Popular Media Player App 'VLC' Slowly Returning to the App Store

[MacRumors]

A few users began reporting on Reddit yesterday the return of popular alternative media player app VLC to the iOS App Store. The app, which arrives as a 2.4.1 update including iPhone 6 and 6 Plus support, is still rolling out to all users and currently shows as unavailable in the App Store for most countries, although some users who had previously downloaded the app before its removal have been able to access the new version through their purchase histories.

VLC for iOS was pulled from the App Store around the launch of iOS 8, and the company never officially commented on the reasons behind the mysterious disappearance other than saying it was "working with Apple on a solution." In late December, the company confirmed the app would return to the storefront in "early 2015."

The updated app, which allows users to use and watch many non-iOS friendly media files, sees the inclusion of folder support, passcode lock, and optimization for the larger screen sizes of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus amongst other updates. The app is rolling out to a select few countries first, and is expected to be made widely available to U.S. users soon.

VLC previously saw nearly a three-year hiatus from the App Store when it was taken down in 2010 thanks to licensing issues, finally returning in the summer of 2013.

Article Link: Popular Media Player App 'VLC' Slowly Returning to the App Store

 

[Eddy Munn]

At long last, I'm going to have to back this up on iTunes just in case.

 

[nick727]

Ya! I'm excite. Any link to app?

 

[Jesla]

Downloading now from the AppStore.......

 

[haruhiko]

I quite like Infuse as an alternative choice to VLC.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Why did they take the screenshots while on a phone call? That just seems weird...

 

[jjxc90]

It should be noted that this 'update' is severely crippled.

No support for Dolby/AC3 means VLC is pretty much useless for most mkv movies.

 

[baryon]

I have a question: how are you supposed to transfer music files onto your iPhone to be played with VLC? Because Going into iTunes, then into iPhone, then into Apps, then scrolling for half an hour to find VLC, then clicking on that and scrolling down to the part where you can drag and drop media is a bit extreme, isn't there a simpler way?

 

[roadbloc]

It's been watered down Why?

 

[BurgDog]

It's been watered down Why?

Likely because they didn't license the AC3 decoder (price?) and Apple won't allow unlicensed software.

 

[fishmoose]

There's better apps, like Infuse, available now.

 

[zorinlynx]

This is one of the ways that App Store policy is crippling iOS, and I hate seeing it.

Other platforms can have VLC just fine. The licensing issues are between the author and the license holders, but we can continue to use the software while it's worked out.

With iOS, Apple is happy to pull the app at the first sign of a license dispute, and we are denied access to the software. So we end up with crippled garbage like this in the app store because of that.

I love iOS for many reasons, but utterly hate this issue. The ability to legitimately sideload applications would turn iOS from a great operating system to an absolutely amazing one. I know, it'll never happen, but one can wish, right?

 

[playboz]

There's better apps, like Infuse, available now.

Which cost $10 to upgrade to be able to playback AC3...

 

[desimaniac]

It should be noted that this 'update' is severely crippled.

No support for Dolby/AC3 means VLC is pretty much useless for most mkv movies.

Try changing your timezone to Canada or something else, and then test it again. That was the solution to play ac3 for the previous builds.

 

[playboz]

Try changing your timezone to Canada or something else, and then test it again. That was the solution to play ac3 for the previous builds.

Ya for the previous builds it worked like a charm. However, this time around it's no longer a solution. Ticks me off! I'm thinking that now they are having different builds for different AppStores. Which would allow Apple to control who is allowed to use AC3 and who isn't.

 

[Imory]

Which cost $10 to upgrade to be able to playback AC3...

You pay 10 dollars and also get to play DTS-HD, which is really not a bad deal.

 

[Stewie]

I have a question: how are you supposed to transfer music files onto your iPhone to be played with VLC? Because Going into iTunes, then into iPhone, then into Apps, then scrolling for half an hour to find VLC, then clicking on that and scrolling down to the part where you can drag and drop media is a bit extreme, isn't there a simpler way?

scrolling for a half hour? really. It takes .25 seconds to scroll to the bottom of the app page where all the file sharing apps reside. Another .5 second to click on VLC and the add button. If your file system is poorly organized it could take you a 1/2 hour to find the file you want to copy, but that is your issue no iTunes.

