Ask any Windows 8 users, and chances are that one of their most anticipated apps would be the Metro version of the popular VLC media player. Windows RT users, are actually the ones that are looking forward to it the most.
The app was on track to go live earlier this year, but a number of issues with the port meant that the developers had to delay the launch. The good news is that the wait is almost over.
And now the developers have released some new screenshots showing the app in action. VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf shared a few details, though he did not confirm whether we should expect the app to launch before the year is out, or in early 2014:
“We are preparing the release, fixing the important bugs, notably an audio crash that got us rejected from the store. We have numerous small bugs that are annoying, notably some thumbnails, crashing and the audio browsing part.
We hope to work on it until this week-end and then submit once again.”
Anyway, it further appears that the initial version of the app will only be compatible with x86 and x64 builds of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Luckily, the Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 versions will arrive soon after that — the developers only have to sort out some compiler issues.
Speaking of which, Kempf also explained in a statement that even though the app will be completely optimized for touch, it does have a rather simple UI. For now:
“The UI is very simple, since we focused on managing to port VLC to the platform, which has proven hard and tedious. As soon as the first version is out, we’ll welcome help from other developers on those parts.”
As the screenshot above shows, this is indeed a simple and unobtrusive interface.
The important thing here is getting the app into the hands of the users, first and foremost. Cosmetic changes do matter, yes, but there will be enough time to sort them out once the app is released.
All Comments
Got tired of waiting and more tired of all of these teasers just to announce another delay, so now I have found a player I like and maybe even better and will stay with.
I am as tired of these teasers as I am that annoying pop up and shows up every few seconds.
Yeah, it’s stretched on for too long. I am aware development for all these platforms is time consuming, particularly for a multimedia project of this sorts, but VLC for Windows 8.1 has turned into a bit of a saga.
But we can’t be all too far off from launch, now, surely!
Got tired of waiting and more tired of all of these teasers just to announce another delay, so now I have found a player I like and maybe even better and will stay with.
I am as tired of these teasers as I am that annoying pop up and shows up every few seconds.
Yeah, it’s stretched on for too long. I am aware development for all these platforms is time consuming, particularly for a multimedia project of this sorts, but VLC for Windows 8.1 has turned into a bit of a saga.
But we can’t be all too far off from launch, now, surely!
It looks like VLC will be launch date will be another year from today. It will get delay twice more before going into the final beta, then delay again, then release.