8 Unique Uses of VLC Media Player

VideoLan Client Media Player, popularly known as VLC Media Player, is one of the most used video players in the world. It is free and is offered as an open-source platform. VLC Player has evolved over years and today it possesses some of the excellent features that you may be unaware of. This article introduces you to 8 such interesting features of VLC Media Player that you can try easily.

Top 8 Uses of VLC Media Player That May Amaze You

1. Use it as a desktop recorder:

Do you know VLC comes with a built-in screen recorder tool! It can choose the videos from the desktop and act as a desktop recorder. Follow these steps if you want to utilize this feature:

  1. Go to the Media Tab and choose Convert and Save.
  2. Go to the Capture Device and choose Desktop from the list of capture modes offered.
Open Media - Capture Device
  1. Adjust the desired frame rate for the capture.
  2. Click on Convert/Save, choose the codecs, and define the destination folder for saving the content.
  3. Click on the stop button to stop the desktop recording.

2. Download YouTube Videos Safely:

The VLC Media Player is unlike other free video downloader tools that allow you to download videos from YouTube directly rather it allows you to stream video in your player. Follow these steps to try the same.

  1. Go to the Media tab >> Open Network Stream.
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  1. Enter the YouTube URL you want to play and hit the Play button.
Enter the YouTube URL
  1. The video streaming starts in the VLC player.
  2. Go to Tools tab>> Codec Information.
  3. Copy the URL that appears in the Location box that appears towards the bottom of the screen.
  4. Paste the copied URL in the address bar of your browser to play the video.
  5. You can right-click on the video and choose Save Video As to download this video.
  6. If needed you can record this video by following the steps mentioned in point 1.

3. Create Special Video and Audio Effects and Synchronize Audio and Video:

Sometimes audio and video in a file may be out of sync. Most of us have faced this at least once during all these years. But now you can fix this using VLC Media Player following these steps:

  1. Go to the Tools tab>> Effects and Filters.
  2. Choose audio or video effects that you wish to adjust.
Adjustments and Effects
  1. You can see the changes as you experiment with audio or video effects.
  2. Go to the Synchronization tab if you are looking to synchronize your video and audio.

4. Video Wallpaper:

You can create a video wallpaper for your desktop using the VLC player following these steps:

  1. Go to the Tools tab and choose preferences.
  2. Next, click on the Video section from the output drop-down box.
  3. Click on Enable Wallpaper Mode in Direct X and hit the save button.
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  1. Restart the VLC player.
  2. When you play a video the next time, it will prompt you to set it as a wallpaper.
  3. Click on Yes and an appealing wallpaper will appear on your desktop.

5. Watermark Your Videos:

You can use the VLC media player to personalize your videos. The only requirement is you should enable a recording feature on the VLC to save the watermarked videos. Follow these steps to watermark your videos.

  1. Go to the Tools tab and choose Effects and Filters.
  2. Click on the Video Effects tab and hit on Vout/Overlay option and Logo option to add your text and logo to the video.
  3. The text and logo added to the video will become a permanent watermark.
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6. Video Conversion:

The VLC player allows you to convert video files into any format without requiring any additional effort. You can try video conversion following these steps:

  1. Go to the Media tab and choose Convert/Save from the drop-down that appears.
  2. Choose the file and once it gets selected click on the Convert/Save option from the drop-down box that appears on the right side corner of your screen.
Convert

7. Create a DVD Archive:

You need not spend additionally on DVD ripping tools because you can use the built-in DVD ripping feature offered by VLC to create a backup of the DVD. This backup will allow you to see videos even if the disc is not used. Follow these steps to create an archive of DVD.

  1. Go to the Media option and choose Convert option that appears in the dropdown on the right-hand side.
  2. Click on the Disc tab under the disc selection option.
  3. Next, choose the radio button of the inserted disc.
  4. Choose the preferable codec type and save your file with an extension.

8. Repair Corrupt MP4 Video Files:

VLC player can fix damaged or corrupt multimedia files. It comes with a wide range of features and a library of codecs that can run any corrupt or damaged files. You can repair corrupt MP4 video files following these steps:

  1. Choose the corrupt .mp4 file to play.
  2. Right-click on the .mp4 file, click on Open with and choose VLC media player.
  3. The video will start playing.

Alternately, you can follow these steps:

  1. Choose the corrupt .mp4 file to play.
  2. Right click on the .mp4 file, click on Rename.
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  1. Enter the file format as .avi and press enter.
  2. Next, open the VLC player and choose Tools >> Preferences.
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  1. Choose Input/Codecs section; the Inputs/Codec section will open.
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  1. In the files section, choose Always Fix in the Damaged or incomplete AVI file option, as well as click on Save.
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  1. Start playing the corrupt or damaged .mp4 video file and it will run.

All these features make it worth trying at least once. No wonder, this software hit 3.5 billion downloads recently. This figure makes it one of the most successful free software projects to date!

How to Repair Corrupt Videos That Cannot be Opened by VLC Media Player?

VLC player comes with a built-in feature that helps repair and open corrupt video files. However, this feature may not support some video files which may be damaged beyond repair. This is where a reliable video repair tool like Stellar Repair for Video can help. It can repair up to 17+ video file formats like MOV, MP4, MKV, and AVI. It can repair any severely corrupted video file/s using sample files. It helps fix various video problems such as flickering, stuttering, and so on.

Conclusion

VLC Media player offers several features that can you can apply to improve your audio-visual experiences while watching a video or listening the audio on a laptop, desktop, or mobile. Additionally, it can repair your corrupted videos. However, if the videos are severely corrupted then you may need reliable video repair software to repair the same.

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