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Master Your Digital Media with VLC

lifehacker.com — Cross-platform media player VLC is often referred to as the "Swiss Army knife of media applications" for good reason: Not only does VLC play nearly any file you throw at it, but it can do so much more. From ripping DVDs to converting files to iPod-friendly formats, let's take a look at the four coolest things you can do with it

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  • isaiah1112, on 07/01/2008, -0/+56I have not used this particular method before but I have used VLC in the past to decode Sony DVDs which Handbrake or MacTheRipper fail to decode. Thank you VLC!
    • prisoner24601, on 07/03/2008, -2/+3One thing that puzzles me is that even though VLC player has DVD playback codecs, there seems to be no way (after installing VLC) to register those codecs with WMP so that a DVD will play in it.

      Strange that so much effort has gone into building this entire player with a thousand different options and (very impressive) abilities, but the one basic thing I keep looking for (a way to enable WMP to play DVDs without paying $15 to Roxio for their codec pack) seems impossible to find. Isn't there a freeware/open-source DVD codec that can be plugged into WMP? Or isn't there a way to register the DVD codec that VLC has with WMP?

      I'm not (at all) trying to take away from the excellent work of VLC. It's just that a lot of people have VERY basic needs, are already used to WMP and just want to add ONE feature to their standard installation of WindowsXP. I've tried all the legal open-source project downloads (like ffdshow, etc.) but haven't found a project that just makes WMP able to play DVD's.
      • acetv, on 07/03/2008, -1/+10I understand your question, but why not just play them in VLC?
      • armo, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6I always used to use the k-lite codec pack on Windows, I'm sure it had a dvd codec in it.
      • Hybred1234, on 07/03/2008, -15/+2The ***** do you want to play it in WMP for? It's not like WMP is better.

        Oh, I get it. "IT LOOKS PRETTTTTTTY".

        Probably using Vista too, right?
      • prisoner24601, on 07/03/2008, -0/+15"why not just play them in VLC?"

        Well, I don't want to sound critical here at all (I'm genuinely very impressed with VLC and admire the effort that went into it...) but for users with really basic needs, WMP kind of does look a little bit more "polished" overall. If you are honestly ONLY going to play your mp3 collection and (like a fair number of users out there) simply never deal with h.345/glarzak multi-cast overthruster streams or metric-standard .foo videos ;-) but just want to play the music you already have in mp3's, then (and I know this may get me flamed by everybody with an issue with Microsoft, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway...) then WMP is actually a very nice player. It's already installed. Users are already used to the interface. The interface is very attractive (like with the various visualization options during playback, etc) and just honestly does everything they need. (Play mp3's, rip mp3's, etc.)

        I'm honestly not at all dissing VLC. It's truly great work. It's just that when you have a product that does exactly what you want 95% of the time (WMP), works the way you like/has menus you are already familiar with, then you naturally look at a way to add the missing 5% (DVD playback) to what you have, not throw it out and start again with another solution.
      • KaiUno, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5Don't be a dick, Hybred1234. Maybe he wants to use Media Center, what do you care? I've used VLC, I didn't like it. I went back to Media Player Classic for all my needs. Just grab yourself the latest Combined Comunity Codec Pack (cccp) and you're good to go.

        Oh, and I'm using Vista. And for your information, it does dvd playback out of the box.
      • prisoner24601, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1"I always used to use the k-lite codec pack on Windows"

        I thought that installed Media Player Classic for DVD playback. I think that gets me back to the situation where I end up with a second program to play DVD's, not a codec that enables WMP to play DVD's. I'll check it out though. Haven't looked at it in awhile so I may be confused about this.
      • prisoner24601, on 07/03/2008, -2/+7"Oh, I get it. "IT LOOKS PRETTTTTTTY". Probably using Vista too, right?"

        Okeedokeee... Backing away now without making eye contact... Clearly I've crossed the line from a "does anyone have an easy way to solve this problem?" discussion into a whole other realm.

