VLC 3.0 Released with Hardware Decoding and Chromecast Support

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VLC is my favorite and go-to media player for watching movies and TV shows on my Windows desktop computer. It plays almost everything and works so great with many hidden tricks that you can enjoy using. It has been quite long since last major update and I have been wondering how long I have to wait until the Chromecast support arrives.

The wait is over. VLC 3.0, code name “Vetinari”, has arrived.

VLC Splash - VLC 3.0 Released with Hardware Decoding and Chromecast Support

Noticeable features

Here is the list of highlights VLC 3.0 brings to the table.

  • Actives hardware decoding by default, to get 4K or even 8K playback on all platforms.
  • Supports 10bits and HDR.
  • Supports 360 video and 3D audio, up to Ambisonics 3rd order.
  • Allows audio passthrough for HD audio codecs.
  • Stream to Chromecast devices, even in formats not supported natively.
  • Supports browsing of local network drives and NAS, i.e. SMB, FTP, SFTP, NFS, etc.
  • Subtitles size modification live.

To stream the media to one of the Chromecast devices you have on the network, right-click the play area and choose Playback > Renderer > Chromecast list.

VLC stream to Chromecast - VLC 3.0 Released with Hardware Decoding and Chromecast Support

VLC supports almost all popular platforms on the market, not only desktop platforms like Windows, macOS, Linux but mobile systems such as iOS, Android, and even Windows Phone as well. Here is a full list of supported OS versions:

  • Windows – from XP to  Windows 10 RS3
  • macOS – 10.7 to 10.13
  • iOS – 7 to 11
  • Android – 2.3 to 8.1
  • Android TV, Chromebooks with Play Store
  • Windows RT 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1
  • Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox 1, Windows Store
  • GNU/Linux, Ubuntu, *BSD

It’s worth noting that the support of the Chromecast is not only available Windows but on Android devices as well.

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