Developers have almost completed work on porting VLC to Windows 8

Jul 24, 2013 08:33 GMT  ·  By

Work on the official VLC for Windows 8 port continues, but according to the latest information on the app, developers are very close to completing the project.

VideoLAN has confirmed via its official Twitter account that the development of VLC for Windows 8 is going just as planned, so the program should be submitted for approval in the near future.

“So, last night, we cut the VLC for WinRT dependency on advapi.dll and shell32.dll... We're closing in!” the tweet reads.

VideoLAN developers launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign back in November, asking for money in order to bring one of the most popular multimedia players in the world on the new Windows 8 operating system.

The upcoming VLC for Windows 8 app will also offer compatibility for Windows RT, Microsoft’s tablet-oriented operating system that’s also powering the Surface RT.

“The existing version runs on Windows 8’s desktop mode, and is available only for Intel-based PCs. This new port will be natively integrated within the new User Experience and will also support ARM-based tablets in a subsequent release,” the group behind the project said in November.

The application is already available to select Kickstarter backers, as developers needed feedback on specific features, but a final build should be published in the Store anytime soon.

Jean-Baptiste Kempf, one of the developers involved in the project, revealed in March that complying with all Windows Store requirements is quite a difficult task, but Microsoft offered support to make sure that all conditions are met.

These are the first screenshots showing the new VLC for Windows 8 in action.

“As far as the main work, which is to make it compatible with the Windows Store restrictions, we are still blocked by technical difficulties and we don't know how to fix them, and the lack of external help makes it quite difficult. We probably will send a beta to our backers, this month, as we had promised,” he said.

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