14 DAY TRIAL // The VLC developers have something very interesting in store for users of the next 2.2 version that is currently under development. The famous media player will finally feature an Add-on Manager that will download and install extensions straight from the application.
The new VLC 2.2 development branch is codenamed “Wheatherwax” (don’t ask, it might even be a prank), and right now it can be installed in Ubuntu with ease. The Ubuntu OS was always ahead with the VLC versions because the developers have set up a PPA with the daily build.
Installing the development version of VLC is a piece of cake. All you have to do is add the PPA to the repositories and download the application. In order to do that, you will need to open a terminal and enter the following commands (you also need to be root):
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:videolan/master-daily sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install vlc If you already have VLC installed, then you can replace the last command with this one:
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
When the installation is complete, the new VLC will be in place. You need to be careful and understand that is this not a version designed for everyday use. It’s more for developers and this means that features and options in VLC might disappear with each update. It’s also quite possible that the app will crash without any reason whatsoever.
Now, to the good part. The new Add-on Manager can be found under the Tools menu. It’s a very simple window and most of the content consists of themes that are rather uninteresting or downright ugly. On the other hand, the installation procedure for the add-ons has become a lot easier. You just hit download and everything will be in place. Some add-ons will require a restart, but that’s a minor inconvenience.
Until now, it was rather cumbersome to get the add-ons in place and it required some expertise. VLC supported add-ons for some time, but without a reliable method of providing them, the developers chose not to make this a publicized feature.
The VLC developers haven’t said when they will release the new version with the Add-on Manager and they don’t usually stick to a particular schedule. In any case, if you want to see what’s available right now for VLC in terms of add-ons, the official website has a comprehensive list, which is getting updated quite often.