Documentation:Play HowTo/Basic Use

Note: this documentation is for versions 0.9 and newer and is under construction. For simple help with 0.9 see VLC for dummies: an introduction to VLC. For older versions please see and Basic Use.

About VLC media player

VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats such as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3 and ogg. It also plays DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming networks. In addition to playing audio and video files, VLC media player provides additional formats which can be played and customized.

VLC media player was initially known as VideoLAN Client. However, in recent years, the software has also become an extremely powerful server to stream live and on-demand video in several formats to the intranet network and the Internet.

It started as a student project at the French École Centrale, Paris, but is now a worldwide project with developers from more than 20 countries.

VLC is built in a modular way. This means that you can choose from a range of different modules to decide how to control VLC and how to display the video output.

Note: The screenshots are taken from the MS Windows XP version. On other operating systems they might appear slightly different.

Understanding the VLC interface

VLC has several interfaces:

• A cross-platform interface, for Windows and GNU/Linux, called wxWidgets,
• A native Mac OS X interface, and
• A skinnable interface for Windows and GNU/Linux.

Screenshots below are drawn from the various interfaces, but VLC's functions work essentially the same on all operating systems.

Windows and GNU/Linux (Qt)

The main interface of VLC media player looks as shown in the following figure. This is the default interface on Windows and GNU/Linux (the screenshot is done on Windows, but it would look quite the same on GNU/Linux).

Starting VLC Media Player

To start VLC Media Player

1. Select Programs from the Start menu.
2. Select VideoLAN and select the VLC media player.

When you start VLC media player, the application appears on the screen and a small icon File:VLCIcon.jpg appears in the taskbar. Click on the icon in the taskbar to show or hide the icon in the taskbar. Hiding the icon does not amount to quitting the application. It does run in the background even when you hide the interface.

Stopping VLC Media Player

To quit the application, right click on the File:VLCIcon.jpg icon in the tray and select Quit.
Or
Click the Close button in the main interface of the application.

Taskbar Icon

When VLC media player is running, its icon File:VLCIcon.jpg appears in the taskbar. Click on the icon in the taskbar to show or hide the icon in the taskbar. Hiding the icon does not amount to quitting the application. It does run in the background even when you hide the icon. Basic operations such as opening, playing or stopping a media file, or changing a track can be done from the menu obtained by right clicking the taskbar icon. The main interface contains a couple of sections:

Main Interface

Menu bar
The menu bar at the top contains all the options.
Track slider
The track slider is below the menu bar. It shows the progress of playing the media file. You can drag the track slider left to rewind or right to forward the track being played. When a video file is played, the video appears between the menu bar and track slider.
Note: When a media file is streamed, the track slider does not move because VLC cannot know the total duration.

Control Buttons
The buttons below the slider help in controlling the play.

Button	Description
	Toggles between play and pause
	Moves to the previous track
	Stops the play
	Moves to the next track
	Displays the application in a full-screen mode
	Displays the play list
	Displays a menu of options to have audio and video effects, and synchronising the audio and video media.
	Toggles between mute and voice. Click on it to mute or un-mute.
	Volume slider. Displays the volume level. You can adjust the volume by placing the cursor on this icon and moving it left or right. The number indicates the percentage of amplification. Maximum is 200%.

Additional Information

At the bottom of the interface we can find information regarding name of the media file being played, the relative speed at which it is being played, and the elapsed and total duration of the file are displayed. There is an option to increase or decrease the speed of the track.

Right click on the icon to change the playing speed of the track.

Menu	Option	Description
	Open File	Select this option to open a media file and play it.
	Advanced Open File	Select this option to open files through a folder, disc, network or a capture device.
	Open Folder	Select this option to open a folder with multiple media files and play them in order.
	Open Disc	Select this option to open discs with different video format.
	Open Network	Select this option to receive media files from Internet and play them.
	Open Capture Device	Select this option to receive media files from capture devices such as camcorder, webcam and so on.
	Convert/Save	Select this option to convert media files to different media file formats.
	Streaming	Select this option to send media files through network and play them live.
	Quit	Select this option to quit the application.
Audio	Audio Track	Select this option to disable or enable an audio track.
	Audio Device	Select this option to convert the stereo audio files to mono and vice-versa.
	Audio Channel	Select this option to select a audio channel.
	Visualization	Select this option to display splashes of colour and geometric shapes while listening to an audio file.
Video	Video Track	Select this option to disable or enable a video track.
	Subtitles	Select this option to load subtitle files for video files requiring subtitles.
	Full Screen	Select this option to view the media file in the entire screen.
	Zoom	Select this option to zoom in or zoom out a video track.
	Deinterlace	Select this option to convert interlaced video signals into non-interlaced form.
	Aspect Ratio	Select this option to adjust the width to height ratio of the video.
	Crop	Select this option to crop the edges of a video track.
	Always on Top	Select this option to display the application always on top when other applications or files are open.
	Direct X wall paper	Select this option to make the video which is being displayed to become the wall paper.
	Snapshot	Select this option to capture snapshots of video being displayed.
Playback	Go to specific time	Select this option to move the track slider to a specific frame of the video or audio file. The media file starts playing from that instance.
	Bookmarks	Select this option to bookmark the media file.
	Title	Select this option to randomly access a particular movie in a DVD.
	Chapter	Select this option to randomly access a particular chapter in a movie.
	Program	To be added
	Navigation	Select this option to navigate to different titles and their corresponding chapters.
Playlist	Additional Sources	Select this option to access the additional sources such as podcasts, SAP announcements, radio and TV shoutcasts, French TV and Freebox TV.
	Show Playlist	Select this option to view and play the media files listed in the playlist.
	Load Playlist File	Select this option to load the playlist files.
	Save Playlist to File	Select this option to save the current playing media in the preferred format.
	Save Playlist to File	Select this option to save the current playing media in the preferred format.
Tools	Playlist	Select this option to view and play the media files listed in the playlist.
	Extended Settings	Select this option to adjust the audio and video effects.
	Add Interface	Select this option to view VLC media player using different interfaces.
	Minimal view	Select this option to have a minimal view of the application.
	Fullscreen Interface	Select this option to have a full screen view of the application.
	Advanced controls	Select this option to access snapshot and loop controls.
	Messages	To be added
	Media Information	Select this option to view information regarding the media file being played.
	Codec Information	Select this option to view codec information of the media file being played.
	Bookmarks	Select this option to bookmark the media file.
	VLM Configuration	To be added
	Preferences	Select this option to give preferred settings to audio, video, subtitles, codecs and hotkeys.

