VLC
Free, open-source, cross-platform media player for video and audio files and streams.
HN commenters recommend VLC as a free, go-to player for general video and audio playback123, and as a feature-rich app for offline music on phones.456 The most common complaint is that it feels clunky, especially in how it handles media libraries789, along with playback and UI glitches on some Linux setups.1011
Why people recommend it
General playback · 3
Seen as a reliable default player for video and audio on the desktop.
“VLC still rules the day for general media playback”
“MPClassic or VLC worked fine”
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Mobile music · 3
Used as the player for offline music files on Android and iOS phones.
“On my phone I found VLC [2] to be the best app since it has so many features.”
“VLC is actually pretty good on Mobile”
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“Only offline files via VLC.”
Free software staple · 3
Installed alongside other free and open-source essentials on new machines.
“put as many free software as I can (Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, VLC, Gimp...)”
“VLC (https://www.videolan.org/)”
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“with flatpack I installed vlc, qbittorrent and obsidian”
Many features · 3
Valued as a multi-function tool, including volume boost above 100%.
“On my phone I found VLC [2] to be the best app since it has so many features.”
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“I use it regularly in say, VLC”
Caveats and dissent
Clunky interface · 3
Some find it clunky, especially for managing large music libraries.
“I use VLC, which everyone swears is perfect for this but it's actually super clunky.”
“VLC is actually pretty good on Mobile”
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“VLC can do this, but not as simply as I used to be able to”
Forced media library · 1
One user disliked that played videos get added to a media library they couldn't turn off.
“Now it adds those videos to a media library for some reason. I never want this and I never found a way to turn it off.”
Linux glitches · 2
Reports of UI lockups under XWayland and video tearing on older Mac hardware running Ubuntu.
“VLC can cause the UI to lock up because of some XWayland nonsense”
“VLC sucks on the MacPro4,1 in Ubuntu (skipping around tears the video, leaving it to lag badly)”
Missing features · 2
Users cite no backward frame step and subtitle trouble when streaming over a local network.
“the maintainers explain (with bad attitude) why this functionality is technically impossible”
“I used to stream movies from my desktop over the local network with VLC and the main issue I faced was that I could never get the subtitles to work.”
Battery drain · 1
On iPhone with AR glasses, it keeps the phone screen on and drains battery faster.
“Others (VLC, HBO) leave the screen on and burn battery at 2x-3x the rate”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Ask HN: How to go back to listening to MP3s? 3 mentions
- Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser? 2 mentions
- Apple routed a graphite pipe through the iPhone Duo's hinge to dissipate heat 1 mention
- Sudo – A dedicated music player designed around listening to music 1 mention
- PipePipe: NewPipe hard fork implementing SponsorBlock 1 mention
- Performance Improvements in .NET 11 1 mention
Data: vlc.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 34
“I use VLC, which everyone swears is perfect for this but it's actually super clunky.”
“no software installed except for VLC”
“VLC to play downloaded videos”
“I use it regularly in say, VLC”
“Others (VLC, HBO) leave the screen on and burn battery at 2x-3x the rate”
“put as many free software as I can (Firefox, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, VLC, Gimp...)”
“I just use VLC”
“Only offline files via VLC.”
“VLC can cause the UI to lock up because of some XWayland nonsense”
“My SO uses it to view movies with VLC and TV via TVHeadend.”
“you have to use VLC to play it”
“direct with, say, VLC”
“VLC sucks on the MacPro4,1 in Ubuntu (skipping around tears the video, leaving it to lag badly)”
“VLC still rules the day for general media playback”
“Ones I actually use.”
“VLC (https://www.videolan.org/)”
“Now it adds those videos to a media library for some reason. I never want this and I never found a way to turn it off.”
“MPClassic or VLC worked fine”
“I used to stream movies from my desktop over the local network with VLC and the main issue I faced was that I could never get the subtitles to work.”
“VLC can do this, but not as simply as I used to be able to”
“I use VLC for my music.”
Kavita (note: I'm the developer), FMD2, qBittorrent, VLC, Firefox
“So I used copyparty[0] and used VLC and set a username and password.”
“Videos play fine on VLC with the integrated GPU.”
“VLC - Video-Player”
“I also always keep VLC running in a super-minimized state (web radio).”
“with flatpack I installed vlc, qbittorrent and obsidian”
“I used to use WinAmp, but these days I just us VLC to play them.”
“I'm not the OP of the claim (and I love VLC)”
“VLC is actually pretty good on Mobile”
“On my phone I found VLC [2] to be the best app since it has so many features.”
“Basically I need VLC and not much more.”
“I am a big fan of VLC”
“the maintainers explain (with bad attitude) why this functionality is technically impossible”