HYPER83  im currently using an old version of powerbook g4 which is mac os x 10.4.11.now i've updated my vlc to its latest version.installed it perferctly,problem is, its not working at all and it says it can't play with the version of my mac os x..can i still recover/restore the older version of my vlc before.help please.thanks.  
(Version 1.0.3)

THECAUSE  Great player that plays a lot of formats that Quicktime chokes on. Would like a more streamlined easy to use playlist so it could act as a replacement for iTunes, as iTunes playlist are great, but the compatibility isn't so great.  
(Version 1.0.3)

HARRYBO  very easy to use. cool guys.  
(Version 1.0.3)

YOSHINATSU  1.0.3 seems more stable, but I'm on 10.6.1, and me and a friend of mine have both encountered a weird problem with .mkv files.

There are certain .mkv files where VLC just takes 1 minute or so to open them, or just crashes.

That alone made me switch to Mplayer, since I have A LOT of .mkv files and I love them.  
(Version 1.0.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  The crashing problems seems to have been fixed (yay!), but it seems to be using a bit more memory than previous versions (85 - 95MB in VLC v1.03 vs 23MB in MPlayer Extended rev 1210).

Thanks for the update, devs. Good job.  
(Version 1.0.3)

ZX  Life Saver!  
(Version 1.0.3)

MONKEYJUNKEY  Version 1.0.3 is out and it is (currently) "only" 32-bit. Which is not a problem. 1.0.2 64-bit always crashed on me. 32-bit was fine. So just f*ck it! And use 32-bit 1.0.3. We'll see how that does, but 64-bit never worked for me. Also, their homepage is a bit messy with old versions flying around everywhere...  
(Version 1.0.3)

JON555  I don't know why there's so much hate towards VLC. It's an awesome player that is incredibly easy to use. You don't have to spend hours messing with settings and junk like that, audio/video is very excellent out of the box. It's feature-rich, free, and consistently updated. It's plays just about everything, and plays it well. It (on some rare occasions) has slight issues with subs, but again, those are rare. This is a fantastic player. Keep up the awesome work devs!  
(Version 1.0.3)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Hangs and/or crashes on exit.  
(Version 1.0.2)

BLACKSMITH_TB  I've tried downloading the 1.0.2 plugin from three different places, but they seem to install the 0.86 version of the plugin. Am I missing something?  
(Version 1.0.2)

AN.ONYMOUS  VLC 9.10 doesn't work on my PowerBooks Pro Intel with OS 10.4.11.

I can hear the sound but no image is displayed.

This does'nt happen with the 8.X versions of VLC.

Any suggestion (other than shifting to Leopard) most welcome.

Regards.  
(Version 1.0.2)

YOSHINATSU  Not so stable on 64-bit mode on 10.6.1.

It works just fine in 32-bit mode, but 64-bit, nah...

Maybe not just yet.  
(Version 1.0.2)

ARKAYN  The link on the page is only for the 32-bit version.

If you want the 64-bit version for Intel machines you can use this one.

http://www.videolan.org/mirror-geo.php?file=vlc/1.0.2/macosx/vlc-1.0.2-intel64.dmg  
(Version 1.0.2)

MICHAEL A.  This version (1.0.2) is crashing every time I try to play my MKV files. If you need to play an ".mkv" video, avoid this update.  
(Version 1.0.2)

SCHMYE BUBBULA  This MacUpdate page for VLC Media Player 1.0.2 has an additional download link for Tiger users:

"Version 0.9.9a for Mac OS X 10.4"

But the VideoLAN - VLC media player main website:

http://www.videolan.org/

...has a newer version 0.9.10, about which it says, "This version mostly targets the Mac OS X 10.4 platform. It includes various improvements and bugfixes for this port as well as updates to access, stream out and decoder modules plus certain third party libraries. The integer underflow fix from VLC 1.0.1 is also included."

Hope a MacUpdate moderator investigates this and makes any necessary changes to the above possibly outdated link.  
(Version 1.0.2)

D_ANTHONY  I've noticed that the 170 Hz "button" on the equalizer seems to work in "reverse". Has anyone else noticed this?  
(Version 1.0.2)

ICONZ113  for some reason "check for updates" in VLC's menu tells me there are no available updates, and 1.0.1 is the latest version, when macupdate says 1.0.2 is latest  
(Version 1.0.2)

ECHOROB  VLC is ok search for MOVIST the best media player on os x  
(Version 1.0.2)

DR. GIRLFRIEND  Excellent player. If you're a Windows user, this app would be the equivalent of the K-Lite Mega Codec pack: it plays anything you throw at it. If you're a Mac user, I'm sure you already know this is one of the best free apps around.

Tested and working nicely in Snow Leopard 10.6.1.  
(Version 1.0.1)

VGPWNR7  VLC is a great video player. It is able to handle just about every video that I have thrown at it; even ones that Quicktime+Perian could not play.

It also has a lot of advanced features that I have tried playing around with.

Sometimes, it can crash with some of the more exotic video formats though.   
(Version 1.0.1)

NEWSANDHISTORY  Thanks for helping me & others. I appreciate the update.  
(Version 1.0.1)

DEMOLITION  Just wanted to mention to all the folks still using OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) that VLC 0.9.10 was released recently. It fixes several annoying bugs and crashes that plagued 0.9.9a.

