VLC for Android is one of the branches of the popular cross-platform media player that is available for free. The latest one branded with the version number 3.*.* was introduced in Android along with other popular platforms like Windows, Mac, and iOS. This introductory guide is here to answer the questions that you might have on installing VLC, running it and performing basic as well as some advanced functions in the Android app.
About VLC for Android
VLC For Android publicly started with a beta project and now, they have launched a full-fledged app that is supported wholly by the VideoLAN team. They claim it to be the best open source video and music player that is fast and user-friendly. It already has over 100 million downloads in the Play Store. This port for Android can play any video and audio stored on your phone, tablet or any other device powered by Android. Apart from local storage, it can also access network streams, network shares, and DVD ISOs.
The video player is packed with features that allow it to play every known format. You can easily play popular formats like MKV, MP4, MOV, AVI, and Ogg. Even the lesser known formats are handled smoothly by the player. The audio player has everything it needs to be branded a great music player—equalizer, filters and a complete database to manage your MP3 files. Other dashing features that need to be mentioned are Chromecast support, playlists, the audio control widget, auto-rotation, support for audio headsets and cover art, adjustment of aspect-ratio and gestures for brightness, seeking and volume adjustments.
To top it all up, it’s not only a free app but it’s also free of any advertisement. It doesn’t even display a tiny ad. Other popular universal media players that we know of show ads but this one is a megastar. Their team of passionate volunteers is there to keep it ad-free and they publish the source code out to the public. What more can we ask for?
Downloading and Installing VLC in Android
If you’re on Android, you get VLC from the Play Store. Just search the play store or click here to go there directly. Once you hit the install button, your smart device will download the necessary app files and install the app automatically. After that, you can easily access the player from the app drawer (and even the home screen). Tap on the cone icon and you are good to go.
Using VLC in Android
When you launch the app, it will scan for all the media files on your phone/tablet and display it on the main screen. The app has evolved over time and the latest version is different than how it started out.
The main screen right now looks like a file manager. The interface displays folders like Download and Internal memory. These are sorted into categories like Favorites, Stores and Local Network. Tap on these folders like Internal Memory to access sub-folders. We can use it just like a file browser to access media files.
On the top-right, you will just see Options [represented by ⋮]. The options will change according to the page that you are on. As an example, the top options for the video player and audio player is different. On the bottom of the app, you will see Video, Audio, Browse, Playlists and More […].
Playing media files is easy. Just tap on the files displayed in the player (under video or audio found at the bottom). You can also directly open a media file from any other file manager. You will have the option of opening it with VLC for Android. You can set it so that those media files are always opened with VLC. There won’t be any issue with the file format and you will be able to play anything under the sky.
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The Video Player Interface
Video player is the main screen of the app. It can also be switched to by tapping on Video from the bottom navigation menu. The options [⋮] on top will allow you to Resume playback, Sort by [Name, Length, Recently added, and Media number], Group videos [Group by name, Group by folder, Do not group videos].
Tap, browse and open up a video and you will access the interface. There will be several buttons on the screen and gestures will also be displayed for a short while. You can use them for easy watching and navigation.
Video Controls
Besides the gestures, the major controls is the seek bar.
Along with the seek bar, several buttons are positioned at the bottom of the screen. This is like in just any other media player application. It will disappear automatically after some time but it can be brought back up by tapping on the screen once.
- Seek bar: Slide it or tap on a certain point in time to navigate different positions of a video.
- Subtitle Button: Choose a Subtitle track (included with the video). Also allows downloading of subtitles, delaying it or selecting a file to use as the on-screen display.
- Play Button: Play or pause the media.
- Aspect Ratio: Change the aspect ratio-Best fit, Fit screen, Fill, 16:9, 4:3, and Center.
- More Options … to access these additional options
- Lock: Lock the screen to play the video without any mistake on screen touch interference.
- Sleep timer: Set a desired time for the app to go to sleep mode (stop playing the playlist).
- Playback speed: Speed up to 4x or go as slow as 0.25x.
- Jump to Time: Navigate to a specific scene in the video by inputting the hour/minute/seconds.
- Equalizer: Access the inbuilt equalizer with presets such as dance, full base and treble, headphones.
- Play as audio: Hide the visuals and only play the audio part of a video.
- Pop up player: Make the video pop out so that you can continue navigating the app.
- Repeat mode: Change the repeat mode to off, repeat current media or playlist.
- Video information: Display bit-rate, codec, resolution, frame-rate, and other media information.
- AB repeat: Repeat a specific section of a single and currently open video.
- Save Playlist: Save the current media as a new playlist or add it to a preexisting playlist.
Downloading Subtitles Automatically
If you are watching, let’s say a movie and you want the subtitles for it automatically then you can click the subtitles button on the player interface, and then, tap on the Subtitles text to expand it. Then hit on Download subtitles. It will do the job automatically (if there exists a subtitle for that video).
For the full tutorial see this- Download subtitles automatically on VLC for Android.
Gestures
There are three gestures in total. They are performed when videos are playing.
Brightness: Touch the left side of your screen and drag your finger up and down to increase and decrease the brightness respectively.
Volume: Similar to brightness, touch and drag your finger on the right side of your screen to adjust volume.
Seek: Slide your finger left or right to seek toward that direction when any media file is playing. Forward and rewind your video on the fly.
The Audio Player Interface
The audio player interface is as simple as it gets. Tap on the Audio button on the bottom of the main interface. It will switch to the audio player. Open up an MP3 file and you will know how easy it is to navigate through it using the player. The basic controls of playing/pausing and previous and next tracks are right there in the bottom. Choose to repeat the entire playlist, the current playing track or disable repeating using the bottom right option.
On the top of the audio player, you will find options related to casting, searching and more options. Under more options, you can Resume playback, Sort by Name, Display in list or Display in grid, Show all artists, and Refresh. Then, you will find the tabbed menu under which you can sort and display by Artists, Albums, Tracks, and Genres. MP3 files should have the ID3 tags set up to display correctly under these tabbed lists.
Options for Audio Player
When an audio is playing, you will find an options menu [⋮] on the top-right. Under that, you can set the following options-
- Sleep timer: Shut off the player after a certain time.
- Playback speed: Play the MP3 in between 0.25x to 4x speed.
- Jump to time: Jump to a specific time in an audio file. Useful if you access audio books via VLC.
- Equalizer: Access equalizer to spice up your audio playback.
- A-B repeat: Repeat a section of an audio continuously.
- Save playlist: Save the current playlist into a new or existing list.
Options for a Single Audio (not playlist audio)
If we hit the ⋮ against an audio on the list, these options exist.
- Append: Append it to the end of the playlist.
- Information: File length and size.
- Insert next: Play the track next.
- Add to Playlist: Add it to a new or existing list.
- Set as ringtone: Set it as your device’s call tone.
- Delete: Delete the file from storage.
- Share: Share the file with an external application.
Options for a Single Audio in the playlist
When a playlist is accessed, the options against the audio are slightly different from the ones listed above. They are
- Information: Display file length and size.
- Add to Playlist: Add to a new or existing playlist.
- Set as ringtone: Set it as your phone’s ringtone.
- Remove: Remove it from the playlist (not the device)
- Stop after this track: Stops the playback after completing the current track in the playlist.
- Share: Share the file with external applications.
Other Interfaces
After navigating through the video and audio player interface accessible through the bottom controls, there are three other buttons.
- Browse: Browse your device’s storage. You can access favorite folders or the storage like internal or external memory. It is just like a file browser. Accessing local network is also possible.
- Playlists: Access, sort and delete previously created playlists.
- More: Access the settings, about information of the app. The history and streams are also in this location.
Important Settings
Under More … from the bottom, the ⚙ settings menu is where you can to go if you want to access options to customize your player. Let’s discuss those settings in detail.
Settings – Media Library
- Media Library folders: Under Media Library, you can check all the folders to include when VLC searches for media files. You can tap on a folder to view the subfolders. Check or uncheck folders from the list as per your desire.
- Auto rescan: Leave this option on. It means that the player is always looking for new media files. Once they are detected, they will be added to the player.
