supports Most File Formats VLC supports most file formats and streaming audio and media right within the app.
- Intuitive Touch and Gesture Controls Built with mobile devices in mind, the latest version of the app includes intuitive touch and gesture support that give you more control over your media.
- Native Subtitle and Audio Track Switching Use the built-in subtitle database to find subtitles fast, and switch between native and alternative audio tracks for ad-hoc dubbing on the fly.
Cons
- No HD Support Disappointing, especially when you consider how many free media players for Android do offer HD video support.
- Doesn’t Support Chromecast, Either Chromecast and VLC aren’t compatible, so don’t expect to be able to connect to your Chromecast with this app.
Pros
- Based on the long-running, successful VLC open source project
- Can play literally any video or audio file
- Has all the features the desktop version has
Cons
- May be redundant and unnecessary depending on the diversity of files you have
- No other cons
VLC for Android is the port of VideoLan's famous media player. It aims to play almost any format of video or audio in the best quality with the least lag.
You probably know that VLC is well-known for being stable and has been around forever. Their Android app does not disappoint. There are many paid players for specific video formats. VLC for Android is completely free and can play almost any format you can think of (yes, even x265). This means that if you have a bunch of TV episodes from 15 years ago in RMVB format, you can now play them without converting. Conversion usually implies video quality loss unless there's no transcoding, so you can play your media truly losslessly.
VLC for Android may not have the prettiest interface, but no app comes close to it in terms of player versatility. It even has the more advanced features that VLC for PC has, like Network Streaming and more. Probably the most unique feature of this app is that it plays ISO files (DVD images). Literally no other app does this. It makes it very easy to play DVD rips on the go without having to worry about conversion and quality loss.
Even for novice users, VLC for Android is a great choice. It can play almost any video format and do it well. It has a superior rendering engine, so there's little chance of experiencing lag even on older hardware.
Pros
- Based on the long-running, successful VLC open source project
- Can play literally any video or audio file
- Has all the features the desktop version has
Cons
- May be redundant and unnecessary depending on the diversity of files you have
- No other cons
VLC Media Player is a well-known program that is capable of playing a variety of media files. This version is specifically for Android devices and, despite frequent glitches, can play many videos smoothly in full screen resolution. Various file formats of audio, video and streaming media are allowed, and the program also supports subtitles. Settings such as volume and brightness are easily changed using the touchscreen. Despite these conveniences, VLC Media Player has a difficult time when encountering high definition videos and often lags or crashes when a file as large as 1080p is loaded. The player works best when executing audio files.
