This tutorial teaches you how to install the free VLC media player on your computer or smartphone. VLC is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android platforms.
VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. Why should you choose VLC player?
-
Plays everything - Files, Discs, Webcams, Devices and Streams.
-
Plays most codecs with no codec packs needed - MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, MKV, WebM, WMV, MP3es, WAV
-
Runs on all platforms - Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, iOS, Android
-
Completely Free - no spyware, no ads and no user tracking.
Windows PCs
Open the VLC website. Type in your computer's web browser or click above for direct access.
Click Download VLC. It's an orange button on the right side of the page.
Select a download location if prompted. Doing so will allow the VLC setup file to download onto your computer.
The VLC file will download automatically, so if you aren't prompted for a download location, skip this step.
Click Yes when prompted. Doing so opens the installation window.
Select a language. When asked, click the language drop-down box and select the language you want to use for VLC Media Player, then click OK to proceed.
Click Next three times. This will take you to the installation page.
Click Install. It's at the bottom of the page. Doing so installs VLC Media Player on your computer.
Run VLC Media Player. Immediately after installing VLC, you can run it by making sure the "Run VLC media player" box is checked and clicking Finish.When you want to run VLC in the future, you'll double-click the VLC app icon on your desktop or select it from Start.
mac OS
Open the VLC website. Type in your computer's web browser or click above for direct access.
Click Download VLC. It's an orange button on the right side of the page.
Select a download location if prompted. Doing so will allow the VLC setup file to download onto your computer.
The VLC file will download automatically, so if you aren't prompted for a download location, skip this step.
Open the downloaded DMG file. Go to the folder into which your browser downloads files, then double-click the VLC DMG file. This will open the installation window.
Click and drag the VLC app icon onto the "Applications" folder. The "Applications" folder is on the right side of the window, while the traffic cone-shaped VLC app icon is on the left.
Doing so will install VLC on your computer.
Run VLC. The first time you open VLC after installing it, do the following:
Double-click the VLC app icon in the Applications folder.
Wait for your Mac to verify VLC.
Click Open when prompted.
Android
Open your Android's Google Play Store. Tap the Google Play Store app icon, which resembles a multi-colored triangle on a white background.
Tap the search bar. It's at the top of the screen. Your Android's on-screen keyboard will appear.
Open the VLC page. Type in vlc, then tap VLC for Android in the resulting drop-down menu.
Tap INSTALL. This is on the right side of the page. Doing so prompts VLC to begin installing onto your Android.If prompted, tap ALLOW after tapping INSTALL to confirm the download.
You can open VLC directly from within the Play Store by tapping OPEN when VLC finishes installing.