Settings – Video
- Background/PiP mode: Choose what happens when your player is in the background as videos are being played. You can choose to stop, play video in the background or use the advanced Picture-in-picture mode.
- Hardware Acceleration: We let the app decide it with the automatic option. You can set it to disabled, decoding acceleration or full acceleration to let the hardware (phone or tablet) do media decoding.
- Video screen orientation: It basically is the option to orient your screen (landscape or portrait). You can lock them, choose a single orientation or let the sensor decide with the automatic option selected.
Settings – History
Playback history: Set this option on to keep your media playing history. Uncheck to disable logging of what you played.
Settings – Extra settings > Interface
- Day/Night mode: A dark theme for low-light situations and power saving.
- Android TV interface: Make the user interface more like Android TV.
- Set locale: Choose a locale.
- Single line list title ellipsize: Align the title left, right, middle or set is as marquee.
Settings – Extra settings > Interface – Video
- Show seen video marker: Check it to market videos if they have been watched till the end.
- Video playlist mode: Turn in on to play all the videos.
- Video thumbnails: Show or hide video thumbnails in the lists.
Settings – Extra settings > Interface – Audio
- Blurred cover background: Have a blurred background of the cover of the audio file in the player.
- Show last playlist tip: Resume the last played audio with this tip.
- Media cover on Lockscreen: Show the media cover when the phone is locked with VLC playing the audio.
Settings – Extra settings > Video
- Save audio delay: Remember the audio delay for individual videos.
- Save brightness level: Keep the brightness level for each videos.
- Save Playback Speed: Recall the playback speed for single videos.
- Fast Seek: Quickly but not so accurately seek in a playing media.
- Video transition: Display the title for transition.
- Use custom Picture-in-Picture popup: A resizable popup will be activated for videos.
- Resume played videos: Continue the last played video.
Settings – Extra settings > Video – Controls
- Audio boost: Boost the volume up to 200%. Might not be friendly for your speakers.
- Volume gesture: Enable up and down dragging to increase and decrease the volume.
- Brightness gesture: Enable the gestures to help you dim or lighten your phone.
- Double tap to seek: If you double tap on the screen, your video will be forwarded by 10 seconds.
- Seek buttons: You will have the rewind and forward buttons on the video player.
- Video player controls hiding delay: Set the time after which the on-screen controls disappears
Settings – Extra settings > Video – Secondary display
- Prefer Clone: Clone the device screen instead of displaying a remote control.
Settings – Extra settings > Subtitles
Formatting options for subtitles and on-screen text.
- Autoload subtitles: Search the internet for the movies’ subtitles to be loaded automatically.
- Subtitle Size: Choose between small, normal, big and huge.
- Subtitles Color: Choose White, Gray, Pink, Blue, Yellow or Green as your subtitle color.
- Subtitle Background: Display a background behind your subtitle text so that they are easily legible.
- Bold Subtitle: Make them stand out.
- Subtitle text encoding: Choose an encoding like UTF-8.
Settings – Extra settings > Audio
- Resume playback after a call: Pause the media and resume after a called is picked up and dropped.
- Save Playback Speed: Remember the speed of playback.
- Stop on application swipe: Stops audio or video playback when VLC app is swiped and closed. Otherwise, it would play in the background and controls will be there in the notification bar.
- Digital audio output (passthrough): Disable or enable the audio digital output.
Settings – Extra settings > Audio – Headset
- Detect headset: Know when the headset is connected/disconnected.
- Resume on headset insertion: When a headset is removed pause the file. When it is inserted back, resume the media playback.
Settings – Extra settings > Audio – Advanced
- Audio output: Choose between AudioTrack and OpenSL ES.
Settings – Extra settings > Casting
- Wireless casting: Enable or disable wireless casting with the slider.
- Audio Passthrough: Give the control of audio rendering to your TV.
- Conversion quality: Choose between lowest, low, medium and high for the quality that is cast.
Settings – Extra settings > Advanced
- Network caching value: Enter the value in milliseconds for the amount of song that is downloaded so that you don’t have to wait for it to buffer.
- Prefer SMB 1: A fix to error in browsing SMB servers.
- Dump media database: Copy the database of your media to the internal storage.
- Clear media database: Go to the Android options for the player from where you can clear cache and data that the app uses.
- Clear playback history: Remove everything from your playback history.
- Quit and restart application: Restart VLC.
Settings – Extra settings > Advanced – Performance
- Time-stretching audio: Changing the speed won’t impact the voice pitch in audio. It works great with devices having powerful processors.
- OpenGL ES2 usage: Use or disable OpenGL.
- Force video chroma: Select between RGB 32 or 16-bit, and YUV.
- Deblocking filter settings: Choose filters like automatic, full deblocking, medium deblocking, low deblocking, and no deblocking.
- Frame skip: Skip frames if decoding is slow.
Settings – Extra settings > Advanced – Developer
- Verbose: Increase the logcat verbosity.
- Debug logs: Start the logs to view errors and debugging messages.
- Custom libVLC options: Core vlc engine.
Final Words
As you can see through the explanations above how powerful the player is and the options it has to give you full control. From playing files of any format to gestures to changing how the player behaves, VLC has an option for it. A normal user might not require them but it’s good to know that so many features are configurable.
For normal users, just downloading/installing the app, and using it to play every file that there is, is more than enough. We’re hoping you find this VLC guide for Android useful.
I can’t find the controls for changing the audio track and most other controls. Where are they?
I have many m3u8 links for streaming. VLC Windows streams those video channels without problems. VLC Android does not recognize these m3u8 streaming links.
1. Installed VLC onto my Sony/Android smart TV. 2) Went to “local network” and found/scanned my desktop PC and found all my videos. 3) Went to “local network” and found/scanned my laptop and found nothing (no media files found, …transfer files…or adjust preferences -WHERE IS PREFERENCES?). The video files on the PC & laptop are both located in the same spot/desktop. HOW DO I LOAD/FIND MY LAPTOP FILES? Thank you!
Samsung Note 10+. I can’t find where to make VLC the default video player. All the tutorials I have found show a “default app” menu that my phone doesn’t have/show.
How do I get to the Main Screen (File Manager view) in Android? This manual page does not describe my version of VLC (downloaded a month or two ago). I can access a view with the top row showing “Artists, Albums, Tracks & Genres” and from there I can pull up from the bottom a display of the tracks on the current album and a fake sound bar next the current song. I get a third view when coming out of screen saver about the currently playing song.
Is it so that the only way to make VLC player (Arduino) to Stop playing a track I accidentally selected is to close the VLC application? I picked a track by browsing SD card via VLC. The play list is empty and all I can find to control playing of the track is “Pause” or “play”, no “STOP”. I wish I could change track without closing the VLC application…
Xiaomi Redmi Note 10, Android 11. mp3 file seems to be playing, but no audio. Outside the vlc media player, an advertisement can suddenly play both video and audio; so no problem with phone’s speaker. What to do to get VLC for android playing the audio on the phone’s speaker?
Really a wonderful Guide for *denovo* user of Media Player App. It has enabled me to use VLC app to some extent on my phone.
Thanks a lot.
is it possible to access the video select menu when playing a video on an external display instead of just the play button and scrubber?
I recently bought a new phone and xferred vlc. However a lot of albums although say extra permissions needed for Android 11. Please let me know how I obtain permissions and how I can get vlc running as it does on my old phone which shows both tracks and albums. Both are Samsung. Thank you
Thanks so much for this awesome app. Question: How can I change the position in the video in seconds or percentage where VLC should capture thumbnails? Currently VLC generates thumbnails at the start of a video. Most videos at that point are blank, so VLC captures a dark frame for most videos I have. Would be nice to change that to somewhere in the middle of the video or around 25% in.
when play cctv in vlc on tab browse in android i see this message error :tap on player controls below to discover what they are used file please help me
Every time that I create a playlist and add music, after several days/weeks, the songs seem to be deleted from the playlist. The playlist file seems to exist but the music is gone.
is there a way to make android vlc to treat audio files like video files e.g. not play in the background, allow to adjust speed and other thing that Windows version has no problems with.
