VLC is all set to get new a new feature – extension support, from VLC 1.1. The extensions will be written in Lua, a simple a lightweight scripting language, embbeded inside VLC media player. The VLC extensions are scripts that will popup windows and fetch information on the web for you.
As to why VLC needs extensions, here is VLC developer Jean-Philippe André’s own words:
With the constant progress of web technologies, you get more and more access to a lot of free content from your home computer. Why not binding this content with the software you love and the medias you watch or listen to? In less abstract terms, what if you could get the subtitles of the movie you are watching in less that one click, read the lyrics of the current track, learn about the artist’s biography and discography right inside VLC?
To use an extension, all you need is to activate it from the View menu. Initial ideas of possible extensions as of now consist of:
- Wikipedia: get information about the artist, the album or the movie from Wikipedia.
- IMDb: read the plot summary, learn about the cast of a movie and get a direct link to the Internet Movie Database.
- Last.fm: Read useful information fetched from the artist’s page on Last.fm.
- Lyrics: Automatically get the lyrics of the current song.
- Subtitles: Find and insert subtitles on top of the video in two clicks.
- Concerts: Learn about the next concerts of this artist.
Of course you can write your own extensions as well, but the detailed tutorial to write VLC extensions will be released later.
[source Yet another Geek’s blog]