Ultimate VLC media player features you didn’t know about

VLC media player is one of the most popular media players available in the market. Thousands of people use the media player to watch movies, TV Shows and other videos. Still, most of them are not fully aware of what the media player is capable of doing. Here in this post, we’ll discuss a list of such ultimate VLC media player features which are hidden and you don’t know about them. Let’s get started:

Ultimate VLC media player features

Download YouTube Videos

Yes! There are plenty of ways to download YouTube videos out there. However, what if one such option comes pre-installed on PC? Yes! You can play and download YouTube videos directly from the VLC media player on your PC. Here’s how to do so:

• Play a video on YouTube and copy the URL from the address bar
• Open VLC media player and navigate to Media > Open Network Stream
• Paste the YouTube link in the box and Click Play
• Go to Tools and click Codec Information
• In the box that says Location, right-click the block of text and click Select All. Just copy the text to your clipboard
• Go back to the browser and paste the link in the address bar. This will open the source file directly on YouTube servers
• Right-click the video as it plays and select Save video as

The video will be successfully downloaded on your PC and you can decide to play it later.

If you don’t want to go for this lengthy process, you can choose to record the YouTube video as it plays in VLC. For this, you just need to:

• Press the red Record button in the player itself

This may come handy if you want to grab a particular clip out of a long video.

Record your Desktop

Apart from this, you can also record your desktop. This acts as a suitable alternative for various Desktop recording software that lack proper video quality (those who aren’t very expensive).

Here’s how to record desktop screen using VLC Media player:

• Open VLC media player
• Go to Media and click Open capture device
• Click the Capture Mode dropdown and select desktop
• Here you can modify the frame rate, depending on how fast you want to record desktop screen (15 f/s is ideal)
• Click the dropdown arrow next to Play and select Convert
• In the profile dropdown, choose mp4
• In the next screen you can tweak various settings like resolution, bitrate etc.
• In the Destination box, select the location where you want to save the finished file
• Click Start

Once you click Start button, the media player will start capturing your screen activities. When you’re done, click the stop button to end recording.

Convert Video Files

Very few people know that VLC Media Player has a built-in video convertor that lets you convert your videos into different file formats.

Here’s how to convert video files using VLC Media player:

• Open VLC Media Player
• Go to Media and click Convert/Save
• Add the file you want to convert in the File Selection
• Click Convert/Save
• Under the Settings section, choose the format you want to convert your video to
• Select a name and location for the file you want to save
• Click Start

After the conversion process ends, the video file will be saved in the target location.

No doubt! The media player can’t beat the best-in-class video convertors like Handbrake; still it proves much useful for simple conversion tasks.

Record your Webcam

You can also use VLC media player to record your webcam. This acts as a suitable alternative if your Webcam doesn’t have proper software to take pictures and record videos. Moreover, you can choose from a variety of file formats to record videos and even tweak settings if you want to.

Here’s how to record videos from your webcam:

• Under Media option, click Open Capture Device
• In the Capture modedrop down, select DirectShow
• For video device name, choose your webcam
• For audio device name, choose your microphone
• Click Advanced options
• Enter a value for Video input frame rate(30f/s is good for a smooth video)
• Click OK

At this point, you’ve two options: Either you can click Play to play live video and record segments by pressing the Red Record button or you can choose Convert/Save from the dropdown list and select where you want to save the recorded file. Both methods have their own advantages. You can choose the one you find suitable.

Subscribe to podcasts

Using VLC as a podcast manager may seem somewhat strange, but you can use it as a one. Initially you may find it odd, but once you get use to it, you can handle it efficiently.

To add a podcast, you’ll need the RSS feed of the show. Once you’ve found the RSS feed of the podcast you want to keep, you’ll need to follow some simple steps mentioned below:

Step 1. In VLC’s sidebar, scroll down until you see Podcasts

Step 2. Hover your mouse over Podcasts and click the plus sign (+)on the right

Step 3. Paste RSS feed URL of the show you want to add

Step 4. Click OK

Your podcast of choice will appear in the Podcasts sidebar section. Click on the show and you’ll see a list of available episodes. If you want to play any episode, just double-click on it to start screaming.

Our list of ultimate VLC media player features you don’t know about ends here. Now it’s time to Download VLC Media Player! Install it on your PC! Use above mentioned features and enjoy an incredible media player experience.

Stay tuned for more updates!