Using VLC on Android TV for some days, and autoplay is off even grouping media under a playlist. After one file has come to its end, it doesn’t automatically play the next one, but stays frozen until one manually goes to the next file. Is there anyway to solve this?
Thanks.
how can I access the video seek bar in VLC version for Fire
Gestures don’t work for playing audio files.. I would like to seek a few seconds back and forth like I can do with videos. I typically browse files over folders and open from there. Any way to enable it?
I’m trying to find out how to allow VLC (android) to delete files from my SD card. There was a popup explaining an in-depth process, and when I came back to the app after doing a few steps the popup was gone. I’ve been trying to find out the process online but no one seems to know where to find this info. It is a feature that will save me countless hours of switching back and forth and refreshing multiple apps. Thank you in advance!
I play my music from folders rather than playlists. When I use browse, it very occasionally drives down to the file level, more often won’t go past the parent level (SD card or internal). Is this a bug or a feature?
I was trying to download the mirror packet option for my Android phone. Would rather not use play store for downloads. When i download any of them. My phone says it “can’t open file” What can i do?
I’m not sure if I’m over looking the option but I can’t seem to find a setting that allows you to start audio/video from the beginning of the “stream” when one is saved to a playlist. It seems like every time I start the playlist, I need to go into the app and manually skim the progression bar back to the start.
Why isn’t there a “rename” tab within the Vlc app (apk) i can’t figure out as to which episode of a downloaded series is to be watched next.
Is it possible to download with this app???
Yes, you can download and install it from the Play Store.
The op means can you use vlc to ‘download’ media.
When accidentaly press the bluetooth button even when the phone is locked, VLC android phone app starts playing VLC history even without VLC app open but it opens a mini player in the notifications drop down tab on my phones home screen and I can’t dissmiss nor pause it there, so I open VLC app and press stop it, then I dissmiss VLC app and the notifications drop down tab of VLC’s mini player after that. It’s updated and I even cleared the cache in it’s settings and bootup options menus ‘clear app cache’ and ‘repair apps’ but it still happens. I don’t want anything play if I accidentaly press my bluetooth when VLC is closed, but I still want to keep media history.
I have the VLC Player downloaded on the firestick. For some reason when i am streaming VLC automatically exits full screen. How can I fix this?
Hi guys! Does anyone here know if one can record passages of the video playing (very much like one can in the VLC for Windows). In other words “cut” and “edit” a video one has recorded on the mobile (Android)? That is the question!
I’m trying to autoplay videos from an OTG device. I can get it to autoplay from the first video if I press the orange play button at the bottom, but that doesn’t work if I want to keep autoplay going if I try an start from any other video in the folder. This only happens with an OTG device as the normal storage gives me a “play all” option from the 3 dot menu at the side of every file. Is there any way to do autoplay from any file using an OTG device?
So I’m using Android 10 and trying to play video files from an OTG device. I can get the next video to autoplay after one ends if I start from the first video file, but unlike if playing from the devices memory or an SD Card, I can’t make it autoplay if I start from the middle of a bunch of videos. I’ve even turned on Video Playlist Mode in the settings. OTG files get NONE of the extra sidebar options (those 3 dots next to each file) that the other storage devices get like “Play All”, “Append”, and “Add to Playlist”.
Is there a way to fix this or are OTG devices just never gonna get good support? If not, I’m going to try and look for a different video player that does give good support to OTG.
Is there any recording feature or recording button in the android version like in the dekstop version of vlc?
If no, i really wish you add it in future update cause that feature is very helpful compare to screen recording software, please consider this
I have just purchased a Samsung s6 lite tab. I installed VLC , my local network appeared but when I add videos to play list the original title turns into a number so then I have no idea what it is can I change this also how do I download videos to the download box to watch off line. The VLC for app,e has better functionality than the one for android
How to add an external audio track to any video present in my internal storage which i downloaded separately???
In using Vlc player on android 9 (Nokia 6) phone, how can I stop a/v playback pausing everytime there is some movement?
What I would like to see as an upgrade is the ability to choose “no gap between tracks” for audio files. I don’t want a pause when I am listening to a “Live” album between tracks. It should be a smooth transition to the next track. And YES, there should be an “OFF” button that stops the app entirely.
When my phone connects to the bluetooth in my car, vlc automatically starts playing. Is there any way to prevent this?
My phone’s battery manager gives me a warning that vlc is using battery even when I’m not playing something. There is no exit capability within the app and once launched apparently it continually runs in the background unless you go into your phone settings (manage apps) and force it to stop! Even the basic “close all” function on the phone does not do it.
A zoom function should be amazing!
Any chance VLC android to support 360 vids? The only Android app correctly displaying 360 vid is MXVR, but lacks features of VLC in replay.
Once streaming how can I go onto other apps and keep back playing in background without Vlc shutting done it used to work for me now I must stay with Vcl app opened, I used to be able to play my games while it was streams galaxy tablet
I have a similar problem – VLC used to continue playing in background after screen timeout, now VLC (3.3.4) stops as soon as the screen timeout. I have tried all the usual things Android settings/Apps/VLC/Battery/”Allow background activity”, VLC Settings/Video/”Play videos in background” Had a similar problem with my Podcast player (Dogcatcher), couldn’t solve it so changed to PocketCast. So I’ll have to look at the alternative to VLC
Why not add a method to sort videos and playlists by date modified or date created? Almost every other player has this feature
This is also my request. The ability to sort by modified date is crucial for my use. Thanks.
Why does VLC player for Android insist on creating multiple empty playlist folders? I delete these folders only for them to reappear. This is only happening with my Samsung A51 but not my old Samsung smartphone. I’m finding this very annoying and I’m about ready to uninstall the app for the fifth time.
I’ve found a shortcut where if I hold down the center button, repeat mode toggles between none and one. Is there a full list of such shortcuts? There are a few things that would be easier if they had something like this for them.
When entering “New stream” it seems that the app can only store one stream.
I have one entered and can click on that and listen to the stream (shoutcast) but when I try and add a new stream it plays but does not show up as a possible selection under the Streams area.
It I delete the stored stream I can add the stream but then I only have the one stream to choose from.
Found a work around. While playing the stream you can save it as a playlist. You don’t get any fancy graphic or anything but at least you can store more than 1 stream.
Seems like when you save multiple streams as separate playlists, they overwrite each other.
After updating my samsung 10+ , VLC stopped playing mp3 files sent via whatsapp from within whatsspp.
This is very annoying. The app does not even give any feedback. Uninstalled VLC 6× but no success.
samsung music does but it’ s very limited interface.
Hi,
When I add song to a playlist, the behavior is different when file is local or from a dlna server :
when file is from Dlna server, only the filename is displayed.I would like the Title / Artist (from MP3 Tag)
Is this possible ?
I’ve installed VLC on Android, added a stream (radio), it is playing, all good. But it is not possible to stop playing or quit VLC – there is no button to close VLC and button pause not working. If I go back “home” it still playing in the background. All I can do is to stop playing a stream! I don’t understand why there is no close or quit button?
I’ve installed VLC on Android 9 Pie, added a stream (radio), it is playing, all good. But it is not possible to quit VLC – there is no button to close VLC. If I go back “home” it stay playing in the background. All I can do is to stop playing a stream. Why there is no close or quit button?
Why does vlc save videos I watch on other apps(whatsapp status)
How do you reverse stereo (swap left to right) with vlc?
Hey there
How can I export videos out from VLC on a Samsung app? I can’t work it out sorry
VLC for Android is not for exporting videos.
I’ve installed VLC on Android 9 Pie, added a stream (radio), it is playing, all good. But it is not possible to quit VLC – there is no button to close VLC. If I go back “home” it stay playing in the background. All I can do is to stop playing a stream. Why there is no close or quit button?
I just installed VLC on a new Sony Android TV to play audio CDs I have put on an external hdd and would like to know how you configure VLC to play all songs in a folder? At this time it plays one song then stops.
Also, is there a way to just have it go onto the next folder?
All songs from a CD are placed in individual folders at this time.
I have the same question.
