Latest 18 Best VLC Media Player Tricks And Tips That Will Surprise You

VLC media player is an iconic app on almost every PC because of its amazing collection of features. The media player is capable of playing numerous files in different formats and configuration. You can as well pull out so many tricks with the app. While some of the tricks are popular, majority of them are hidden to the common man. Only the real techies can locate and utilize them. Having said that, lets take a look at the top 18 tricks you can pull out with VLC player.

1. Convert Videos using VLC
Many VLC media players users don’t know about this tricks. VLC can change and convert the videos into many formats. So you don’t need to download software for converting Videos.

Step 1: Open VLC media player and Click On “Media” which is located at top-right corner. Now Select Convert/Save. Or Alternatively you can simply Press “CTRL + R”.

Step 2: Now a Window will pop up like a below picture, Simply click on Add and choose the file you want to convert, and Click on Convert/save.

Step 3: Then Select the type of the file you want it to convert to. You can even tweak the video encoding. That’s it, and this is how you can convert any video in

That’s it, and this is how you can convert video with VLC Media Player.


2. Watch Youtube Videos in VLC:
Yes, you read it right, you can directly watch any youtube video in VLC Media player. Before trying this trick in your PC, make sure you have good Internet Connection. You can also get rid of unwanted disturbance caused in Youtube Videos if you watch the videos in VLC.

Step 1: Open VLC media player and Click On “Media” to Select “Open Network Stream”. CTRL + N is the shortcut to perform this task.

Step 2: Open Youtube and head over to your Favourite Video, Copy the URL of the youtube video.

Step 3: Once you have copied the URL simply Paste it there where it says Enter the network URL and Click Play.

You will see that the Video is Streaming in VLC Smoothly.


3. Sync Audio in VLC
If your video’s Audio is not Syncing with the video stream then with a little tweak you can fix this in VLC media player. You can even Apply Effects to your audio and video, let us see how:

Step 1: Open VLC media player, click on Tools > Effects and Filters.

Step 2: Click on Audio Effect if you want to add effects if you are playing audio or Click on Video effect to add effects in a video file.

Step 3: Now Play around and make changes to add effects which will take place live.

You can make changes in the form of Brightness, Hue etc. Other tabs like synchronization is there to add effects too.

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4. Take Snapshot in VLC
Many times while watching a movie or random video we wish to take a snapshot of it but it’s too time-consuming to Press Print screen button then open paint and all that Tedious stuff.

Fortunately, VLC Comes with the snapshot feature build in. All you need to do is Right click on the video while it’s playing, Hover your Mouse on Video option(in Context Menu) and Select Take Snapshot.

It’s as Easy as that but Comes Very Handy at times.


5. Use Video as Desktop Wallpaper Using VLC
VLC is the Only Media player that can do this for you. You can Replace your Desktop wallpaper with a Video Using none other than VLC media Player.

To do this select a video and begin playing it with VLC. Right-click on the screen, select Video, then select Set as Wallpaper.


6. Record Directly from Webcam
You can record your video chat session easily using VLC.

step 1. Go to Media – Open Capture Device.

step 2. On the Capture Device screen, you can select the video device and also the audio device like the system microphone.

step 3. You can also configure the options from the Configure settings. Finetune your capture with Brightness, Contrast, Hue, Saturation (and other) controls.

step 4. Head down and drop down the Play button to open the Convert dialog where you can select the Destination file, click on the Browse button to select video file location, name and format.


7. Listen Online Radio
VLC includes hundreds of Shoutcast radio stations. You just need to enable it through Media>> Services Discovery>> Shoutcast radio listings. Now, open the Playlist and browse through the stations.


8. Play Rar Files
Play Media Contained In Archive Files If you have a ZIP or RAR file that contains a media file, you can actually play them within VLC without extracting them. Simply open them with VLC and it will play all of the files contained within. If the file is broken up into pieces, just open the first part of the archive in VLC, making sure all the files are within the same place. This is a good tip when you don’t want to waste space decompressing the video.

Do you know VLC can play videos zipped inside RAR files? They play like normal video files and you can even use the seek bar. If the RAR file is split into several files, no problem. Just load the first part (.part001.rar) and it will automatically take the rest of the parts and play the whole file.


