Skip to main content

Have fun playing your Videos in VLC

After a long gap, i am here to share some small hidden features of a popular video and audio player. Many of you might be using this - VLC media player.


Let’s glance at the most overlooked features it offers:

Extravagant Video Effects

VLC  includes numerous aesthetic video effects, such as; Image adjustment, Transformation, Video cropping, Geometrical view & magnification, Video rotation, Color fun, and Image modification. You can access these video features through Extended Settings from the main VLC IDE. Switching to Video Effects tab will show up these features in numerous tabs.

Basic Image Adjustments

VLC provides basic image adjustment options. Under the Basic tab, you can play around with various color adjustments; Hue, Contrast, Brightness, Gamma, etc. On adjusting the color,  you can view changes in real time. Color adjustment options can also be very helpful especially when you are playing a video, having noise, glitches and lacks normal color pattern.
vlc-1

Video Sharpness Effect

Apart from basic image adjustment options, there is another feature which will let you adjust video sharpness up to the required clarity. Under the Basic tab, enable Sharpen option and adjust the sigma control as required. It will show you the changes in real time so you can promptly adjust sharpness accordingly.
sharpness

Transforming To Different Angles

The Transform option allows you to rotate video by multiple degrees. Enabling Transform option would activate the video rotation feature. It offers rotation in 90,180, and 270 degrees. This comes useful if you have a video that you recorded via the camcorder in a different angle.
rotate1

Video Magnification/Zoom In & Out

Another intriguing feature is Video Magnification. Under Geometry tab, enable Magnification/Zoom option, to let it zoom in/out the video. You will see a small window at top left corner with the main magnification control. Fill in the triangle by clicking it to zoom into the video. To view the desired video portion, move the square capturing screen across the box.
zoom vlc

Video Rotation

With an excellent rotation feature, you can rotate the video in any direction. Enable Rotation option, and start moving the rotary control.
rotatation 2

Add A Bit Fun With Puzzle Game

This is my most liking feature in vlc. I use this whenever i get bored. The moment you hit Puzzle game option, it would turn the video into puzzling pieces. Enter number of columns & rows in which you need to solve out video puzzle. It divides the video into specified chunks on the screen.

Under Color fun tab, you can play around with colors, there is absolutely no list of colors to select from. You can write color code to introduce it in the video. Apart from this, through Color Extraction option, you can enter a specific color code to extract it from the video.
color extarction

Panoramic View (Optimal For Muti-Screen)

Vout/Overlay is another superb feature, allowing video junkies to spread the video on the desktop wall in multiple windows. In this way, you can handle, manage and change the position of the video parts separated in windows. To make this effect look awesome, try it on a large HD TV or projector. On the left side enabling Add text option would add the text in each window.
vout overlay1

vout

Adding Logo

An overlaying logo option comes in handy, you can easily insert a logo (PNG/JPG format) in the video as a watermark. It also helps in overlaying existing logo with an image. To make use of this feature, under Logo tab, specify the full path of the image where it is residing, adjust transparency control and allocate the position. The importance of this feature is that you can add the company logo while giving a video presentation.

Record Webcam Video

Recording video from a webcam is another awesome feature VLC offers. It automatically populates the list of devices attached to your system. To record a video from the Webcam, under Media menu, click Capture Device. From Video device name, select the webcam device and click Play. It will turn on the webcam, from its main IDE, you can start recording the video instantly
capture device
web cam

Bookmarking Media

Now this must be surprising to most users. Did you know that you can bookmark as well? VLC allow users to bookmark media files, whether you are playing it from local media, or streaming it from any remote location. You can instantly bookmark the media file and access it anytime later.
bookmark

Advance Open File

Bluray DVD discs & rips come with separate audio channels for giving the real effect of surrounded sound. Unlike others, VLC features Advance Open File option, which allows you to open a video file along with the separate audio file (if existed). You will find rip-less video synchronization with the external audio file ‘phenomenal’. Next time, you are planning on playing Bluray rip, take a whirl of this feature.
advance play

Customize Interface

There are so many features & functions VLC offers which makes it distinctive from others, Among those features, one is interface customization feature. Under the View menu, you will find Customize Interface. It allows you to; change menus, buttons, add/delete buttons, change layout of main layout, and change playback controls positions as well.
inerface custom
Here you can see some customizations that I have performed on the main interface.
changed

Debug Logging

Want to know what went wrong with Video FPS, codecs you are using, why some feature is not compatible, or why you are encountering lagging and other relevant issues? VLC can tell you about any problem. With its Debug logging feature, it can inform you on video discrepancy, why feature is not supported or not compatible, which CODEC is missing, app crash, and erratic A/V halt due to unidentifiable reason. To view the log, from the View menu, under Add Interlace, click Debug logging.
dubugger 1
The journey doesn't stop here, apart from the features we have covered above, they are still a lot more small ones. The developers are also adding new features and functionality with every new release.
Wait for my next post Friends..
Take Care and Enjoy....

Comments