We all know very well that VLC is one of the most popular free media players used throughout the world. However, if it is the one that you use regularly, I bet there are surely some hidden functions that you have not explored until now. Hence, if the VLC Media Player is the player that you use regularly, then do not forget to note down these hidden tricks and features that you probably don’t know.
10 Hidden Tricks Features Of VLC Media Player (2019)
VLC is one of the most popular free media players used throughout the world. However, if it is the one that you use regularly, I bet there are surely some hidden functions that you have not explored until now. As we will show you some of them so that you get the most out of it.
The well-known VLC media player is one of the longest and strongest Open Source media players which is currently available on the internet for free, and it is also one of the most essentials for each and every one of the platforms for which it is available.
Also Read: Top 5 Best VPNs For Spotify – Unblock Access Spotify
In Windows, without going any further, has positioned itself as the most preferred option by users to replace the Windows 10 native media player. For that reason, you will find it very Useful to know some small tricks of the VLC media player that you don’t know.
As the well-known VLC media player has gained fame for its ease of use and versatility to play virtually any audio and video format. The best thing of all is that you can do it without having to install codecs or extensions to get it. Yes, it is a “ready to play” tool with exciting abilities and hidden features.
Hence, the utility of this versatile media player is not limited to its ability to reproduce everything that is put in front, it also hides some extraordinary features in the sleeve that will be much more useful than you think. So, now without wasting much time let’s get started and explore the whole list that we have mentioned below.
Convert audio or video files to other formats
One of the best tricks you will find for VLC is that it allows you to convert videos and music to other file formats without installing any additional tool or software. Hence, to do so, simply follow the steps mentioned below.
- First, access the VLC Media menu and choose the Convert option.
- Then, in the file tab of the new box, click Add and choose the file that you want to convert.
- Now in the Preferences section simply select the file format to which you want to convert your file.
- After the above step, in the Destination section, it will show you where the newly converted file will be saved.
- Now simply click the Start button to convert your video or audio files to other formats.
Create a puzzle with your videos
VLC Media Player also hides some curious and entertaining games as well. One of them is the possibility of creating a puzzle game with a video and then assemble it to complete the image. Hence, now to do so simply follow the steps mentioned below.
- First of all simply hold the “Ctrl + E” on your keyboard to access the Effects and filters section.
- Now within this section simply select the Geometry tab and check the Game puzzle box.
- After the above step in the settings, you can see the number of rows and columns to determine the number of pieces you have to complete.
- Once you apply your desired settings you will get your puzzle ready to play.
- That’s it now you are done.
Plays incomplete and compressed files
VLC Media Player also allows you to play all kinds of audio and video formats and not only that even it is also capable of playing a video when the file is incomplete or compressed. Hence, to see them simply drag the temporary file of the download to the VLC Media Player window and it will automatically start playing the temporary file.
The same thing happens with the videos that come to you in a compressed file format such as Zip, RAR, and even ISO files. So, instead of unzipping it to play the file, simply drag the compressed file directly to the VLC Media Player window and it will decompress it and play it automatically for you.
Send content to your Chromecast
One of the most anticipated features of VLC Media Player is the support to send content to other external devices such as Chromecast. However, to do this you must have one of these devices perfectly installed and configured to be able to receive content from other devices that are on the same Wi-Fi network.
- First of all, make sure that the screen where you have connected the Chromecast is on and ready to receive the content.
- Then to send content from any computer to your Chromecast using VLC Media Player, simply access the Playback section of VLC Media Player.
- Then in Playback section simply choose the Processor option.
- Now you may see a firewall window indicating that you are going to connect to an external device.
- Simply Accept the screen indicating that the connection is secure.
- Now in the drop-down list of the Processor option, the name of your Chromecast should appear.
- That’s it now you are done.
Apply filters and effects to your videos
Another one of the most useful tricks for the VLC Media Player is the one that allows you to improve the quality of your videos and audio files.
As with this trick you can simply change the image settings of the player to increase the brightness of a video that was not recorded with the appropriate exposure, or slightly increase the saturation of the colors, so, that you can simply enhance the quality of your file.
- First access the VLC Media Player Tools tab and choose the Effects and filters option.
- Now access select the options Audio Effects or Video Effects depending on the type of content you want to edit.
