Friday 14 November 2014

Why You Should Use VLC Media Player to Play Your DVDs

VLC is the most versatile and enormously powerful media player on the internet. Avi, mp3, mkv, mp4, mpg, flac, etc. VLC handles everything so well youll be wondering: how on earth did I ever go without this program?

Something we havent talked about much on this blog is VLCs DVD support. Weve mentioned that VLC can play DVDs, but we havent really explained why you really should uninstall your old dvd software and use VLC for all your DVD needs. VLC is in fact the very best DVD-player in existence and here is why.

Can Play Any Region

Do you have a stack of DVDs you cant play because the region is different? Just pop them into your pc and play them with VLC. VLC can play DVDs from any region without resetting your pc defaults or jumping through any other strange hoops.

Full Menu Support

VLC doesnt just take the main video file like some other media players that claim DVD support do. VLC Media Player will play a DVD like a dedicated DVD-player would: with full support for menus, chapters, subtitles, multiple audio, extras, and any other possible options.

Ability to Rip, Save and Convert

Some people hate having to get up to pop DVDs in and out of the tray every time they want to watch something. With VLC, you can put an end to this grave injustice. Just open the DVD once with VLC, and then use the options to rip and convert it to your hard drive.

This way, you can have your whole DVD collection sitting safely on your hard drive for your immediate viewing pleasure, instead of spending half the time changing DVDs and getting dirt and scratches all over them in the process.

More Responsive Controls

DVD controls can be a pain. Were not sure why most DVD players still refuse to use a timeline and, if you dont want to use chapters, force you to use the fast forward or rewind buttons to navigate through the file.

If you use VLC Media Player, you can use everything VLC is known for (great interface, easy controls, all kinds of tweaks and options) on any and all of your DVDs.

Whats the Point of Using Anything Else?

The fewer programs are installed on your pc, the less your machine will get bogged down by unnecessary system processes. There really is no reason whatsoever why you should have more than one media player installed when youve already got VLC Media Player. So do yourself a favour: get the free VLC download and get rid of all the others!

Similarly, whats the point of paying good money for a dedicated DVD-player, when you can just connect your laptop or pc to your TV and enjoy all the benefits of using not just VLC but everything else your computer has to offer on a bigger screen? It could hardly be any easier. All you need is an S-VIDEO or HD cable. Connect the two, navigate to the correct channel and youre ready to roll!

Download Music Straight from YouTube with VideoLan Client


How to Fix out of Sync Video/Audio with VLC Media Player

You spend half your evening looking for some obscure episode from a TV show from your youth. You finally find it and download it to your hard drive. The next day, you are distant and jittery. You cant concentrate. Youre just too excited about that show youre going to watch when you get back from work.

The clock strikes 5 and you drive home in a rush. You slip into something more comfortable, prepare some hot chocolate and set up your show. You press play and watch the intro. Pure nostalgia is flowing through your veins. Then disaster strikes and your day is ruined: the audio and video are out of sync.

VLC Media Playerto the Rescue

If this, or something similar, has ever happened to you, you know how frustrating it is to watch an out of sync video. It is enough to drive perfectly sane people to the point of desperation.

But VLC can provide relief.

One of the only media players in existence to offer this function, and the only one to do it in a straightforward, user-friendly way, VLC can slightly adjust the audio and/or video streams by a few milliseconds.

This way, you can finally fix those old shows youve been dying to watch, but dont have the nerves of steel to sit through in their current state.

Using the Track Synchronization Menu

VLC offers two ways to fix your badly out of sync files. The first is through the synchronization menu, which you can find in the Tools menu.

The Audio/Video track synchronization shows a slider next to it which you can adjust by clicking the up and down arrows on the right. A positive value means that the audio is rendered that particular amount of milliseconds before the video.



It takes a bit of experimentation to wrap your head around using this slider, but once you do, youll find it pretty easy to work with. Dont forget that you may have to click the Refresh button on the top right of the screen to update the video to your synchronization settings.

You can do the same for out of sync subtitle files, as we have discussed on our blog in the past.

