I use VLC sparingly, but I know that it has a huge base of loyal users.  If you are one of those, then you’ll be pleased to know that 1.0.0 was released yesterday and it now includes many new HD codecs.

New features of 1.0.0, taken from the VLC site:

• Free, Open Source and cross-platform
• Independant of systems codecs to support most video types
• Live recording
• Instant pausing and Frame-by-Frame support
• Finer speed controls
• New HD codecs (AES3, Dolby Digital Plus, TrueHD, Blu-Ray Linear PCM, Real Video 3.0 and 4.0, …)
• New formats (Raw Dirac, M2TS, …) and major improvements in many formats…
• New Dirac encoder and MP3 fixed-point encoder
• Video scaling in fullscreen
• RTSP Trickplay support
• Zipped file playback
• Customizable toolbars
• Easier encoding GUI in Qt interface
• Better integration in Gtk environments
• MTP devices on linux
• AirTunes streaming
• New skin for the skins2 interface

Direct download available here.