How to Record Streaming Video with VLC: A Beginner’s Guide

VLC is a well-regarded media player that works on various platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. It is free to use and offers powerful playback capabilities for viewing files, discs, CDs, and live broadcasts. In addition to that, VLC also includes many additional features, with screen recording being one of the highlights.

However, this built-in VLC recorder doesn’t feature a straightforward workflow and many users aren’t savvy on how this recording function works. If you want to record a Twitch stream or grab a YouTube live stream using it but don’t know where to start, don’t worry! This article will break down the process of recording a live stream with VLC step by step.

Follow our instructions to use VLC to record YouTube live stream video hassle-free:

The recording function in VLC is disabled by default. To let VLC save network streams, you need to enable the recording feature first.

Click ‘View’ on the menu bar and hit ‘Advanced Controls’. Then the recording controls will appear at the bottom of the VLC window.

Click ‘Media’ and select ‘Open Capture Device’.

Select ‘Desktop’ from the ‘Capture mode’ drop down list and set the ‘Desired frame rate for the capture’ to 30fps.

Tick off the ‘Show more options’ checkbox. Then enable ‘Play another media synchronously (extra audio file,…)’ and paste ‘wasapi://’ into the ‘Extra media’ box.

Next, click the downward arrow next to the ‘Play’ button and select ‘Convert’.

Select a needed format from the ‘Profile’ presets such as Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4). Or you can click ‘Create a new profile’ icon to customize a profile based on your needs.

Then hit ‘Browse’ to choose a file destination. You can give a new filename and don’t forget to change the file extension to match the container format you selected. Hit ‘Save’.

Finally, hit ‘Start’ to enable the recorder and open the YouTube live stream you want to save to start recording at once.

To end the recording, click the ‘Stop’ icon in your screen’s lower left corner.

If you want to record a live stream from start to finish, set up the VLC streaming video recorder before it begins.

While VLC offers a free solution to screen record videos across different devices, it may not be the best choice in terms of recording efficiency and output quality. This portable player has limited recording options and requires complex setup. Beginners could easily encounter issues, such as VLC not recording audio or VLC record not working, due to incorrect settings.

For a quick and worry-free recording experience, consider using WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro. It has a beginner-friendly recorder that enables anyone to effortlessly capture live streams, gameplay, software tutorials, calls, podcasts, and other on-screen activities! On top of that is the excellent HD/4K recording quality.

💡 Download this handy VLC stream recorder alternative and follow the simple steps below:

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Step 1. Launch the software and open ‘Recorder’.

Step 2. Select the first ‘Custom’ mode to capture the selected area or use the second ‘Full-screen’ mode to capture the whole desktop.

Step 3. Then choose the desired recording format, quality, and frame rate. Enable the GPU acceleration if your computer supports hardware acceleration.

Step 4. Next, check the ‘Desktop’ option to record the computer sound, or ‘Microphone’ to capture your voice, or both to record system sound and mic together.

Set an output path for your recordings.

Step 5. At last, hit the ‘REC’ button to start the recording after a five-second countdown.

Press hotkeys ‘Ctrl + F1’ to finish the recording.

The output folder will pop up automatically with the recorded file. Then you can use the program’s other tools to further edit the recordings to your preferences. For example, some Reddit users asked for a way to make GIFs from screen recordings. Then you can use the GIF Maker to edit and turn the recorded streaming video into funny animated GIFs.

That’s it. With the detailed tutorial above, you can now easily record a stream with VLC on your computer. And from the comparison table, we can conclude that VLC is ideal for users looking for a basic and free recording option, especially if they are not concerned about quality and customization features. On the other hand, WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro, although a paid tool, is worth the price due to its user-friendly interface, high-quality output, and full-featured capabilities. Simple, fast, and lag-free. Try this versatile toolkit today and explore more features!

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Yes. VLC functions mainly as a multimedia player, but it also has a screen capture feature, allowing you to record desktop activities and also live-streaming videos.

Yes. The VLC built-in recorder enables you to record streaming videos on platforms like YouTube or Twitch. Open the live stream you want to record and set up the VLC stream recorder to save the video locally.

The steps for recording a Twitch stream using VLC are the same as those shown above for recording a YouTube live stream.

• Play the Twitch live stream,
• Open VLC and click 'Media' > 'Open Capture Device'.
• Set the capture mode to 'Desktop' and frame rate to '30 fps'.
• Check 'Show more options' and 'Play another media synchronously (extra audio file,…)'.
• Type ‘wasapi://’ in the ‘Extra media’ box and then select 'Convert'.
• Choose an output format from the 'Profile' menu.
• Specify a file destination and name the file.
• Finally, hit the 'Start' button to begin recording Twitch streams with VLC.

Yes, VLC can record RTSP streams. To record the RTSP stream using VLC, follow these steps:

• Open VLC.
• Head to ‘Media’ > ‘Open Network Stream’.
• Paste the RTSP link into the URL box and hit ‘Play’ to view the stream in VLC.
• Then hit the ‘Record’ button to capture the RTSP live video using VLC.

You can use VLC to stream a video to other devices. Here are the steps:

• Open ‘Media’ > ‘Stream’.
• Click on ‘Add’ to import the video source and click ‘Stream’ > ‘Next’.
• To connect the target playback device to your source device (e.g. I test on my Windows 10 PC), select ‘HTTP’ from the ‘New destination’ drop down list.
• Hit ‘Add’. Then leave the port number and path by default and click ‘Next’ to move on.
• You can set a new output profile to stream the video in the new format and continue with ‘Next’.
• Finally, hit ‘Stream’.
• Locate the ‘Streams’ option of VLC on the target device and enter the stream URL in this form: http://(source computer IP address):(port number).
• After entering the URL, the stream should start playing at once.