Since its first release in February 2001, VLC has become the leading open source cross-platform media player.
Not only is it free, lightweight, and fast, but it can play just about any type of file you throw at it, even if the file itself is corrupted, incomplete, or unfinished. There's a reason it's called the swiss army knife of media players.
But if you're just using it to watch DVDs 4 Ways Movies Used to Be More Fun 4 Ways Movies Used to Be More Fun You may not have realized that your enthusiasm for movies is waning. It's not the good old days anymore. and I'm sure watching movies used to be more fun... Read More Dig a little deeper and you'll find an incredible amount of useful features.
In this article, we are going to show you six awesome features of VLC that you may not know about.
If you want to play a video outside of your browser, you can use VLC. Even better, you can go a step further and download the video 5 Free YouTube Converters and Comparisons:Which One is Right for You? 5 Free YouTube Downloaders and Converters Compared – Which One is Right for You? Two years ago, I told you about 5 easy ways to download and convert videos online. Recently, we also told you about the ways to download YouTube videos on your Mac and about some ways you can... Read More on your computer.
To watch a YouTube video, go to File> Open Network Stream and paste the YouTube URL of the video in question. After a couple of seconds of loading, it will start playing.
If you want to download a video to your local drive, you need to follow some extra steps. Navigate to Tools> Codec Information and copy the text from the Location box at the bottom of the screen.
Paste the text into your browser and the video will start playing. Right click and select Save Video As to save it locally.
In the example below, you can see our very own James Bruce reviewing the Elephone Elecam 360 on the MakeUseOf channel.
The method can be more cumbersome than using some of the web-based downloaders, but it's also much more reliable and secure.
VLC is a complete and highly powerful podcast manager. What is the best podcast manager for Windows? What is the best podcast manager for Windows? A desktop app is still the best option for playing podcasts on your Windows PC. Whether or not you have an Apple device, you'll find a great solution in this roundup. Read more.
To access the podcast menu, go to View> Playlist and scroll down until you reach Podcasts (it is listed under the Internet subsection).
To add a podcast, you'll need to know its RSS feed. If you're not sure of the URL of the podcast, there are plenty of websites that will pull it for you. Click the + Icon to add the podcast to your subscription list.
The app will find all previous episodes, along with any relevant artwork. Double click on one of them to start listening.
In addition to podcasts, VLC will also allow you to listen to Internet radio stations Listen and record free Internet radio with Audials Listen and record free Internet radio with Audials Do you want to listen to Internet radio and record songs for free? Do you want a solid podcast player? Try the Audials app for Android. Read more . Do you remember them? It's what we used to use before Pandora and Spotify. Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Google Play Music:Which is the best? Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Google Play Music:Which is the best? While there are a plethora of music streaming services out there, there are three main ones that stand out above the rest:Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music. But which one is better? Read more arrived.
You can access the feature in the same way as podcasts:Navigate to View> Playlist and scroll down until you find the entry called Icecast Radio Directory.
Unlike podcasts, aside from adding manual feeds if you know the URL, you can also search for stations from the VLC app. Simply enter your query in the search box in the upper right corner.
In the example above, you can see that I searched for BBC Radio 2. Double-click a result to start listening to the radio station of your choice.
There are countless reasons why you might want to record your screen. Record Your Desktop With These 12 Great Screencasting Apps Record Your Desktop With These 12 Great Screencasting Apps Do you need to record your desktop? Fortunately, you'll find that screencasting apps are more common than you think. Here are some of the best free ones. Read more . Some of the most common include creating a screencast for a presentation and live streaming your desktop over your network.
To start recording, go to Media> Open capture device and select Desktop from the dropdown menu.
You can choose your preferred frame rate. If you're just recording your desktop, 15fps should be fine. Increase to 30 fps for fast movements.
Lastly, click the dropdown arrow next to Play and select Convert .
On the next screen, choose the file format you need (for most uses, the default is Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4) is fine) and where you want to save your output. When you're ready, press start .
VLC will silently do the recording in the background. When you're done, go back to the app and click Stop .
You don't need any additional software to convert a video 2 Ways to Convert AVI and MKV Files to Add Videos to iTunes 2 Ways to Convert AVI and MKV Files to Add Videos to iTunes iTunes only supports MP4 and QuickTime format video files. We demonstrate how to use reliable, open source, cross-platform software to convert video files to formats recognized by iTunes. Read More VLC is as good as anything else out there.
To start the process, go to Media> Convert / Save . Click the Add to select your file, then choose Convert from the dropdown box in the lower right corner.
On the next screen, choose the type of file you want to convert and give the file a name and location under Destination . Finally, click start .
In closing, I'm going to leave you one for your inner tech geek. Por supuesto, la reproducción ASCII no es particularmente útil, pero eso no significa que no sea absolutamente impresionante!
Cuando se enciende, cualquier video se reproducirá como caracteres ASCII. Por lo menos, es una excelente manera de engañar a tus amigos para que piensen que sus archivos de video están dañados..
Para usar la función, dirígete a Herramientas> Preferencias> Video . Escoger Color ASCII Art Video Output desde el menú desplegable junto a Salida .
Reinicie la aplicación VLC para que los cambios surtan efecto..
¿Recuerdas ese video desde el inicio del artículo? Aquí está la versión ASCII del mismo metraje:
Cambiar el Salida volviendo a Automático para volver a la reproducción normal.
Esperamos que estos consejos le hayan dado una idea del vasto potencial del software VLC..
Por supuesto, hay muchas más cosas interesantes para que vayas y descubras por ti mismo. Por ejemplo, ¿sabía que podría usar la aplicación para crear un fondo de escritorio de video en Windows, controlar remotamente la reproducción de video desde un navegador, o arreglar subtítulos desincronizados Cómo arreglar subtítulos desincronizados en VLC Media Player Cómo para corregir los subtítulos que no están sincronizados en VLC Media Player Es fácil aumentar o disminuir los retardos de subtítulos en VLC Media Player, que puede corregir los subtítulos que no están sincronizados correctamente. Lee mas ?
Nos encantaría saber más sobre cómo maximizar el potencial de VLC. ¿Cuál es el mejor truco infrautilizado que usas? ¿Qué configuraciones modificas para que VLC funcione exactamente como quieres que funcione??
Como siempre, puede dejar sus opiniones, sugerencias y consejos en los comentarios a continuación. Los leemos todos, ya veces incluso nos tomamos el tiempo para responder..