Opening a File

The Media menu can be used to open a file. VLC offers a range of options to open media files. See the table below to see the available options. When you open a file, the file is played according to the default play options.

Option	Shortcut Key	Description
Open File	Ctrl+O	Use this option to play a single media file from a specified location on the hard disk.
Advanced Open File		In addition to opening a file from a hard disk, you can open files from a disc, from any computer on the network or directly from a capturing device. You can also open a subtitles file associated with the selected media file. You can also set a few playing options. Refer to Advanced File Open.
Open Folder	Ctrl+F	Use this option to play all the files in a certain folder.
Open Disc	Ctrl+D	Use this option to play files from a disc. Based on the type of disc you select, you can have a few more playing options. Refer to Opening a file from a disc.
Open Network	Ctrl+N	Use this option to open a file present on any system on the network to which you are currently connected. You can also set a few playing options. Refer to Opening a file on the network
Open Capture Device	Ctrl+C	Use this option to open a file directly from a capturing device which is currently connected to your system. You can also set a few playing options. Refer to Opening a file from the capturing device.
Convert / Save	Ctrl+R	Use this option to convert a media file from one format to another. Refer to Converting a media file into another format.
Streaming	Ctrl+S	Use this option to stream a recorded media file. Refer to Streaming a media file.

You can open audio or video files. A file can be opened in two ways.

1. From the Media menu select the Open File option or the Advanced Open File option.
2. Select the File tab in the Open dialog box.
3. Enter file name in the File names box or browse and select a file.
4. Select a format from the Filter list. The supported formats are .a52, .aac, .ac3, .dts, .p3, .ogg, .oma, .spx, .wav, .wma and .wm.
5. Check the Use a subtitle file option to select a subtitles file to be viewed with the media file.
   From the Alignment list, select an option to align selected subtitle. The available options are Left, Right and Center.
   From the Size list, select a font size for the selected subtitle. The available options are Small, Smaller, Normal, Large and Larger.
6. Click Open. VLC starts playing the selected file with the default options.

Advanced File Open

To open a file

1. Select the Advanced Open File option from the Media menu.
2. The Open file dialog box is displayed. There are four tabs such as File, Disc, Network and Capture Device.

Refer to the following sections for more details:

Opening a media file with advanced options
Opening a folder
Opening a media disc
Opening a media network
Opening a capture device

Additional Playing Options

When you select the File tab after selecting the Advanced Open File menu, apart from selecting a file you have the following choices:

Caching: When you specify caching value for a media file, the stream is still rendered by VLC media player at the specified data rate, but the client system buffers a much larger portion of the content before rendering it. This allows the client to handle variable network conditions without a perceptible impact on the playback quality of either on-demand or broadcast content. Specify a caching value so that the file is played smoother. The default value is 300 milliseconds.

Customizing: File names from different locations can be added directly into the Customize box without having to browse the folders.

Synchronous play: Play another file in synch with the selected file.

Start time: Not play the file from the beginning. If start time is specified as 120 seconds, the file is played after skipping the content of the first two minutes. (Specify time in seconds; not minutes)

Opening a Folder

You can select a folder to play all media files one after the other in that folder.

1. Select the Open Folder option. The Browse for Folders dialog box is displayed.
2. Browse and select the folder.
3. Click on OK.

All the files present in the selected folder are played in the alphabetical order, one after another, without expecting any action from you.

Opening a Disc

You can open media files from a disc. In VLC, you can play Audio CDs, SVCD/VCDs, and DVDs. You can open a file from a disc in two ways.