It can be found at: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

Scroll about halfway down the page to find Universal, PPC, and Intel binaries.  
(Version 1.0.1)

JON555  I love VLC to death, but the one thing that I have wanted for forever is better subtitle support. 90% of the complaints I've ever encountered regarding VLC is lack of subtitle support (mostly from anime fans). Other than that, keep up the awesome work!  
(Version 1.0.1)

SHANE C SMITH  I only have one complaint about VLC, no skins for OSX! Why do PC users get to have the option? It should be all or nothing.  
(Version 1.0.1)

AVIDMCUSER  Not sure whats wrong but the equalizer has no effect at all for me. enabling it for full treble or full bass I hear no difference while playing back a movie.  
(Version 1.0)

MACHSPEED5  i made the jump from .86 to 1.0 and have noticed that movies (rips) skip every minute or two while playing on 1.0 - but this does not happen with VLC .8.6. Is it possible there are some incompatibilities with Transmission? Specifically while downloading at fast rates. 300+k/sec. Anyone else notice this?  
(Version 1.0)

MARK EVERITT  I love VLC. Probably one of the first things I do when I set up a new system, be it Mac, Linux or Windows is download it. It works well and plays everything I throw at it. It also has a lot of cool features (which are unobtrusive) like simulated surround that makes watching films on my macbook with headphones a gorgeous experience!

That pretty much sums it up! Full marks.  
(Version 1.0)

JON555  I must be weird because I love the little traffic cone.

Anyway, this app has never failed me. I don't understand why some people hate it, it works fantastically on both OS X and Windows and it's so much better than those other crap players, ESPECIALLY on Windows (like having to download WMP Classic + a bunch of codec packs). Keep up the awesome work devs!!  
(Version 1.0)

MAIL3  I can't use any version on my G5 Dual 1.8 since version 0.8.6h (which runs flawlessly ever since). Every new version with the new interface crashes, shows no video window at all, stutters in audio output and then … crashes.  
(Version 1.0)

LYLEHM  When Quicktime fails you, VLC almost always comes to the rescue. A must have. More options than most people ever think of...

S/PDIF support, Dolby Surround, headphone surround simulation, subtitle support, user definable hotkeys, a wizard for streaming and transcoding (of streamed data), and much more.

Software update feature of 1.0RC3 didn't alert of 1.0 release (could have been intentional). Add another vote to bid a fond farewell to the traffic cone.  
(Version 1.0)

ORION MK. V  Finally at 1.0. Woohoo!  
(Version 1.0)

MACFOOL  Nearing perfection. Shows everything.

Dual G5 3GB 10.5.7 and new'09 Mini 4GB 10.5.7  
(Version 1.0)

DIGITAL FURY  It took a long time, but finally the v1 release is here and it doesn't disappoints.

In a nutshell, it plays everything you can throw at it without issues, including huge HD films encoded as H.264 Matroska files, something that no other player at this time can do consistently and reliably. MPlayer OS X Extended comes close, but at time it still has issues with sound going out of sync with the video.

It could use a nicer looking UI, but aside from that it does its job very well.  
(Version 1.0)

G4JAY  Yeah... I never liked the icon either. An orange road cone usually means "hazard" or "avoid this" etc. What does that have to do with being a media player?

Hopefully this 1.0 version will let me play AVI videos again. The last version did not.  
(Version 1.0)

JORGEHP  Does anyone know if blu-rays can be watched using VLC (with external blu-ray drives attached of course)??

Or is it at least a future planned feature?  
(Version 1.0)

MACLOVER1.1  +1 for a real Icon !!!!!  
(Version 1.0)

STORMCHILD  Maybe it's time to get a real icon?  
(Version 1.0)

VIKRAM SHARMA  My Heartiest Congratulations to the VLC Team for releasing the 1.0 version, thanks a lot giving us Mac Users such a great media player.  
(Version 1.0)

OSX117  Crashes often when playing .avi under new osx10.5.7. Refuses most of the time to go full screen when mirroring to a TV set.   
(Version 1.0rc4)

AIKOUSHA  Wow, now it won't play in Tiger anymore. By September is it going to be Intel and Snow Leopard ONLY?  
(Version 1.0rc4)

ROBOTANK  The Intel 64-bit version of RC4 crashes on quit every time. I've tried deleting old preferences to no avail. I guess I'll have to try the regular 32-bit version, though other 64-bit apps work no problem for me. Anyone else have this issue?  
(Version 1.0rc4)

ASHMADUX  not sure why, but the ppc version is going down the tubes. in what used to be my main playback software, perian through quicktime slaughters it in sheer performance.

The last few releases have just performed horribly, on a dual 2.5 g5 (4.5gb ram) - not exactly a slouch machine. Stutter, stutter, and more stutter. Opening the same file in quicktime, and its smooth as silk.

Hopefully they get it up to speed, vlc has built a lot of respect over the years.  
(Version 1.0rc4)

MACSOLU  Currently this is only available for Intel-based Macs.  
(Version 1.0rc4)

YOSHINATSU  VIDEO_TS folder playback now works on RC4!!

VLC keeps getting better and better every day!  
(Version 1.0rc4)

MARECKI  Has anybody else had problems with FF'ing and Rev'ing video using touch-pad gestures on RC3?  
(Version 1.0rc3)

YOSHINATSU  Yes, yes, indeed.

That's the only issue I have with RC3. That and the fact that the preferences are not saved.  
(Version 1.0rc3)

DAN BUCHAN  Both this and the previous rc build exhibit the same bug: when trying to open a VIDEO_TS folder (from a ripped DVD disk image), the "Browse" button is grayed out. I reinstalled 0.9.9, and it works like it always did.  
(Version 1.0rc3)

YOSHINATSU  AT LAST, post-processing is back!! It's back!

In combination with the evolving RM support VLC is gonna be the ONLY player you'll ever want!

RC3 seems really stable so far.

Plus Last.fm scrobbling support AND headphone surround mode.

That's it. That's the player we, Mac users, have been dreaming of :)  
(Version 1.0rc3)

BLUESTAR  Seems to play vids OK but I'm unable to define a folder for snapshots in prefs, therefore doesn't take snapshots. Back to 0.9.9a... :-(  
(Version 1.0rc2)

EBATALHA  For all of you with problems.

I know this is not the answer to our problems but we have to move before them, sometimes… So, we have alternatives to VLC, like MPlayer. (:  
(Version 1.0rc2)

AVIDMCUSER  always been happy with vlc media player with recent versions 'prior to this one' - constantly crashes when playing divx movies full screen upon quitting - spinning pinwheel and have to force quit the app. :(

10.5.7 / intel imac 24  
(Version 1.0rc2)

UNQ1  PPC version yields this error in Tiger(latest)...

