While there are many video players available for download, the VLC media player is one of the most popular. The main reason for its popularity is that it is free and open source. I won't be surprised if it's already your default media player. That said, did you know that VLC is much more than just video playback? Yes, you read it right. Today, we will review some of the best VLC tips and tricks in this article. Although you may already know some of them, I am sure that the rest will be the same for you. So without further delay, Here is a list of 15 great VLC tricks you should know:
Note: I am using VLC media player 2.2.6 Umbrella on a Windows 10 Pro computer. The following tricks should also work on other versions of VLC.
1. Control VLC with mouse gestures
This trick is especially useful if you use a wireless mouse. With the range longer than a keyboard you get, you can use your mouse to control VLC playback after modifying some settings. To do that, follow the steps below.
- Open VLC Preferences pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard while VLC is open. Now, in the lower left of that window, in "Show settings", select the radio button that says "All" .
- In the next window, search for "control interfaces" .
- Under your configuration, check the box that says "Mouse gesture control interface" . Now click on "Save" and later restart VLC .
This time, mouse gestures will be enabled. They work by clicking and dragging the mouse cursor in a particular direction. Below are some of the gestures you can try.
| Left | Short time to jump back (10 sec by default) |
| Right | Short time jump forward (10 sec by default) |
| Left up | Faster |
| Until | Slower |
| Left down | Go to the previous entry in the playlist |
| Just down | Go to the next entry in the playlist |
| Left Right | Play pause |
| Right left | Play pause |
| Above | Turn up the volume |
| Down | Volume down |
| Up and down | Volume of silence |
| Bottom up | Volume of silence |
| Vertical | Change the audio track |
| Completely | Change subtitle track |
| Up to the left | Enter full screen mode |
| Down left | Exit VLC |
2. Add markers to the current game position
This VLC trick allows you to mark as many parts of a video as you want, so you can return to that point in the video later. To do that, press Ctrl + B on your keyboard while playing a video. This will open the "Edit bookmarks" window. Now look for the time you want to mark the mark and click on "Create" . You can do this for multiple points in the video.
If you want to return to the marked point, simply double click on that bookmark . It is important to keep in mind that markers are only valid until the VLC instance is open. Once you close VLC, all the markers will be gone.
3. VLC remote control from a browser
Have you ever thought about controlling VLC from a browser? Even if you haven't done it, now you know it's possible and here is how:
- Open VLC Preferences pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard while VLC is open. Now, in the lower left of that window, in "Show settings", select the radio button that says "All" .
- In the next window, search for "main interfaces" Y select it .
- Now in the right panel, check the box that says "Web" .
- Go back to left panel and this time, search "Lua" .
- Here enter a password in "HTTP Lua" Y set the port to "8080" in "Lua Telnet" . Then click on "Save" .
- Now open any browser and, in the address bar, type "localhost: 8080" Y press enter . You will now be asked for a username and password. Leave the username field blank and enter the password you set . You should now be able to control VLC from the browser. You can change the volume, control playback, etc.
4. Play Internet radio and subscribe to podcasts
Video and audio files are not the only thing that VLC can play. You can use it to play Internet radio and subscribe to podcasts as well. Here is how:
Play internet radio
- In the VLC media player, go to the playlist view pressing Ctrl + L on your keyboard. Here select "Icecast Radio Directory" In Internet.
- After a while, a list of available online radio stations will appear. Double click on any of them to play.
Subscribe to Podcasts
- In the VLC media player, go to the playlist view pressing Ctrl + L on your keyboard. Here click on the sign ms that appears after hover over "podcasts" In Internet.
- In the frame, enter the URL of the RSS feed of a podcast Y press enter .
- You should now see a list of all the episodes in that RSS feed shown in the right panel.
5. Customize VLC
There is nothing like customization. With VLC, you can install add-ons or apply masks to give the program a personal touch. Instructions for installing each add-on can be found in its description. For masks, describe them and move them to the "masks" folder in the VLC installation directory.
For example, if you have the 32-bit version for Windows, the default directory will be C: Program Files (x86) VideoLAN VLC skins . Now open VLC Preferences pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard and select "Use custom mask" in "Appearance." Now you can choose a skin from the path mentioned above.
6. VLC keyboard shortcuts
Nothing makes you faster than keyboard shortcuts. Although there are many shortcuts for VLC, I've listed below some of them . If you want to use more shortcuts, you can check our article on the best VLC keyboard shortcuts.
| Increase Speed | ) |
| Speed of decrease | He |
| Culture | do |
| Aspect ratio | A |
| Search 3 seconds | Mays + left / right arrow |
| Search 5 seconds | Alt + Left / Right Arrow |
| Search 1 minute | Ctrl + left / right arrow |
| Next in the playlist | north |
| Previous in playlist | P |
7. Convert video or audio files to any format
How often have you wanted to convert a video or audio file to another format? I'm pretty sure that number is more than the number of fingers on your hand. In any case, you will do so using an independent software or an online tool. However, with this trick, you can convert files using the VLC itself. Here are the steps for that:
- In the bar from men of VLC, click on "Media" and select "Convert / Save" .
