Quick tip: new VLC versions are released quite frequently and even though some don't introduce any new features, there are important bug fixes in each release (you can find the VLC changelogs HERE). If you want to always have the latest stable VLC version in Ubuntu, here are some PPAs you can use.
Ubuntu 14.10: Nate Muench maintains two VLC PPAs, one for Ubuntu 14.10 and one for Ubuntu 14.04.
To install the latest VLC from Nate's PPA in Ubuntu 14.10, use the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:n-muench/vlc
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vlcsudo add-apt-repository ppa:n-muench/vlc2
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vlcUbuntu 14.10, 14.04, 13.10, 12.10 and 12.04: you can use the "VLC Daily build of stable branch" PPA. This PPA doesn't have the latest stable VLC version but it provides builds from the stable branch, so you may occasionally find some small bugs but if that happens, they should be fixed quickly. The advantage of this PPA over the other two mentioned above is that it has packages for more Ubuntu versions and also, it's updated more frequently since it doesn't depend on the packages being available in Debian before uploading them to the PPA. To add this PPA and install the latest VLC in Ubuntu, use the commands below:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:videolan/stable-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vlc