        Not sure how many more times I would have had to intentionally include complimentary comments about how much I respect VLC to have avoided stepping on this "philosophical third rail" here but apparently it was at least one too few.
      • DeathfireD, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2why not just use media player classic with the CCCP pack? CCCP basically covers everything so after installing it, even if you dont want windows media player, CCCP should allow your WMP to play your DVD's fine. If not then I have no idea what DVDs your watching.
      • GawtMilk, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1VLC is terrible with 720p or 1080p . It stutters while playing .mkv files, and doesn't let me skip ahead while playing large files. WMP does, and plus if it plays in WMP, it'll play in MCE / Vista Media Center.

        Is it possible to rip a DVD with menus using VLC, or only the movie stream? I built my dad a 1.5TB media center running Vista, and sometimes DVD Shrink / DVD Decrypter doesn't work. He wants everything -- menus, subtitles, alternate language tracks, special features. I use VLC on my desktop for ripping DVDs as it's much better for space concerns. However, since space is not an issue with him, he wants the niceties of a menu'd DVD.

        Is that possible with VLC or do I stick to DVD Shrink?
    • enzobot24, on 07/03/2008, -0/+0Dude, when a DVD doesn't decode in Handbrake, just rip the Title Set you need to your hard drive and then use Handbrake.

      Works for me every time.
    • renegadeafk, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Wow I had no idea vlc could even rip dvd's
  • runiteking1, on 07/01/2008, -4/+143VLC == Beast
  • zenrhe, on 07/02/2008, -0/+146had no idea i had all that power sitting there, thinking it was just a player!
    • rock774, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3same here
    • cwmather, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6I knew the options were there, but I've always just used AutoGK for encoding. I tried to encode an MP3 with it once. It was like a 4 minute song, but took up 3GB of data. Not quite sure what I did wrong there....
  • lemasney, on 07/02/2008, -1/+8vlc++ && miro++
  • spanglegluppet, on 07/03/2008, -1/+41Wow, I never realised I could do any of this with VLC. It just keeps getting more awesome. Great article.
  • twiztidsinz, on 07/03/2008, -24/+3ZoomPlayer for windows ftw!
    Never had good luck with VLC
    • Niz1, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3i swear zoom player is just a well skinned Media player classic?
      • dullnation, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Well skinned... that's debatable.
  • TheLastFreeMan, on 07/03/2008, -2/+109I love the fact that it will play any file except Real Media files. That POS wasn't even worth coding into VLC.
    • toytoyota, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5It doesn't play MIDI's either does it?
    • dubloe7, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7yeah, for the very few times when I need to play a real media file, you have to love real alternative.
      also, I didn't know VLC didn't play MIDIs, I guess I haven't had a reason to open a MIDI file in the past 5 years since I started using VLC.
    • talkingwires, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html

      Scroll down to the bottom of the list, look on the right side. Where is your god now?
      • ironiridis, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1OS fail. Caveat of above link is Google detects whether you're using Windows, and if not, redirects you away from that page.
      • talkingwires, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Um, I've been running Linux since 1999 and had no problem getting to that page. I did cut out a bunch of the redirection stuff from the URL for friendliness' sake.

        True, on Linux, the Pack is simply not available. Google offers to let you individually download the few applications they've ported over. I don't know what they offer for OS X, but I still think it's sad they claim the pack is free of spyware and include Real Player.

        Then again, maybe Real Player has mended their ways. I didn't even know they were still around until I tried out SuSE last year and saw that it was installed by default. Guess which package I removed first?
  • Threlly1, on 07/03/2008, -10/+5Every time I try to convert a movie with VLC, it crashes, PC or Mac.
    The interface is a bit 'clunky' too.
    There are better, faster converters out there, but keep up the good work.
    • stupidStan, on 07/03/2008, -2/+2yeah, lack of rounded corners... waaaaay too clunky!
  • pHreaksYcle, on 07/03/2008, -15/+15I never understood why the Windows n00bs insist on Windows Media Player when VLC does everything it does and lots more. VLC will play anything, haven't had a file not play in VLC yet, and yet it's still smaller then WMP. Anyone who says open source isn't winning already is a fool, and shows their ignorance.
    • stupidStan, on 07/03/2008, -4/+6or they pay attention to 'statistics' and 'facts'

      those silly bastards

      (as much as I want to see OSS thrive, I also live in reality)
      • pHreaksYcle, on 07/03/2008, -5/+4Reality is that you will use what you prefer. I prefer ***** that works and isn't locked down...like WMP 11 per-se.
    • vpshockwave, on 07/03/2008, -9/+14Media player has a far better GUI, and it COMES with windows. It opens ALL files with my standard CCCP codec pack installed.

