VLC 2.0 Released – Features Improved Codec, Mac & Anime Support

VLC, perhaps the most popular cross-platform media player, has just reached the big 2.0 (err, 2.0.0). With an interface that will look little different for regular users, most of what’s new has been tackled on the back-end. Expect improved media support (as if it was poor to begin with), experimental support for Blu-ray discs (requires decryption keys that are not included) and improved aesthetics and support for OS X.

Interestingly, there’s even a category on the official website that shows what’s new “For Anime Fans”, including an improved MKV demuxer, improved chapter file support, “correct” support for FLAC, RV and Hi10p in MKV and other fixes. There’s also a bunch new here for both developers and professionals.

One important addition is multi-threading support for the decoding of H.264, MPEG4 and WebM, which could allow some playback on slower but multi-threaded notebooks (or other mobile devices). All in all, a worthy release, and one well worth upgrading to if you are a faithful user even if you see nothing off-hand that you “need”.