How to Enable the Best Hidden VLC Features

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VLC is one of our favorite media players (and yours too ). While it can handle just about every movie you add to it, it can do a lot more as well . You don’t need to be an experienced user to understand all of its incredible built-in features; you just need to know that they exist. And we’re excited to show you everything the wonderful VLC can do on your desktop.

1. How to download YouTube videos using VLC

There are many third party apps, browser extensions and website extensions that you can use to download YouTube videos. You don’t need any of these either, as you can do it directly through VLC:

  1. Search YouTube for a video likethis and copy the url from your browser’s address bar.
  2. In VLC, go to Media> Open Network Stream.
  3. Paste the YouTube link into the box and click Play. You may have to wait a while before the video starts playing. (If it doesn’t work or doesn’t load after a long time , you can try this fix to see if it helps.)
  4. In the Tools section, click Codec Information.
  5. In the box labeled Location, right-click the block of text and choose Select All. Copy this text to your clipboard.
  6. Go back to your browser and paste the link into the address bar. This will open the original file directly on the YouTube servers.
  7. Right-click the video during playback and select Save Video As.

2. How to record video clips using VLC (Windows)

  1. Upload a video – it can be anything. Before starting, press pause.
  2. Right-click the video and select Preview. Then click Advanced Controls.
  3. Start playing your video and hit the red record button on the player itself. When its background turns blue, you record.
  4. Press the red record button again to stop recording.
  5. Find the clip you created. On modern versions of Windows, this will be in your custom Videos folder.

3. How to take a screenshot of the desktop using VLC

This is a great trick if you’re trying to show someone instructions on how to do something on their Windows or Mac systems, especially if you don’t have the option to share your screen during a web meeting.

  1. In the Media section, click Open Capture Device.
  2. Click the Capture Mode drop-down list and select Desktop.
  3. Change the frame rate. 15fps is likely to be sufficient for desktop recording, although 30fps may be required for faster motion.
  4. Click the drop-down arrow next to Play and select Convert.
  5. Select MP4 – h.264 or h.265 from the drop-down list of “Profile”.
  6. At this point, you can click the tool icon to change the settings for that profile. Here you can change parameters such as resolution or bit rate. We’ll use the default settings for now, but you can come back here later if you need to customize the final product.
  7. In the Destination field, select a location to place the finished file.
  8. Click Start.

VLC will now capture your desktop feed behind the scenes. Let it work while you record your workspace. When you’re done, you can click the stop button in the player controls to end the recording.

4. How to convert video files using VLC

VLC also has a pretty decent built-in video converter if you need a quick fix and don’t have time to mess around with something like HandBrake .

  1. In the Media section, click Convert / Save.
  2. Add the file you want to convert to the Select File section.
  3. Click “Convert / Save”.
  4. In the Settings section, select the type of file you are converting to from the Profile drop-down list. (We recommend .MP4, h.264 or h.265.)
  5. Give the file a name and location in the Destination section.
  6. Click Start. If you want, you can watch the conversion process (and get the approximate duration) in VLC itself.

5. How to record your webcam using VLC

Your webcam may have come with video capture and recording software, but VLC is probably better. Not only can you choose several different types of formats for the recordings you record, but you can also tweak a number of subtle settings as needed – perhaps more than your webcam software natively allows.

  1. In the Media section, click Open Capture Device.
  2. In the Capture Mode dropdown list, DirectShow should be selected by default. If not, select it.
  3. In the Video Device Name field, select your webcam.
  4. In the Audio Device Name field, select your microphone, which can also be your webcam if you are not using a separate microphone.
  5. Click Advanced Options.
  6. If you would like to use the software that came with your device to manage input settings, select Device Properties.
  7. Otherwise, enter a value for “Video Input Frame Rate”. 30 is a good rule of thumb for smoother video, although you can use less if you’re not concerned about quality.
  8. Click OK.