      And if you're using VLC because it's smaller, buy a new ***** hard drive. Who the ***** cares about a few more megs?
      • pHreaksYcle, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6If all of the programs are smaller, it adds up, and you can add as many GUIs to VLC as you wish, making it look like the Windows player or basically any other one.
      • solid12345, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1"if all the programs are smaller, it adds up"

        Yeah because we know if you have 100 pirated movies on your hard drive you are worried more about a 30 meg app taking up space.
    • pagno, on 07/03/2008, -7/+3GOM plays anything.
      http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_Introduction.html
  • linuxpwns207, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7VLC is very awesome. I have used it before and i love it. Wayyyy better than fast food....uhh i mean media player.
  • Jenadae, on 07/03/2008, -3/+82i HATE VLCs Playlist menu...
    • stonedgeek, on 07/03/2008, -0/+16Agreed. I use VLC for playing all videos, but the playlist function is a major problem. I hope it get's fixed soon.
      • wiresjr, on 07/03/2008, -2/+12I hope your apostrophes get fixed soon
    • antdude, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Media Player Classic's isn't any better.
  • menwuur, on 07/03/2008, -0/+26Video Wall is the best feature of VLC. I use it to split videos in half and maximize the halves on both of my monitors for one big widescreen movie. You can split up videos into a ton of pieces for those rows of TVs that make up a huge display. Pretty fun stuff.
  • Wootstapler, on 07/03/2008, -1/+10Good to see that VLC is getting some good publicity, because it really is that awesome.
  • dasdef, on 07/03/2008, -7/+27i prefer media player classic for watching videos
  • LilRabbitFooFoo, on 08/11/2008, -4/+9Unfortunately, VLC really sucks under Vista, has HUGE problems trying to play any advanced audio (like say um DTS or higher), and kind of runs/looks/plays like an open source experiment. I like a LOT of things about VLC, but it fails enough key tests that it isn't ready for prime time as my #1 player. :(
  • craziplaya21, on 07/03/2008, -7/+26CCCP+MPC/ZP > VLC for Windows by very large margin
    Mplayer > VLC for Linux
    as for Macs... they are stuck with VLC
    • FDL1, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8Or... MPlayer OSX, but I agree with you on all points. VLC is good for streaming to/from, though. (i.e., transcoding on-the-fly)
      • craziplaya21, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Agreed, VLC is good for streaming, but horrible as a player for general use. I really wish MPC can stream as well
    • vpshockwave, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1Out of curiosity, what do you use ZP for? I have yet to find anything MP11 won't play with CCCP. And I've got files ranging from old divx 3.11 alpha all the way to h.264 rips.
      • craziplaya21, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1WMP is very bloated compared to MPC/ZP
    • aloa64, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I actually use zoom player+CCCP+Quicktime alternative+real alternative as my primary player in windows and I'd say it's a matter of preference really. The seek is very nice in ZP if you watch a lot of shows/anime. It's nice b/c you can skip the intros. I set my arrow keys to skip ahead by 3 seconds or 10 seconds. I find clicking on a progress bar... is kind of annoying to get to exactly where you want. Also, if you're watching a shows you can play the next file or previous file in the same folder as the current file you're watching by hitting shift+page down/page up (i think the new versions use [ or ] ). Saves the hassle of making playlists. and you can quickly traverse watching between previous/next files within a folder without having to have the folder open.Switching streams is also very nice (particularly for subtitle and dual audio files). filter control is also powerful in ZP ^_^
    • ShinRaTDR, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1The Mac version of VLC has the best interface of all VLC versions by far, and most media players. Also I have thousands of videos in tons of different formats and VLC has yet to show me something it can't play (with the exception of real video). What is so great about Media Player Classic?