Link (dyld) error:

Library not loaded: /usr/lib/libiconv.2.dylib

Referenced from: /Users/xxxx/Desktop/VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/VLC

Reason: Incompatible library version: VLC requires version 7.0.0 or later, but libiconv.2.dylib provides version 5.0.0

NEVER saw this error before... uhh did we forget to UPDATE "libiconv.2.dylib" for the ppc version???  
(Version 1.0rc2)

EBATALHA  The correct download link : http://download.videolan.org/pub/testing/vlc-1.0.0-rc2/macosx/  
(Version 1.0rc2)

EDUARD  Download link does not work!  
(Version 1.0rc2)

PANCRAZ  For those of us who never hear the term: what is a Mac "Quartz Extreme"? How do I know if mine is?  
(Version 1.0rc2)

CUNEYT  Why is 10.4 support dropped out???  
(Version 1.0rc2)

THREEDEE912  Pros: Can open virtually any type of video file. Free!

Cons: UI is a bit messy/unintuitive, and sometimes crashes randomly when seeking.

Result: A decent piece of open source software that has lots of features that are packed into a somewhat confusing interface that occasionally crashes.  
(Version 1.0rc2)

NAOH  Just a quick note to anyone wanting to download the PPC version.

The link here yields a file that is zero bytes in size.

This link has yielded a working copy for me: ftp://ftp.videolan.org/pub/testing/vlc-1.0.0-rc2/macosx/

The links appear to be identical, so I don't know where the problem lies.

(Possibly an issue with mirrors not updating properly.)  
(Version 1.0rc2)

SATYRICA  This is still buggy and crashes a LOT. I get much better performance from MPlayer OSX Extended, which plays blu-ray, mkv, BDMV, and .iso without a hitch...

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/28298/mplayer-osx-extended  
(Version 1.0rc2)

SPECTRAL7  Are we really nearing a version 1.0 release after all these years....such a great program....keep up the good work.  
(Version 1.0rc2)

YOXI  Watch out - with fresh install, Default Volume = 480% :)  
(Version 1.0rc2)

TVALLEAU  http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/testing/vlc-1.0.0-rc2/macosx/vlc-1.0.0-rc2-powerpc.dmg

and

http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/testing/vlc-1.0.0-rc2/macosx/vlc-1.0.0-rc2-intel.dmg  
(Version 1.0rc2)

MACSROCK  copy link into location bar in Safari. Delete "ftp://" from front of copied link. Hit return. Download commences.  
(Version 1.0rc2)

ONE78MAN  Vlc the best media player ever! :D

I really love it, it's simple for the normal user but in case you have access to many advanced options! :D

Vlc read all the video you have! :)  
(Version 0.9.9a)

U P 2 U  The best movie player for MAC!  
(Version 0.9.9a)

ASHMADUX  I think it's pretty assinine to beleive that "no one uses PPC anymore" as some one stated. I am myself a Designer working on a 2.5ghz dualie G5 (still going strong!!) and a 2004 powerbook G4 1.5ghz. It's not many times, but on several occasions I just cannot use some apps because its intel only, which is okay....but yeah apples prices for hardware right now, as well as limited options are killing people like myself who want new hardware but cant spent 3k on a new tower (really, wtf?) Couple that with a recession and pow, right in the gut, no new hardware for me.

Or maybe my old, decaying PPC computers dont exist..It's impossible to get my work done on these obsolete computes, huh? Hmm...maybe the correct thing is to say that no one can buy them anymore? Thanks.

A personally thanks to every single dev big and small who continues to use common sense that there are TONS of ppc macs still in use and will be for the next 5 years minimum. You guys rock!  
(Version 0.9.9a)

C.A.  It works perfect on my MacBook G4, Mac OS X10.4.7

Thanks!!  
(Version 0.9.9a)

L0XBY  a few new bugs in 0.9.9a that weren't in 0.9.8a:

* titles in media library not displayed, even though item can still be played.

* animated progress meter continues to show even after video has loaded and started playing or after video was stopped.  
(Version 0.9.9a)

KEVINDK  Just undoing the lame, dishonest, one star rating below.   
(Version 0.9.9a)

SMTIPS  They still have the info window screwed up. So you open the Media Information window, click on Codec Details, and at least now you a Stream 0 and Stream 1 selection. But now you click the arrow to expand either of those selections and it just snaps right back shut again. Sure you can sit there and click on it really fast to see the info as it flashes before it closes but that's just dumb.

While I sympathize with your lack of Mac developers, it's no excuse to put out crap that doesn't work. And you've been getting progressively WORSE on the Mac since version 0.86 and you know you have.

Get at least the basics right and stop screwing up things that worked before.   
(Version 0.9.9a)

ALBABE  Great comments on this thread. Most are very thoughtful and not defensive.

My problem is that I am a professional who writes and draws in the Comic Book field and the numbers and profits in Comic Books are way down. I'd love to, but I can't afford over 3,000 clams for a new computer every 3 years.

It seems to me that Apple, in it's superior technology and greed, has priced itself out of the market by pandering to the upper Middle Class who usually aren't the Artists or Writers or Musicians who don't have that much discretionary cash.

So... Thanx so much to the VLC folks who obviously haven't abandoned us PPC guys the way Apple has.  
(Version 0.9.9a)

MU FREQUENTER  Best media player out there hands down.

However, for the good of the project, PPC will have to be abandoned at some point. What's the efficiency in supporting an obsolete platform? With their limited Mac developers, why waste support on the PPC black hole?

Previous versions are stable and can play anything out there. That's good enough for PPC. No need to slow down development just to satisfy a vocal, diminishing minority.  
(Version 0.9.9a)

NED SCOTT  You had us worried there for a bit! Glad to see it really was just a small delay, and not the VLC team abandoning PPC.  
(Version 0.9.9a)

ILGAZ  Instead of posting apologies for VLC and how it is impossible (!) for them to build G5 binary, check the official site, they now have PPC binary and universal.

