- Part 1: Introduction of VLC. The latest version for Windows and Mac is VLC video player 3.0.6. Basic features of PC version: 1. Play videos and audio files from any sources, like hard disk, DVD, websites, and more.
- VLC Media Player Review: If you are finding some trouble for playing your favourite videos on media player due to some compatibility issues then it is good to try VLC for once.
VLC Media Player is a great free way to access a variety of media files directly on your Mac, with no conversions required. It could stand a bit of a facelift, but overall, it's a convenient app to.
It has been a long time people consider VLC as the best video player for Mac. However, if you have ever tried it, this is quite a simple app and still far from perfect. VLC excels at the video playback features but its media library is so confusing and you would not want to use it to manage your movies and music.
Recently I’ve had the chance to try the free app called 5K Player on my Mac. This is a promising app because it is said to be the combination of a HD video player, a music player, a radio player, AirPlay media streamer and Youtube video downloader. Let’s check it out.
Key Features of 5K Player
First and foremost, this is a video and music player. I tried to use it with all media files on my Mac and it didn’t have any problem playing them at all. It can play MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV video files, MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC and ALAC lossless audio files.
Besides, it also has a built-in radio player with some preset Internet radio stations like BBC Sports, CBS Sports, NBC, Hotmix radio, ABC Lounge, HeartFM, etc. If your favorite station is not included in the list, just put in the radio URL and it will show up in the list next time.
Of course, you can also insert your DVD and play it with the software. I even see the option to rip the DVD, unfortunately, you will have to pay more than $30 for another app. At the moment, I feel fine with playing my DVD because there are solutions to rip Blu-ray/DVD for free.
Another interesting feature of the 5K Player app is its built-in Airplay streaming support. Of course, you can stream your content with Airplay from your iPhone to your Mac or from your Mac to your TV anytime because the technology features in all those Apple’s products. 5K Player just made it a little easier with an Airplay button on top right corner. Just click on that button and choose the destination and you are done.
If you often use online services to download videos on Youtube, you might also find the app useful because it is built with a Youtube video downloader. Just paste the Youtube URL and click on the Download button, you can also choose among tons of video formats for the file.
Performance
As mentioned above, the app works pretty well with my video and audio files. I also love its interface and the media library. It is much more beautiful and intuitive than the VLC’s library.
The only problem I got is probably the video quality. The colors of videos seem a little washed out and look brighter than other video players I’m using. Therefore, you might see that the image quality is inaccurate and loses a lot of details. You can check out some screenshots below, click on the pictures to see them clearer.
As you can see, the video quality of VLC is much more accurate with a lot more details. Then I found out that 5K Player has Video Tuner to adjust brightness, saturation, contrast, gamma, and hue. I tried to make colors of the video close to the one on VLC but obviously the image quality couldn’t be as sharp and smooth. You can see that the text in the video even got pixelated.
The 5K Player is currently available for free here. Check it out and let me know what you think of the app.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The commission help keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!
Devices and Mac OS X version
VLC media player requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. It runs on any Mac with a 64-bit Intel processor or an Apple Silicon chip. Previous devices are supported by older releases.
Note that the first generation of Intel-based Macs equipped with Core Solo or Core Duo processors is no longer supported. Please use version 2.0.10 linked below.
If you need help in finding the correct package matching your Mac's processor architecture, please see this official support document by Apple.
Web browser plugin for Mac OS X
Support for NPAPI plugins was removed from all modern web browsers, so VLC's plugin is no longer maintained. The last version is 3.0.4 and can be found here. It will not receive any further updates.
Older versions of Mac OS X and VLC media player
We provide older releases for users who wish to deploy our software on legacy releases of Mac OS X. You can find recommendations for the respective operating system version below. Note that support ended for all releases listed below and hence they won't receive any further updates.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Use VLC 2.2.8. Get it here.
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Use VLC 2.0.10. Get it for PowerPC or 32bit Intel.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later is required
Use VLC 0.9.10. Get it for PowerPC or Intel.
Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
QuickTime 6.5.2 or later is required
Vlc Video Mac
Use VLC 0.8.6i. Get it for PowerPC.
Vlc Player For Mac Reviews
Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
Use VLC 0.8.4a. Get it for PowerPC.
Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah and 10.1 Puma
Use VLC 0.7.0. Get it for PowerPC.