One of the world’s most popular open-source media players, VLC Media Player, has reached 6 billion downloads, according to its developer, the non-profit organization VideoLAN. This became known during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 in Las Vegas, where a new AI-based subtitle feature was also presented, which could change the approach to video viewing, TechCrunch reports.

The new feature will allow VLC to generate real-time subtitles for any video using locally installed open-source artificial intelligence models. Users will also be able to translate subtitles into many languages without an Internet connection or the use of cloud services. VideoLAN has demonstrated a working prototype of this feature, but has not yet announced when it will become available to users.

This is an interesting update for VLC, a project that began back in 1996 at Ecole Centrale Paris as a student initiative to stream video across campus. For almost three decades, VLC has become one of the most widely used media players for a variety of platforms, from computers to smartphones.

Unlike many other open source projects, VLC has managed to keep its model completely free and ad-free. The media player does not use advertising, does not collect user data, and does not rely on commercial sources of revenue, making it an exceptional phenomenon in the modern tech market.

“The number of active users of VLC is actually growing, even in this age of streaming services,” said Jean-Baptiste Kempf, President of VideoLAN, in a post on LinkedIn. He emphasized that VLC’s success is due to its customization, ease of use, and compatibility with many operating systems.