Using the Shortcuts

The second way to synchronize your files is by using the default keyboard shortcuts J and K. Pressing these letters will move the audio 50 milliseconds backward or forward, respectively. This is usually easier to fix your files on the go.

If you dont like these shortcuts, you can of course change them in the Hotkey menu.

One Small Shortcoming

The synchronization options of VLC can really save you in a time of need, but there is one small problem: you cant save it.

So, if you resynchronize a video and then close it, youll have to sync it again when you want to watch it again. VLC might offer an option to save your sync preferences in its next version though, look forward to it!

VLC Media Player Versus Media Player Classic

We here at vlcmediaplayer.org are of course huge VLC-junkies. But that doesnt mean that we havent tried some of the other media players out there. Probably the best available free alternative to VLC is Media Player Classic.

In one respect, MPC does have an advantage over VLC. But in all others, VLC Media Player comes out the clear winner. Overall, choosing either of these for your media-playing needs would be a good choice and choosing both is even better. However, if you have to choose just one, get the free VLC download, because its the better media player overall.

Battleof the Media Titans

Comparing VLC and MPC is like comparing Coca Cola and Pepsi. Theres no doubt that these are the two best players out there (at least, on the windows platform), but some will prefer the former and others will prefer the latter. Before describing some relative advantages and disadvantages of the two, lets take some time to discuss how they are similar in their greatness.


Both are free and open source.
Both are slender and lightweight players.
Both are minimalistic in outlook, but have very powerful features.
Both are user-friendly and offer a great viewing experience.

As you can see, both of these media players have a lot going for them. The differences between the two are in the details.

Graphic Rendering and Computer Usage

Both players are lightweight and wont hog up your pcs resources, but it has to be said: Media Player Classic runs a little bit smoother than VLC. The difference is entirely unnoticeable on any machine that dates from 2005 or later, but on older machines, it cannot be denied that uses resources slightly more effectively, translating into a less choppy image.

Related to this is MPCs superior High Definition rendering. VLC is much better than Windows Media Player or Quicktime when rendering HD, but will still deliver choppier picture quality than Media Player Classic on less powerful machines.

So if your computer is old, MPC does have some things going for it.

Codecs and Formats

On the other hand, VLC Media Player is one single file download which contains everything you need to play all the audio and video files you would ever want to play. MPC, on the other hand, will require you to download codecs or codec packs to be able to play certain formats, and will refuse to play others entirely (like Blu-Rays, for which VLC has experimental support and incomplete or broken files).

Streaming Video and Playlist Functionality

Another advantage over MPC is VLCs streaming functionality. VLC allows you to play YouTube videos, convert and save them into different formats, watch podcasts, internet TV and much more. MPC does nothing like this.

The Playlist is also much better in VLC. More advanced users wont care much about this, but people who just want to enjoy their media player will greatly benefit from the great integrated playlist.

Final Verdict

VLC takes the cake because it has a lot more options and doesnt require any other codecs or other downloads. However, MPC is a great alternative and may even win out if you have a very old computer.

But, at the end, why to choose if you can have both?

Why You Should Use VLC Media Player to Play Your DVDs

VLC is the most versatile and enormously powerful media player on the internet. Avi, mp3, mkv, mp4, mpg, flac, etc. VLC handles everything so well youll be wondering: how on earth did I ever go without this program?

Something we havent talked about much on this blog is VLCs DVD support. Weve mentioned that VLC can play DVDs, but we havent really explained why you really should uninstall your old dvd software and use VLC for all your DVD needs. VLC is in fact the very best DVD-player in existence and here is why.

Can Play Any Region

Do you have a stack of DVDs you cant play because the region is different? Just pop them into your pc and play them with VLC. VLC can play DVDs from any region without resetting your pc defaults or jumping through any other strange hoops.

Full Menu Support

VLC doesnt just take the main video file like some other media players that claim DVD support do. VLC Media Player will play a DVD like a dedicated DVD-player would: with full support for menus, chapters, subtitles, multiple audio, extras, and any other possible options.

Ability to Rip, Save and Convert

Some people hate having to get up to pop DVDs in and out of the tray every time they want to watch something. With VLC, you can put an end to this grave injustice. Just open the DVD once with VLC, and then use the options to rip and convert it to your hard drive.

