I didn’t know VLC could do this, and now I’ve ditched 6 other apps

I have confidently recommended VLC to people. And that’s with the energy of someone who really knows what they are talking about. “Just use VLC,” I would say, as if that settled the matter. What I failed to mention, because I had no idea, was that I had been using roughly 50 percent of what the application could actually do. I was the equivalent of someone who owns a cooker and only ever uses it to boil rice.

So for many years, I kept boiling my metaphorical rice and calling myself experienced. Every time a media task came up that VLC couldn’t handle with a double-click, I downloaded something else, added another app to my menu bar, and kept piling them on. You know, I didn’t need any of them.

OBS Studio, it’s been a pleasure

VLC can record whatever it is currently playing — whether that is a local file, a DVD, or a network stream — through the Record button tucked inside the Advanced Controls toolbar. You enable it by navigating to View -> Advanced Controls, which makes a red record button appear directly above the standard playback controls. To record, press it when your desired segment starts, and then press it again to stop. VLC automatically saves the file to your system’s default Videos folder with a “vlc-record” prefix and timestamp.

The output quality matches the source exactly because VLC captures the raw underlying data packets from the stream or file container and saves them directly to your drive without re-encoding. Since finding this, I have used it to archive conference livestreams, clip sections from marathon lecture recordings, and save internet radio broadcasts without firing up a heavyweight screen recorder or extra software.

Since VLC performs a lossless data dump rather than a heavy video encode, it runs in the background with virtually zero performance hit or system stutter. However, because it captures the media in real-time, you must let the file or stream play normally for the entire duration of the segment you want to save. Additionally, for live internet streams, keep in mind that any network buffering, lag, or dropped packets that occur during playback will be permanently written into your final recorded file.

Record your screen using VLC’s desktop capture

Loom charges monthly for this

In addition to playing video files, VLC media player can record your screen without requiring you to install extra software. Open Media -> Open Capture Device, switch the Capture Mode dropdown to Desktop, then pick a frame rate. Somewhere between 15 and 30 frames per second usually gives motion a clean, fluid look without bloating the file size. After that, click the small dropdown beside Play and choose Convert.

The important part comes next. If you leave VLC on its default settings, the recording can come out muddy and compressed-looking, especially around text.

• In the Convert window, choose the Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4) profile, then click the Wrench/Tools icon beside it.
• Under the Video Codec tab, raise the bitrate to around 8000 kb/s for 1080p recordings or 15000 kb/s for 4K captures. That extra bitrate keeps fine details and small UI text from dissolving into fuzz.
• Then head into the Resolution sub-tab and make sure Scale is set to 1, otherwise, VLC may downscale the entire desktop capture.
• Save the profile, choose where to save the file, and hit Start.

I find the end result less polished than that of dedicated screen recording apps. For instance, VLC media player does not include a built-in microphone or system audio capture by default; there is no pause button during recording; and if you use multiple monitors, you cannot cleanly isolate a single display or specific window. Even so, once the bitrate is dialed in properly, VLC holds up really well for crisp visual walkthroughs, software demos, or quick troubleshooting recordings you need to make locally.

You can control VLC from another device

Unified Remote, you’ve been unified out

VLC can run a local web server that exposes full playback controls through any browser on your network. Enabling it requires navigating to Tools -> Preferences, selecting All under Show settings, and expanding Interface -> Main Interfaces. Here, check the Web option, click the Lua submenu, enter a custom password in the upper Lua HTTP Password field (leaving the lower Telnet field blank), then click Save before restarting the app.

Once active, to control playback from a smartphone, tablet, or secondary device on the same Wi-Fi network, you must target the host computer’s local IP address instead (e.g., http://1.xx). You can quickly find this address using your operating system’s command line by running ipconfig on Windows (looking for IPv4 Address) or hostname -I on Linux. When the mobile browser prompts you for credentials, leave the username field completely blank and enter only your Lua HTTP password.