1. Select the Open Disc option from the Media menu.
   Or
   Select the Advanced Open File option from the Media menu.
The Open dialog box is displayed.
2. Select the Disc tab.
3. Check the type of disc connected to the system. The options are Audio CD, DVD, and SVCD/VCD.
4. In the Disc Device box, by default, the path for the disc is displayed. You may select a different path using the Browse button.
   Click on the Eject button. The disk drive opens automatically and you can check if the drive is empty or if the correct disc is in the drive.
5. Based on the selected disc type, specify the following options:
• DVD
• Some original DVDs may have complex, proprietary menu options and VLC may not handle all the options well. If you check the No DVD menus option, VLC reads the raw video files directly into the film regardless of the options present while creating the original DVD. Check this option if you want to listen to or view the basic version without availing the menus present in the DVD.
• When a DVD is played, the entire disc need not be played. To specify the part to be played, specify the Title and Chapter number in the Starting Position box.
• Under the Audio and Subtitles group, select the Subtitles track and Audio track.
• Audio CD
In the Track box of the Starting Position group, select the track number at which the play should start.
• SVCD/VCD
In the Starting Position group, specify the Entry number at which the play should start. Under the Audio and Subtitles group, select the Subtitles track and Audio track.
6. Check Show more options to see more play options. Refer to Additional playing options.

Playing more than one media file

VLC has an option to play two media files synchronously.

1. From the Media menu, select the Advanced Open File option.
The Open dialog box is displayed.
2. Select a media file.
3. Check the Show more options option. The screen expands to show more options.
4. Check the Play another media synchronously option. The Extra media box and a Browse button are displayed.
5. In the Extra media box, enter the name of another media file with complete path or use the Browse button to select the media file.
6. You can change the Caching value for the media file being played.
7. Select the time at which the media file should start from the Start Time list.
8. You can see the selection you made in the Customize box.
9. Click on the Play button.

You can use the Show more options to watch a video while listening to an audio file or listen to two audio files played synchronously (one audio track can have the instrumental part and the other can have the corresponding voice).

Opening a Network

You can open a network and stream media from the selected network to the specified hosts. When you open a network you specify the network to be used for streaming media content.

1. From the Media menu select Open Network or Advanced Open File option and then select the Network tab.
The Open dialog box is displayed.
2. Select a protocol from the Protocol list.
The supported protocols are HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, MMS, RTSP, RTP, UDP and RTMP. MMS, RTP, RTMP, RTSP and UDP protocols are suitable for streaming media. The RTP, RTMP and RTSP protocols are for real transmission.
3. Select a protocol suitable to your content.
4. In the Address box, enter the address of the system from which the media is going to be streamed.
5. In the Port box, enter the port number from which streaming is done.
The default number is 1234.
6. When UDP is selected, the Allow Timeshifting option is enabled.
Timeshifting refers to the recording of programmes in a storage medium which is to be viewed or listened to at a time more convenient. Typically, this refers to TV programming but can also refer to radio shows through podcasts. When the network stream is played, the stream can be paused even if it is a live stream
7. Enter a URL in the Address box.
Note: The Port list is enabled only when RTP or UDP is selected.
8. Click on the before the Play button and select Stream from the popup menu.
9. In the Stream Output dialog box, specify the media file to be streamed and the address to which the streaming should be done.
   In the Stream Output dialog, you can specify further options. Refer to Specifying the Streaming Options.
10. Click on the Stream button.
Note: When the streaming is being done, the slider moves to show the progress.

Specifying Streaming Options

VLC provides several options for streaming media files. You can stream media files in two ways.

1. Select Streaming from the Media menu.

Or
Select Advanced Open File from the Media menu. The Open dialog box is displayed.
2. Click on the icon next to the Play button and select Stream from the popup menu.
The Stream Output dialog box is displayed.

Specify Outputs

1. Check the Play locally option to play the file while it is being streamed.
2. Check the File option to specify a path to save the converted file or click on the Browse button. The Save File dialog box is displayed. Select a container format from the Save As Type list.
A container is a file that can contain audio and video. You can also browse a folder to save the converted file. The audio and video is encoded using codecs and then stored in a container. A file’s extension can be used to identify the container format. VLC provides the following container formats:

Format	Description
.ps	Refers to MPEG program stream. Stores M-PEG 2 video muxed with other streams.
.ts	Refers to MPEG transport stream. Used for streaming video through a network or by a satellite.
.mpg	Refers to a family of standards used for coding audio and visual information.
.ogg	Refers to professional grade media product. Ogg Vorbis encodes audio and Ogg Vorbis encodes video.
.asf	Stores Windows Media Audio and Windows Media Video. ASF is designed to be used over audio and video information and is specially designed to run over networks.
.mp4	M-PEG 4 audio and video. Provides compression for web, voice and broadcast television applications.
.mov	Refers to the QuickTime media format. Used to store audio and video.

3. Select a file or enter the file name in the File name box.
4. Click on Save to save the media file in the selected container format.
5. Check the Dump Raw Output box to save the input stream as it is read by VLC, without any processing. If this option is selected, all other options are disabled.
6. Select HTTP to stream media files using the HTTP streaming method. Specify the Address and Port.
7. Select the MMSH access method to stream media files to the Microsoft Windows Media Player. The Address and Port options are enabled. Specify the Address and Port.
   MMS is a proprietary digital media streaming protocol developed by Microsoft. MMSH is MMS over HTTP.
8. Select RTP to stream the media using the RTP method. The Prefer UDP over RTP, Address, Port, Audio Port and Video Port options are enabled.
   RTP refers to the Real-Time Transfer Protocol. Like UDP, RTP can use both unicast and multicast addresses. RTP or UDP is extensively used for streaming live audio and video.
9. Specify the Address, Port, Audio Port and Video Port.
10. Select the Prefer UDP over RTP option.
VLC automatically tries to stream the media using the UDP protocol. If the streaming fails, VLC uses the IP address specified for the RTP protocol. This option can be used when no intervention is required from the consumer. The Audio Port and Video Port options get disabled if the Prefer UDP over RTP option is selected.
11. Select IceCast to distribute live audio and video over the Internet in real time.
    