This way, you can have your whole DVD collection sitting safely on your hard drive for your immediate viewing pleasure, instead of spending half the time changing DVDs and getting dirt and scratches all over them in the process.

More Responsive Controls

DVD controls can be a pain. Were not sure why most DVD players still refuse to use a timeline and, if you dont want to use chapters, force you to use the fast forward or rewind buttons to navigate through the file.

If you use VLC Media Player, you can use everything VLC is known for (great interface, easy controls, all kinds of tweaks and options) on any and all of your DVDs.

Whats the Point of Using Anything Else?

The fewer programs are installed on your pc, the less your machine will get bogged down by unnecessary system processes. There really is no reason whatsoever why you should have more than one media player installed when youve already got VLC Media Player. So do yourself a favour: get the free VLC download and get rid of all the others!

Similarly, whats the point of paying good money for a dedicated DVD-player, when you can just connect your laptop or pc to your TV and enjoy all the benefits of using not just VLC but everything else your computer has to offer on a bigger screen? It could hardly be any easier. All you need is an S-VIDEO or HD cable. Connect the two, navigate to the correct channel and youre ready to roll!

Organize Your Media Files with VLC Media Player

When people say music player they usually think about software like iTunes, Winamp and foobar2000. While these are all great programs, another one should make the list, but is usually skipped, on account of its enormous popularity in a different niche:VLC Media Player.

This is probably the world’s favorite video player and is used by many millions of people every day. However, when it comes to music, it gets overlooked. Unfairly so, because this is by far one of the easiest, most user-friendly and least resource-consuming music player on the market.

It didnt always used to be like this. While this has been a great music player from the beginning, its media library used to be rudimentary and rather bad. Organizing your music was a chore on this software, which is why competitors like Winamp and iTunes were more often recommended.

But then it updated and introduced its new media library. There wasn’t a lot of fanfare, no great marketing efforts, but this doesn’t change anything about its value. Its new media library is just as easy and awesome as those of its competitors. And the fact that its integrated with so many of its other attractive functions means that you should definitely consider using it as your primary music player.

VideoLan Client Media Library: How It Works

Simply said, a media library is a permanent repository of your favorite music (and/or videos). You add them to the software and the program will remember them and make them available for you next time you open it up.

Technically speaking, it has a certain xspf file associated with its media library which it updates every time you make changes to your library. When you open VideoLan client, it automatically looks at this file and remembers what you put in it and how you organized it.

Where to Find It

You can find the media library by going to your playlist by pressing CTRL-L on your keyboard or selecting the option in the View menu. Once there, look to the left side of your screen and select Media Library it should be the second option.


VLC Media Library

If you havent used it before, the list will be empty. But dont worry, youll fill it in no time!

How to Use It

Simply drag media files or folders to the media library and drop them there. This media player will automatically create folders for them (though you may have to click them first to register them as folders). Just keep adding more stuff until your’e satisfied and voila: your music collection has been organized.


VLC Media Player

Next time you run the software, it will still all be there. Of course you can sort the list on artist, title, genre, album and more (right click on the area marked by the blue circle to choose new headers and click the headers to sort them) and you can also search for them with the handy search tool at the top right corner.

As you can see, you don’t need iTunes or foobar2000 to organize your media collection. Like always, VLC offers a great and easy solution to this problem as well.

List of VideoLan Client Keyboard Hotkeys

You already know that you can play any audio and video file withVLC Media Player, that its easy to install and to use, that youve got more options at your fingertips than you could ever need, and that the program is free and downloadable from this very website.

All that is obvious. And if it isnt, then shame on you, because weve been trying to hammer it in for years. But what you may not know yet is that you can make this already fantastic program even more fantastic by using the large list of customizable keyboard shortcuts to control its interface.

Whats a Keyboard Shortcut?

In case you dont know what a keyboard shortcut is and for some reason you cant guess the meaning by the name: a keyboard shortcut is a combination of keys on your keyboard that results in VLC (or another program) performing a certain function or command.