Get your song ‘Full Screen’ then click on the icon at bottom right until you see the two white arrows going in opposite direction. Make sure you highlight that. To play music at random, click on the crossed arrows at left to highlight that icon. To go back to single play, click at right until you see the number 1 in a box and click arrows at left to de-highlight. Good luck.
what a surprise. It did not work. i
Jrp1223a am not sure why this cannot be simplified to the extent that it is for example on a desktop where you click on an option that says play folder
I expected to be able to record audio using VLC on Android,nothing fancy just song ideas on guitar. I use VLC on Windows for this function all the time.
Okay,,,great app first of all,,,we all know that the window’s(laptops)VLC has a video resolution enhancer,,and for free, no trials,it can pretty much make your usual 360p video change into a beautiful 1080p or even higher,,,so idk man i mean cmon,,why isnt that kind of setting included in the android VLC? U know ive pretty much let it slide that developers dont acknowledge android so much,,but for this,,,,this!!!!a good video resolution enhancer???bra everyone wants that,,,,,,,so please,,,please,,, just help me understand why it isnt there
How do you get back to the drop down menu that gives you the options to delete audio history that is on the left side of app when opened somehow cannot find it anymore?
Hello, how can I add a group of files or folders to a playlist? So far I could find only how to add files one by one, which is crazy if I have hundreds of files… Something like we have in Windows, using CTRL+A, Shift and CTRL keys. Thank yoy!
I’m trying to transfer files between my iOS devices (iPod, iPad, iPhone) to VLC on an Android device (it’s a Samsung A71, my first phone since I sold my old one to someone in my family). In iOS VLC, there’s an option to transfer via file sharing, but I can’t get the Android version to connect to the iOS version, even if I put in the link it gives in the iOS version. Any help in transfering the files without requiring the use of a PC would be appreciated.
Airdrop only works for Apple devices so it won’t support Android. You can either use the cloud like Dropbox, or email them to yourself, or use an app like Send Anywhere (File Transfer) which is available for both Android and iOS.
Except I’m not using “Airdrop”. I’m using the system built in to iOS’ version of VLC. The one where you push a button to turn on network sharing. For airdrop, you need to have bluetooth on, for the built in VLC sharing, you don’t. Still, that may help… if all the files go to VLC, which I have a feeling they won’t.
I want to change the vlc video resolution in other to save internet data but I am unable to.
Do we have the shortcuts and hotkeys of VLC for Android?
Playing Operations
SPACE : Play and Pause a file
N : Next Track
P : Previous Track
Quick Forward and Backward
SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW : 3 seconds forward
SHIFT + LEFT ARROW : 3 seconds backward
ALT + RIGHT ARROW : 10 seconds forward
ALT + LEFT ARROW : 10 seconds backward
Do these functions working on VLC for Android?
Thanks in advance
I have tried several remotes through an OTG connection, but all failed.
VLC Android doesn’t have shortcuts like VLC desktop. We can use gestures to somewhat control some features like brightness, seek in the currently playing video and changing the volume. However, we don’t have gestures to do precisely what you are asking for.
I need to use a multimedia remote to control the playback. However, it seems that no one is working after i have tried several wireless USB remotes. Could you please let me know what is the key which I need to send to the VLC for Android, so it can Play and Pause a file?
Which key can do 3 seconds backward?
Can some one please tell me what keys can be used for Quick Forward and Backward/Quick Forward and Backward to manipulative the VLC for Android by a USB keyboard or a remote?
If you can show me the whole operation key table (mapping), it is appreciated.
Thanks.
I’m sorry, I couldn’t find any keyboard shortcuts for VLC for Android or VLC for Android TV.
By the way, do you know when we click/touch on the <3 button, what key is sent to the VLC for Android to process in the background?
Is it LEFT, SHIFT LEFT or ALT LEFT?
Do we have a table for this kind of key mapping? Thanks.
Could you please provide shortcuts/hotkeys for the app, so that we may use a USB keyboard or a USB remote to play with the a.b repeat feature without focusing on the tiny screen(phone)? It can be a great presentation tool with the shortcuts/hotkeys. Thanks.
hey sweetwater, did you find any solutions? i’ve got some stuff i’ve got to work but i don’t even know if this comment will go thru.
Can i adjust subtitle speed with two buttons, by external keyboard .If not can i expect it in update?
I have VLC 3.2.12 on my Galaxy Note 10+. Mostly, I listen to audio books. They have many chapters. The books are several hours long. As I can’t listen to the whole book, I close out the app. When I reopen the app, I have to hunt for the spot I left. (I put all the files in a playlist). How can I configure the app to remember where I left off? Thanks.
When I play, it automatically played at point stop before. How can I play song at begin ? Thank you. (Sorry for my English)
Anyone know how to remove or change the large orange button on the bottom left of the screen? Mine will only display the crossed arrows meaning select random track, and I can’t change it or move it. I hit it by accident while selecting tracks all the time. I thought it was able to be set to random, replay, next track, etc. Also no matter what I do if I select a track when it’s over vlc just stops playing anything it won’t play the next track in line. Any help would be appreciated.
I have several groups that have albums titled “Greatest Hits”. Some of these show up in the artists listing of albums. Many of them are not listed for the artist but are grouped under an artist listing for various artists as an album called greatest hits will all of them mixed together. Even though the album name may be the same, the correct and only artist is listed for the individual songs. Why are some listed with the actual artists and others not? How can this be corrected?
Hello, I installed VLC on my Android tablet. I have a computer on my network with a DVD reader.
My goal is to be able to run the DVD video content from my tablet.
I can well access to the network directory trough VLC, and see the VIDEO_TS folder, including all files.
But, I Don’t know how to run those.
On the desktop VLC program, we need to do “open folder…”. Is this option also existing for the VLC Android App?
Thank you very much,
Click on Menu > Local Network to access shared files on your home network.
Why can’t anyone give me the URL for vlc? I simply want it on my filelinked page
Something like this -> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videolan.vlc
Hello,
Thank you very much for your answer.
I can indeed reach my shared DVD device as you suggested. I can see the content of my Dvd. However, I have Audio_ts and Video_ts folders here. I don’t know how to run them to watch the movie.
Thank you again,
How can I enable VLC media player control bar on my Google pixel 2 notification bar? It’s not showing in notification panel and I cannot find any option to enable it…..
You might have disabled the notification privilege that VLC had. To enable it go to Android’s Settings > Notifications > VLC and check whether the Allow notifications slider is enabled.
Mine has the same problem whereas i have enabled notifications in the settings.. please help..
Can I convert wav and wma to mp3 using the Android version of VLC?
The Android version cannot do file conversions.
Is there a way to adjust the volume of a stream without having to mess with the equalizer?
Change your mobile volume, maybe?
I’ve a question about this videoplayer. I use this app on a android tv player in a store for place marketing stuff. When I turned off the tv, de video that was played will automatically on pause. How can I fix it that when I turned off the tv that the video doesn’t go on pause?
VLC on Android. Stream video from an IP camera using . Works the first time. But won’t work after that when started from either playlist or history; have to enter the whole address again. Different IP camera works fine every time, . Bug?
the “stream” command on the “hamburger” menu doesn’t seem to have a specific “rtmp:” command to stream to an RTMP server on your PC….it just lists “http://”….dunno if i can stream a live stream a 1080p video across an ad hoc wireless localhost connection to my laptop which has an rtmp server set up on it ( i’m using the built in rtmp server in the nginx app for Windows 10 )
How to use custom libVLC options? Can’t seem to find anything about it, I’ve used mpv tho, I know about mpv commands, but can’t figure out about custom libVLC options.
I would like to know that too!
I play MP3’s with album art embedded in each file. WiIl VLC for Android display the art instead of the “road cone” logo (which is all I ever see)?
my question as well. Also, can i get rid of the “road cone” from my lockscreen under all circumstances.
It should be in the audio settings. “Look for Media cover on Lockscreen: Display the media art on the lock screen when an audio track is playing.” under “Settings – Extra settings > Audio” but it was not on my LG Sp320 (x-charge)
*Look for “Media cover….”