    • Enter the Address and Port details.
    • Enter the login name and password in the Login:pass: box.
    • Enter the name of the Mount Point where the current listener should be redirected to.
    An IceCast mount point refers to a connector between an IceCast source stream and IceCast listeners.
12. Select a profile from the Profile list. The available profiles are Custom, Ogg/Vorbis, MPEG-2, MP3, MPEG-4 audio AAC, MPEG-4/DivX, H264, IPod (MP4, aac), Xbox, Windows (wmv/asf), and PSP.
    
13. Choose the encoder format from the Profiles or customise it.
14. Customise the other options by selecting the Encapsulation, Video codec, Audio codec and Subtitles tabs.
Note: The options under Encapsulation, Video codec, Audio codec and Subtitles tabs are enabled only if you select the Custom option. Encapsulation Refers to the format in which a stream is encapsulated. The available formats are MPEG-TS, MPEG-PS, MPEG 1, Ogg/Ogm, ASF/WMV, MP4, MOV, WAV, RAW, FLV and MKV. From the Encapsulation tab, select an encapsulation method that fits the codecs and access method of your stream. Video Codec The Video option is selected by default. The options related to codec, and bitrate are enabled only if the Video option is checked.
• Select the required codec from the Codec list. The available video codecs are MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DIVX 1, DIVX 2, DIVX 3, H-263, H-264, WMV1, WMV2, MPEG, and Theora.
• Specify an average bitrate in the Bitrate (kb/s) box.
• Select a scale from the Scale list. The values are 1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2.

Audio Codec

The Audio option is selected by default. The options related to codec, bitrate and channels are enabled only if the Audio option is checked.

• Select an audio codec from the Codec list. The available audio codecs are Vorbis, MPEG Audio, MP3, MPEG4 Audio (AAC), A52/AC-3, Flac, Speex, WAV and WMA.
• Specify an average bit rate in the Bitrate (kb/s) box.
• Select a channel from the Channels list. In audio, a channel refers to a stream of audio that is to be played by one speaker. For example, stereo audio, consists of two channels.

Subtitles

Specify subtitles to be streamed along with your media file. To specify subtitles

• Check the Subtitles checkbox and select a subtitle from the Subtitle list.
This is the subtitle format that is to be included with the media that is streamed.
• Check the Overlay subtitles on the video option to render subtitles directly on the video, while transcoding it.

Miscellaneous

Time-To-Live (TTL)- This sets the numbers of routers your stream can go through, for UDP unicast and unicast access methods. With UDP multicast, the default TTL is set to 1, meaning that your stream won't get across any router. You may want to increase it if you want to route your multicast stream.

SAP Announce - SAP is a way to publicly announce streams that are being sent using multicast UDP or RTP. Enter the name of the stream in the text box. This is available only for the RTP streaming method.

Group Name – This allows you to specify a group for the session, which will be announced. Enter a name. This option is enabled only if the SAP Announce box is checked.

Stream all elementary streams – Select this option to you to stream all soundtracks and subtitles. This option separates the different elementary streams from a stream, and saves each of them in a different file or sends it to a separate destination.

Keep stream output open - Select this option to save incoming streams. This option is also used to make VLC act as a streaming server.

The options selected are displayed as a concatenated string in the Generated Stream Output String box.

15. Click on the Stream button. The selected file is streamed to the selected locations.
Note: The Streaming option present under the Media menu is the same as the Stream option in the list.

Common Options

VLC provides some common options which are easily accessible. Select Advanced Open File from the Media menu.

The Open file dialog box is displayed. There are four tabs such as File, Disc, Network and Capture Device. The options mentioned in the table are part of a dropdown list which is displayed when the button is clicked.

Option	Shortcut Key	Description
Enqueue	Alt + E	Adds media files to the playlist but doesn't play it until you click Play.
Play	Alt + P	Adds media files to the playlist and plays the media.
Stream	Alt + S	Adds media files to the playlist and streams it on the network.
Convert	Alt + C	Adds media files to the playlist. Converts a media file into the selected format.

Note: Leave Play locally unchecked because it decreases the conversion time. If you simultaneously play a file and convert it, it takes much more time.

Opening a Capture Device

A capture device captures an image from a video file or sound from an audio file. Capture devices include webcams, external DVD players, TV cards and acquisition cards. VLC supports capture devices if the devices have the DirectShow compatible drivers.

To capture media

1. Select Open Capture Device from the Media menu. The Open dialog box is displayed with the Capture Device tab selected.
VLC media player supports three modes of capture: DirectShow, DVB DirectShow and Desktop. DirectShow: DirectShow, a Windows media streaming architecture, supports capture from digital and analog devices. DirectShow automatically detects and uses video and audio acceleration hardware when available, but also supports systems without acceleration hardware. To capture content using the DirectShow plug-in, select DirectShow from the Capture Mode list. The options in the rest of the dialog box change based on the option selected in the Capture Mode list.

If you want to capture video, select a device from the list next to the Configure button under the Card Selection group.


VLC provides default values. To adjust more options, select the required options from the device settings.