World's biggest media player producers keep posting PPC binaries, Apple, Microsoft (through flip4mac), Real Networks. I don't really care if some open source team is incapable of powerpc building. I just give it up, basic as that. I am not on Linux or Windows and desperate for a good media player, I already have something like Quicktime Framework which is most advanced media framework ever built.  
(Version 0.9.9)

THE DJ  Just so everyone knows:

Building VLC for PPC is REALLY hard, when no developer uses PPC anymore. So every time around releasedate we find that something broke (usually ffmpeg), and we need to spend time fixing it (often this delays the ppc version, this time even more than before).

VLC has many mac developer veterans, but almost no ACTIVE mac developers (significantly holding back VLC Mac development, and usually keeping us in the "we need to keep it running"-mode, instead of the "let's improve it"-mode)

We discovered we forgot to update ffmpeg for the intel version in 0.9.9, so we are preparing an 0.9.9a release, which should have the RV30/40 support (intel AND ppc) like announced for 0.9.9 and a PPC version should be ready as well.

The amount of mess ups we have made with the Mac build on the 0.9.* versions with simply making a working and up-to-date binary should show you the need for fresh Mac OS X blood in the VLC media player team.

But rest assured, the PPC build is coming. For 1.0.0, however we are dropping support for anything older than Leopard. (sorry folks can't help it, we need llvm for some threading and locking features we use in the VLC core and 10.5 is the lowest platform that has this, and even then we need to switch to llvm-gcc). PPC support is still uncertain, it depends on wether we can get a working build with 10.5 llvm-gcc on powerpc. It looks like it might be possible, but it's proving to be a huge challenge. We haven't given up on that though.  
(Version 0.9.9)

ALBABE  Thanx much to NEONBLUE2. I appreciate the very thoughtful information (even though I only just barely understand it).

As for the people who express the fact that VLC is "Freeware..." and that the rest of us can...

VLC has always been a great client... No question. it kicks everything else's azz.

My problem is that the vast majority of Working Macs are NOT Intel, yet we are being edged out.

I have the last generation of G5 (Dual 2 GB). I bought it brand new from Apple. It's just 3 years old... and as far as I know, this will be the first time in Mac History that when you buy a Brand new Top Of The Line Apple, that you will only be able to USE one (1) OS upgrade.

My G5 came with 10.4. I bought 10.5... and from everything i understand, 10.6 will not run on a PPC. That's ethically irresponsible and unconscionable business practice on the part of Apple.

Anyone who is paying attention over the last years knows that Apple is a Hardware company... but now it seems they don't give a rats azz for the majority of Users... and would rather try to strong-arm us out of the loop, and into having to buy a New Mac to stay current.

As for VLC... hopefully the comment that there will be a version that works on a PPC is correct.

Thanx.  
(Version 0.9.9)

NEONBLUE2  I'm not saying this is the case but the lack of PowerPC VLC version at the moment is probably due to endianness issues.

That is the code has been written in a way that assumes the processor it runs on is x86 (Intel). Since more people use operating systems based on little endian (e.g. x86) processors than big endian (e.g. PPC*), it makes sense that new features and bug features would be written by programmers on x86 processors.

Just chill out and wait. There's no reason to drop PowerPC now.

*PowerPC processors are actually bi-endian. This means that they can used as little endian or big endian. Apple chose to use their PowerPC processors in big endian mode because of the transition from m68k processors, which are big endian, back in the 1990s.  
(Version 0.9.9)

TOMDOHERTY  Editors note says that v0.9.9 is currently available for Intel only. Yet, when you click on 'More Information' it reads 'VLC media player 0.9.9 - Download Now for Mac OS X PowerPC (18 MB) ...and the download yields v0.9.8!!!  
(Version 0.9.9)

DANNYMONTANI  Hold on now kids... how 'bout cutting some slack here.

VLC is... Freeware, don't like it guess what.

It's day one on the release, may well be there is a PPC version in a few days, or even months.

I have not used 0.9.9 as of yet but last version beat all the competition when I needed it for opening files.  
(Version 0.9.9)

ALBABE  It's a real drag that there are so many clients that are only available for the Intel chip. I read somewhere a year ago that Intel Mac were barely 15% of the Apples being used regularly... so why would a great client like VLC just produce for that market. Seems oddly elitist to me.  
(Version 0.9.9)

AFCGBBOB  INTEL ONLY!!! What has gotten into you guys. Have you gone lazy! How hard is it to make VLC a Universal binary? I have used it for years from my G3 through my G5 Tower with great results. Now you are going to only support the Intel platform. WHY!!! I think you owe your loyal PPC Mac users an explanation as to why you are abandoning us. Except for most game, all other apps and utilities are still universal binaries. To me this is a slap in the face. Even iLife, iWork, Adobe and MS Office are universal and you bail out on all the PPC users. I think you owe all us PPC users an explanation as to why you can't make VLC Universal. End of line.   
(Version 0.9.9)

YOSHINATSU  Still won't playback .rm and .rmvb files.

That's weird. They said they updated that.  
(Version 0.9.9)

JBURR  NED SCOTT Last update is Intel only. I guess it only takes three years to become a second class citizen.

"only three years." thats right. please, update your sh!t.

