VLC is my video player of choice on both my Windows and Mac computers. It’s small, it’s light on resources, and it plays just about every video format you care to mention. It also has a few neat tricks up its sleeve. One I just learned was how to normalize volume in VLC for Windows. VLC media player VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
It is likely that you have heard and used VLC media player for playing streaming videos. But it is more likely that you are fooled by its name — VLC media player is by no means a one-trick pony. Instead, it is a feature-packed powerful tool which is not only capable of playing streaming videos but also able to download videos from all the popular websites, like YouTube.
- Install the VLC app on your Mac OS. Click here to download the app. Open VLC and then select File, Open Network. Paste the URL (link address) of the YouTube video you want to download.
- As the Force Quit window will open, select your VLC player and close it from running in the background. Fix 2: Install A VLC Codec Pack. It has been noticed that Mac is often not compatible with a lot of video formats or codec schemes. Due to this, you might encounter the VLC Media Player crashing on Mac while playing an unsupported file.
Today, you are going to learn about how to download video with VLC on Mac/Windows and solve a series of problems involved when using it all in one passage.
CONTENTS
- 1. VLC's Hidden Feature — Download Video from Internet
- 2. Problems Tackled in YouTube Downloading Using VLC
- 3. An Alternative to VLC for Downloading Web Video Including YouTube
VLC's Hidden Feature — Download Video from Internet
In fact, there are two methods to download videos with VLC. Here I will introduce the easier one. Please follow the steps below with VLC downloading a YouTube video as an example.
Step 1. Fire up VLC
After installing VLC media player to your Windows or Mac, fire it up.
Step 2. Copy the Video URL from YouTube
Go for the video on YouTube and copy the link from the browser’s address bar above the page.
Step 3. Paste the Video URL into VLC and Start Playing
On Windows:
Click on 'Media' > 'Open Network Stream' in VLC main interface.
Then under the Network tab on the pop-up window, you should then enter the YouTube video URL that you have copied from YouTube. Press the 'Play' button to start playing the video.
On Mac:
Click on 'File' > 'Open Network', enter the YouTube video URL and click 'Open'.
Step 4. Get and Copy Codec Information of the YouTube Video
On Windows:
Hit 'Tools' > 'Codec Information' to copy the full URL besides the 'Location' title. This is the direct URL of the YouTube video.
On Mac:
Select the YouTube video in VLC, hit 'Window' > 'Media Information'. You are looking for the 'Location' input box.
Step 5. Enter the URL into Address Bar and Download the YouTube Video
Open a web browser page and paste the copied Location URL into the address bar before hitting 'Enter' on your keyboard. More clicks of 'Save' button might be needed after that, which depends on the video link and the setting of your browser.
Problems Tackled in YouTube Downloading Using VLC
Now, have you learned about how to download YouTube videos using VLC yet? Don't worry if you encounter some problems when in practice. The first thing you need to do is to repeat the above steps more carefully in order to rule out the possibility of not following the right procedures. If that problem does continue to exist, you might need to read the second part of the passage. We have listed some common problems involved in saving video from websites with VLC and given out our solutions.
Problem 1:
'Sadly this didn't work for me. It downloaded the video but instead of getting a playable video I get a file called 'file' in my download folder.'
Solution A: Put an extension to the file name when it gives you 'Enter file name', like '.mp4' or '.avi'.
Solution B: Use a video converter to convert the file into '.mp4'.
Problem 2:
'I could download some YouTube videos with VLC while others didn't work.'
Solution: Check if the video is tagged 'Age-restricted video (based on Community Guidelines)'. If that is the case, the video will NOT download using the established method due to YouTube policies. There is no way of getting rid of it. So try VLC alternatives.
An Alternative to VLC for Downloading Web Video Including YouTube
The built-in download feature of VLC cannot go without drawbacks since it is not an expert in video download. Indeed, some videos are highly protected by their website program and prevented from grabbing by VLC. To solve such a problem, I suggest you to try some online tools to download videos from popular websites for offline viewing.
VideoSolo Online Video Downloader is one of the best free online downloaders on the internet for grabbing YouTube videos. Aside from YouTube, it claims to support Facebook, Instagram, Dailymotion, Vimeo, SoundCloud, etc. in almost all browsers and all operating systems including Mac/Windows/Android/iOS. With a clean and intuitive interface, VideoSolo Online Video Downloader is very easy to use within just several clicks.
Vlc Media Player Mac Video Verkleinern
In addition, VideoSolo now released a video downloader which can also download online videos easily.
You can take a try with it from the button below.
Follow the 3 steps to grab videos from the Internet easily with VideoSolo Online Video Downloader.