- After that on the Essential tab, check the Image adjustment box to activate the color, brightness and contrast controls.
- Now you can simply adjust or modify the options to make changes according to your needs.
- That’s it now you are done.
Add external subtitle files
If you like movies in the original version, but sometimes you get lost with dialogues in other languages, a good alternative is to use subtitles to help you in dialogues that you do not understand. However, here the problem is that not all videos integrate the subtitles in your desired language, hence, to solve this issue VLC also allows the addition of external subtitle files.
- The easiest way to integrate external subtitles in your videos is to put the video file and the subtitles file (SRT) in a single and same folder. Both files must have exactly the same name. When VLC Media Player starts playing the video, it will automatically detect that a file with subtitles exists and will display them.
- However, if you do not like the above method then don’t worry, as you can also do the same simply by dragging the subtitle file directly into the VLC Media Player window while the video is playing.
- And not only that even you can also add them using the VLC Media Player Subtitle menu and clicking Add subtitles.
Control VLC from any browser
Another feature that makes the well-known and most used VLC Media Player one of the best video and audio players is the ability to control VLC Media Player remotely through the web browser.
- First of all, go to the menu Tools and select the option Preferences.
- In the bottom corner of the preferences box, in the Show settings section, check the All box to show all configuration options.
- Now, in the side panel, display the Interface options and click on Main Interfaces to check the Web box.
- Go back to the side panel to display all the main Interfaces options and click on the Lua interface.
- In these options of Interfaces, simply display the list of Interface Module and choose Lua Interpreter to access its configuration.
- In the Lua HTTP section, establish a password to access the VLC Media Player interface and click Save to apply the new settings.
- Once the configuration is complete, now simply restart the VLC Media Player and allow the connection in the firewall box that is likely to appear.
- Now to control the player from the browser, simply you have to access from any other device by typing the IP address of the computer that is playing the content followed by the connection port in the address bar of the browser.
- That’s it now you are done.
View and download YouTube videos
This is probably one of the most popular and useful tricks of VLC Media Player since it allows you to watch YouTube videos or stream any other videos of other platforms on your computer, without opening the respective websites, as all you can do in the VLC media player only.
In addition, it also allows you to download the video that you are going to play, so VLC Media Player becomes a necessary tool to download YouTube videos in the fastest and safest way. Hence, to do so, simply follow the steps that we have mentioned below.
- First of all access YouTube simply to copy the URL of the video that you want to watch or download.
- Then, simply start or open the VLC Media Player.
- Now simply open the Media menu to choose the option Open network location.
- After the above step now you will get a box where you have to paste the URL of the video that you have copied earlier, then simply hit the Enter button and now simply click on Play.
- That’s it now you are done.
Now if you want to download the video then simply follow the steps mentioned below.
- While the YouTube video is playing on VLC Media Player, simply hold the CTRL + J button on your keyboard to access the codec information.
- Now simply double click on the content that appears in the Location section to select everything and copy these commands.
- After the above step now simply open any browser and paste those commands in the address bar, and then the video will be immediately get loaded into the browser.
- Now simply click the right mouse button on the video and choose to Save video as… simply to save it on your computer.
- That’s it now you are done.
Listen to radios from the Internet
In the VLC media player, you can also listen to the radio stations available on the Internet. Hence, to do so simply follow the steps of this trick that we have mention below for VLC Media Player.
- The connection to the online radios from VLC Media Player is carried out from the side panel of the Playlist box that can be displayed by pressing the keyboard shortcut CTRL + L.
- In the Internet section of the side panel, you will find the Icecast Radio Directory option that brings together a good number of radio service sources.
- Now simply click on this option and the list of all available stations will appear. And not only that even you can also use the search bar as well available at the top to find the one you are looking for.
- That’s it now you are done.
Record a part of the video
In VLC Media Player you can also record a part of a big video while it is playing. And this can be an excellent alternative for when you want to edit the duration of a video, but you do not want to complicate the simple procedure simply by installing a video editor on your computer.
Hence, to carry out this trick of VLC Media Player simply you have to press the Record button that appears when showing the advanced controls of VLC Media Player. Then simply make one click only to start recording the video part that you want to keep, and when you have done simply click on the same button to stop the recording. After this, a new video file containing the part of video captured will be saved in the videos folder of My Documents.
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