Contribute to advancement.  
(Version 0.9.9)

MORPE  0.9.9 only for Intel?  
(Version 0.9.9)

ANONYMOUS  If you have a PPC, make sure you are downloading the PPC versions. The one I got was Intel only. You'll notice it because it will have a "no smoking" like sign without the cigarette.   
(Version 0.9.9)

JON555  This app is the best. Keep up the good work devs!  
(Version 0.9.9)

JAN_RYBAR  Simply the best. It can play everything.  
(Version 0.9.8a)

SMTIPS  So stupid...can't even view media information any more with this...as in...ALL THE FIELDS ARE BLANK WHEN TRYING TO GET INFO ON A PLAYING AVI FILE. Tried it on different ones, same thing, def. not the file. Never used to be like this...the people working on this "project" are failing over and over again...every time I try a new version it has some other idiotic thing removed/broken/bugged in it.  
(Version 0.9.8a)

ALJUK  can hardly play any .flv files that it used to play fine  
(Version 0.9.8a)

ALJUK  1. Picture buffering issues - black screen at start of movie, then picture appears with severe artefacts for a few seconds before settling down.

2. Picture freezes for a few seconds when movie is put to a different location (this has always been seamless previously).

3. Overlay of file name at start of movie file for several seconds (no real purpose and looks terrible).

Going back to a previous version.  
(Version 0.9.8a)

KZX72  Still doesn't support real player files (unlike Mplayer).  
(Version 0.9.8a)

KLAUSKINSKI  Hi; this newest VLC works fine as documented on my G4 (OSX.4.1). The only thing I really hate is that subtitles are not centered correctly: they are always right from the middle so that they are always partly unreadable. For example ...

Hello, world, how are

_______ you? _______

... looks like this:

______ Hello, world,

______________ you?

Changing the subtitle font and typo in the preferences does not work, too.  
(Version 0.9.8a)

TSALAGI RED  While VLC is still the best movie player out there, the quality of FLV image playback has suffered since I updated to 0.9.8a from 0.8.6.

I used to get a very nice video, but now it the video image is filled with artifacts and off-color.  
(Version 0.9.8a)

TOMDOHERTY  All downloads yield v0.9.8 and not v0.9.8a. When I launch VLC it automatically checks for updates and gives the following message: 'This version of VLC is outdated. The current release is 0.9.8a' ...but there is not a v0.9.8a available anywhere!!!  
(Version 0.9.8a)

C MOI  super app, having trouble with the update mechanism though... they should use the sparkle framework, it would work in a better way...  
(Version 0.9.8a)

EMELOISE  The most important button - the play/pause button - is missing when I go to full screen.   
(Version 0.9.8a)

NYMPHE  After buying a 40" LCD, I began to watch HD series and MKV files. English is not my native language and I always prefer to watch the movies with subtitles.

Usually I use Mplayer and Mplayer Extended. But after trying to watch some MKV movies and HD series, I realized that Mplayer can not sync video with sound. My macbook looked like a old G4 and the video was too slow.

This thing happens on an aluminim 2.0 Ghz Macbook.

VLC plays those files perfectly.

I gave for easy of use 3 stars, because sometimes it is really cluttered..

It could stay beta forever. Google Mail is in beta phase too, but it doesn't change the fact that Gmail is the best web mail service right now.  
(Version 0.9.8a)

JAZZYGUY  This version states that it is outdated. It says version (a) is an updated version. Saving the .dmg file and opening it gives you the exact same version that needs updating. I like previous iterations of this app. I do not feel that this app has made the transitions in the current OS that others had. In addition I found it to be more than somewhat unstable.   
(Version 0.9.8a)

THEKIDFROMTHEREDBANK  Whats up with this update?!?

I downloaded and installed it. First thing VLC tells me is: there is a newer version. Which would be 0.9.8a. It seems that I downloaded 0.9.8 from MacUpdate, although the description says 0.9.8a.

Come on guys. You can do better than that, can you?  
(Version 0.9.8a)

COLUMBINE  Unstable, crashes a lot, this collection of bugs steals my last nerves.

I would pay 50 dollars for a working alternative to QuickTime Player.

And I would pay the same for a lean iTunes alternative with FLAC etc. support.

But I think that's not worth the time of _talented_ programmers, - that's the dark side of the moon: sometimes open source/freeware can lead to monopolistic competition, - to poor.

Anyway, thanks for your attemps, for 6 long beta years now.

Honestly (!) thank you.  
(Version 0.9.6)

CHRISTOPHERO  Keeps on getting better and better. Love how it works with the Apple remote. Keep up the great work!  
(Version 0.9.6)

SHK747  again, WHERE are the browser plugins for 0.9.6 .... ?????  
(Version 0.9.6)

GYNNY  Works very well on PPC (in my case Dual G5).

VLC Media Player also reads and plays mpg files larger than 5.5 GB!

Well done - thank you!  
(Version 0.9.6)

EDUARD  It used to be my favorite video player, but NOT anymore...  
(Version 0.9.6)

SMTIPS  Yeah I agree, I'm using 8.6 again, at least it's somewhat stable. Every one of these 9.x versions crashes when you close out a movie about 80% of the time. For me at least. Not to mention the stupid windoze-like changes they've made in the prefs...it seems like they probly got a couple new devs with a "better idea" at making things better, but a-la-windows, they have only made things harder to make them "easier" for the end user. So much for your better ideas and progress...you guys should wake up and start actually listening to what people are saying about the once-decent VLC because there's a lot of trash bins getting filled up with it any more.

As for Quicktime and Perian...both very good products. Quicktime has ALWAYS been a resource hog...run this test, take say a G5 2.0 or below or a G4...open activity monitor and start looking at CPU use while you play the identical movie in VLC then in Quicktime. QT sucks the resources...on G4 1.2 machines it will use like 80% cpu time compared to 5-10% using VLC. This is very consistent and I've tested this on several machines. There's no excuse Apple can give for such appallingly awful performance. So we have Quicktime the pig or an old version of VLC to choose from...there are no worthy alternatives really.

Just my humble opinions from experience for many years with both apps...please don't come flaming away if you don't agree.  
(Version 0.9.6)

NET  great but not finished!

friezes every 10-30 sek with old version that was not an issue.

MAcbook Pro 2.33GHz  
(Version 0.9.6)

THREEDEE912  The latest version of VLC is out. Here's my take on it:

Features: Features a ton of video viewing options, can open almost any format out there.

