How to Download Video Files with VLC Media Player

Use this popular media player to save streaming videos to your computer

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: July 29, 2025 Fact Checked

This wikiHow teaches you how to download an online video using VLC Media Player. While you can still download streaming videos with VLC, it no longer works with most YouTube videos. Make sure you install VLC Media Player on your Windows or Mac computer before continuing if you haven't already done so.

How do you download videos with VLC?

Copy the URL of the video you want to download. In VLC Media Player, click the File or Media menu and select Open Network Stream. Click the down arrow next to the "Play" button and select Convert. Choose a saving location and save the video as an MP4 file.

Steps

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1
Go to the video you want to download. In a web browser, go to the website that hosts the video you want to download. You can start playing the video to ensure it's the correct video.^{[1]
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- Unfortunately, this process no longer works with most YouTube videos, though you may occasionally find one that will download.^{[2]
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  Research source} If you want to download YouTube videos, check out How to Download YouTube Videos.
Right-click the video and select Copy video URL or similar. If you don't see this option, try highlighting the address of the video at the top of your browser and pressing Ctrl+C on Windows or ⌘ Command+C on a Mac to copy it.^{[3]
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3
Open VLC. It's the app with the icon of an orange traffic cone.
- If you don't have it already, you can download VLC for free at https://www.videolan.org. VLC is an open-source video player with a lot of beneficial features for playing all kinds of files.^{[4]
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4
Open a new Network Stream.
- On Windows: Click Media, then click Open Network Stream.
- On Mac: Click File, then click Open Network.
Make sure the entire URL was copied.
This opens an option for converting the streaming video to a format you can save to your computer.^{[5]
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Click Browse and choose a folder to save your downloaded video in. End the name of the file you're creating with ".mp4". Then, click Open or OK to return to the Convert window.
It should be selected by default next to "Profile," but if not, select it now.
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Click Start to convert and save the video. This will download the video over the network and save it as an MP4 file. The longer the video, the longer this will take.^{[6]
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- If you get an error, you won't be able to download that particular video using VLC Media Player.

Community Q&A

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Question

I saved my file as an .mp4 file. Why can't I insert it into Powerpoint?

Community Answer

You'll need to convert the file to an .mp3 file. Powerpoint won't work with .mp4 files.

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Tips

You can download files from many sites using VLC Media Player; however, if there are server restrictions, you may be unable to download from your selected site (for example, YouTube and websites run by the government).

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