One practical application of this is that playing media through a laptop connected to a television becomes significantly less awkward when you can pause, skip, and adjust the volume of your phone without getting up, which is incredibly handy if you like to control your Windows PC from your phone instead of a mouse for media consumption. The interface is minimal by design, but it covers everything that matters: play, pause, seek, volume, and playlist navigation. Note that you may need to grant VLC permission through your operating system’s firewall the first time you attempt to connect to an external device.

Stream directly from a URL

Kodi takes too long to set up anyway

VLC can ingest media links directly via Media -> Open Network Stream. Once you paste a supported URL, the player takes over, fetching and rendering the stream without browser clutter, tracking scripts, or unnecessary memory load. If copying and pasting URLs feels tedious, a free extension lets you play any online video in VLC with a single click. It supports a broad range of protocols out of the box, including HTTP, RTSP, HLS (.m3u8), and MMS, which makes it a dependable client for IPTV playlists, IP camera feeds, and audio streams such as podcasts.

All standard playback tools, including audio normalization filters, custom video equalizers, and multi-track subtitle selections, function just as they would on a local file. However, your ability to fast-forward or rewind depends on the stream type: Video-on-Demand (VOD) files allow full timeline navigation, whereas live feeds lock you into a real-time broadcast. If a stream lacks captions, you can manually overlay local subtitle files simply by dragging and dropping them into the active window.

VLC’s built-in effects panel

Equalizer APO, you can now rest

The Tools -> Effects and Filters panel is one of VLC’s top-secret features, yet I’ve only glanced at it a few times, assumed it was meant for audio engineers, and never really touched it. That was a mistake. Recently, I discovered that the audio section alone hides a deep toolkit. You get a 10-band graphic equalizer with presets, a spatializer that widens stereo output, a pitch-shifting tool for manually bending frequencies, and a dynamic range compressor that fixes one of the most annoying problems in modern media. That is, deafening action scenes followed by dialogue you can barely hear.

Once you enable the Compressor tab and start tweaking the sliders, you can make VLC good at taming chaotic audio mixes. Here’s what my setup looks like:

• Attack: 25 ms
• Ratio: 20.0:1
• Threshold: -24.0 dB,
• Makeup Gain: near 7.5 dB

After applying these tweaks, you should notice that explosions stop rattling the room and whispered conversations stop disappearing into the soundtrack.

The video controls are just as useful. Brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, and sharpness can all be adjusted in real time while a video is playing.

A-B loop

I could as well ditch AB Music Trainer

This feature completely changed the way I interact with video content. VLC media player’s A-B Loop tool lets you mark two points in a video and replay that exact section endlessly. Once you enable View -> Advanced Controls, the looping button appears directly on the media toolbar. If you want to rearrange these buttons or tidy up your interface, you can learn how to customize the look and layout of VLC Media Player, making it easy to keep the loop tool front and center.

Click the AB icon once to set Point A, let the video continue until you reach the end of the segment you want, then click it again to set Point B. VLC then starts looping that section in a seamless cycle until you click the button a third time to clear the markers. If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, Shift + L handles the same job without touching the mouse.

I play bass guitar, so I use this constantly for isolating bass lines, awkward fills, and tiny phrasing details I want to steal for myself later. The feature also stretches far beyond music practice. It works brilliantly for replaying a difficult section of a recorded lecture, studying the choreography of a film scene, or walking through a technical tutorial frame by frame without having to drag the timeline back every few seconds.

Don’t sleep on the player you already have

VLC has earned its reputation as the internet’s unkillable media player, and these features explain much of why it has endured. If you have had VLC installed for a decade and never explored past the play button, open it today and spend ten minutes in the menus. You may find yourself uninstalling a few other applications you have been keeping around for no good reason.

OS

Android, iOS, Windows

Price model

Free, open-source

VLC can read every format ever invented, from modern files to the digital relics on old drives. It opens whatever you throw at it, turning your device into a centralized hub for all your scattered media.