Ease of Use: Relatively easy to use, just open up any video/audio file. However, the UI seems a bit messy.

Value: It's free!

Stability: Generally plays most videos well, however sometimes spontaneously crashes, or skips and displays garbage instead of video.

Overall: A great free media player which can playback almost any format, but not always very reliable.  
(Version 0.9.6)

JAZZYGUY  M-Rick: Thanks for Movist. It works great on all Movies including AVI and MP4 I really like the way it displays the films and although VLC is good Movist seems to be better.  
(Version 0.9.5)

M-RICK  Move to Movist here, it is more promossing for now.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/27642/movist  
(Version 0.9.5)

MICKANGEL  Generally I *love* VLC. It's been a great beacon for what free software can do and I've been using it for at least 3-years. Overall, it's the first thing I install on a machine (Windows or OS X). Great software

But...

Sadly this range of new versions (9.x) do not work properly. On my machine viewing movies causes the image to freeze every 10 seconds. The last two version have had this problem.

I'd advise you to keep a copy of 8.6 around for when you need to watch something. I hope the 9.x development will turn out well, but at the moment 8.6 is the one to use.   
(Version 0.9.5)

SHK747  where are the plug-ins for this version ? (0.9.5)

please dont promise somethig witch does not exist since 0.8.6 or so !!!  
(Version 0.9.5)

TANE THOMAS  Hey everyone, I love VLC. I have used it for a couple of years and I love bragging to my PC friends about how much BETTER the mac version is.

Heres the catch. I use a projector and love connecting the cable so I can play on my computer and have my friends and family watch stuff at the same time. However, since the 0.8.x upgrade to the latest 0.9.4 version I am no longer able to do this; as soon as the secondary screen goes fullscreen the main screen goes black. I can't BLOODY FIX IT.

Fix this please.  
(Version 0.9.4)

SNOWLPRD  I've used VLC for years and have always been a strong supporter, but the 0.9.x branch has been a frustrating exercise. The new features and polish are great, but there has been a large step backwards in reliability. It seems to work fine with AVI files, but every single MKV file I've tried has exhibited at least one of the following problems:

* Inconsistent seeking -- while sometimes it seeks properly, most of the time it does not.

* Seeking by dragging the playhead often causes VLC 0.9.x to hang permanently or crash outright.

* The movie inexplicably stops three-quarters of the way through the movie. VLC doesn't crash -- the movie just stops playing and the window goes dark.

There is no indication that the cause is with the MKV files themselves. Moreover, these same files exhibit no such problem in either (a) previous 0.8.x versions of VLC or (b) QuickTime with Perian. It seems clear as day to me that all is not well with the 0.9.x branch -- in its current state, it's just flat-out unusable for me.

If you find VLC 0.9.x acting strangely, try the QuickTime/Perian combination. I've been pleasantly surprised at its reliability and consistency. It may not have all of VLC's features, but for the love of Pete, at least it works!

(Footnote: There will undoubtedly be folks whose first instinct is to post something like this: "It works for me -- something else must be wrong with your set-up." Please spare us these trite banalities. I'm glad VLC is working well for you, but that is utterly orthogonal to this discussion. I can assure you that there is indeed something quite wrong with VLC 0.9.x.)  
(Version 0.9.4)

PAULNOJUSTPAUL  The screencap is apt. "She may not look like much, kid..."

This is to video that which GraphicConverter is to static images. It's been around for ages, reads almost every format out there, and is actively supported. What's not to like?!

Seriously nice, capable piece of work if you ask me.  
(Version 0.9.4)

CASTLE ROSE  0.9.4 Fixed the problems I was having with playing some AVI formats.

Don't forget to trash your pref file after a d/l.

Thanks guys!  
(Version 0.9.4)

MAXRUEHL  When I do a 10 second seek the video often freezes (while the audio keeps playing) and I have to pause to get it going again.  
(Version 0.9.4)

GMAX  The latest version is 0.9.4... but when you download the PowerPC-specific package for VLC it's actually 0.9.3c.

What gives?  
(Version 0.9.4)

AIKOUSHA  Wow, it's gotten extra-buggy since 0.8.x and now unless you buy a new video card, you won't get any bugs fixed at all? BTW the recommended non-quartz 0.9.2 is so buggy it's unusable, so that's not an option.

How about correcting all the major issues first before jumping to a form that will kill a large number of user's? What's next, mandatory OSX 10.6? Which will require the newest Core Trio Macs only?

STILL using 0.8.6!  
(Version 0.9.4)

BIGDAVE56  I got a Mac four years ago. VLC was in beta then. VLC is still in beta- four years later. Now, no Quartz Extreme, no VLC. Thanks guys. Maybe I'll be back when I have the scratch for a new mac in a year or so. Maybe not. VLC might be up to 0.9.8 or so by then.  
(Version 0.9.4)

MAC MAIL  No way that I would ever use this crap. Freezes up everything and I had to reboot my Mac. Anything does it to my computer has to be out to the trash.

Sorry pal!  
(Version 0.9.4)

BCWINTERS  As someone who has VLC running almost constantly when I'm using my Mac, I've really been disappointed with the updates of the past year or so. The last version that I find really usable is 0.8.6c, but I keep trying newer versions in search of a handful of feature improvements (most notably because 0.8.6c can't fast forward or rewind FLV files).

0.9.4 is the first version in a year I'd even consider keeping--it handles FLV files properly, and it seems to have cleaned up many of the bugs of the more recent versions: it deals with full screen properly (the last few versions always crashed) and it handles my "second monitor" connection to my TV when I want it to.