1. Click on the Configure button for Video. The Properties dialog box is displayed with two tabs, Device Settings and Advanced.
2. If the device name does not appear in the list, click on the Refresh button. The device name appears in a list next to the Configure button.
Device Settings
If the Auto box is checked for any parameter, the software automatically fixes the value for the parameter based on the video file. By default, the Auto option is enabled only for the White Balance parameter.
• Brightness: Move the slider till you get the desired brightness for the video capture. The default value is 5000.
• Contrast: Refers to the difference in visual properties that makes an object distinguishable from other objects and the background. Move the slider till you get the desired contrast. The default value is 5000.
• Saturation: Refers to the difference of a color against its own brightness. Move the slider to get the desired effect. The default value is 5000.
• Sharpness: Refers to the clarity of a video. Move the slider till you get the desired sharpness for the video capture. The default value is 6000.
• White Balance: Refers to colour balance. This option helps to make white actually white and makes skin tones look more natural. Uncheck the Auto option and Move the slider to get the desired effect.
• Backlight Comp: Refers to the ability of a camera to compensate in cases where a subject with a large amount of background light would otherwise be obscured by excessive light. The default value is 0. Move the slider to get the desired effect.

Advanced Settings



Automatic Gain Control – Is a circuit found on some electronic devices that automatically controls the gain of a signal. In AGC, weaker signals receive more gain and stronger signals receive less gain or none at all.

• Exposure - Refers to the amount of light allowed to fall on a selected media file while capturing images. There are occasions when you may have to manually adjust the exposure on your camera. Exposure is measured in seconds.
  For example, you have to take a shot of a person from a certain angle, and there is bright light behind the person. In such case, aim your camera on the person and adjust the exposure value by moving the slider. The specified value remains unchanged even after closing the VLC application.
• Gain - This option allows increasing or decreasing the brightness of the video being captured.
  When Automatic Gain Control is selected, the values you specified are taken as the default values for Exposure and Gain.
  Uncheck Automatic Gain Control to change the values of Exposure and Gain by moving the sliders.

Image Mirror

• Mirror Horizontal – If you select this option, the video clip is flipped horizontally. You can see a mirror view of the captured picture.
• Mirror Vertical - If you select this option, the video clip is flipped upside down.

Anti-Flicker – Refers to a process of filtering digital images to reduce image flicker. The available options are Off, 50 Hz (European) and 60 Hz (North America).

Image Enhancement – You can enhance the video being captured in terms of light and color using the following options:

• Low Light Boost – If you check this option, the exposure time of the camera increases in poor light conditions.
• Color Boost – If you check this option, the colors of the video being captured are boosted.

If you want to capture audio, select a device from the list next to the Configure button under the Card Selection group.

Click on the Configure button for Audio. The Properties dialog box is displayed. Specify the AudioInputMixer properties.



In the Master Input Mix group, check the Enable box. Control the tone of the audio using the Treble and Bass sliders.

• Loudness – Refers to volume of the audio. Adjust the volume by moving the slider.
• Mono – Refers to an amplifier connection. Adjust the volume by moving the slider.

In the Pin Line Input Mix group, check the Enable box. Select a line from the Pin Line list. The values in the Pin Line list are populated based on the selected audio input device.

3. Select the Convert option to select the encoding formats and click on the Save button. Refer to Converting and Saving a media file format.
4. Click on the Play button. The capturing of the media starts.

Specifying Advanced Options

Click on the Advanced options button to specify the following properties:


• Caching value in ms – Refers to the caching value for DirectShow streams. Enter or select a value.
• Video device name – Refers to the name of the video device that is used by DirectShow plugin. If you do not specify a device, the default device is used.
• Audio device name – Refers to the name of the audio device that is used by DirectShow plugin. If you do not specify a device, the default device is used.
• Video size – Refers to the size of the video that is displayed by the DirectShow plugin. The size of video is measured in pixels. If you do not specify the size, the default size is used.
• Video input chroma format - Chroma refers to the way colors are encoded. Enter a specific chroma format. The default value is 1420.
• Video input frame rate – Enter a specific frame rate. The default value is 0.
• Device properties – Check this option to view the properties dialog of the selected device before starting the stream.
• Tuner properties – Using this option you can set channels. A tuner converts signals into picture and sounds. Select this option to view the tuner properties (channel selection) dialog box.

Basic playback

Play a file

To play a file, open the Media menu, and select the Open File menu item. An Open File dialog box will appear. Select the file you want to open, and click Open. VLC will start playing the selected file. An alternative is to drag 'and' drop your file onto the VLC main interface or playlist window from the file explorer (Finder on MacOS X).

VLC 0.9.8a version Windows XP mode

The File menu - MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

The Open file dialog - wxWidgets interface

(need 0.9 screenshot for MacOS) The Open file dialog - MacOS X interface

Play a CD/DVD/VCD

To Play a CD, VCD or a DVD, open the File menu, and select the Open Disc... menu item. In the Open Disk Dialog Box, select the type of media (DVD, VCD or Audio CD). When reading a DVD, you can enable DVD menus by selecting the DVD (menus) disc type in the wxWidgets Interface. In the MacOS X interface, this can be done by selecting the "Use DVD menus" dialog box.

You can select the drive from which the media should be read by giving the appropriate drive letter or device name in the "Device Name" text input. This should be auto-detected on MacOS X.

