VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, WMV, mp3)as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols without external codec or program. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.It is said to great alternative to Windows Media Player, iTunes, RealPlayer and others. It also has a great hotkey support, if you take the time to learn the shortcuts so it can be controlled without touching your mouse. From MPEG to FLV and RMBV files, this player is said to cover tons of formats. In addition, it also offers superb integration with video channel streaming services such as Channels.com, thereby allowing access to channels such as ESPN, Reuters and National Geographic.

The VLC program is said to play more or less any file and features an equalizer and playlist creation, with an ability to convert your files and providing support to many streaming protocols and TV capture cards. It also allows the user to add subtitles to their video files by just adding SRT file to the folder where the video is located, enabling the video to be automatically played. Literature states that its interface is great for viewing, with excellent tools for effects, and doing things like adding subtitles.On Mac OS X 10.4 or later, VLC is able to grab video and audio from Eye TV applications and all Eye TV-compatible capture devices, provided the user installs a plugin to EyeTV.app. With a file size of 20.2 MB, the program is said to compatible with all Windows operating systems.