I haven't checked with this version of VLC, but can it do hardware h264 inside an MKV container ? That's where some players have put in a lot of work to hardware decode MKV (when it's h264) as iOS requires some crazy workarounds in that area. So if VLC is doing MKV in software, it's still going to appear slower to the user.
Also, I'd say Open Source isn't really a relevant feature on the app store.
No. A significant issue of speed is in the video output.
> Also, I'd say Open Source isn't really a relevant feature on the app store.
I'd disagree...
Why ? You're running on a "closed" device with a closed OS where software can only be installed from one place. How can OSS be important here ?
I would think free is important for the end users...but OSS ? Neah..
Additionally, it costs a one time $100 charge to become an Apple developer (assuming you already have a mac), and then you can deploy everything even without a jailbreak. Given that a new device costs upward of $650 (let's ignore "subsidies" here), another $100 to get locally "open" the device is, for some of us, a reasonable expense.
Just a nitpick, $100 per year last I checked, hardly a 'one time charge.'