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Download Online Video Using VLC Media Player

VLC Media player is not only a great tool for saving online audio streams, but its features allow us to even download online videos. Online videos that normally play in browsers can be played with VLC Media Player. Additionally, those playable online videos can also be saved to your personal computer. Not many are aware of this feature.

The process of downloading online video from video hosting sites is quite similar to the process of downloading streaming audio. There are two methods that you can follow for this. They are explained below in detail.

To download online video using VLC Media Player

Method 1

  1. Go to Media > Open Network Stream [CTRL + N]
  2. Enter the web address of your video. For this example we will use the liveleak video available at: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0fd_1384073534
  3. Click on the little arrow right next to the Play button. A drop down will display. From there select the “Stream” option. [ALT + S is the shortcut.]
  4. The Source information will be displayed. Just click on next.
  5. In the Destination Setup step, make sure that the new destination is selected as File. Click on Add.
  6. In the Save file dialog box, click on Browse and navigate to where you want to save the video. Then give your video a name. In this example we will save it as an MP4 file, so the video name for this file is: video.mp4. Click on next to go to the next step.
  7. Make sure that the Activate Transcoding option is checked. In that option select “Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4)”. This ensures that your saved video will be a H.264 video with MP3 audio enclosed in an MP4 container. As usual, hit Next.
  8. In the next option, just click on Stream.
  9. Downloading will start within moments. The seconds (timer) of VLC will begin to increase and the video position in the progress bar will also begin to move.
    You will know that your video has been downloaded once the Video progress bar moves to the end.
    After everything is completed, you will find the full downloaded video in the location that you chose before.

*Note: Remember that most videos are subject to copyright. Download only videos which come with free license.

Method 2

Using this method, you will get the direct link to the video. Then that URL can be used to save the file using your browser or a download manager.

  1. Click on Media > Open Network Stream. [CTRL + N]
  2. Enter the video URL. For example: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0fd_1384073534
  3. Click on the “Play” button.
  4. Once the video begins playing, go to Tools > Codec Information. [CTRL + J]
  5. Select the full URL from “Location” and copy it. [Right Click > Select All (CTRL + A)] and [Right Click > Copy (CTRL+C)]

    You just got the direct link to the video. It is usually long. Example: http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/ll_a_s/2014/Nov/5/LiveLeak-dot-com-31b_1415195099-_1415195102.mp4.h264_270p.mp4?d5e8cc8eccfb6039332f41f6249e92b06c91b4db65f5e99818bdd6934846d8d3345a&ec_rate=230
  6. Open your browser and paste the URL in the address bar.
  7. From the menu of your browser, select “Save page as” or just press CTRL + S.
  8. Give a file name, choose a file location and save it.

*Note: You can also use the URL and download it using your download manager.

View Comments (39)

  • I am trying to stream and record from Fmovies.to and can't get it to work properly. I am thinking that something is preventing the process on the Fmovies.to server/site. Any ideas here? Thanks.

  • I love it and did not know about option #1. Thank you!

    Isn't there a way using either option that you can stop watching the video in the VLC player but still keep the download going once it starts?

    Thanks again!

  • its dont work i uswe windows and its only be black and dont start the video when i click stream or play whats wrong!

    • Open your browser and paste the URL in the address bar.
      Press enter. The video should play.
      From the menu of your browser, select “Save page as” or just press CTRL + S.
      Give a file name, choose a file location and save it.

  • Re "Download Online Video Using VLC Media Player" both Methods 1 & 2: Method 1 -- When I get to step 8 Option Setup and click "stream" it did not stream nor did "seconds" increase, nada, black window with VLC icon only. Same with Method 2, step 3 click on "play" video did not begin to play so couldn't complete the following steps, same black window with VLC icon only. Both methods I followed all the steps to that point exactly as instructed and repeating several times. What could be the problem? Any suggestions? I'm using Windows 8.

  • Works for me. Here's a link to another LiveLeak video which is rather comical: https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=s7UhX_1607303086

    And this is the direct download link taken from the Codec menu in vlc: https://cdn4.liveleak.com/2020/Dec/8/LiveLeak-dot-com-videoplayback5_1607415883.mp4.5fcf3860ab92e.mp4?secure=-vZdXj61Dus114PRe27KIA==,1607801268

    To save: File ---> Save Page As. Don't bother to give it a name and just download it to your own machine. You can rename it afterwards by hitting F2. This particular file is 7,338KB.

    If you're still getting a 0 byte file then you might be coming up against an Nvidia issue by which vlc is blacklisted. To get around that problem create a copy of vlc.exe and rename it to something else i.e. vlc-new.exe. Save it to the same directory as the original.

    Next step is to open the Nvidia Control Panel and go to 3D Settings in the left hand pane. Click the Programs Settings tab in the right hand pane and then click the Add button and navigate to your renamed vlc.exe file. Underneath that select "High-performance Nvidia processor". All video files in vlc will now open with the Nvidia GPU.

  • I have same issue, even going into the codec window. Video can be viewed on website by anyone (no paywall, or login etc). Video can be streamed through VLC. BUT when attempting to save video it always creates a file like nameofvideo.mp4 which is a couple of bytes; viewing this in text says error message "wrong referrer"

  • Hello. Thank for your guide. The video downloaded, or so it appeared, but when it finished loading the bar, the video didn't have any info, 0bytes. Do you know why? Thank you.

  • None of these tutorial images resemble what I see on my Mac in the current VLC Version 3.0.11.1 Vetinari (Intel 64bit) and can't come close to sorting out how it's done now.

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