If you want to start the DVD or VCD playback from a given title and chapter instead of from the beginning, you can set it using the Title and Chapter selectors.

You can start playback by selecting the Ok button.

The Open disk dialog - wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

The Open disk dialog - MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Play a network stream (WebRadio, WebTV, etc.)

To open a network stream, open the "Media" menu and select the "Open Network" menu item.

• To open a UDP unicast stream, select UDP/RTP, and set the appropriate UDP port in the selector (it is 1234 for streams sent by a VLC or VLS server).
• To open a UDP multicast stream, select UDP/RTP multicast. Give the address of the multicast group in the "Address" text input, and select the appropriate UDP port.
• To open a stream sent over http (Webradios, WebTVs, Shoutcast, Icecast...), ftp, or mms (Microsoft Media Server), select "HTTP/FTP/MMS", and give the corresponding complete URL, (http://www.tvcultura.com.br/radiofm/radiofm.asx) in the corresponding text input. This also the way to open a RTSP stream with the MacOS X interface.
• To open a RTSP stream (sent by Darwin Streaming Server, VLC, etc), in the wxWidgets interface, select "RTSP" and give the URL in the text input.

You can start playback by selecting the Ok button.

If you get some stuttering during playback, you can try to increase the size of the read buffer. This can be done in the Open Network Stream dialog box, by selecting the Caching box. You can then choose the amount time (in milliseconds) VLC should store data in its buffer before starting playback.

The Open network dialog - wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

The Open network dialog - MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Example finding a Shoutcast radio stream

This example was verified as working on 15 October 2008, using VLC 0.9.4 under Windows Vista. This needs reproducing by other people on other versions and other operating systems.

1. Ensure your firewall is set to allow the VideoLan program to make outgoing connections.

2. Click Tools then Preferences, click Interface and then click All under "Show settings". Then click the "-" next to "Playlist" in order to show the "Services discovery" submenu. If the shoutcast radio listings box is empty, click it so that a check-mark appears. The text field underneath should now show the word "shout". Click the Save button to save and close the Preferences window:



3. Restart VLC media player to make it take notice of the changed preferences.

4. On the VLC interface click Playlist, then click Show Playlist. Select the "Shoutcast Radio" in the left hand panel. If nothing appears in the righthand panel, try double-clicking "Shoutcast Radio" and waiting, it may take a few minutes the first time. After a while the righthand panel displays a long list of titles.



5. Scroll down the radio stations in the right-hand panel and select one. Click the mouse right button and click the "Play" item.



6. It may take some time for the connection to the radio station to establish (and it may fail if the station's outgoing streams are all occupied). When it does connect, VLC should start playing the audio stream from the station:



Example playing a known Shoutcast radio stream

Go to http://www.shoutcast.com/ and search for a radio station of your choice. On Windows, right-click your mouse over Shoutcast's "Tunein" button and click "Save Link As..." to save the playlist on your computer. Remember where you saved the playlist, rename it to something that makes sense.

At any time later, you can use VLC to open the saved playlist and listen to that radio station.

For example, to find a BBC World Service radio stream, use a browser to go to: http://www.shoutcast.com/directory/search_results.jsp?searchCrit=simple&s=bbc

One of the stations listed may be playing the World Service, if so move your mouse over the "TUNEIN!" webicon and click the right mouse button and click "Save Link As...", as described above.

Play from an acquisition card

This currently only possible on Linux and Windows. Open the File menu, and select "Open Capture Device..."

On Windows, supported cards include webcams, TV cards, acquisition cards... provided they come with directshow compatible drivers (Almost all acquisition cards do). You can choose the device to use for video and audio capture using the "Video device name" and "Audio device name" selectors. If your device doesn't appear in the list, try to select the "Refresh list" button. You can access the settings of your acquisition device by selecting the configure button. Options here depend on the driver of the device. You can select the "Device Proprieties" box if you want the configuration dialog box of every device to be displayed after having pressed the Ok button. Select the Tuner properties box to be prompted for tuner settings (PAL/NTSC standard, frequency...) for TV cards. The Advanced options... button allows to select some further settings useful in some rare cases, such as the chroma of the input (the way colors are encoded) and the size of the input buffer.

The Open Capture device dialog and a device configuration windows- wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

On Linux, supported cards include webcams, TV cards, acquisition cards, provided they are supported by the Video4Linux architecture. Haupaugge PVR 250/350 cards are also supported, using the IVTV drivers.

• For Video4Linux devices, you can set the name of the video and audio devices using the "Video device name" and "Audio device name" text inputs. The "Advanced options..." button allows to select some further settings useful in some rare cases, such as the chroma of the input (the way colors are encoded) and the size of the input buffer.

The Open Video4Linux dialog- wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

• To use a Hauppauge PVR card, select the PVR tab in the "Open" dialog box. Use the "Device" text input to set the device of the card you want to use. You can set the Norm of the tuner (PAL, SECAM or NTSC) by using the "Norm" Drop Down. The Frequency selector allows you to set the frequency of the tuner (in kHz), the bitrate selector to set the bitrate of the resulting encoded stream (in bit/s). The "Advanced Options button allows to set some more settings, such as the size of the encoded video (in pixels), its framerate (in frame per second), the interval between 2 key frames, etc.

After having set all the required parameters, you can start the capture by selecting the "Ok" button.