Hi. I’m using VLC Android on my phone, essentially as an iPod, playing songs on random. I’ve seen a number of mentions of normalizing the playback volume on the PC versions. Is there any way to do that with the Android/mobile version?
How do I share the videos I have on VLC either via whatsapp or transferring it from my phone to PC? I have a lot of videos that I have taken and I would like to store them elsewhere, besides just on my phone. Please help
Use a file browser to upload them to cloud services like Dropbox.
How can I download a m3u file on this VLC version? I have it installed in my Android Player.
As far as I know, M3U doesn’t work on VLC.
Can you PLEASE, I beg you, put a guide to what the icons mean in vlx for Android. There are three icons in the audio playing portion of of this app the indicate some level of replaying or looping or something. But no where in the instruxtions does it say what each one means. Please tell us!
Oh, you mean the looping option.
whenever i play an mkv video on my tv on vlc it freezes but keeps playing audio, any fix for that?
May be convert it to a different format?
How do I convert mkv files to mp4 using VCL for Android app?
You can’t convert videos using VLC for Android.
Can I play a VTS folder like I can with VLC in Win 10? In Win 10 I right click the VTS and can play the folder. I want to do that with the app
try dragging it to the app?
I am using VLC with an Android TV box, I am not sure I can do that, but I’ll try!
Local Network: I’d like to stop the access I’ve once given to shared folders on my local network. How do I erase the info regarding server address, username, folder path and port that VLC seems to have saved somewhere? Thanks!
The only solution I can think of is clearing the cache or even data which is like reinstalling VLC all over again.
Hello, I am using VLC android in Nvidia Shield tv pro 2019. The file browser inside VLC shows icon mode with file names truncated. How can I get VLC to display files in details mode with the full file name?
I do not think that there is an option to do it.
Hi, is this still the case? I am experiencing the same issue where the file names are truncated. Any plan to allow an option to have the folders and files in list view so it can show the full folder/file name?
Are the video effects such as ‘mirror’ that are available on the desktop version of VLC also available on the android version? If not, are there any plans to add them? That would be excellent!
They are not available on the Android version.
I just install VLC. I downloaded many music folders with mp3 files. Under directory, when I select a folder and click on a track, I want it to continue playing until the end of the folder. I don’t see where this can be setup. I don’t want to use playlists which would be way too much work since I have 1000s of files.
I forgot to mention the folders have many files so where ever I start, I want to list to all the tracks that follow.
Sorry, I meant, I want to listen to all the tracks that follow.
Yeah, it seems that playlists are the only way right now.
Is it possible to get the anaglyphic 3d option on VLC for android? I just installed it on a box that works under android that is connected to my HD projector. VLC is working fine but I couldn’t find the option for 3D settings.
Cheers
Will VLC read and display Metadata embedded within the MP4 video file? I have not seen this question asked.
Yes, it should.
Hi I have 3 IP cameras which I would to like to view using vlc player. Is it possible to run 3 instances of vlc on android so that I can view all the 3 cameras simultaneously.
Try third-party apps like “Parallel Space” in Android that allows you to run multiple instances of apps in Android.
hi, can i use vlc stream (android version) to listen or show a video/song on vlc pc version ? if yes please show me how. thank you.
You can try the Stream option from the Menu.
When playing a mp3 streaming radio station, is there a way to see the metadata (artist and song title)? I know this station sends this data. It works in Winamp, XiiaLive, etc.
Hi, have an issue during playback, file plays, but jump to time is not working, left/right tap fro move 10 second does not work, movie time show 0:00.
Does it happen on all the video files or just this one?
With the all, currently somehow start working.
Can skins work with vlc android?
Not right now
When I use VLC on my iphone they have an option where I can have a personalized link so that I can transfer files from my computer to my iphone. I’m not sure where it’s located when I used my andriod. Please help
I don’t think you’d need that with Android. Android doesn’t require special apps to transfer files. You can just browse the folders once you connect it with your computer.
Would be great to have a bluetooth auto play feature, similar to the exsiting one for the headsets.
Playback start when bluetooth connect, stop when disconnect. Perfect for in car audio.
Thanks!
From the Menu Settings > Audio you can check Resume on headset insertion option.
Actually, I’m trying to figure out how to stop that from happening. Every time my Android phone connects to my care via Bluetooth, the VLC audio player begins. I do not want that to happen automatically. Any pearls of wisdom on how to stop that auto-start upon Bluetooth connect?
I am having trouble with VLC playing back files recorded on my dashcams. The sound ‘pulses’ constantly. It doesn’t do this with any of my other videos. Other video players I’ve tried play them with normal sound..
Please disregard. I have given up on VLC and deleted it.
What do you use? I’m having problems saving or sending pictures and images via Android with the VCL app.
VLC Android player for Samsung phone. How do I stop it playing continuous video files? I want it to stop at the end of any current video file being played.
Turn off the repeat button on the right of the controls in the Audio player.
Is there an Option to display more than 1 video track? Videos are identified as having, for example, 2 tracks, yet there seems to be no selectable option to view both. It works on a PC, where the video track can be selected in the video pull-down menu.
Thanks in advance.
I want to have the Android time and perhaps the battery level info on the top all the time while using the VLC media player on my Pixel XL with Android OS 9. Also, I would like to have the media interface (like time stamp, other controls) show permanently rather than having to touch the screen every time. I looked around a number of times and also my phone to see if I can do them but no luck.
Thank you
So, you’re telling me that VLC goes full screen? It is normal when videos are played.
How (on the android version) do you get it to simply play an album in track order rather than the loony alphabetical order it keeps defaulting to!!
Unless you manually tap and drag the songs around in the album playback screen (not the original album listing screen), there is no way to automatically sort songs by track number in the app.
Hi. Can I add album art to the VLC Android app directly? Sometimes it has discovered an audiobook’s cover, but not for most though they each have their covers in similarly placed folders?
VLC will only grab it through the metatags or ID3 of the audio files.
You can get VLC to play audio files stored on your device by renaming the files, adding a track number just after the artist name.
EXAMPLE:
Marvin Gaye 1 – What’s Going On
Marvin Gaye 2 – What’s Happening Brother
Marvin Gaye 3 – Flyin’ High (In The Friendly Sky)
As far as I know all players play files in alphabetical order by default so this works with all players. You can also group files by genre by adding a category at the beginning of each file name. Below are the eight categories I use.
EXAMPLE:
Dance – T-Pain – I’m Sprung
Easy Listening – Vanessa Williams – Save The Best For Last
Funk – Rick James – Cold Blooded
Hip Hop, Rap – Nas – Nasty (Live)
Jazz, New Age – Najee – Can’t Hide Love
Motown, Old School – Marvin Gaye 1 – What’s Going On
R&B, Soul – Earth Wind & Fire – That’s The Way Of The World (Live)
Rock, Pop – Peter Frampton – Baby I Love Your Way (Live)
Give it a try, works great for me in all players including car in-dash units.
Vince McCoy
How do you send videos to whatsapp from vlc
Well, I do not think that VLC has the share feature. So, we should actually locate the video file in the local or external storage and share it to whatsapp.
We have a tablet we use VLC on to play movies for our children in the car. VLC used to automatically resume playing from where it stopped when we would lock the screen while the video was playing and then come back later and unlock it. Now it requires us to push the play button to resume playback. Not a huge deal when we’re putting the kids in the car, but makes things a little tougher if my wife is trying to resume playback after a nap while we’re driving down the road since the screen isn’t facing us in the front seat.
Also, with the playlist mode it used to start at the beginning of the next file rather than where the video last left off. Now, if the kids finish one movie but were half way through the next it throws them into the middle of it. It’s nice to be able to resume where they left off if we’re choosing the file directly, but in playlist mode we’d rather it start the next file at the beginning. We’ve also noticed several times where the current video doesn’t actually finish before the next one starts.
Do you know any way to get VLC for Android functioning like it used to? So far I haven’t been able to find any settings that make it work like it used to for us. Thank you!
I do not think so. I checked it and the changes that you mentioned is there. But there’s no way to revert it through the settings.
I just downloaded VLC on my Lenovo Chromebook. Is there a way to make new folders? I do not want all my videos showing up right away when the Videos tab is opened. Can I make a new folder in VLC and hide some away?
