updated VLC 2.1.1 is broken on XP

32-bit, XP-Pro-SP3 here.
After years of use and manual updating with no issues, today I updated VLC to version 2.1.1.
Effect: no video, no audio, and something trashy at the bottom on .avi files that I never had a problem with.

Where do I start to figure out what happened and how to fix this mishap other than uninstall and bring back my previous version?

 

It's probably best to ask on their forums.

FWIW I found that SMPlayer was a really good alternative when I had problems with a VLC version a while back.

Have you tried running the PortableApps VLC from a pendrive as a comparison?

PortableApps do a version of SMPlayer as well.

 

After posting here I, too, thought of going on the VLC forum. I checked few things there, which didn't provide answers.
I will check out the alternatives you just mentioned.
If all that fails I'll go there. THANKS.

 

You're welcome. Oh yeah, slight caveat, if you try the VLC forums make sure you post in exactly the right place & phrase your question exactly, otherwise they may ignore it or move it.

Also, I was so impressed with SMPlayer it was a keeper for me. I use the portable as a back up.

 

I would uninstall the old version completely and do a fresh install to version 2.1.1. Something might have gone wrong during the update on your system.

 

@Daveski17,
I haven't yet tried the alternative of SMPlayer.
Can it play .avi files? Can it play .vob files? Does it have a plugin for SeaMonkey? I guess I have to research it a bit.
Thanks for the hints how to post on vlc forum. If I go there, I'll do my best.

@Raza0007,
Old version wasn't there, since I downloaded and ran the installer over it.
So I restored last image to start clean. Uninstalled previous version, 2.0.6, rechecked registry and everything else - they actually uninstall pretty cleanly.
I redownloaded and checked SHA1 for 2.1.1. Installed 2.1.1 and it behaves the same on .avi and .mov files.
That version is clearly broken.
In the meantime, back on 2.0.6 everything is fine.

Thank you both.

 

I honestly don't know exactly what it can & can't play. I'm not sure about SeaMonkey, I normally uncheck the Mozilla plug-in on installing VLC as it used to cause problems for me with SeaMonkey. I only use SMPlayer as a stand alone player.

There are additional codecs for SMPlayer that can be found at PortableApps:

Additional Codecs: To play some additional video formats, you will also need to install the SMPlayer Codecs add-on (11MB download / 22MB installed).

They're a bit fastidious about where you ask the question. It has to be in the right section (XP for you I should imagine or something). Otherwise it might get ignored.