 

[Glassed Silver]

This is one of the ways that App Store policy is crippling iOS, and I hate seeing it.

Other platforms can have VLC just fine. The licensing issues are between the author and the license holders, but we can continue to use the software while it's worked out.

With iOS, Apple is happy to pull the app at the first sign of a license dispute, and we are denied access to the software. So we end up with crippled garbage like this in the app store because of that.

I love iOS for many reasons, but utterly hate this issue. The ability to legitimately sideload applications would turn iOS from a great operating system to an absolutely amazing one. I know, it'll never happen, but one can wish, right?

To be honest, I'm baffled the EU hasn't already been on that.

I mean, Apple has a strict monopoly on publishing iOS applications to consumers and to just run your own code on your own devices you need to pay for the Apple developer program.

Really surprised this has been going on for ~5 years now with no sign of investigation.

Glassed Silver:mac

 

[teslo]

i'd like VLC better if it would save edits to rotations of .mp4 videos. i simply can't believe it won't allow this. combined with apple's refusal to allow rotations of videos, i feel like being a part of the apple ecosystem means you simply shouldn't ever have to rotate vids and hope to save them like that.

anything i'm missing here?

 

[JoEw]

To be honest, I'm baffled the EU hasn't already been on that.

I mean, Apple has a strict monopoly on publishing iOS applications to consumers and to just run your own code on your own devices you need to pay for the Apple developer program.

Really surprised this has been going on for ~5 years now with no sign of investigation.

Glassed Silver:mac

iOS and apple as a whole don't have majority of marketshare? It's not like people are forced into the apple ecosystem..

 

[chrfr]

I mean, Apple has a strict monopoly

This is not a monopoly. It's the same as saying that Microsoft has a monopoly on publishing Windows. A consumer can buy an Android or Windows phone and use apps for that if they don't like the Apple ecosystem.

 

[playboz]

You guys are way off topic. Has anybody found a workaround yet to getting the AC3 audio to playback?

Thanks!

 

[Toltepeceno]

http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/16/vlcs-media-player-for-ios-sneaks-back-into-the-app-store/


Update, Monday 12:20 PM ET: The company has responded, and confirms that the release is, in fact, legitimate, but say this is only a “partial rollout” for those who have downloaded the app in the past, allowing them to test everything works. “So this is not the general release for iOS, because most people will not be able to download it,” VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf tells TechCrunch. The company did not say when the general release is expected, but hinted that there is some news related to iOS (and more) expected this week.

 

[bsolar]

iOS and apple as a whole don't have majority of marketshare? It's not like people are forced into the apple ecosystem..

You don't need majority of market share to be considered in a dominant position. According to EU regulations:

The Commission's first step in an Article 102 investigation is to assess whether the undertaking concerned is dominant or not.

Defining the relevant market is essential for assessing dominance, because a dominant position can only exist on a particular market. Before assessing dominance, the Commission defines the product market and the geographic market.

• Product market: the relevant product market is made of all products/services which the consumer considers to be a substitute for each other due to their characteristics, their prices and their intended use.
• Geographic market: the relevant geographic market is an area in which the conditions of competition for a given product are homogenous.

Market shares are a useful first indication of the importance of each firm on the market in comparison to the others. The Commission's view is that the higher the market share, and the longer the period of time over which it is held, the more likely it is to be a preliminary indication of dominance. If a company has a market share of less than 40%, it is unlikely to be dominant.

As far as I know iOS has around 20% overall market share in Europe, but the relevant product market itself has to be defined first and could differ from the overall market share: I can imagine a prosecutor arguing that the relevant product market for iOS has to be restricted to premium devices above a given price, in which iOS's share is likely to be much higher.

I personally would not prosecute Apple at all, but I'm not the one who would eventually cash the fine...

 

[Carlanga]

You guys are way off topic. Has anybody found a workaround yet to getting the AC3 audio to playback?

Thanks!

Sure, you use other apps.