Step 1. Go to the page containing your loved video and copy the video link from the address bar above.
Step 2. Head to the VideoSolo Online Video Downloader homepage and paste the video link into the search box. Press the 'Download' button to the right of the box to interpret the video.
Step 3. After deciding on the output format and quality, hit the corresponding 'Download' button to the right hand. Then the browser immediately pops up a download dialog; if not, click the menu button > 'Download' on the pop-up window, or right-click the mouse and select 'Save as'.
Hope the above information can settle your problems when downloading videos with VLC on your Mac or Windows. If you are not so satisfied with VLC’s inherent download function, your best bet is to try VideoSolo Online Video Downloader, which is quite easy and efficient to use.
VLC is a multi-functional media player. It can capture screen, recording videos playing on your laptop, the game you are playing, and the steps you are taking on the desktop.
In this post, we will show you how to capture screen with VLC and how to fix it if the VLC capture screen is not working. You will also learn how to easily extract video clips with VLC.
Capture Screen with VLC
Download and install VLC on the official website first.
Step 1
Vlc Player Mac Os
Click 'Media'> Open 'Capture Device'.
Step 2
Change the capture mode to 'Desktop'.Change the frame rate to 30% if you need a high-quality recording. The higher the frame rate you set, the smoother the video is.
Step 3
Click the pull-down menu beside the 'Play' button and choose Convert. Go to 'Browse' to select a destination to save the screen recording and name the file.
Step 4
Next, click Start and your screen will be recorded.To stop the recording, click the 'Stop' button on VLC and the recording file will be saved on the destination automatically.
Tip: How to Capture Screen with Audio on VLC
Although the VLC records screen easily, VLC cannot record screen with audio on the computer. Besides, the mouse pointer is also beyond the screen record.Thus, if you want to record screen with both audio and mouse pointer, a professional screen recorder like FonePaw Screen Recorder is a better choice.
Step 1
Open FonePaw Screen Recorder > Choose 'Video Recorder'.You can choose to record the full screen, fixed region or customized region.
Step 2
Toggle on the buttons of System Sound and Microphone to record screen along with audio from your computer and your sound from microphone.
As for microphone, there are two useful features for you: 'Microphone noise cancellation' and 'Microphone enhancement', which work for sound optimization. Before recording, please use sound check feature to test whether the sound is good.
Step 3
Click 'REC' to start recording.Click the red button to stop recording. During the recording, you can highlight the important area that you want the viewers to notice with the built-in annotation tools.
Step 4
If the video is too long, you can set the start and end point to clip the video.
Click 'Re-record' to record again and the video will not be saved.
Click 'Save' to select the destination and save.
The free trial version can save videos within 3 minutes.
Compare with VLC, FonePaw Screen Recorder is more versatile and it can record not only the screen but also webcam, internal sound of the computer and external voice.
What ' more, you can choose a fixed region or custom the size of the recording area and it also records the mouse pointer, which makes the steps you take on the screen more clear. When you finish the recording, it can also help you simply edit the long videos.
VLC Screen Capture Not Working, How to Fix?
Some users said they tried to do a screen capture on VLC but the exported video was all black. Here are some tips that might be helpful to you.
Change the video output module
Go to 'Tools'> 'Preferences'> 'Video' > 'Output'. In the pull-down menu, choose 'Direct X video output', save and reset VLC.
Edit capture screen width/height
Go to 'Tools'> 'Preferences'> 'Show Settings'> Choose 'All'. Scroll down and find 'Video', from the right panel, set the width and height.
Disable video acceleration
Go to Tools > Preferences > Codecs > Select 'Disable'.
Reinstall VLC
Uninstall VLC first then go to the official website to download and install it again.
Record Video with VLC Record Button
When you play a video by VLC, click the red button to start recording. In this way, you can extract a video clip from the video you are playing. If you cannot find the record button, turn on Advanced Controls.
Go to 'View' > 'Advanced Controls'. Now you will see the recording button.
Tip: Where does VLC save recordings
Usually, the recording clip will save automatically on the default video folder of your computer.
For Windows users: C:Usersyour-user-nameVideos.
For Mac users: Macintosh HD > Users > your user name > Movies.
Also, you can change the location path by yourself: Go to 'Tools' > 'Preferences' > 'Input/Codecs' > 'Files' >'Browse' . Then select the location.
In conclusion, the post tells you how to capture screen with VLC or record video with VLC. Although VLC is a powerful media player, it cannot record the system sound and mouse point. If you have the request for more professional features, FonePaw Screen Recorder is also a good choice for you.