{"id":142254,"date":"2019-09-24T17:42:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T17:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=142254"},"modified":"2025-07-01T21:30:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T04:30:38","slug":"how-to-use-vlc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-use-vlc\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use VLC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-142327\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/vlc_x7alhu.jpg\" alt=\"VLC\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\"><\/p>\n<p>No, that traffic cone on your buddy&#8217;s desktop doesn&#8217;t mean his computer is under construction.<\/p>\n<p>It means that your friend is using <a href=\"https:\/\/vlc-media-player.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">VLC<\/a>,<strong> the best free tool for playing and capturing video!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>VLC plays most media files as well as DVDs, CDs, VCDs, and many streaming protocols.<\/strong> This tool really comes in handy. More often than naught, your device&#8217;s default video player is less than optimal. Once the program finally opens, you have to wait for it to load the video, and then play it. This only works if your video player can even play video in that format in the first place. <strong>VLC can play just about anything, and it does so quicker than most other apps.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"VLC for mobile\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/fa2cf5fc-96da-11e6-aa27-00163ed833e7\/2999105268\/vlc-media-player-icon%20(5).png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">VLC for mobile<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/vlc-media-player.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--80\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"80\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"8\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/vlc-media-player.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<h2>How to use VLC<\/h2>\n<h3>Use VLC to play audio\/video files<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-142277\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/VLC_open_file_vdpqmw.jpg\" alt=\"VLC open file\" width=\"700\" height=\"445\"><\/p>\n<p>Playing a file with VLC is a lot like opening a photo in Photoshop. Either manually open the file by going to Media, and clicking Open File, or drag just drag the file onto the VLC window.<\/p>\n<h3>Keep a library of videos<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_142280\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-142280\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-142280\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/VLC_art_mqdf2z.jpg\" alt=\"VLC\" width=\"700\" height=\"496\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-142280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image courtesy of VLC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If you watch multiple videos on VLC, you have the option to keep a library of them to finger through at your leisure. Once you have several files loaded into VLC, you can organize them under <strong>All Files.<\/strong> Do you have a huge collection of anime? Organize them with VLC! Do you have a digital version of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/mcu-movies-ranked\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">every movie in the MCU?<\/a> Create a specialized folder for them!<\/p>\n<h3>Stream yourself<\/h3>\n<p>If you want to take a picture of yourself or record a video of yourself with a webcam, your device probably already has some built-in tools. However, it probably doesn&#8217;t have tools that help you stream yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Go to <strong>Media<\/strong> and click <strong>Open Capture Device.<\/strong> Choose your preferred settings from here, and click the play button to start recording yourself. If you want to stream yourself, Go to <strong>Media<\/strong> and click <strong>Stream<\/strong>. A new window will pop up with streaming options.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-142274 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/Stream_yourself_c0crcl.jpg\" alt=\"VLC stream\" width=\"350\" height=\"302\"><\/p>\n<p>You can even throw in a URL to the website you will be streaming to.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-142275 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/VLC_stream_ssucp4.jpg\" alt=\"VLC stream\" width=\"350\" height=\"299\"><\/p>\n<h3>Record your desktop<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-142272\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/Capture_Photoshop_tutorial_xxm39i.jpg\" alt=\"Capture photoshop tutorial\" width=\"700\" height=\"373\">Let&#8217;s say you&#8217;re a content creator and you need to record your desktop. VLC has the answer. Go to <strong>Media<\/strong> and click <strong>Open Capture Device.<\/strong> Now you can <strong>r<\/strong>ecord your desktop and do it in whatever FPS rate your computer can muster.<\/p>\n<p>All of a sudden, you have an option for recording your next &#8220;let&#8217;s play&#8221; or that Photoshop tutorial you were making for your YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<h3>Convert files<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-142281 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/VLC_convert_tjvita.jpg\" alt=\"VLC convert\" width=\"350\" height=\"301\"><\/p>\n<p>If you have an old video or music file that is in some weird format, you can actually change the format with VLC. Click on <strong>Media<\/strong> and choose <strong>Convert\/Save.<\/strong> From here, you can add files and change their format with the option at the bottom of the window. Finally, those weird videos from high school that you recorded with an off-brand video recorder can be converted to MP4. Sure, you might&#8217;ve wanted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qUjhls_1YXQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">that cringey video you made for a class <\/a>to die, but now you can share the video with them on Facebook!<\/p>\n<h3>Edit audio\/video files<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-142282 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/04\/Audio_video_editor_mep2of.jpg\" alt=\"VLC edit\" width=\"700\" height=\"357\"><\/p>\n<p>Ever take notes in class, but you can&#8217;t hear them because of background noise? Have you ever recorded a video of your friend, but it turned out too dark? VLC has tools to fix these issues and more!&nbsp;Go to <strong>Tools<\/strong>, and from there click on <strong>Effects<\/strong> and <strong>Filters<\/strong>. Here, you can edit audio and video files to make them as you see fit.<\/p>\n<h3>A quick note on the legality<\/h3>\n<p>VLC is meant to be used for audio and video files you legally own. It is not meant to be used for movies you illegally download or torrent from piracy sites. Also, the capture mode should not be used to rip videos from other sites.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-starred-link\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-starred-link__img\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/v1559594756\/data_download_192_yc8hdn.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-starred-link__col-title\">\r\n        <p class=\"sc-card-starred-link__title\">Is it legal to rip your own DVDs and Blu-Rays?<\/p>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-starred-link__button\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/rip-dvd-bluray-legal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\">Read now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-starred-link__link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/rip-dvd-bluray-legal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer sponsored\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<h2>Wrapping up<\/h2>\n<p>If you have a huge collection of video files that you want to watch\/catalog, VLC is your best option. If you are looking for an easy to use program for streaming yourself, and recording your desktop, VLC is your best option yet again! It&#8217;s free to use, and a quick download. Basically, there&#8217;s no reason why you shouldn&#8217;t download it!<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"VLC for mobile\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/fa2cf5fc-96da-11e6-aa27-00163ed833e7\/2999105268\/vlc-media-player-icon%20(5).png\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">VLC for mobile<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/vlc-media-player.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Download now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--80\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"80\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"8\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">8<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/vlc-media-player.en.softonic.com\/android\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-related-articles-white\">\r\n<p class=\"sc-related-articles-white__title\">More about VLC<\/p>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"How to rotate video in VLC \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/how-to-rotate-video-in-vlc\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2019\/05\/rotatevlc-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>How to rotate video in VLC \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"5 expert hacks for VLC player \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/more-than-just-a-video-player-5-expert-hacks-for-vlc-player\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/10\/vlc-192.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>5 expert hacks for VLC player \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"Use VLC media player as a video converter to mp4 \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/vlc-media-player-as-video-converter\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/q_auto:eco\/v1560879340\/convert_192_bjlgww.webp)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>Use VLC media player as a video converter to mp4 \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"VLC passes 3 billion downloads \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/big-news-from-vlc-2019\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/image\/upload\/q_auto:eco\/v1560879340\/vlc_192_eeiihk.webp)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>VLC passes 3 billion downloads \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VLC is the premier free tool for all of your audio and video files! Here&#8217;s how to use it! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9180,"featured_media":177635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[2321,1757,2131,1827,1699,1466],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-142254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionvlc-media-player","tag-audio","tag-editing","tag-streaming","tag-video","tag-vlc"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":325479,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142254\/revisions\/325479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142254"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=142254"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=142254"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=142254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}