Things You don’t know about VLC Media Player

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols.

1. Play RAR files
VLC allows you to play videos zipped inside RAR files. VLC has the ability to play series of RAR files. You just have to load the beginning part like (.part001.rar ). VLC will automatically take the rest of the parts and play the entire file.Just select the RAR file and open with ->VLC. You can even play Uncompleted or currupted RAR files..!!

2. Play ISO image files
.iso files can be accessed and played by VLC player even if the Operating System does not supprt direct accessing of disk image files. VLC make use libcdio library to access .iso files.

3. Control aspect ratio
Using VLC, you can override the source aspect ratio. This is available both as a command line option and as an option in the Preference dialog in the graphical interface. The aspect ratio can be specified both in ratio format (16:9) or as a decimal number (1.33).

Command Line

When invoking VLC from the command line, use the option –aspect-ratio. For instance,
vlc –aspect-ratio 1:5

Graphical Interface

If using the graphical interface, the setting is In the Video section of the Preferences dialog. You may specify the aspect ratio in the field labeled “Source aspect ratio.”
Here is a list of the more common aspect ratios.

• Fullscreen: 1.33 or 4:3
• Widescreen: 1.78 or 16:9
• Typical DVD: 1.85
• Cinemascope: 2.35

3. Convert your files
You can convert your media files using VLC player..! VLC can also convert videos to formats it supports and one can also specify whether or not to use system codecs.
To convert simply go from Menubar to Media->Convert/Save. Choose your file with Add , and then press Convert/Save, choose your setting and destination and you are ready to convert your files.

4. Play anything You want
VLC player can play any common audio formats (OGG, MP3, WAV ,WMA….) and almost all kinds of video file formats, including rare file formats, without installing external codecs.  VLC player is an ideal replacement for even ITunes . That is to say you would never get the annoying notifications saying it ”your player needs a codec for MP4, FLAC or Raw DV…”! play anything you want!

5. Play videos in ASCII mode!
  You can play any video in ascii mode. To enable this mode, open VLC media player and click on Tools>Preferences. Open the section ‘Video’ section and under ‘Output’ select ‘Color ASCII art video output’ from the drop down menu. Save it. Now play any video file to enjoy the ASCII art.

6. Take Screenshots  of the video
With VLC  one can also take screenshots of videos, even during DVD playback.  To capture a snapshot go to Menubar->Video->Snapshot. 


7. Record videos and Live TV
With VLC, you can record videos during playback. For this first activate the advanced control panel by clicking View>Advanced Control. Now you can see the record button and by clicking on that, you can record the video. Click the button again to stop recording. (You can do the same for Live TV if you have a TV Tuner Card)

8. Rip DVDs
VLC includes a basic DVD ripper. You probably would never use it when there are better DVD rippers available, but it helps to know that you can in fact, get a decent quality DVD rip with VLC. To rip a movie follow these steps:

• Go to the Media menu and choose Convert/Save. Click on the Disc tab.
• Here you can adjust the Starting Position and rip only specific titles or chapters.
• Enter file name making sure to end with .MPG, and start ripping.
• Click Save