      Edit - Also with the simple preferences being designed for VLC 0.9.0 make it a real contender with native OS X applications.
    • enterneo, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1totem > VLC (since hardy heron)
  • kansai22, on 07/03/2008, -9/+13KMPlayer > VLC
    • th3wiz4rd, on 07/03/2008, -2/+2Wow, I just downloaded it. KMPlayer kicks ass!! It's like VLC with a ZoomPlayer-like interface.
      SWEET!!!
    • CrudeDarkness, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1if you like using windows
  • cadmiumpaint, on 07/03/2008, -1/+27VLC has been around for a while but works pretty good.

    On a mac its one of the only apps that will play funky .AVI and .WMV files that quicktime can't open.

    Its interface is kinda wierd but its good for what it does.
    • nielkie, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3Perian + Flip4Mac FTW.
      Also, Mplayer OSX
      • lolgamoff, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1It's just so much easier to make your files open in VLC. I barely ever use quicktime anymore.
      • cadmiumpaint, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1i hate the VLC interface, but i use it if i have to.
  • Hello1024, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7VLC on windows vista doesn't use the new kernel media path features which are mainly for DRM, but that also means it doesn't get the same realtime priority when playing audio/video, so it seems pretty common for audio to skip when doing something cpu intensive, which is a shame.
    • aelias, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I wondered why it did that. Drove me nuts. Doesn't have native support for PureVideo either. :(
    • deadsenator, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Another good reason to avoid Vista. As if there weren't enough reasons already.
  • Hello1024, on 07/03/2008, -2/+3While VLC can be used for converting video formats, I wouldn't recommend it - the output is usually lower quality than other methods, probably due to poor encoding codecs. It also often produces files missing the beginning and end few seconds, or that won't play properly even in VLC.

    Basicly, it's a great tool, but very buggy...
  • CalcProgrammer1, on 07/03/2008, -9/+2I love VLC, it's an awesome player! It plays pretty much everything, has its own DVD codecs, streams, has an awesome equalizer with 2 pass (means huge bass if you set it right), and tons of other stuff.

    However, it can never seem to keep a steady stream in Linux, not on my old Pentium 3 laptop nor my new Core 2 Duo laptop, keeps skipping for unknown reasons. It's only using like 2% of my CPU but still having problems (clueless as to why my C2D T9300 2.5GHz won't decode a simple MP3 fast enough in VLC to play without skipping, and it only happens in Linux).

    Digg admins: WE'RE TIRED OF THE IDIOTIC JUMPING COMMENT BOX!!!!!!!!!!!! KILL IT NOW PLEASE, FOR THE SAKE OF OUR SANITY!!!! IF WE ARE EXPOSED TO THIS ANNOYING JUMPING COMMENT BOX, WE LOSE OUR SANITY AND GO ON A MURDEROUS RAMPAGE!!!! FIX NOW PLZ!?!?!#2@#$@%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • GreatOne08, on 07/03/2008, -4/+23VLC is a must have app
    • Bilabrin, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I've come to love the sight of that little cone.
  • Ledjar, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6i've had vlc for years but didn't know it had a lot of these features.
  • whoreable, on 07/03/2008, -2/+4I set the volume up and down to work with the mouse scroll and it just won't work. Media player classic is better imo.
  • OutLawSuit, on 07/03/2008, -1/+19Too bad VLC still can't handle .mkv that well. CCCP + MPC certainly beats VLC in that regard.
    • coollettuce, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5In regards to h.264:
      CoreAVC > *
      • chrisn750, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4I agree with you there. I used core CoreAVC to play a 1080p rip on a 1.6ghz single core Celeron machine. This was not possible at all with CCCP or VLC. I tried.
    • tgunner, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I like to use GOM Player for a lot of things.
  • burnedtubes, on 07/03/2008, -8/+2If my VLC player was a women I would ***** her... no way she would be too hawt for me... damn it denied...
  • Jereso, on 07/03/2008, -3/+7Why doesn't VLC have a better pause function? It takes like a second to pause it, and a second to resume. Until then, I'll stick with MPC.
  • Tyrghast, on 07/03/2008, -2/+5I use VLC for all my video needs. It will play anything.
    • antdude, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1I didn't know you could rip DVDs with VLC!
  • wezel, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Not to shabby of an article but "The best of Designing Woman" and "Dallas, the seventh season".........I just threw up a little in my mouth just remembering Delta Burke..
  • pablo0713, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2I only use VLC when porn doesn't want to play in my other media players.
  • th3wiz4rd, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7VLC kicks ass, and it will play just about anything you throw at it -- which is why I've installed it on almost every computer I've ever touched. However, I'd recommend freeware progs like autogk or automkv for DVD encoding/converting (if you've never heard of them, google is your friend!).
  • Crazymaniacc, on 07/03/2008, -4/+6Media player classic is still way better, it does all the same but it doesn't take that much memory, oh and it's open source.