Go to ☰ > Settings > Extra Settings – Videos > Group videos. You will find the options there. Full information in this post.
Recent upgrade to v3.1.6 is causing me a problem. When I listen to podcasts I often want to skip a section. I have been doing this using the progress bar at the bottom of the screen. I turn to landscape mode to get a longer bar and therefore a finer resolution on where I wind up after tapping it. Version 3.1.6 has decided to put the playlist on half the screen in landscape mode, shortening the progress bar. I have hunted a lot but can not find a way to turn off this playlist. Can it be done? If not, could it be added to a future rev?
Yes, I see that the playlist covers the right half of the screen. I too cannot find any option to hide it.
Same, is very annoying. Can’t tap anywhere to +/-10s either
Hello, Please help, How can I change the setting that the VLC automatically launch and playing music when bluetooth device connecting to my phone? I can’t find it in the settings… Thanks!
Go to ☰ > Settings > Audio > Headset and uncheck Detect Headset and Resume on headset insertion
The menu options imply there is casting options, but I can find a way to get it connected to my smart TV. Anyone know how to do this?
Hello,
I cant get VLC to find video files when it auto scans.Also, media art does not match audio file for either book or album.
Thank you
VLC is not playing nicely with my Chromecast Audio renderer. When I select a webradio stream from a VLC playlist and direct it to Chromecast Audio (“music speaker”) it connects with a success tone, but there’s no music and sometimes VLC says the stream “cannot be played”. Yet when I disconnect the renderer the stream starts playing on my phone. One time a stream did play with Chromecast but it took about 30 seconds and I wasn’t able to connect again. The Chromecast info display/volume control does not indicate by name that VLC is connected like it does for Spotify and other apps that work flawlessly in my setup.
I’d love to get VLC to work because it’s the only Android app I’ve found that displays song titles and artists in a webradio stream. Thanks for any and all help.
Hmmm.
Seems something has changed in a newer update.
I use VLC on my phone to play music videos, and I used to be able to shuffle them, but now when I open the menu with equalpize/repeat/shuffle etc, and I tap shuffle, it just removes the crossed arrows and doesnt highligth them in yellow to indicate it is on.
Bit annoying at least for me.
Hey John, I’ve been trying to figure out where in VLC one goes to get it to shuffle randomly through a folder of music tracks. Can you explain where that is? I don’t see an option under the hamburger menu or the three dots.
A couple of things I would like to be able to do. (1) Adjust the font size of movie titles in the UI. (2) I have jpeg images for every movie title and would like to display these instead of the generic movie folder.
is there a way to turn off the seeking time when you fast forward the movie? for example when i fast forward the movie to like 1:20 then on the middle of the screen it says 1:20 in a rectangular box. is there a way to fast forward or rewind without that rectangular box that shows how much i have rewinded or fast forwarded?
I can’t seem to find anything in the settings that will turn that Toast message off.
Inside directories, you cannot play *.VOB as VLC states the directory is empty.
You can play these from the video menu, but not the directory menu.
The issue here is in the video menu, the VOB are all grouped in the video grouping.
And as all Vobs are the same file name they are hard to find.
This could be fixed, if they were found in the directory section under there folder name.
Or if we had the play DVD option same as windows desktop.
VLC for Android plays a short static burst at the start of opening some mkv files and will hitch before playing it. Reproduced on 3 devices; a nvidia shield (Android 7), nokia 9 (Android Pie) and Samsung Galaxy S5e (Android Pie).
The common denominator seems to be that the files have opus audio tracks, but the files play normally in Windows and on Android using alternative players. Have tried disabling hw acceleration to no effect.
Hi there. I’m using the app on an android ad display. Is there any way to set up a video or piece of media to auto play once the app has started? Basically I need a video or pic to display once the app has kicked in. Thanks
I don’t think so.
album artwork is very low-res (pixely, not blurry) since the last update. If I click the three dots by a track, then “Information”, it displays the album art fine. And album art displays on the lock screen fine too. Just within the folder, it’s pixely?!
Does it happen for all the album arts or for just a handful of albums?
Is there some way to stop VLC from trying to generate thumbnails for videos while browsing for files?
Everything was fine in the last version (3.0.6?) but the new version (3.1.0) generates thumbnails regardless of what settings I try to change. I already tried putting blank files named “.nomedia” and “.thumbnails” in my media directories.
My Android App just upgraded to 3.1.1. The 3-dot menu no longer has the access to the EQ settings and I can’t find them anywhere. Is this a bug? I have been using VLC for years and really like the EQ.
The equalizer is still there for the audio and video player. In the audio player, use the three vertical dots option that is available on the absolute top-right in the expanded audio player interface. For the video player interface, use the three horizontal dots in the player’s interface near the bottom.
Thanks for replying.
I see only one 3-dot menu in the upper right of the audio interface (Hamburger->Audio). When I select it, I get “Last Playlist”, “Sort By”, and “Refresh”, but there is no Equalizer like there used to be.
I have a Moto G5 Plus running Android 8.1.0.
For me, I open up a song and then drag the entire player from the bottom of the screen. Then there are two of those three dots options button on the top-right area. Use the one that is on the absolute top-right. Screenshot below:
Hi … thanks, that worked! Now, I would say that’s kind of a hidden place for it. I think it belongs under Hamburger -> Audio -> Options where it used to be. At least I can find it again.
If I may, I have a suggestion for the EQ. I use my own EQ curve and have saved the DB values so that I can duplicate them on a dew device.
I find that moving the EQ band sliders up and down within 0.1 DB is difficult. I always overshoot. It would be great if the EQ bands had an up/down arrow with 0.1 db resolution, or if there was a Setting where you could just enter the numbers corresponding to the bands. Just something to think about in new releases.
Also, I REALLY like the new navigation trail when using ‘Directories’ mode. It used to be that there was no way to go up a level without exiting the App.
THANK YOU! I have been banging my head on this one….to the point of looking for other players! Why did they make it so hard to find???
Yep, some things are like that.
Hi, forgive my ignorance but i have vlc for android 3.1.4. I have some videos that i would like to do a bit of editing on but i cannot find the editing controls. Does vlc for android not have any? Thanks in advance…
Yep, Android version of VLC doesn’t have any editing feature.
Can VLC autoplay the last playlist used on startup?
I do not think so.
Yes if using bluetooth or play button on headphones.
How to play random music ?
Get the little menu to appear at the bottom, with the play/pause/forward etc and touch the crossed arrows. // arrows repeats the same song
When i add subtitles to video how do i share the video or get it in my camera roll with the subtitles.. i want to share the video.. please help
If I use VLC Android to listen to audio over bluetooth, the next time my phone connects to the same bluetooth device, VLC auto-launches and starts playing. This happens even if I force quit VLC. The only way I’ve found to prevent this is to use another audio app (eg. Spotify) after using VLC. Is there a way to prohibit this behavior?
I want to record a network stream onto my Samsung 8 phone. Is it possible?
Android’s VLC app doesn’t allow us to record stuff.
Why?
Because it is a multimedia player and not a recorder, not yet.
After you have entered a stream URL, (e.g. http://123 …), how do you save it so you can play that stream again without having to reenter the URL?
I have a Suzuki energy smart tv. I have downloaded the VLC program via the playstore to run videos from either a disc on key or external hard drive. However I am now experiencing the following problem- the movie is running out of sync- meaning the picture, the audio and the subtitles are all running at a different speed. Makes it rather difficult to watch a film. Looking for suggestions/solution to this problem. Thank you.
I recently installed the app and I’m having trouble adjusting to it so I have a few questions. I’m having problems with track list because whenever I hit play all on a song it just goes to the first song on the track list and not the one I actually want to listen to, is there any way to fix that? Also is it possible to have the songs in my playlists be organized alphabetically? And is there a way to look at my recently downloaded files?
i would like to create a large playlist of specific era’s of music. How can i add 30 or more songs to a list at once. Thanks for your help.
You would require an external app to edit your ID3 tags instead.
If they belong to a same album and have the same album tags then you can add multiple songs at once. Otherwise, adding one by one is our only option.