The Open PVR dialog- wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Playlist

VLC can store a list of several files to play one after the other, using its playlist system. To access the playlist, click on the Playlist button on the main interface.

Each time you use the Open dialog box, the stream you select is appended at the end of the playlist and started.

The playlist window shows all the available streams. Double-click one to play it.

The Playlist - wxWidgets interface- needs updating for 0.9

The Playlist - MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Adding items, saving and loading playlists

In the wxWidgets interface, the Manage menu allows you to append an item at the end of the playlist (its playback won't start immediately), to save the playlist as a M3U or PLS file, or to import a playlist file.

In the MacOS X interface, saving a playlist can be done using the Save Playlist... function in the File menu. To import a playlist file, open it the same way as any other media file, using the Quick Open File... menu item.

Sorting

In the wxWidgets interface, Sort allows you to sort the playlist according to several criteria, or to shuffle it. You can also sort by clicking the header of the column.

In the MacOS X interface, sorting can be done by clicking the header of the column matching the criteria you want to use for sorting.

Playlist modes

The playlist supports several playback modes.

In the wxWidgets interface, the toolbar contains three playlist mode buttons. They allow to enable random mode, to repeat the whole playlist or to repeat one item.

In the MacOS X interface, random mode can be enabled by selecting the Random box. A drop down menu allows you to enable playlist and item repeat modes.

Misc

Search

You also have a search tool. Enter a search string and hit search. The next item to match the string will be highlighted. Keep hitting Search to cycle between all matching items.

Moving items

In the wxWidgets interface, the Up and Down buttons at the bottom of the playlist window allow you to move an item. Select an item and use these buttons to move it.

In the MacOS X interface, you can easily move an item with the mouse, using drag-and-drop.

Contextual menu

By right-clicking or control-clicking an item, a contextual menu will appear, giving access to a number of functions (for example, play the item, disable it, delete it, or get info on it).

If you ask for info, an item info dialog box will appear. This dialog box also allows you to change the name, the author and the location of the item to play.

Item Info Dialog - wx Interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Item Info Dialog - MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Subtitles

VLC supports many kinds of subtitles.

Media with included subtitles

Many types of media can have embedded subtitles. VLC can read subtitles for the following media:

• DVD
• SVCD
• OGM files
• Matroska (MKV) files

Subtitles are disabled by default. To enable them, go to the Video menu, and to Subtitles track. All available subtitles tracks will be listed. Select one to get the subtitles. Depending on the media, a description (language, for example) might be available for the track.

Select a subtitles track under Windows or Linux- needs verifying for 0.9

Select a subtitles track under MacOS X- needs verifying for 0.9

DVD and SVCD subtitles are merely images, so you won't be able to change anything for them. OGM and Matroska subtitles are rendered text, so you will be able to change several options.

Text rendering options can be changed in the Preferences. In the Modules section, text renderer subsection, open the freetype page. You can then set the font and its size. For the font, you have to select a font file. Under Windows, they can be found in C:\Windows\Fonts. Under MacOS X, they are in /System/Library/Fonts. Size can be set either relatively or as a number of pixels.

You need to restart your stream for the font modifications to take effect.

Subtitles files

While modern file formats like Matroska or OGM can handle subtitles directly, older formats like AVI can't. Therefore, a number of subtitles files formats have been created. You need two files: the video file and the subtitles files that only contains the text of the subtitles and timestamps.

VLC can handle these types of subtitles files:

• MicroDVD
• SubRIP
• SubViewer
• SSA
• Sami
• Vobsub (this one is quite special: it is not made from text but from images, which means that you can't change the fonts)

To open a subtitles file, use the Advanced Open dialog box (Menu File, Open file). Select your file by clicking on the Browse button. Then, check the Subtitle options checkbox and click on the Settings button.

Select a subtitles file under Windows or Linux- needs verifying for 0.9

You can then select the subtitles file by clicking the Browse button. You can also set a few options like character encoding, alignment and size. The delay option allows you to delay the subtitles against the video if they are not in sync. If they are not at the same speed, you might also want to adjust the subtitles framerate.

Note: For Vobsub subtitles, you need to select the .idx file, not the .sub file. Encoding, alignment and size won't have any effect for Vobsub subtitles.

Font can be changed as explained in the previous section.

Video and audio filters

VLC includes a system of filters that allow you to modify the audio and video.

Deinterlacement and Post Processing

VLC is able to deinterlace a video stream using different deinterlacement methods. Deinterlacement can be enabled in the Video menu, Deinterlacement menu item. The Blend methods gives the best results in most cases. The discardmethod is a less resource consuming alternative.

On some particular streams (MPEG 4, DIVX, XVID, Sorenson, etc.), some additional image filtering can be applied to the video before display, improving its quality in some cases. This can be enabled in the Video menu, Post processing menu item. Different levels of post processing can be chosen here. A higher level means more filtering.

Video filters

VLC features several filters able to change the video (distortion, brightness adjustment, motion blurring, etc.).

With the wxWidgets interface, filters can be easily enabled using the Extended GUI. In the Video tab, simply select the filters to enable. Image settings can be easily adjusted.

Video filters selection in the wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

You can enable these filters through the Extended Controls panel on Mac OS X. Click on the triangle next to Video filters to select your filters or expand the Adjust Image section to change the contrast, hue, etc.

