subject: Neat And Amazing Tricks For Vlc Media Player [print this page] If you use your computer to watch videos or listen to audio, then you probably already know how great a software program VLC Media Player is. If not, you're in for a real treat, because VLC is a universal media player that not only plays any format you give it, but will actually try to repair damaged files and play them as well. While you can use this media player for the basics of watching or listening, there's a lot more you can do with it too. Here are a few neat tricks you can try with it.
If you have audio packaged inside a CD image, VLC media player can often play the audio without your having to either mount the physical CD or extract it. Just choose "Open File" and pick out the CD image. Formats supported include the CDRWIN BIN/CUE format, some Nero (NRG) formats, and the cdrdao TOC format.
If you're watching video and want to have subtitles, you can find out if VLC has detected subtitles and turn them on by going to the Video menu, choosing "Subtitles Track" and then "Track 1." You can have .sub or .srt subtitles turned on automatically when they are detected by going to Input/Codecs, choosing "Advanced" and then choosing subtitle track as 0.
Within the VLC player, you can override the source's aspect ratio, which can be expressed either in ratio format (like 16:9) or as a decimal number (like 1.33). The setting is in the video section of the Preferences menu. The aspect ratio is set in the field labeled "Source Aspect Ratio." Full screen aspect ratio is 1.33 (4:3), widescreen is 1.78 (16:9), typical DVD is 1.85, and Cinemascope is 2.35.
There are a bunch of different ways that you can remotely control VLC, including with a web browser, desktop widgets, or even your iPhone. VLC Remote and VLC Remote Free are the paid and free versions of the apps you can get so you can use your iPhone like a remote.
While you can always link to an online radio stream and open it in VLC, you can browse a list of Shoutcast radio stations that VLC can download for you. Go to the View menu and choose "Playlist." When you have the playlist window open, choose "Manage," "Service Discovery," and "Shoutcast Radio Listings." It takes a few seconds, but you'll get a list of online radio stations you can listen to.
One of the most exciting developments with VLC is that a version for Android devices is scheduled to drop soon. There are already a bunch of VLC compatible apps for the Android (mostly remote control apps). And you can already get a portable version that can run right from an external device (like a data card or thumb drive) and only takes up 20MB of space. Once you get hooked on using VLC Media Player, there's really no going back to the "old days" when you had to worry about whether you had the right codec or how to convert a file so you could play it.