Hi, I have VLC on my Firestick, but it keeps stretching the video. I can change the aspect ratio to 4:3, 16:9 stretch, fit etc, but it aways stretches it! It doesn’t happen with any other app e.g. ES media player, or Kodi. I have checked the settings and there is nothing to stop it stretching the vid/resizing it automatically
I’m having the same issue on my firestick, did you find a solution?
No, no solution has been found. I think I’ll switch to another player
Is there any way to change the size of the video thumbnails, or better still arrange by details, etc. ? or am I just not looking hard enough. ?.
VLC is getting there.
Sorting by date would be simply amazing for my life lol
Is there a way to lock the control buttons? Now they disappear after a few seconds.
It is only possible to lock the screen controls so that nothing happens when you tap on the display.
Hi, how can edit the name of “Unknown Artist” in my audio files? Can’t find an option to do that. Must be possible!!
Your audio files have “Unknown Artist” when they are displayed because the ID3 tags of the MP3 files are not complete. You should find an ID3 tag editor app and input the artist and other details by yourself on those files with missing tags.
Hi VLC, how can I make VLC stop making freaking “Folder” for my MP4 videos … I just want to see them Alphabetically. I have read & read and nothing. I have added the movies to SD Card and I am using it in Samsung Android Tablet. Thanks!
Maybe you can try the grouping methods listed in this post: https://www.vlchelp.com/grouping-listing-video-orientation-android/
Hi I love VLC but I have a slight problem when playing MP3 and audio files where the music stops for a brief second then continues. It does it on my android and pc, can you tell me what I am doing wrong please chris
Is it for all the MP3 files or just a particular song? Also, does this issue come up in the middle of a song or when transitioning between one song to another?
I am using VLC on my Android tab for learning a language which uses MP4 videos. I pause and think then start the video again. After a couple of seconds the Pause menu dissapears automatically. Is there a way to keep the Pause menu visible all the time?
TIA
Glyn
I don’t think that there is an option for that.
Yes, how do we get the VLC Play/Stop/Pause Contols on our Android Screen, when playing Videos on our ChromeCast connected TV ???
(VLC controls simply goes away on the phone during VLC/ChromeCast Video Playback on TV!)
Anyone can help ?
Thx!
How to turn off VLC Media Player? I love this media player but I never discovered the official, proper way to turn the player off completely while it is playing. This is how I do it on my LG G5 with Android 8.0 Oreo:
First, as my three main Android controls are hidden during playback, I swipe up from the bottom of the screen to show them. Next, I press the square ‘Recent Screens’ button and, finally, I press the ‘x’ on the VLC app.
This seems to shut down the media player completely on my phone. If there’s another and better way, I’d love to know it.
When I play a 3D movie using theAndroid version I get two screens. Is there a way to crop one out?
Not in Android. Not yet. Only the desktop’s classic player can do that.
Please add anaglyph with ability to set the depth (to the desktop and Android versions) when VLC playing SBS.
My sorting Options isn’t working, I can only sort it by Name Ascending or Descending, Can sort of by DATE which is Really REALLY helpful for me, and it’s what I want.
How to change User interfase language?
While you can go to Menu > Settings > Interface > Locale to change the language, it doesn’t seem to do anything as of now. But once multi-language support is in full effect, you should be able to use the same option to change VLC for Android’s interface language.
How to download a files from local network to android? The VLC for iphone application has this feature, on the android I can not find it
VLC for Android: Love this player, but how do you turn the darn thing off?
Turn off? Exit the app, perhaps.
What’s the darn thing please
Is it possible to add custom path to USB? I need subtitles and it would be much more convenient to be able to watch videos directly from USB flash drive than copy a video and subtitles to my phone every time I watch sth.
Well, USB and phones. I am not sure how they work. But if you directly connect your USB to your phone using some medium, you may be able to browse to your desired subtitles and media.
Is it possible to copy a video file directly from VLC android to a pen drive via an OTG adapter?
You wouldn’t require VLC android for copying/pasting.
how to display songs by filename and not their meta tags?
You can group them as per your preference. It is explained in this article: https://www.vlchelp.com/grouping-listing-video-orientation-android/
Is there a way to loop a video play on android app? I want to display a video that is a set of images in my store. Thanks
Use the repeat mode that is accessible after you press on the three dots/ellipses. If it is activated a “1” should display in the middle of the arrows and your present video should repeat indefinitely.
Two main issues with playlists:
1. Is it possible to reorder the tracks in a playlist, it seems that they are ordered in the sequence they are added and can’t be moved around.
2. VLC will often lose the contents of the playlist, or will lose all of the tracks I added except those that were added much later.
In setting up Local Network folders, I can’t set a SFTP port with more than 2 digits. I run SSH at home on port 443 (in order to connect to my home from work, through my company’s firewall which is pretty locked down but has 443 open). In VLC Local Network folders, setting up SFTP with standard port 22 works and is saved with the shortcut, port 99 works, but when I enter port 443 the previewed complete server path erases the “:443”. It’s odd – as I type ’44’ the preview shows ‘sftp://[email protected]:44″ but when I enter the 3rd digit ‘3’, the preview erases the ‘:443’ and reverts to simply ‘sftp://[email protected]’ . This is on VLC 3.0.13 on Android 8.0 (Samsung Galaxy S7 on Verizon).
Any thoughts?
I know this is years old, but having just had the same problem and not finding any documented solutions, here’s how I solved it for the benefit of anyone else finding this through Google…
What’s happening is that the server configuration screen in VLC appears to assume that 443 is “the standard” port, and drops it from the sftp:// URL. This would be correct for sftp on port 22, or for https on port 443, but it’s just wrong for sftp on port 443. It’s specifically for port 443, not any other ports, that this happens.
The workaround I found is to ignore the port number entry box, and append a colon and the port to the server name, like this
example.com:443
If you edit the server configuration, you’ll need to add the “:443” to the server again.
How do i navigate the past the menu screen when viewing a dvd iso?
Once the video is open, Press on the second button from the interface and choose the Audio track option. It should allow you to select another audio track if the video has another audio track available it itself. You can’t choose an external audio track though.
Hi feel like I’ve read everything I can and still can’t get the VLC to stream on my Android phone. My big problem in the hamburger drop down on every picture/explanation I have found, there is the “Stream” tab but when I open the app I do not have the same choice of tabs. I have uninstalled and reinstalled. So does anyone know how to add the stream tab or has had similar problem? Any help would be appreciated.
The new updates should help you out.
Why does the Android version of vlc player not have the record facility?
I think it is probably because they developed it as a video/audio player without the media editing features for Android.
how to play video with separated audio file (X0X.mkv with X0X.dts) in VLC android 3.2.12version, would you help me?
How do I get VLC to play audio when the screen is locked/off? Audio plays for 15 seconds and then shuts off. Pressing the power button immediately starts playback. Video is set to playback on the background but that doesn’t seem to have any effect on the audio.
During VLC Cromecast Video PlayBack, I don’t get any “Controls” (Buttons) to e.g. “Pause/Stop/Play” etc. – the actual Movie – Only the (Big / Orange) VLC-Logo is shown on my “Galaxy S7 Edge” Phone Screen playing the movie on my TV!
So it’s a little tricky to manage my VLC Player in this VLC CromeCast PlayBack Situation 🙁
Therefore, what can I possibly do, to get my VLC PlayBack Control.Buttons on the phone-screen during CromeCast Video PlayBack on my TV!?
Pls help – Thanks!
i want help…. my vlc just play the songs which are in sd card .. so how can i change storage path to internal memory
Go to Menu > Settings > Media Library Folders and select your SD card and unselect everything else.
I gather VLC stores playlists in an internal database. How can I backup the database?
Where is the database stored?
Thank you in advance for your help
In /data/data/org.videolan.vlc/app_db/vlc_media.db
Why is there nothing in the ~root internal~/data/ directory except .push_deviceid and a bunch of them that are pre-made but never seen at ~~/Android/data/org.videolan.vlc/lua/playlist/ ?