- In the window that appears, click on "Add" Y select file You want to convert. I have chosen a video file of MP4 format. Now click on "Convert / Save" to continue.
- Here you can open the "Profile" drop-down menu Y select the file format at You want to convert your file. Select the OGG format for conversion. You can also click on the configuration cone immediately next to the drop-down menu to customize a particular profile.
- Now click on "Browse" and navigate to the destination where you want to save your file. Once I get to that location, name your file Y click on "Save" .
- Finally, click on "Start" to start the conversion process.
After a few moments (depending on the size of the file to be converted), the converted file will be available for use in your specific destination. In the meantime, you can track the progress in the search bar. Unfortunately, VLC on my computer crashed every time I tried to convert a video file to some specific types of files. Hopefully, it doesn't happen on your PC.
8. Video transmission and download
Streaming videos online is a great way to watch videos. However, did you know that you don't always need to visit their respective websites to see them? With VLC, you can not only stream videos online, but also download them. Below are the steps to do that.
- In the bar from men of VLC, go to "Media" Y select "Open network flow" .
- Here enter the URL of the video you want to stream / download. Now if you want to stream the video, click on "Play" .
- In case you want download the video, instead of clicking "Play" in the previous step, click on the small arrow next to "Play" and select "Convert" . Now follow the same steps as in the previous method to download the video to a format of your choice.
Note: The download function may not work with all formats.
9. Record audio or video using VLC
Have you ever wanted to record the video that is being played with VLC? Well, there is a trick built into VLC that allows you to do just that. Here is how:
For windows
- In the bar from men of VLC, go to "See" Y select "Advanced Controls" . Do this by adding another layer of controls below the search bar.
- In this new layer, the left-most button will be the recording button. Clicking on this, start recording the audio / video file that is being played in VLC. Clicking again will stop the recording
- Now you can watch your recordings by going to the Videos / Images folder of your computer.
For Mac
- While playing an audio / video file, go to "Playback" Y select "Record" To start recording.
- To stop recording, click on "Stop" in the same menu
- Now you can find your saved recordings in the "Movies" or "Images" folder of your Mac.
10. Record your screen using VLC
Another recording trick offered by VLC is to record your desktop. Ok You don't need any other software for VLC to work well. Read the steps below to find out how.
- Go to "Media" in the menu bar Y select "Open capture device" .
- In the window that appears, select the "Capture mode" as "Desktop" .
- Now enter the desired frame rate and later select "Convert" in the "Play" drop-down menu.
- Here, you can choose the desired video codec. Now click on "Browse" Y select name and destination For your recording. Finally at click on "Start" Start recording.
To stop recording, return to VLC and press the pause button. Your screen recording should now be available in your specified path.
11. Take a screenshot
What do you do when you want to capture a screenshot of a particular frame in a video? Take a screenshot of your entire screen and then crop that image, maybe? Well, after reading this trick, you won't have to do it anymore.
All you have to do is while playing a video, go to the pestaa "Video" in the menu bar Y select "Take snapshot" . This will save a screenshot of that particular frame in the "Images" folder .
12. Set the video frame as wallpaper
Can you imagine how great it is if you get a video to play as a wallpaper? Yes, I am talking about a video and not just an aesthetic image. VLC offers a very easy solution for this.
All you have to do is while playing a video in VLC, go to "Video" in the menu bar and select "Set as wallpaper" . Now, when you return to your desktop, find the same video playing in the background. To stop this, simply close the VLC window.
13. Run multiple VLC instances
Multitasking is great. But what is cooler is to run several instances of VLC on a single computer. Do you want to know how to do that? Open VLC Preferences pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard while VLC is open. In the "Interface" tab, look for a section called "Playlist and instances." Here uncheck the box labeled "Use only one instance when started from the file manager" . Finally, click on "Save" .
Now, if you try to open more than one file with VLC, they will all open in separate windows instead of the only one.
14. Start video in full screen
Most of us usually watch videos in full screen. Now, every time you open a new video, you must play in full screen by double clicking on the video or pressing 'F' on your keyboard. However, with some changes to the VLC settings, each video will start automatically in full screen. To do it, go to VLC preferences pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard while VLC is open. Now go to the "Video" tab Y check the box that says "Full screen" .
15. Play video as ASCII
This is a fun trick. Using this will cause the video you are playing to be played in the form of ASCII characters. You still don't understand how it will look? Why not try it yourself? Open VLC Preferences pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard. Go to the pestaa "Video", and in the "Exit" drop-down menu, select "Color ASCII art video output" . Now click on "Save" and close VLC.
The next time you open a video, another window will open that will run your video as ASCII.
Use the best VLC tricks on your PC or Mac
Most of us use VLC Media Player for all of our video playback needs, but I'm pretty sure I had no idea that VLC also had these features integrated. Well, with these VLC tricks, you can now go ahead and watch videos like a pro. While there are many other VLC tricks that you can also find, these were some of the best that I found most useful. Apart from them, are there other interesting VLC tricks that you know can be useful? I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.
