[LightDestory]

It has been a decade since VLC has been my first choice of multimedia files... From windows xp to windows 10 but also on linux!

The UI has been always the same and right now it is a bit old for the newest system... but don't worry!

VLC has announce a new UI for VLC 4.0.0 and you CAN TEST IT NOW.

Just install the nightly, beta versions!, of the currently on development VLC to get a anticipation of what VLC is going to look!

You can find the latest nightly of VLC here:
VLC media player continuous nightly builds - VideoLAN

[Honey]

Its nice to hear that VLC is still being updated, but cant say if I am a fan of that UI.

From my experience, better looking UI isn't always better, especially when compared to older but far more tested variant. E.g. Nvidia control panel looks like something made in early 2000s, however It works as intended so Nvidia hasn't bothered fixing something which ain't broken.

Similarly I don't quite see why this reskin was necessary, the older UI was surely a bit old but I think most people were fine with it. Anyway....I hope this reskin doesn't become a mistake xD

[tbelldesignco]

We just got the update on Mac too and I just got it installed. From my end, some of the cooler features are 1) the new UI and 2) we finally got AirPlay support! So with media I have that is not compatible with AppleTV (formerly iTunes Movies) I can still stream them to my AppleTV OR with my Switch Lite, I can cast to my MacBook Pro then have that stream on my TV removing the need for a dock!

[Mashiro]

About time! The current default design is dated. The other less used design that can be unlocked in the settings is not really that good compared to the default one. Does anyone even use the alternative VLC design?

Screenshot:


It might look different and refreshing but for me it is missing a lot of useful things and options you could quickly access from the default VLC skin.

I hope they don't mess that up in the new version and new default skin.


That said did anyone even check: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.php ? (imho) it has some really nice skins in there! Sadly skinning is not possible on MacOS. But the current default skin on MacOS is fine (kinda).

Screenshot (MacOS High Sierra - Mac Mini 2011 Mid):



I'm excited to see the final version of 4.0.

[fChk]

Code: (Select All)

[__user__ @ fchk ~]$ vlc --version
VLC media player 4.0.0-dev Otto Chriek (revision f263178)
VLC version 4.0.0-dev Otto Chriek (f263178)
Compiled by __user__ on fchk.local (Sep 16 2020 14:15:34)
Compiler: gcc version 10.2.1 20200723 (Red Hat 10.2.1-1) (GCC)
This program comes with NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
You may redistribute it under the terms of the GNU General Public License;
see the file named COPYING for details.
Written by the VideoLAN team; see the AUTHORS file.

I'm used to compile it from source; my last successful built was on Sep 16 2020. Ever since that day, the build process fails each time; didn't had time to do an in-depth troubleshooting for the actual issue but will soon do another re-try!..

VLC was my favorite media-player/encoder/streamer etc... on (the now obsolete) Windows systems but not so much on Linux desktops with wayland.. where I prefer the more lightweight mpv just as the player while the mighty ffmpeg do the rest; ie encoding/decoding/transcoding/etc...

[LightDestory]

About time! The current default design is dated. The other less used design that can be unlocked in the settings is not really that good compared to the default one. Does anyone even use the alternative VLC design?

Screenshot:


It might look different and refreshing but for me it is missing a lot of useful things and options you could quickly access from the default VLC skin.

I hope they don't mess that up in the new version and new default skin.


That said did anyone even check: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.php ? (imho) it has some really nice skins in there! Sadly skinning is not possible on MacOS. But the current default skin on MacOS is fine (kinda).

Screenshot (MacOS High Sierra - Mac Mini 2011 Mid):



I'm excited to see the final version of 4.0.

To see cool skins for VLC you must search into "Deviantart", there you can find a nice Metro/Material skin, it lacks some property but it is still better than the actual 3.0 UI!

[Honey]

About time! The current default design is dated. The other less used design that can be unlocked in the settings is not really that good compared to the default one. Does anyone even use the alternative VLC design?

Screenshot:


It might look different and refreshing but for me it is missing a lot of useful things and options you could quickly access from the default VLC skin.

I hope they don't mess that up in the new version and new default skin.


That said did anyone even check: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.php ? (imho) it has some really nice skins in there! Sadly skinning is not possible on MacOS. But the current default skin on MacOS is fine (kinda).

Screenshot (MacOS High Sierra - Mac Mini 2011 Mid):



I'm excited to see the final version of 4.0.

In my opinon, having a good but old design is better than doing a reskin, mainly because this almost always results in negative user feedback. I'm pretty sure most people right now have accustomed to VLC's iconic UI, and wouldn't like a sudden change (me included), this is mainly because the current UI works as intended, and you don't really need to reinvent the wheel here.

Imo, if VLC really wants to introduce a reskin, they should do it as a secondary option, but not enabled by default. If the userbase likes it, they can enable it in the settings, otherwise they can simply keep using the current UI.

[LightDestory]

In my opinon, having a good but old design is better than doing a reskin, mainly because this almost always results in negative user feedback. I'm pretty sure most people right now have accustomed to VLC's iconic UI, and wouldn't like a sudden change (me included), this is mainly because the current UI works as intended, and you don't really need to reinvent the wheel here.

Imo, if VLC really wants to introduce a reskin, they should do it as a secondary option, but not enabled by default. If the userbase likes it, they can enable it in the settings, otherwise they can simply keep using the current UI.

We can say the same thing for Windows 7 to Windows 8/10 redesign. A lot of people still sticks with Windows 7 UI but... let be clear the new Windows 10 design is clearly better and with the future 21H2 (with has been announced as the biggest Windows 10 UI refresh.

The old Windows' ControlPanel was the hell, a lot of features inside a window, all there without a proper search function. The new "Settings" of Windows 10 is very easy to use and it is slowing absorbing every feature of the old control panel.


We need to innovate, going against the user-base sometimes.

[xdude]

This looks really nice. I used VCL for a long time till last year. After I installed Windows 10 I moved to PotPlayer Which seems to work better for me and has few nice features I want. Still use VLC on my phone though. Boy they had their own skin for about 10 years I think. lol. Is it just a new skin or they have added any new features too?

[Sn1F3rt]

Wow ... VLC is getting a new look wat ... ever since I've been using a PC it's been the same good old VLC design. Yes, the design is dated but I did never really mind because that's how it was since forever. That notepad kinda concept. New UI looks definitely good and I'm glad to see this finally coming through.

Also, thanks for the link @Mashiro, those skins are really cool too. IMO, it's best if the new skin is introduced as a secondary option to the primary dated skin available just like @Honey said, to take care of the existing users too.