The Best Hidden Features of VLC

[tom_mai78101]

VLC is easily one of our favorite media players (and yours too). However, it's not just a one-trick pony. Under the surface, there's a wide range of features that you might not have known it could do.

Here's one of them: Download YouTube Videos

We've discussed plenty of ways to download YouTube videos before. However, you have one option already installed on your computer. VLC lets you play and download YouTube videos right from its desktop interface. Here's how:

1. Find a video on YouTube—like this one—and copy the URL from the address bar.
2. In VLC, head to Media > Open Network Stream.
3. Paste the YouTube link in the box and click Play.
4. Under Tools, click Codec Information.
5. In the box that says Location, right-click the block of text and click Select All. Copy this text to your clipboard.
6. Go back to your browser and paste the link in the address bar. This will open the source file directly on YouTube's servers.
7. Right-click the video as it plays and select Save Video As.

You can also record clips from YouTube videos as they're streaming in VLC by pressing the red Record button in the player itself. This isn't as direct of a rip, but it's handy if you need to grab a particular clip out of a long video.

How to Enable VLC's Best Hidden Features

VLC is easily one of our favorite media players (and yours too ). While it can handle nearly every movie you throw at it, it can also do so much mor

lifehacker.com

 

[Accname]

Or, you know, just use a youtube2Mp3 converter website. No need to install anything.

 

[seph ir oth]

Or, you know, just use a youtube2Mp3 converter website. No need to install anything.

However, you have one option already installed on your computer.

It's assuming you have VLC already, which many people do, given that windows does not natively support all video files whereas VLC (mostly) does.

 

[The Helper]

I already have VLC installed on all my computers and I did not know this. Cool!

 

[Accname]

It's assuming you have VLC already, which many people do, given that windows does not natively support all video files whereas VLC (mostly) does.

Even if you have, why would you need to do this if you can do it with a free web tool? Is it any faster to start up VLC and then copy links back and forth instead of opening another tab for the converter?

 

[tom_mai78101]

It's for mostly users who have VLC on Windows 8 who watches MKV files?

 

[Slapshot136]

My favorite feature is that it can play a movie/etc. at an increased speed and compensate the audio without making it super-high-pitched like others, but I have also enabled the "webcam view" to get a better look at some stuff (it's amazingly useful when trying to fish wires through walls). I wonder if it's possible to replace the default video player in a web browser with VLC

as for downloading from youtube there are plenty of extensions that do a better job (integration wise) - no copying URLS or switching windows.

 

[seph ir oth]

I wonder if it's possible to replace the default video player in a web browser with VLC

https://wiki.videolan.org/Documentation:WebPlugin#Embed_tag_attributes

It seems like you can

 

[Slapshot136]

https://wiki.videolan.org/Documentation:WebPlugin#Embed_tag_attributes

It seems like you can

not quite the add-on I was thinking of.. but it does look promising

 

[ertaboy356b]

I did this in the past, but not for youtube, but for aznv.tv.. Those .nsv files just can't be watched offline.

 

[seph ir oth]

not quite the add-on I was thinking of.. but it does look promising

Yeah, what I linked is simply a way for web developers to default to using VLC for embedded content. Using this, though, you could theoretically make an add-on that would replace the default player(s) with VLC on websites!

 

[The Helper]

Love VLC! This is useful information moving over to Tech Support!