Video Player

When you play a video for the first time in VLC for Android, tips are shown for the video player controls.

Video Player Controls

VLC for Android Video Player supports many gesture controls. In the figure above you can see three of them.

  • updown_gesture Brightness/Volume - By swiping vertically on left/right edge of the screen, you can control Brightness and Volume respectively.

  • rightleft_gesture Seek - By swiping horizontally on the screen you can seek video forward/backward.

Tap Got it, dismiss this to close Video player tips .


Audio

Audio and Subtitles

Change/Disable Audio Track

You can change audio/subtitles tracks and adjust audio/subtitles delay of a video by tapping on subtitle_audio icon at the bottom-left corner of the screen. It will open Audio and Subtitles window and only Subtitles window if there are no audio tracks in the video.

Audio and Subtitles

You can either Disable the audio or select from the available audio tracks by tapping on them.

Adjust Audio Delay

To adjust the audio delay tap on Options (kebab_menu) and select Audio delay. You could now adjust the audio delay with the interactive widget by following steps.

Audio Delay widget
  1. If you already know the delay in milliseconds(ms), then use the ⟨ ⟩ buttons to hasten/delay the audio by 50 milliseconds on each tap. Tap RESET to reset audio delay.

  2. If you do not know the delay then use the widget to adjust. There are two options SOUND HEARD and SOUND SPOTTED. You should tap these buttons in order you observe them.

  3. For example if you hear a sound but the video is yet to display that scene, Tap SOUND HEARD and then when you finally observe the scene for that particular sound, tap SOUND SPOTTED. The delay will be adjusted automatically. You can spot the sound using subtitles(If there is no subtitle delay), or by observing the scene.

  4. If the above step does not works, then first tap RESET then try buttons in reverse order.


Subtitles

Download/Set Subtitles

In the same window you could see pane for Subtitles. You can either Disable the subtitle or select from the available subtitles tracks. If there are no subtitles you can use following steps to get one.

  1. If you have already downloaded the subtitles or have them on your device. Tap Options (kebab_menu) in the subtitles pane and tap Select subtitle file. This will open a tiny file explorer. Navigate to the folder having the Subtitles and tap on it to load. You can easily identify a subtitles file by subtitle_audio icon as shown in the screenshot below.

Select Subtitles File
  1. If you do not have a subtitle file, VLC for Android lets you download one from the same screen. To download tap Options (kebab_menu) in the subtitles pane and tap Download subtitles. VLC for Android will try to search for available subtitles from the internet using the video metadata. In that case you could see a list of available subtitles, tap on suitable one to download and load.

  1. If video metadata is incomplete or not correct then VLC for Android may or may not show available subtitles. Then you must search manually. To search manually tap search_icon and fill the search parameter. In general Name should work but fill Season, Episode for best results. Tap SEARCH to start the search. You could now see a list of subtitles, select the suitable one to download and load.

  2. Tap on Subtitle History icon to see previously used/downloaded subtitles.


The Globe icon in the Download Subtitles widget can be used to filter subtitles by language. Tap on the globe icon to select a language. By default the app language is checked. You can check one or more languages.


Adjust Subtitles Delay

Subtitles Delay Widget

You could also adjust Subtitles delay. Tap Options (kebab_menu) in the subtitles pane and select Subtitle delay. You could now adjust the subtitle delay using interactive widget by following steps.

  1. If you already know the delay in milliseconds(ms), then use the ⟨ ⟩ buttons to hasten/delay the subtitle by 50 milliseconds on each tap. Tap RESET to reset subtitle delay.

  2. If you do not know the delay then use the widget to adjust. There are two options VOICE HEARD and TEXT SEEN. You should tap these buttons in order you observe them.

  3. For example if you hear a voice but the subtitle is yet to be displayed, Tap VOICE HEARD and then when you finally see the subtitle for that particular voice, tap TEXT SEEN. The delay will be adjusted automatically. You can spot the voice by observing the scene.

  4. If the above step does not works, then first tap RESET then try buttons in reverse order.


landscape/rotate/portrait Screen Orientation - Tap this icon to lock into current orientation or remove orientation lock.


Screen Ratio

screen_ratio Screen Ratio - VLC for Android lets you resize your video to best fit screen size/appearance. Given below are possible screen ratios. Tap this icon multiple time to select your preferred screen ratio.

Ratios

Description

Best fit(default)

Automatically choose best screen ratio.

Fit Screen

Stretch the video to fit to screen without distorting video. May hide some parts of video.

Fill

Stretch the video to fill the screen without hiding parts. May distort the video.

16:9

Stretch the video to fit 16:9 standard screen ratio.

4:3

Stretch the video to fit 4:3 standard screen ratio.

Center

Stretch the video to center of the screen.


More Options

Tap Options icon at bottom-right corner of the screen to access more player controls/features.

More Options


lock_icon Lock - This disables all video player controls and gestures to avoid accidental tap on the screen. After enabling this feature, when you tap on screen you could see a slide to unlock your screen.


sleep_timer Sleep timer - You can set a sleep timer to let VLC for Android automatically close video playback after given period of time.

Sleep Timer


playback_speed Playback speed - You can set playback speed by using the slider, or by using arrows in the range 0.25x to 4x.

Video Playback Speed


jump_time Jump to time - This feature lets you jump to arbitrary time in the video. Alternatively you can also seek using gestures or video progress bar.

Jump To Time


equalizer Equalizer - VLC for Android embeds a powerful audio equalizer to customize your audio experience. By default the equalizer is disabled. To enable it, toggle the button at top-right corner. There are a lots of presets included and you can also create your own preset.

Equalizer


pop_up_player_icon Pop-Up player - This launches video in Picture-in-Picture mode. To customize pop-up player see Use custom Picture-in-Picture popup in Video settings.

Pop-Up Player

Pop-Up Controls

pop_up_player

pop_up_control

If you tap on the pop-up player, some controls will show up as shown in second screenshot.

  • Bottom three icons are play/pause and switch video controls.

  • The center square icon will exit the pop-up player and open the regular video player.

  • The gear icon at top-left opens PiP Mode Permission in device settings. This must be enabled for pop-up player to work.

  • Tap the cross icon at top-right to close the pop-up player completely.


auto_repeat/auto_repeat_1 Repeat mode - Repeats the current video indefinitely.


information Video information - Shows the current video information. An example is shown below.

Big Buck Bunny Video Information


ab_repeat A-B repeat - A-B repeat is to loop a video between two points. To start an A-B repeat follow these steps.

  • Tap ab_repeat SET START POINT to set a start marker ab_marker at the time you want to start this repeat.

Start AB Repeat
  • Now tap ab_repeat SET END POINT to set an end marker ab_marker at the time you want to end this repeat. Once set the A-B repeat will start.

End AB Repeat
  • Tap on ab_marker_reset to remove markers.

  • Tap on ab_repeat_reset to close A-B repeat

AB Repeat


Save Playlist - Add this video to an existing/new playlist.

Save Playlist