9. Subscribe to Podcasts
VLC can be used to stream podcasts, so you don’t need any additional software if you want to listen to podcasts on your PC.

Just click the View menu in VLC and select Playlist.
Hover over Podcasts in the sidebar, click the + button and paste the address of a podcast’s feed into the box.
You can then stream the podcast’s episodes from within VLC.

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10. Download and Add Subtitle File
If a video you have doesn’t come with subtitles, you can add your own by finding an SRT subtitle file for the video and adding it in. To add the subtitle, play your video and go to Subtitle on the menu bar and click Add Subtitle File. If you want VLC to play it automatically, place the SRT file in the same folder as the video and make sure it uses the same file name as the video file.


11. Stream Torrent Directly to VLC Media Player
Watch Torrent Movies without downloading, yes it is true. All you need to download a Ace Player (HD) VLC in your Computer.


12. Watch 3D Movies on PC Using VLC Media Player
How to Watch 3D Movies on PC Using VLC Media Player
The first step is run 3D movie in your VLC media player.(Make sure that the movie you played must be SBS (Side-By-Side) 3D movie).
After that, Click on Tools and then select the Effects and Filters option from the drop down menu.
Now click on Video Effects tab and in this section click on Advanced tab.
In the Advanced tab, put a checkmark on Anaglyph 3D option.
Now you are ready to for watching 3D movies in the computer. Now, just put your Red/Cyan 3D glasses on and enjoy your 3D movie.


13. Record A Currently Playing Video/Audio
If you want to record and capture a snippet of a video that you are playing, VLC has an option to do so. To enable this feature, on the menu bar, click View > Advanced Controls. Extra buttons will appear on the app. While playing a media file, click on the Record button to start recording. Press again to stop. Recordings will be saved in the Videos folder for videos while audio will go to your Music folder.

While playing a media file, right click and select Record button to start recording. Press again to stop. Recordings will be saved in the Videos folder for videos while audio will go to your Music folder.


14. Unlock Hidden Jigsaw Puzzle Game in VLC
Try this trick in Vlc Media Player and play hidden game in your PC.
Unlock Hidden Jigsaw Puzzle Game in VLC

Step 1: Open your VLC player app. Don’t bother if you are playing video or not. From the main menu, click the Extended Settings button at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Now, select the “Video Effects” tab under that.

Step 3: Make sure to tick on the box next to the “Puzzle Game” option. Then you can use the rows and columns fields to select the number of puzzle pieces, if you want to see in your interactive jigsaw video. When all is done, simply click on the “close” button at the bottom of this window.

Step 4: Restarting VLC & Playing Video:
Now close entirely the VLC so that changes will take effect. Now, simply open any video in VLC and you will see your interactive puzzle game.

15. Play Video As ASCII Characters
For a bit of fun, VLC allows you to display a video all in ASCII characters.

To enable this fun feature, go to Tools > Preference and click on Video.
Under the Output drop-down box, choose Color ASCII art video output.
Your video will now be displayed entirely in ASCII. Now try watching ‘The Matrix’ like this.

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16. Control VLC from Android Phone
Turn your mobile into a VLC remote and control running movies from your android mobile. If you are watching movies with your family and friends, so this is the best trick for skip adult scenes in movies without touching your PC.

Download Unified Remote app in your android Phone for controlling VLC Media from Phone.


17. VLC Inception Trick
Wondering what’s inception here? Well, VLC Media Player can take screenshot of your current screen and keep on taking screenshots in relatively smaller size and putting on it’s display panel which will provide your inception effect.

Steps to perform this trick:
Open VLC Media Player Now,
Press Ctrl+N Type “screen://” (without quotes) in the opened window
Click Play to see this VLC inception trick.


18. Double Or Slow Down The Playback Speed
This feature is incredibly useful when you are watching a media file primarily for the content, such as podcast, audiobooks, recorded lectures, etc. To start, press ‘+’ keyboard button to fast forward by 0.1x for each press. To slow it down, press ‘-‘ keyboard button. via

These are the major tricks you can perform with this wonderful media player. As a matter of fact, VLC is not just restricted to windows platform but there is both android and iOS versions of the app. It has millions of users globally and still increasing.