VLC Media Player features — what VLC can do

VLC Media Player’s headline feature is universal playback — it plays virtually any video or audio file, plus DVDs, Blu-rays, discs and network streams, with every codec built in. But the same free app also converts files between formats, records your screen and webcam, handles subtitles properly, and offers a full equalizer, filters and customisable controls. In practice VLC replaces a handful of separate tools, and it does all of it with no advertising, no bundled software and no tracking.

Everything described on this page is included in the standard download — no add-ons to buy, no premium tier. The cards below summarise the core features, and the sections that follow go into detail on each one. If you are new to VLC, the overview of what VLC is gives the background, and when you are ready you can download VLC free.

The reason most people install VLC is that it plays files other apps cannot. A media file has two layers: a container (the .mp4 or .mkv wrapper) and the codecs inside it that actually encode the picture and sound. Built-in players often support only a narrow set of codecs, which is why you see "unsupported format" errors. VLC ships with a vast codec library inside the application, so it decodes the content regardless of the extension on the file.

On the video side that covers MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, WMV, FLV, WebM, MPEG, 3GP, OGV and TS, encoded with codecs such as H.264, H.265/HEVC, VP9 and AV1. On the audio side it covers MP3, FLAC, AAC, WAV, OGG, M4A, WMA, OPUS and AIFF. VLC also plays DVDs, Blu-rays and audio CDs directly from the drive. The practical result is that you install VLC once and stop thinking about formats altogether — there are no codec packs to hunt down. The supported formats page lists everything in full.

One of VLC’s most valuable features is everything it deliberately leaves out. There is no advertising anywhere in the player, no bundled toolbar or "recommended" software during installation, and no telemetry that builds a profile of what you watch. VideoLAN is a non-profit funded by donations, and it has publicly refused advertising revenue to keep the player clean — a stance that is rare for software used on this scale.

VLC does make a few optional network requests, such as fetching album art for music or checking whether a newer version is available, and every one of those can be disabled in the preferences. Because VLC is open source under the GPLv2+ licence, this is not a promise you simply have to take on faith — the code is public and can be audited by anyone. For more on why that matters, see what VLC is and who makes it.

VLC is not limited to files on your hard drive. Using Media → Open Network Stream, you can paste in a URL and VLC will play it directly. It understands the common streaming protocols — HTTP, HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) and RTSP — which makes it useful for internet radio, many direct video links, IP cameras and live streams. Because it is a dedicated media engine rather than a browser, it often handles streams more smoothly and with finer control.

VLC can also work the other way around and act as a streaming server, broadcasting media from one machine to others on a network, and it can cast playback to a compatible device on the same network. Combined with playlist support, this turns VLC into a flexible hub for both watching and distributing media around a home or office.

VLC includes a genuine media converter, so you rarely need a separate encoding tool. Open Media → Convert / Save, add the file you want to change, pick a profile — for example MP4 with H.264 video, or MP3 for audio-only — choose a destination, and VLC transcodes the file. This is how you turn an incompatible video into something a phone or TV accepts, extract the audio track from a video, or shrink a large file by re-encoding it at a lower bitrate.

The conversion profiles can be customised if you need specific codecs, resolutions or bitrates, and VLC can convert several files in one batch. It is not a frame-accurate video editor, but for everyday format changes and compression it covers the job without extra downloads. The how-to guide walks through a conversion step by step.

Subtitles are an area where VLC clearly outclasses basic players. It loads external subtitle files in formats including SRT, ASS/SSA, SUB and VTT — just drag the file onto the window, or use Subtitle → Add Subtitle File. If a video has subtitle tracks embedded inside it, VLC lets you switch between them and pick the language you want.

The standout feature is synchronisation. When subtitles run ahead of or behind the speech, VLC can shift their timing in fine increments using keyboard shortcuts or the track synchronisation panel, so you can fix the delay without editing the file. You can also restyle subtitles — changing the font, size, colour and outline for readability. With a Lua extension such as VLSub, VLC can even search for and download matching subtitles automatically from within the player.

VLC doubles as a capture tool. Through Media → Open Capture Device you can choose your desktop as the capture mode and record the screen, or select a connected webcam and record live video from it. The record control starts and stops capture, and the footage is saved as a video file you can play back or convert like any other.

Alongside recording, VLC takes snapshots — single still frames grabbed from any video with one shortcut, which is handy for saving a thumbnail or a specific moment. These tools will not replace dedicated screen-recording software for advanced projects, but for quick captures and webcam recordings they are built in and ready to use.

VLC gives you a remarkable amount of control over playback. For audio there is a 10-band graphic equalizer with presets for different music styles, plus a compressor and spatializer in the audio effects panel. For video there are adjustments for brightness, contrast, hue and gamma, along with effect filters — crop, rotate, deinterlace, sharpen and more. You can also change playback speed smoothly, useful for skimming long recordings or slowing tricky passages down.

Further customisation includes:

• Custom hotkeys — almost every action can be reassigned to the keyboard shortcut you prefer in the preferences.
• Skins — on Windows, VLC’s entire interface can be reskinned with downloadable themes.
• Lua extensions — small add-ons extend VLC with new features, such as automatic subtitle downloads.
• Playlists — build, save and reorder playlists for video and audio, including loop and shuffle modes.
• Video rotation and aspect control — fix sideways phone footage or force a specific aspect ratio.

Taken together, these options let you tune VLC to the way you actually work. The step-by-step guide to using VLC shows how to put the most useful ones into practice.