VideoLan foundation preparing VLC web version is of the legendary player, new user interface and even an IMDB alternative. The already classic open source multimedia player VLC has turned two decades from its launch. In this two decades it has not yet reached version 4.0 (version 3.0 arrived in 2018), but it will do this year according to those responsible for the project. There are more plans other than launching the new version, such as creating a web player or a database for IMDB style series and movies.
Over the years VLC has accumulated more than 3,500 million global downloads. It has become virtually an essential player for its great coding and support capabilities for multimedia files.
VLC plans in the medium term as vlc web version
As explained since the VideoLan Foundation to Protocol, they have great plans for these next months and on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary. The first of them and the one that maybe more impact on users is the arrival of VLC 4.0 soon. This new VLC web version brings a “a little more modern” interface and is expected to reach platforms during this 2021.
On the other hand we have a content aggregation issue. VLC plays local content but it can also play streaming content if we give it a URL from where to get the file to play, for example it allows you to watch TV online or download YouTube videos. They now have plans to directly integrate libraries and catalog into the player. A kind of PLEX or Kodi. They say that for this they are thinking of third-party extensions that allow importing catalog from other sources and that can be played directly in VLC.
Continuing with catalogs, one of those responsible for VLC a Protocol comments that they are preparing a kind of database of movies. Called Project Moviepedia, it would be an IMDB or Letterboxd alternative with a more Wikipedia-like approach where users edit the content.
Finally and perhaps the most interesting announcement of all is the arrival of a VLC web version. Currently the player must be installed locally as an ordinary app to use it and play content. They say they are working on a version that works with Webassembly and JavaScript to run VLC within web pages. Taking into account the great compatibility that VLC has with multimedia formats, it will certainly be interesting to have these compatibility integrated directly in the browser.
For now we will have to wait to see how the next few months evolve and what functions and news arrive. VLC has become part of the internet and the digital world in recent years, so any slight change has a much bigger impact than it seems.
Also Read | 24 best podcasts apps & services to listen podcasts
