I lastly discovered a VLC substitute that doesn’t seem like it’s from 2002

For a few years, VLC has been the go-to program for anybody in search of a free and open-source (FOSS) Home windows media participant with broad file format and codec compatibility. The applying is full-featured, dependable, and freed from litter and bloat. With this in thoughts, it has actually earned its fame because the “get it finished” media participant that’ll efficiently play again any and all video file sorts, regardless of how obscure.

That being mentioned, VLC is not excellent. The VideoLAN-developed PC app is perhaps versatile and performant, however its consumer interface leaves one thing to be desired. The app’s important UI follows legacy Win32 design sensibilities, making for a visible expertise that appears prefer it’s plucked straight out of the early 2000s era of computing.

In my quest to determine a VLC substitute that matches in with the trendy Home windows 11 design language, I stumbled upon Screenbox: a VLC-esque app that boasts each magnificence and brawn in a single package deal. The app makes full use of Fluent Design rules, with a hearty serving to of the context-aware Mica material, a sensibly laid out Settings web page, help for darkish mode, and an intuitive navigational paradigm that depends on the tried-and-true hamburger menu.

Screenbox, which is offered to obtain without spending a dime from the Microsoft Retailer, is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app. By choosing this specific app framework, the developer can leverage expanded UI flexibility, making for a scalable expertise that may be resized into a really small window, or blown up onto a TV display to be used on the Xbox.

Notable options inside Screenbox embody picture-in-picture mode, help for Chromecast, window resize hotkeys, quantity and in search of gesture controls, and the power to save lots of any video body as a picture. Importantly, these options are all applied in a user-friendly method, which is one thing that may’t be mentioned about VLC with its clunky menu bar system and applet panels.

Most significantly of all, Screenbox is light-weight and highly effective. The app is compact, stutter-free, and full of help for varied lesser-used media file sorts and codecs. There’s even a VLC command-line argument function on deck, permitting energy customers to leverage extra superior playback capabilities.

My solely actual gripes with Screenbox are that it does not embody an on-board audio equalizer, and that its UI is not almost as modular or customizable as that of VLC’s. I would additionally like to see the developer add in some extra audio visuals to this system out of the field (a retro-inspired Home windows Media Participant visualization could be nostalgic bliss). Fortunately, it is simple sufficient to import extra visuals from different sources.

Screenbox is like VLC, solely prettier

I want VLC adopted Microsoft’s Fluent Design UI rules

VLC is an absolute staple of the PC ecosystem, and I am glad to see it is continued relevance within the Home windows 11 period. I am a fan of the app’s no-nonsense method to interface design, however I am unable to assist however really feel that an aesthetic overhaul is lengthy overdue for the venerable media participant.

Some will scoff at my criticism of VLC’s UI design, pushing again with the argument {that a} media participant should prioritize perform over kind, and leanness over ostentatiousness. Whereas I actually respect this viewpoint, I am unable to assist however really feel keen on well-crafted and visually pleasing app designs, of which VLC is poor.

Screenbox, then, is the trendy antidote to my VLC vitreal. The app is open-source, free to obtain and set up, and devoid of ads. On the entire, it manages to strike a superb steadiness between aesthetics and performance, with a modernized design that’s heat and welcoming, and with spectacular file compatibility. Screenbox is visually putting, however its magnificence is way from skin-deep.