VLC has announced added support for 360-degree video playback in a move seen to accommodate VR platforms in 2017. The popular video playback application has confirmed that it will release dedicated versions for the Google Daydream, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
One of the lead developers behind VLC, Jean-Baptiste Kempf, has told Variety that his team has already started working on spatial 3D audio necessary for implementing the app in virtual reality platforms. As of the moment, test versions of popular video playback applications can now be downloaded at the official website. VLC can now play 360 videos, as well as 360 images, with the help of the keyboard and mouse.
The non-profit organization behind the app, Videolan has cooperated with camera developer Giroptic to add the new 360 features on their popular open source application. In a statement given by the co-founder and CEO of Giroptic, users can now take full advantage of the new technology and be widely involved in the apps standardization.
New VLC Just Like The Old App & More
According to PC Advisor, the program looks and feels like the older versions of the popular open source app. In their review, the app deserves good credit for adding 360-degree video support to its repertoire of amazing features. The only thing that's drawing it back for the moment is missing support for other video formats. Since this is still an early build, expect a more fluid application starting next year.
VLC 360 Technical Preview is an early version of VLC Media Player 3.0 that supports 360-degree videos. Users that have downloaded the app has complained that finding the multiple display modes like zoom and little planet is hard to find in this version of VLC. The first version of the software application was first released 15 years ago on February 1, 2001.