At this point, you have two options. You can click Play to play live video through VLC and record segments as needed by clicking the red Record button (as mentioned earlier). You can also select “Convert / Save” from the drop-down menu and choose where you want to place the recorded file.

Both methods have their own advantages. The first allows you to preview videos and shoot clips in short bursts. However, this method requires headphones as it can create a feedback loop. It also results in slower recordings on slower computers.

Using the Convert / Save method avoids feedback problems, but it also doesn’t give you much information about what you are watching or when you finish recording. You can stop recording by pressing Stop in the player, but there is no indicator that you are still recording at this time.

6. How to subscribe to podcasts in VLC

You may not think of VLC as a podcast manager, but if you use it regularly, it really comes in handy. To add a podcast, you need the show’s RSS feed. As an example, we’ll use the RSS feed for Lifehacker’s The Upgrade podcast:

https://rss.art19.com/the-upgrade-by-lifehacker

Copy this to your clipboard, then open VLC and follow these steps:

  1. On the VLC sidebar, scroll down until you see podcasts.
  2. Hover over podcasts and click the plus sign on the right.
  3. Paste the RSS feed URL of the show you want to add.
  4. Click OK.

The podcast of your choice will now appear in the Podcasts section of the sidebar. Click on the name of the show and you will see a list of available episodes. Double click any of them to start streaming.

7. How to stream to Google Home or Nest Hub speakers using VLC

I just found this the other day, and it’s one of my favorite little tricks for streaming audio from my computers to various Google Home speakers around the house. (Even though I can shout at the speakers to download a Spotify playlist, not all of my music – and none of my videos – is streamed through the service.)

To stream music or videos throughout your home via VLC, select what you want to stream. From there, click the Play menu and select the Rendering option, then select any of the available speakers. It’s as simple as that, but you might not have considered looking for it in this awkwardly named variation.

8. How to fix subtitles that appear at the wrong time via VLC

If you’re watching a movie with VLC and all subtitles are turned off – either too early or too late, depending on when the characters speak their dialogue – you can fix that right in VLC.

  1. Press Shift + H when the actor starts speaking a phrase you know, that you will recognize.
  2. Press Shift + J when the corresponding subtitle appears.
  3. Press Shift + K to fix the lag.

(If a subheading appears before the sentence, reverse the first and second steps.)

9. How to set video as desktop wallpaper in VLC (Windows)

If you want to take your Windows 10 wallpaper to the next level, try this:

  1. Open VLC
  2. Click Tools> Preferences.
  3. Click on the video section at the top
  4. In the Output section, select Direct3D9 Video Output.
  5. Close and reopen VLC
  6. Download the video and start playing. Right-click the video and select Video, then Set as Wallpaper.
  7. For best results, make sure your video size (or aspect ratio) matches your desktop.

10. How to watch all videos in ASCII encoding (Windows)

Impress your fanatical friends at your next party by playing video in the background … in ASCII.

  1. Upload video to VLC
  2. Go to Tools> Settings> Video.
  3. From the Output drop-down menu, select ASCII art color video output.
  4. Enjoy your botanism

Anyway, I couldn’t get this to work at all on my 64-bit version of VLC on Windows 10. You might have better luck with the 32-bit version or other types of videos, but I wouldn’t just for this little trick is to install a different version of VLC on a 64 bit system.

11. How to set up a looped video on VLC (Windows)

If you want to loop only parts of the video and not all, you can customize the start and end points in VLC:

  1. Open your video and navigate to where you want the loop to start. (Press “e” to advance frame by frame.)
  2. Right-click the video and select Preview. Then click Advanced Controls.
  3. Click the small A / B icon once. This sets your starting point.
  4. Navigate to where you want your loop to stop and then click the A / B icon again. You have now set the end point and the loop will start playing and rewinding automatically.
  5. Click the A / B icon one last time to remove the loop.

This story was originally published on 11/4/14 and updated on 08/05/19 to provide more complete and up-to-date information.

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