But:

Video resizing is screwed up in this version (if you crop a video that's encoded with the wrong aspect information, you can't resize the window to eliminate the "bars") although at least the cropping is respected in full-screen mode;

There's a new, second controller stuck onto the bottom of the playback window, which can be disabled but only if you ALSO disable the resize control and the titlebar for some reason;

The new "basic" preferences window introduces mutually-exclusive settings that don't match with those in the "all" preferences window (why is there an "add controls to video window" pref in Basic, and a "window decorations" control in All? They don't seem to do the same thing);

Drag and drop onto the Controller no longer works; only the dock icon will accept drag and drop;

The Info window no longer displays file information like the dimension of the video in pixels, etc;

Sigh. Back to the drawing board, yet again. I'm really glad VLC is constantly under the eye of its developers and obviously the updates must be improving things for some users, but I wish some basic improvements would be made to get this back to being the lean-and-mean playback machine it used to be. I'm going back to 0.8.6c again.  
(Version 0.9.4)

PAT320  Vlc has some cool features I started to use often now, like the video screen capture for screencasts.

I also watch long videos from youtube & co by pasting the url in vlc, like that I can watch 30mn with my cpu at 10% (not the 999%cpu/fans 99999999rpm of the ugly flash plugin!)

Keep the good work!

Thanks  
(Version 0.9.4)

JOSELU  it's still as buggy as 0.9.2. i can't play most of the common file formats out there. reverting back to 0.8.6i again.  
(Version 0.9.3)

AIKOUSHA  Seriously, I have to keep deleting all the updates and just keep going back to 0.8.6.

Maybe it's time to split the app until things can be properly ironed out... Make a build that's Matroska only, avi only, and possibly an info drop box., as it certainly hasn't improved on simple file playing at all.

Nice for free open-source, but bug updates really need to reduce the number of bugs, not increase them. :-(  
(Version 0.9.3)

SNOWLPRD  After my review of 0.9.2 below, I had hoped that the release of 0.9.3 would address the seeking problems I mentioned previously. Alas, clicking on the fast-forward button while playing .mkv files still causes VLC 0.9.3 to seek *backwards* instead of forwards. It appears I have no choice but to revert to 0.8.6i until these bugs are worked out.  
(Version 0.9.3)

JAZZYGUY  The recent menu stays blank no matter what you watched previously. This valuable feature is now rendered useless and there is no place in preferences to activate it.  
(Version 0.9.3)

EUSKIR  0.9.3, weird behavior, radios are working ok, tv streams and video, just a seconds of sound, then a crash. Deleting the preferences it's not the fix, VLC forums are dead (General Error)...  
(Version 0.9.3)

MAC ADAM  Look more bugged han previous to me :(  
(Version 0.9.3)

SMTIPS  Okay one more...this is supposed to be some kind of "release" version as opposed to a letter beta?? Puh-leeeze!   
(Version 0.9.2)

SMTIPS  PS, another classic example of Open Source being a real F****aroo to users. Too many indians, and NO chiefs.  
(Version 0.9.2)

SMTIPS  WHAT IS THIS CRAP?? The info window has changed now and ALL THE FIELDS ARE BLANK when playing a movie. I have depended on this tool for a long time to check info....you guys have totally f**ed it up...AGAIN!

The last FIVE letter releases have been TOTAL CRAP and crash all the time, almost constantly when closing a movie while it's playing. Now you do something IDIOTIC like screw up a staple part of the app. Good going. Time to start looking for something else for viewing, I'm tired of this caca for the last 6 months you are getting WORSE not better.  
(Version 0.9.2)

ROBACKJA  Yes, 0.9.2 has very bad playback (divx,xvid,mpeg4). skipping and freezing video while audio continues, then 10-20 seconds later, the video catches back up.  
(Version 0.9.2)

CALLE  0.9.2 lags regularly, 0.8.6 does not, on a 10.5.5 Macbook.  
(Version 0.9.2)

JOMAMA7366  0.9.2 was too buggy/extra jumpy on my PPC running 10.4.11. Reverted back to 0.8.6i. But now I can't seem to get the hotkeys working. I set medium skip forward and backward to the left and right arrow keys, but they don't work. They used to work before I "upgraded" to 0.9.2, but now, nope! I deleted preferences before installing each version, each time. There must be a hidden preference somewhere which I can't see?  
(Version 0.9.2)

VIKRAM SHARMA  Thanks for the reply, I think this feature of choosing from the playlist to display codec information and video/audio statisctics is more of a bug rather than a feature. This bug/feature is only on the mac and not for windows/linux version  
(Version 0.9.2)

VIKRAM SHARMA  Everything works fine, except for Command+I function. I cannot see any information about the codecs being used, or the statistics of the video/audio being played. I am using the PowerPC version of VLC Media Player 0.92 I am running Mac OS 10.5.5. Btw the Windows version and the linux version (I am using it on Ubuntu 8.04.1 64 bit) display the codec and statistics.  
(Version 0.9.2)

HOLYPOLY  Well, I haven't tried any of the new options in 0.92, but on my two MacIntels this new version runs absolutely stable, even searching through .mkv's works fine apart from a 0.5 second's (max) latency.  
(Version 0.9.2)

UETLI  Always crashes when try to run a film (neither avi nor mpeg...)  
(Version 0.9.2)

STORMCHILD  I can confirm the experience others have reported -- VLC 0.9.2 has major problems that were not present in previous versions. Deleting the preferences didn't help. I've reverted to 0.8.6i and everything works great again. As I didn't notice any real improvements in 0.9.2 anyway, I wonder why it was released in this half-broken state.  
(Version 0.9.2)

L0XBY  0.9.2 is a major step backwards. it has some major problems seeking in mkv files. there's still no way to disable the fade in/out full screen effect. it takes a few seconds for the window to close when you stop playing a file. this version also appears to use more cpu then 0.8.6.

go back to 0.8.6c which was the last stable version where everything worked well for the most part.  
(Version 0.9.2)

SNOWLPRD  My experience with 0.9.2 has not been very positive. Even after removing preference files, I cannot seek properly when clicking on the "quick forward" button or hotkeys -- it goes backwards instead. Seeking through .mkv files by dragging the playhead through the progress bar behaves very erratically. Reverting to 0.8.6h solved all my seeking problems.

