14 DAY TRIAL // The Mac version of VLC Player 2 has been updated yet again to fix tons of user-reported bugs, as well as to add a fresh set of UI elements that aid customization.
“After 15 million downloads of VLC 2.0.0 versions, VideoLAN and the VLC development team present the second version of ‘Twoflower’, a bugfix release,” reads VideoLAN’s announcement.
“Support for MxPEG files, new features in the Mac OS X interface are part of this release, in addition to faster decoding and fixes for hundred of bugs and regression, notably for HLS, MKV, RAR, Ogg, Bluray discs and many other things.”
The new features in the Mac OS X interface mostly revolve around customization, but there is a distinct new feel to the player the instant you launch it.
For example, every element is much more visible thanks to an enhancement in colors. The Qt interface now lets users replace the blue seek slider with a native OS X slider.
An audio bug which I’ve personally prayed to see fixed in 2.0.1 is now gone. There is no more lag in the volume increase / decrease when you control it by scrolling upwards or downwards with a Magic Mouse.
Other Mac-specific changes include: limited support for Bluray discs menus; numerous fixes for MKV support; a fix for split RAR files playback; codec and 3rd party libraries security updates; and fixes for an additional (unspecified) 120 bugs.
All this and loads of other improvements (as well as security fixes) can be found in the new VLC 2.0.1 for Mac OS X (which you can download via the link below).
PowerPC users will be glad to learn that VLC 2.0.1 retains its ability to run on older Macintosh hardware (such as the G5 iMac), as long as they are running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.