VLC will soon be able to stream video from your phone or laptop to your TV via Chromecast. This means support for video files that are not currently available on Google's HDMI stick
VLC has been something of a niche app for a while now. It has never gained the popularity of many video players, but among those who use it there are few other players that do such a good job.
The free and open source application will, it turns out, be getting the ability to stream to Google's cheap-as-chips video streamer. This is significant because it opens up a lot of amazing new possibilities for the Chromecast.
Support will arrive via version 3 of the application, a fact that was discovered through someone scouring the documentation of changes for the new player. This is exciting because VLC's approach to video is better than most players. It's simpler to use, has a minimal install size and plays pretty much everything. Support for it will mean that if there's anything you can't stream, to Chromecast currently, you soon will be able to.
VLC has always been at the forefront of this sort of thing, and it's an enormously powerful player. It's possible to do amazing stuff with it, although most users just use it to playback their torrents and perhaps a smattering of music.
VLC also has an app for Android and iOS as well as Windows, Mac and Linux.
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Ian has been involved in technology journalism since 2007, originally writing about AV hardware back when LCDs and plasma TVs were just gaining popularity. Nearly 15 years on, he remains as excited about how tech can make your life better.