Do you only know the VLC media player to play a wide array of video file types? Well, guess what? Apart from playing a wide array of video file types, the free VLC media player can also record anything it can play. Surprised? Well, don’t be.
You can use VLC to record video from a DVD to your hard drive, how convenient!!. You can also use it to capture streaming video from the internet and record a screen capture video of your computer’s desktop. However, you should only use VLC to record non-copy-protected video which you have permission to record.
How to Enable the Recording Button
Understand that by default, the recording button does not appear in the VLC interface. So to add the recording button to the interface:
- Open VLC’s “View” menu
- Click on “Advanced Controls”
- The recording button pops up on the lower portion of the VLC program interface, between the “Play” button and the time slider.
- The recording button stays enabled until you tap on “Advanced Controls” in the “View” menu again, even if you close and restart the program.
How to Record from a Disc
In case you have burned a home movie to DVD, then decide you want to re-edit the video note this. You can make use of the recording button in the VLC media player in recording the video from the DVD onto your hard drive. Do this:
- Start playing your DVD
- Then click the recording button
- Once the DVD reaches the point at which you want to start recording.
- Click the recording button again when you want to stop the recording.
- VLC stores recorded videos in the “Videos” folder in the Windows Libraries section.
How to Record Streams
You can also use the VLC media player to record streaming video from the internet. To do this,
- Click open the VLC’s “Media” menu
- Click open “Network Stream”
- Type or paste the URL for the streaming media into the “Please Enter a Network URL” text box.
- VLC supports streams that use the HTTP, FTP, MMS, UDP, and TCP protocols.
- Tap the recording button once the stream starts playing.
- Click it again to stop recording.
- Just like with DVDs, VLC also stores recorded videos in the Windows “Videos” folder.
Desktop Recording
Using the VLC player’s record button to capture a video of your computer’s screen is very possible. Recording the screen can come in handy if you are making an instructional software video. It also comes in handy if you want to send a video of a program crashing to technical support.
- Simply open VLC’s “Media” menu
- Click on “Open Capture Device”
- Choose “Desktop” from the “Capture Mode” menu and click on “Play”.
- Click on the recording button to begin the recording.
- Minimize VLC, then perform the tasks on your computer that you want to record.
- Once you are done, restore VLC and click on the recording button again to save the screen recording.
That is how easy it is to search for and use the recording button on VLC.