Has this directory changed somehow? Are these “hidden” hidden files? app_db folder doesnt show up under android/data/org.videolan.vlc
I want to “import” a vlc_media.db i saved before resetting my phone. Thanks for the help
In my phone, the vlc_media.db file is located in root > sdcard. It is basically the root folder where other folders like DCIM and Download exists.
Can I put a playlist from VLC to be a shortcut icon on the home screen of my android phone (OS Oreo 8.1)?
If yes..how to do it?
Ty
I don’t think so. You only can add the player as a widget on the home screen.
I use vlc on Windows daily… But on Android.. can you also save your files with the eq settings? I record the drums and use pro audio software.. but sometimes that little bit extra from vlc compressor and eq on Windows make it just right.. or.. do I have to find a screen recorder and internal audio recorder (they all disappeared??? Even my way studio used to do it. But not anymore???)
It is not possible to edit the audio in VLC for Android. All you have is the equalizer and compressor for playback
i have installed VLC app on my Android Smart TV
when ever i increase the volume the screen appears
So, Is there a way to hide the volume increasing screen?
Thanks
I don’t think so.
The desktop version has in Tools>Preferences? Subtitles and OSD option to stop showing the video title when the video starts to play. Can you please let me know if it is available in the App version too?
I do not think that the same menu layout is available for the app. It has a different way to load up the subtitles.
thanks for the feedback, but we want the title name not to show when the video is played in a loop.It can be disabled in the desktop version through Tools> Preferences> Subtitles and OSD and disable the show title at the start option.
Is this option available on the app version?
Want this too… any solutions yet? Using a projector with android tv and want a loop without the file names showing…
Please…. I want this also!! I am using it to play looped videos in a cosplay prop and it sucks to see the video name come up every time it switches.
Please! I am using VLC on a small Android tablet to loop videos for a cosplay prop and every new video pops up the video title! Just an option to shut that off would totally solve all my issues!
Hey, thanks for the Android port, its an excellent tool. I often use it on my Samsung tablet to Cast content off the local network. Every 30 minutes or so it loses connectivity, either to the Chromecast or the network drive, not clear which. Any idea what can be could be causing this, and what I could do about it? VLC isn’t crashing, although it obviously stops playing the content.
Hi. I have a Samsung phone and I have been able to install VLC with no problem. My wife has just acquired an Huawei phone and when I tried to install VLC via Google Play I kept getting directed to what I think are “clone” versions, it won’t take me to a VideoLAN version.
Help?
Yes and it is because VLC has blacklisted Huwawei phones from installing the app. They are looking for a way around though.
Installed w/o a hitch on my Huwawei Honor 6.
Hello, i would like to reorder my playlist. Some of the tracks i want to move-up. For example when i add a song into the playlist it will go to the bottom of the list. Now i don’t like this. I want to bring it to first.
Yes, I can’t seem to find the option to re-order playlist anywhere. They should come with future upgrades.
I only have 2 videos on my SD card in my Tab A. When I click on a video, VLC tells me I must stop the other video from playing but I don’t have any other videos playing. I get an image from one video and hear audio but it is just airplane noise so not sure which video the sound is coming from. The video is a still shot of the opening scene. I have tried restarting the Tablet to ensure no other videos are running but no luck. I tried powering it off but no difference. As soon as I click one video, it tells me to stop the other video from running…. Any suggestions?
On VLC for Android, I’m trying to figure out how to set an audiobook to “resume audiobook” at the time when I last left off. I can’t seem to figure out how to turn on this setting. Any help is much appreciated!
I should also note that the books that I am listening to are in MP3 format, if that is helpful.
Hello. Any chance of getting visualizations in the Android version?
is it possible to loop a portion of a video on an android device, similar to the looping function on the desktop version?
No.
How does the A-B repeat work?
Let’s say you are in a video at the 10 seconds mark. When you go to the options and click on the A-B repeat option, it will mark the 10-second point as A. Again, let the video play to the 20 seconds mark (or navigate to it directly). Press the same A-B option and you have marked the point B. So, A = 10 seconds and B = 20 seconds point. Now when you let the A-B play, it will repeat from the 10 seconds points in the video to 20 seconds continuously.
Hi!
Can u tell if it is possible to click the image during stream? I need to save it in my phone’s gallery.
Thx
Take a screenshot. Usually, it’s the volume up button and your power button pressed at the same time.
OK. So is it possible to record video in a stream?
I don’t think so.
There is no option for play next and previous in my vlc player . Is it will enable by any setting.
I think, only the audio player has those buttons.
It seems that whenever I play a video file, the repeat mode is enabled by default. I combed through all the settings and there is no way to change this behavior in the VLC Android app. I want the app to return to list of videos after I’m done playing a video, by default, instead of having to disable repeat mode manually every time, which gets tedious after a while. Please help. Using a One plus 3T with all latest app and OS/system updates.
Maybe you can try the “Save repeat mode” option available under Settings > Audio?
Thanks for the reply. I had that option ticked because I like to play my playlists in a loop, but apparently it is also affecting the behavior of videos. You are right, turning it off did turn off auto repeat in videos, but this behavior of audio playlist settings affecting single video playback seems more like a design flaw than a feature. Now I’ll have to restart my playlists manually every time…Oh well…
I urgently need to bookmark some of my audio tracks on Windows then listen to them on Android.
Do you think is it possible?
If not, would you suggest other app?
If you remember the time frame of your audio, you can use the “Jump to time” feature to go to the exact minutes and seconds of your audio tracks.
Thanks but no way, bookmarks can recall, can be saved, attached to a file and jump to all the moments in all files i need to.
No one is willing to implement this simple – compared to other – yet efficient and i think most wanted code to the app?
Is there a way to let the developers know what’s required?
You will find the necessary information here: https://www.videolan.org/contact.html
I listen to audio books all the time, a large book could be in 4 parts, each 12 hours long. Is there any way to set a ‘bookmark’ manually now and then, as I have occasionally pressed something, lost my place, then it is a nightmare to tap through the recording to try to locate where I was up to. Appreciate any help on this. Thanks
In Android, use the “Jump to Time” feature to go to the exact time that you want to (instead of tapping through).
+1
Hi,
I’m using the latest VLC version (3.0.10) on my Android (5.1.1) smartphone (Wiko Rainbow Jam 4G).
Album art as lockscreen doesn’t seem to work. Almost all my albums have art attached (individually tagged to each mp3 file) and it is correctly displayed as the playlist background when my screen is not locked and I’m inside the app.
Tried uninstalling/reinstalling the app, removed all my media files from my SD card and put them back on, didn’t change anything.
On a side note, is there any way to save the playlist files somewhere so as not to lose them when reinstalling (or even updating) the app?
Thanks
Make sure that album art feature is enabled. Go to ☰ > Settings > Extra settings > Audio and check ☑Media cover on lockscreen option.
using a galaxy S4 with S/D card, have the VLC app on the card, but can’t get app to find the music folder. settings, media library folders, have the card selected, but inside, none of the folders are selectable.
See applications in menu titled “Folder”
How to add mp3 that is currently playing into one of my playlist in Android VLC?
When I click 3 dots next to currently playing song, it shows menu that has options: remove, set as ringtone.
I wish there would be 3rd option says Add to playlist.
thanks
Seems like it’s not possible from those three dots. But the one on the top that brings the on screen options, that can be used to create a new playlist. But it’ll create a playlist with all the songs in the current queue. Press the three dots on the top and hit the save icon.
What does enable fast week option do and mean?
Those two buttons that allow you to go a couple of seconds forward or backward.
Why can I NOT remove or rename a playlist in VLC? It makes me want to change apps.
How do you play 3d movies on VLC via android tablet?
What happens when you play it? I don’t think it is built for that.
My version is 3.0.5, Android on Chromebook. Just got the app today. Many features you mention do not show up. The VLC app is missing lots of things. I will keep trying.
Is it support vulkan automatically or openGL ES2 by default?
Hi, Im trying to cast with 5.1 audio, what settings do i need to do this
There isn’t a separate setting for that.
Extra settings -> advanced -> clear media database should ONLY clear media database and should not take us to android app to reset the app in whole.