With these shortcuts, you can control the playback of your files, bring up all kinds of menus and streamline your VideoLan Client user experience.

Which Ones Should You Use?

As many as you feel like! Well explain in a minute how to look at the entire list and how to change them if you are so inclined, but for now, well just give you the most important ones to keep in mind.

Spacebar : Pressing the spacebar will play or pause whatever file you are playing.

F : This will switch to full screen if you are enjoying a video file. Pressing it again will switch back. Alternatively you can also double click the screen.

CTRL/ALT/SHIFT + LEFT/RIGHT : These are respectively medium, short and very short jumps backwards and forwards in the media file youre currently playing. Pressing CTRL, ALT, SHIFT and LEFT or RIGHT at the same time performs a long jump. [note: the default values are: long: 10 minutes ; medium: 1 minute ; short: 10 seconds ; very short: 3 seconds]

CTRL + UP/DOWN : This controls the volume. You can also use the mouse wheel for this.

CTRL + O : This opens up a menu where you can select a file to play.

CTRL + P : This brings up the preferences menu.

CTRL + L : This switches the playlist on or off.

The Hotkeys Menu

If youre unsatisfied with this list and you want more, or if you want to change some of these, then all it takes is to open up the hotkeys menu where you can consult and tweak as much you want.

Open up the Preferences menu (or press CTRL + P as we mentioned in the paragraph above) and click on the Hotkeys tab.



Here youll find a very long list of actions and their hotkeys. Simply double click on any hotkey you want to change or add new ones. For your information, global hotkeys work even when the media player is not the active window. Enjoy your newfound efficiency with VLC Media Player!

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The Best TV Shows Available on Bluray

Interested in growing your home theater collection with discs of your favorite TV shows? Not every show makes for good watching on a DVD or Blu-ray, but others are fantastic. Included here for quality, extras and pure watchability are great TV series available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.



For added ease, you might consider downloading a media player, such as VLC Media Player, which is the most versatile media player and according to many, its the best media player over all. The media player allows you to play DVDs from any region without having to enter codes or change your settings some computers only allow you to change your region settings one or two times so this is especially valuable for people who are into foreign films. In addition to DVDs, the VLC Media Player allows you to watch various formats you might download from the Internet.
Battlestar Galactica

Get your best science-fiction TV on DVD or Blu-ray when you purchase the whole Science Fiction Channel Battlestar Galactica offering: the miniseries that premiered in 2003 and the four regular-length seasons that followed. The soundtrack comes out great on Blu-ray, but the video quality is fine on both Blu-ray and DVD some of it is intentionally shot to look documentary-quality. If you havent watched this series before, heres a quick plot summary: Ships from a human civilization in a distant part of the universe flee attackers in search of planet Earth. Its a space opera headed by Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, and was included in Time magazines list of the top 100 TV shows.
Downton Abbey

This surprisingly engaging British historical soap opera has fans on both sides of the Atlantic. Three seasons have aired so far, with seasons one through three available on both Blu-ray and DVD. Buy this show for the entertainment of a well-acted ensemble of characters. You can opt for versions showing the series as it aired here in the U.S., or get the uncut British version. Some DVD sets include the seasons episodes along with the Christmas special, while other sets are sold separately. A quick plot summary: An aristocratic family in England and their servants react to historical events such as the sinking of the Titanic and the beginning of World War I.
Band of Brothers

If you like watching TV in HD and enjoy the finer points of your Blu-ray adapted shows, dont miss Band of Brothers. Gritty, violent, heroic and dramatic, this sweeping historical miniseries will bring you into the battlefield. And if this shows 10 episodes leave you wanting more, theres also the sister program, The Pacific. A quick plot summary: Follow the members of a parachute regiment during World War II from training to the end of the war. Its based on the acclaimed book by historian Stephen E. Ambrose, and produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
Friends

One of TV Guide magazines list of the 50 greatest TV shows ever, Friends is a must for anyone looking to add a little humor to their collection of TV shows on DVD or Blu-ray. Available season-by-season or in a big box set of all 10 seasons, you can bring this popular ensemble show to your living room along with the packaged featurettes, cast interviews and commentary extras which are also on the discs. And, if you want still more after the final season, you can also get the two-season spin-off, Joey. A quick plot summary: Friends is a quick-talking sitcom about six friends in their 20s. Its a perennial favorite because of the snappy dialogue and memorable characters.
Sherlock

