Aside from Windows Media Player, there is probably no single video player more widely installed on computers than VLC. It may not have the prettiest interface (or icon), but everybody eventually turns to that huge orange traffic cone, especially for file types that simply can't play in anything else. While VLC provides a mostly full compliment of features, there is one request that has gone unanswered for a while: Chromecast support. It looks like we finally have confirmation, it's happening!

Last week, VideoLan developer Felix Paul Kühne confirmed that Chromecast development had begun, at least for the iOS version of VLC. He subsequently added that the feature was also in progress for the Windows, Linux, and Mac desktop versions. Android appeared to be left out of the list, but Gigaom reports that Kühne later confirmed via email that the Android version would receive Chromecast support after the iOS version ships.

No concrete dates have been given, but an email response to Gigaom indicates that the iOS version will come first, possibly as early as mid-July. The desktop and Android versions have no estimates, but a slower release for the desktop versions can surely be attributed to the lack of official SDKs from Google.

Unfortunately, the Android version is still in beta and has been playing catch-up for a very long time, which probably explains why it has been given a lower priority. It's worth noting that the VLC for Android Play Store page was recently updated to suggest that the next major release would finally drop the beta tag. Along with Chromecast support, this will hopefully end the geographical exclusion of users in the United States (you can still get the apk for manual installation). There are already quite a few apps for Android with the ability to cast local files, but it will be good to see such a prolific open-source app added to the roster.

Best of luck to the VideoLan team, we're all excited to see native Chromecast streaming in action!

Source: Gigaom, VideoLan Forums