VLC, the open source, cross-platform media layer for Windows, OS X, and Linux, finally hit version 1.0. VLC 1.0 includes a number of new features including new HD video codecs, finer speed controls, instant pausing, frame-by-frame playback, and a ton of bug fixes and minor GUI enhancements.

VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, …) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network. It doesn't need any external codec or program to work.