The BBCs reboot of everyones favorite eccentric detective has seasons that are unusually short by American standards. Only three 90-minute episodes each, theyre gone too soon. Thats why its great that the Blu-ray and DVD releases of seasons one and two come with extras: making of clips and the unaired pilot A Study in Pink. Though fans of the series say they love the masterful acting by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman and the twisty plots, there are plenty of visuals for Blu-ray collectors to feast upon as well. A quick plot summary: Sherlock reimagines Arthur Conan Doyles colorful characters in modern times. Holmes uses technology and science to help solve crimes that baffle the London police force and to stymie his rival brother, Mycroft Holmes, and his nemesis, James Moriarty.

Downton Abbey cast image from Flickrs Creative Commons by Evian Tsai


About the Author: Shandra White worked at a video rental store in high school and has never forgotten the delicious feeling of having an unlimited amount of shows and movies to watch. She prefers dramas, but her two sons have got her hooked on some of the better science-fiction and action-adventure shows in recent years.

Six Cool Features of VLC Media Player You Might not Know


You surely have been amazed that the VLC Media Player can play movies of any file types, even .mkv files which are really hard to play in other media players without the need to download any codecs. You are probably aware too that it can play any music files too. Theres a lot more things that you can do with VLC, and we have rounded them up for you.

Capture Screenshots

You can easily capture screenshots of the movie you are watching with this wonderful media player. While watching, simply go to the Video options in the upper menu bar then select Take Snapshot from the dropdown and it will capture the frame you are into. You can setup the destination of the captured frame by going to Tools then select Preferences from the dropdown menu. Select the video icon and browse the location on where you want it stored.

Theres a hidden trick with the screen capture option, you can also set the image as the wallpaper of your computer by simply selecting Set as Wallpaper in the Video menu dropdown, cool isnt it?

Play Podcasts

If you are a subscriber to some podcasting blogs or websites, the VLC player can help you listen to podcasts in a much better way. All you need to do is to enter the podcast url. You can add as many podcasting stations as you want.

Play Corrupted Files

When downloading a file from the web, lags and connection interruptions will result into corrupted files and you cannot play them with any other media player aside from VLC. It will just skip over the damaged part and will continue playing the parts of the file that are playable. With VLC being lightweight, the RAM usage is pretty small which provides less lag when playing files.

Play Archived Files

Save time unzipping compressed files and take off that Winrar or your 7zip program from your pc as VLC can play compressed files without the need to extract it which also saves you a lot of space on your computer. Many of us get zipped files from various sources in the internet so this feature is really handy.

Desktop Screen Capture

This feature of VLC is useful for people who want to record the activity of their desktop computers. For example, if you are doing tutorials or instructional materials, you can use the VLC media player to capture whatever is shown in your screen and save it on any location on your pc.

To do this, simply choose Media from the top menu then select Open Capture Device from the dropdown. A dialog box will pop up that will provide you options to record the activity as a video. Select Capture Mode to Desktop. Adjust it to your preferred parameters then select Start to begin recording. When you are done, simply tap the S key on your keyboard and it will stop the recording process.

You can also setup the file type you want as the end result before you start the recording process or simply use the convert feature of this wonderful piece of software to have the file type that you require.

Download Youtube Videos

We all love Youtube and we always wanted to download our favorite videos but there are only few tools that can do this and one of it is the VLC media player. To do this, simply go to your desired Youtube video, copy its URL and paste it to the Open Network Stream option of your VLC. It can be found under the Media menu. After you have pasted it, go to Tools menu and click the Codec Information then copy the location address. Then open your browser, paste the location address you have copied in the search bar then hit enter. You can now right click the video that will appear and save it to your computer.

Thats the six cool features you might not know that comes up with the VLC media player. There are a lot of features actually, but these are the ones that many users dont know they exist. Try it for yourself!