Top 5 Less Known Features of VLC Media Player

Now, if you ask anybody which media player would they prefer to play their multimedia files, a majority of answers would be VLC Media Player. VLC is one of the most widely used multimedia player worldwide. It is a portable, cross-platform and (thankfully!) a free open-source software released by VideoLAN. Although VLC is used on millions of devices across the world, there are a few less known and less used features of VLC. Here, in this post we give you top 5 less known features of VLC Media Player.

1) VLC as a YouTube Video Downloader

We all know that VLC Media Player can be used to stream the videos using Open Network Stream option. Sometimes we want to download YouTube videos but we cannot, of course unless we have a YouTube downloader software installed on the device. Surprisingly, VLC can also be used as a YouTube video downloader eliminating the need to download all those one-click video downloader and browser extensions to download our favorite YouTube videos.

Follow the steps to download YouTube videos using VLC:

Go to Media -> Open Network Stream and paste the URL of the YouTube video that you intend to download.
Click Play and when VLC starts playing the video, go to Tools ->Codec Information and copy the Location URL and paste the URL in your browser.
Click Play to play the video in browser. Once the video starts playing, right click on the video and Click Save As to download the video.

2) VLC as a File Converter

Yes! You've read VLC as a file converter! We can use VLC media player as a tool to convert multimedia files from one format to another. Gone are those days when we had to download multimedia file converter software.

Follow the steps to convert files using VLC:

Go to Media -> Convert / Save.
In Open Media prompt, click on Add to add the files that you need to convert.
Click on Convert / Save. In Convert pop up window, select the file type your original file to be converted from wide range of options in Profile.
Write the location of the destination file and click Start. After the conversion process is finished. You can check your converted file at the "destination location".

3) VLC as an Online Video Chat Recorder

Apart from playing multimedia files, another awesome use of VLC media player is to record your online video chats.

Follow the steps to record your online video chat sessions using VLC:

Go to Media -> Open Capture Device
On Open Media pop up window, select Webcam option and Microphone option from Video device name and Audio device name drop down boxes, respectively.
Drop down the Play button which opens the Convert pop up window where you can select the Destination file, click on the Browse button to select video file location, name and format.

4) VLC as an Audio Normalizer

When you are playing audio and video files and a sudden increase in the volume jars your ears, it’s a feature to keep in mind. In case of video, you have to restart the video for it to take effect. Go to Preferences -> Audio and select normalization levels from Normalize volume to option.

5) VLC as a Tool to Play Videos in ASCII Art

Another cool feature which is less common feature is playing videos in ASCII art. Yes! You can use VLC player to play videos in ASCII text. To play videos in cool ASCII text, go to Preferences -> Video and select Color ASCII art video output from Output drop down menu.