Video filters selection in the Mac OS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

For better control, you need to go to the preferences. To select the filters to be enabled, go to Video, then to Filters. In the "video filter module" box, enter the names of the filters to enable, separated by semicommas. Filters will be applied in the selected order. Valid names are "clone", "wall", "transform", "adjust", "crop", "deinterlace", "distort", "motionblur" and "logo".

If you want to tune the behavior of these filters, go to Video, Filters, [your filter]. For each filter, you will find a short description and the options.

Audio filters

Equalizer

VLC features a 10-band graphical equalizer. You can display it by activating the advanced GUI on wxWidgets or by clicking the Equalizer button on the MacOS X interface.

The equalizer in the wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

The equalizer in the MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Presets are available in the Audio menu in wxWidgets, or in the Equalizer window in the MacOS X interface.

Other audio filters

At the moment, VLC features two other audio filters: a volume normalizer and a filter providing sound spatialization with a headphone. They can be enabled in the Audio tab of the extended GUI for the wxWidgets interface and in the Audio section of the Extended Controls panel of the Mac OS X interface.

For better control, you need to go to the preferences. To select the filters to be enabled, go to Audio, then to Filters. In the "audio filters" box, enter the names of the filters to enable, separated by commas. Valid names are "equalizer", "normvol" and "headphone".

If you want to tune the behavior of these filters, go to Audio, Filters, [your filter]. The equalizer and headphone filters can be tuned.

Snapshots (aka, screenshots)

There are two ways to take snapshots (i.e., screenshots or frame grabs) with VLC:

1. Go to Video -> Snapshot, or
2. Press the snapshot hotkey
   • Windows / Linux / Unix: Ctrl-Alt-s
   • Mac OS X: Command-Alt-s

When a snapshot is taken, it will briefly preview as a thumbnail with its filename and then fade away.

To change the hotkey, go to Preferences -> Interface -> Hotkeys settings. Check Advanced options, and set Take video snapshot.

Snapshot location, format and name

The snapshot location depends upon your operating system:

• Windows: My Documents\My Pictures\
• Linux / Unix: $(HOME)/.vlc/
• Mac OS X: Desktop/

The default format for snapshots is PNG, but this may be changed to JPEG. Also, the default name for snapshots is vlcsnap- followed by a timestamp that is not the time of the frame in the video you're viewing.

The location, format and name of snapshots may be changed in the Preferences. Also, you may substitute other text for vlcsnap- in the Video snapshot file prefix and you may choose to have snapshots numbered sequentially (i.e., 000001, 000002, 000003, and so on) instead of with a timestamp. As of version 0.9.0, you may even use variables in the text used for the filename. For example, $T (must be upper case) will insert the video's time code into the file name. If you were to change the prefix to Friends-$T- while watching a DVD of Friends, then the snapshot filenames would look something like this: Friends-00_05_21-00004.png . This indicates a snapshot taken at 5 minutes and 21 seconds into the video; and it was the number 00004 snapshot of the day.

For a full list of variables, please see Documentation:Play HowTo/Format String.

Hotkeys

Most of VLC functions are accessible using hotkeys.

The list of the available hotkeys and their functions can be retrieved and altered in the preferences panel of the player. In the wxWidgets interface, preferences are available in the "Settings" menu, "Preferences" menu item. In the MacOS X interface, open the "VLC" menu, and select "Preferences". Select the "Hot keys" panel in the dialog.

As of version 0.9, a list of hotkeys is presented in a drop-down window. To change one, double-click its name to select it. Then, press the new key that will trigger the specified action. Modifier keys (such as Control/Command and Alt) may also be used.

In earlier versions, several boxes give the list of modifiers for the hotkey. To trigger an action using a hotkey, you need to press simultaneously the keys corresponding to the different selected modifiers as well as the key set in the dropdown.

To change the binding of a hotkey, select or deselect boxes corresponding to the different modifiers, and change the key by using the drop-down menu. Select the Save button to apply the changes.

The Hotkeys Panel - wxWidgets interface- needs verifying for 0.9

The Hotkeys Panel - MacOS X interface- needs verifying for 0.9

Basic troubleshooting

File does not play, only sound or only video

Maybe the file you are trying to read is not fully supported. VLC does not use the codec packs (the software that decodes video signals) you might have installed. It comes with its own codecs. If there is no open-source decoder for the format you are trying to read, it won't be supported. (There is an exception, under Windows, for codecs that use the DirectShow framework.)

To find out, open the Messages Window (View menu) and restart your stream. Look for error messages (red messages)

The wxWidgets messages window- needs verifying for 0.9

In this example, the file contains a IV41 video stream, a codec that is not supported by VLC.

You may of course have other messages. If you post to a VideoLAN mailing list or in the forum, please include such a log. It is very valuable in troubleshooting.

Weird VLC behavior and crashes

A very common thing is a corrupted VLC preferences file. Don't hesitate to delete it if problems appear suddenly. You will find in the FAQ details on how to delete your preferences file.

Computer crashes / Video is corrupted

Another common problem is buggy video drivers. Try upgrading them from the website of your video card's manufacturer.

Also, you can try disabling Overlay (Preferences/General/Video, untick "Overlay video output")

This page is part of official VLC media player Documentation (User Guide • Streaming HowTo • Hacker Guide • Modules)
Please read the Documentation Editing Guidelines before you edit the documentation
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.