    (And I love that I can just drag my subtitles in it)
    • th3wiz4rd, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Yep, if you're using Windows and you've got the directshow filters installed, MPC uses the least amount of resources... It won't convert/broadcast audio/video though (that I know of).
    • BobbyD2500, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0VLC is open source too
  • jcsoc, on 07/03/2008, -7/+2thanks for the old news
  • Snowknight26, on 07/03/2008, -2/+6ffmpeg > all
    • pHreaksYcle, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1Agreed. WinFF is pretty sweet to have as well.

      EDIT: Why is your icon a Vista media icon? I thought you were Linux-loyalty :P
  • bryanricker, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Ok, just for the record, HandBrake by FAR trumps any attempt that any other program has made at ripping DVD's, yes, even VLC. The only reason I have VLC is to play the weird file types that no other program will.
  • mrogi, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2VLC is the Lamb of God
  • stupidStan, on 07/03/2008, -5/+1umm... then why not just use WMP?

    Lemme guess... you drive a civic with lots of stickers (it can be just like a *real* fast car)

    -woops, this was meant in reply to phreak up above :P
  • PARTyZAN, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2I'm still waiting for full screen controls in Windows and Linux. Is it that hard?
  • crownedgriffin, on 07/03/2008, -2/+3I'd really like to see a side by side comparison of VLC and MPC playing an MKV with subtitles. I just don't see anything wrong with VLC.
    (...and don't tell me to just install CCCP and MCP, because I tried, and it doesn't work...)
  • Rotzooi, on 07/03/2008, -0/+17It's a great player, but the interface just sucks the life right out of me.
    • jsd8cc, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3No decent OSD in fullscreen mode sucks.
  • Jacksonblue, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4those of you hating on VLC's ugly interface, you can download skins from their site.

    http://www.videolan.org/vlc/skins.php
    • Niz1, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6the skins suck, they arent implemented well , like the original works well when you maximise but when you use the skin it open a video overlay or something in a separate box so there no point in skinning it anyway.
  • pagno, on 07/03/2008, -4/+3GOM Media Player.
    http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_Introduction.html
  • metaphzle, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Great player, wish it was a little more stylish.
  • elbekko, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Ever heard of network shares? Much simpler than streaming it. And you have full control without a clunky web interface that forces you to stop watching the video while you go search for 'pause'.
  • dn11, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4VLC on windows = over rated. I can use FFDshow and playback the exact same formats in just about any player, with more control (VLC is using the same libraries) personally I use winamp - way more customizable, way more versatile, no crappy dysfunctional interface
  • shawnanigans, on 07/03/2008, -1/+13If it had a better GUI it would be the ultimate player. Instead I use MPC, which still doesn't have a good GUI but at least it has controls when it's fullscreen.
    • tgunner, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1You should look into GOM Player if you want full screen controls. It also works with almost all laptop and desktop media control buttons.
  • jamesdew, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1no multicast streaming?
  • Niz1, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1for such a great player it sucks all the features are not on display theyre hidden hidden. Its like the Microsoft Word 2003 vs 2007. All the functions are there they just not known they're all hidden. 2007 made it easier to find them. VLC needs to do the same.
    • agenteVad, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I agree. The User Interface is seriously letting it down and needs a complete overhaul. Same for the GIMP.
  • RADicalSatDude, on 07/03/2008, -0/+11FLV seeking is still broken, FFDSHOW doesn't have any issues though. VLC would be complete when they fix FLV seeking.
  • perot9296, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1If they could make the options/playlist open up below the video and have some typical options (brightness, contrast, loop, shuffle) I'd use it more often.
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