I like some of the new changes in 0.9.2, but for me, VLC 0.9.x needs to go back into the oven for a while. I look forward to trying it again after these bugs are (hopefully) fixed in the next version.  
(Version 0.9.2)

BRUCE_Y  Seems to play vids well.

But they broke/removed one feature I used a lot in 08.x:

No longer able to stretch window wide and have a black border around the unused screen area.

Now the display resizing works exactly like QuickTIme (not a good thing to emulate in this case), in that you can only drag corner to resize window to exactly proportional size.

Guess I will report it to them when they re-open the forums... and till then, will have to get one of the desktop/background hide apps to lower distraction. (I know, there is a 'full screen' mode, but sometimes I wish to play at specific view size and hide some desktop distraction as well... picky picky me ;-)  
(Version 0.9.2)

MAC ADAM  This version still not use correct aspect ratio with some rarely 16:9, please fix ;)

Nice Update, Good Work, Thanks alot  
(Version 0.9.2)

MEEGO  If you encounter issues with v0.9.2 after updating, try removing preferences files.

There is a script in the install DMG that does it automatically.  
(Version 0.9.2)

MASSHUU  i have used vlc player since i was using windows xp and linux with no problem, but now whilst using leapard on mac i have repeated annoyances. most times vlc is run it will cause finder to hang. and sometimes my macbook pro needs a forced reset to even get a response.

it's a great shame as it used to be great for playing all movies.

i'm searching for a replacement, but no luck so far, any ideas?  
(Version 0.8.6i)

SMTIPS  It's okay any more, but since going to leopard, the last several versions of VLC almost always CRASH when I close a video window. I should note that I posted an entire error log on their site a couple of months ago and noone bothered to respond to me...I take that non-response to mean that they know there are issues and aren't admitting to anything. Someone REALLY f***ed it up for Leopard and still after several revs haven't got it right yet. In fact, I had to revert a couple of revs just to get it to watch a TS folder, it wouldn't do that AT ALL the last couple of revs, it would just crash on open. Mostly I get an error log that starts with this:

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGBUS)

Exception Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE at 0x0000000000000000

Crashed Thread: 14

Open Source is great and all that...but I would be more than willing to pay at least the price of Quicktime Pro for a STABLE version of VLC that includes support. The MAJOR downfall of Open Source is that noone seems accountable for screwups and you get almost no support from the makers or overseers of these "projects".

I used to think VLC was good...I think it sucks now because this behavior has been very persistent since going to leopard and because noone bothered to even acknowledge my forum post.  
(Version 0.8.6i)

MACNERD1984  I've been using this for ages - Currently I am using 0.8.6i on a 24" iMac, an old G4 iMac and an Intel MacBook Pro. I assume it's a Beta, and if it's not it should be. On all of them it has some good points but since day one it has always been a bit flaky. It often quits for no reason and sometimes requires a force quit. In some movies dragging along the time line to a point doesn't work and you just get dropped back to where you were. The controller is pretty short on functionality too - Apple's DVD player controller has buttons for Menus and navigation whereas VLC's just has the standard transport buttons, plus a couple of others which I rarely use. Whenever I open the app it always opens with the volume at 0% (very annoying). It does open a lot of different files and has some great options, but stability is frankly the main issue for me. In short, I just can't trust it. Perhaps once it is fully finished then these problems will disappear, but until then I can't use it as the only media player on my Macs - It's just not up to scratch. YMMV, of course.  
(Version 0.8.6i)

ASTROBRUCE  i have a 15" aluminium powerbook running 10.5.4

VLC won't play out-of-region dvds. I have run out of region resets (having taken it overseas a couple of times - because it's a LAPTOP!) and want to play out of region dvds. but VLC refuses. sometimes i get a message: dvdread: read failed for -1/4 blocks at 0x01

any suggestions? another player i might try? thanks  
(Version 0.8.6i)

MACERICG  Beat Apple's included DVD player hands downs -- if for no other reason, than the ability to skip all the intro commercial DVD junk that is "not permitted" to be skipped.  
(Version 0.8.6i)

HGURU_79  Love this software package. I actually even use it now to watch DVD's with. Amazingly powerful features, unbeatable pricetag, etc. I recommend advanced users take a look at some of the skins available as well as they make it much more visually appealing. They require modifying the actual application files but its an easy process.  
(Version 0.8.6h)

ROTAD  I use VLC for all my video playing. It hasn't let me down yet!  
(Version 0.8.6h)

FANGIO  VLC is a great application, does what it's suppost to do. But I've got a tip for the developper. VLC can play flv files and it does that without using a lot of resources unlike that stupid Flashplayer of Adobe does. So could you guys make a flahs plugin for the webbrowser?

(btw I'm using a Mac, not a pc)  
(Version 0.8.6h)

MAC ADAM  From this version, work like a charm on 10.5.2.

Thanks a lot :)  
(Version 0.8.6f)

DOUG ENGELBART  This newest VLC does not even save the postions and sizes of its windows when quitting. )-; Pity! It can open most AV formats, but it could also be such a tasty mp3 player (better than itunes!) if it would save the locations of its visualizer/ playlist/ equalizer/ favourites/ information window etc.pp. Let's hope this will be patched soon.   
(Version 0.8.6f)

...  DON'T BOTHER ... if you're using a second monitor (such as a TV) on an Intel Mac running Leopard.

THE EXTERNAL DEVICE PREFERENCE BUG STILL HAS NOT BEEN FIXED - AND ALL RECENT VERSIONS OF VLC 0.8.6d THROUGH TO 0.8.6f fail to span to device 2.

USE VLC 0.8.6c (if you can find it) ...

WTF ?  
(Version 0.8.6f)

RORO01  If you listen to internet radio, music, etc., using VLC whilst you're falling asleep - download App QuitTimer.  
(Version 0.8.6f)

KZX72  2008 and this thing still doesn't support Real files (unlike Mplayer for example)  
(Version 0.8.6e)