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How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer

This wikiHow teaches you how to use VLC Media Player to stream a video playing on one computer to another computer on the same Internet network. To do this, you'll need the free VLC Media Player program installed on both computers, and...
Part 1 of 3:

Preparing to Stream

  1. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 1How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 1
    Install VLC Media Player on both computers. If you haven't yet done so, you'll need to install VLC Media Player on both the computer that you want to use to stream and the computer on which you want to receive the stream.
    1. VLC is available for free on both Windows and Mac computers, as well as on most Linux distributions.
  2. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 2How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 2
    Find the IP address of both computers. In order to stream a video from your computer to another computer on your network, you'll need to know the IP address of both computers.
  3. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 3How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 3
    Make sure that both computers are on the same network. Both your computer and the other computer must be connected to the same Internet network (e.g., your home router) for you to be able to stream video to the other computer.
    1. If your router has multiple channels (e.g., a 2.4 GHz channel and a 5.0 GHz channel), make sure that both computers are on the same channel as well.
  4. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 4How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 4
    Understand that streaming may not work on your network. If your network has a low upload speed or several items using it at once (e.g., phones, consoles, other computers, etc.), you may be unable to stream across your network. This can be remedied by upgrading your Internet speed through your service provider.
    1. If your router and/or modem are more than a few years old, attempting to stream may cause one or both of them to crash.
Part 2 of 3:

Streaming on Windows

  1. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 5How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 5
    Open VLC Media Player. Its app icon resembles an orange-and-white traffic cone.
  2. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 6How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 6
    Click Media. This tab is in the top-left corner of the VLC Media Player window. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 7How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 7
    Click Stream…. It's near the bottom of the Media drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Stream window.
  4. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 8How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 8
    Click Add…. You'll see this button on the right side of the window in the "File selection" section. This will prompt a File Explorer window to open.
  5. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 9How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 9
    Select a video. Click a video that you want to stream. You may first have to select a folder in the left-hand sidebar or open a folder in the main File Explorer window to find the file that you want.
  6. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 10How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 10
    Click Open. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This will add the video to the stream.
  7. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 11How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 11
    Click Stream. You'll find it at the bottom of the window.
  8. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 12How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 12
    Click Next. It's in the bottom-right side of the window. Doing so takes you to the Destination Setup window.
  9. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 13How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 13
    Click the "New destination" drop-down box. This drop-down box usually has the word "File" in it. A drop-down menu will appear.
  10. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 14How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 14
    Click HTTP. It's in the drop-down box.
  11. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 15How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 15
    Click Add. This is to the right of the HTTP box. Doing so opens the HTTP setup page.
  12. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 16How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 16
    Note the port listed here. You'll need to know through which port the stream is traveling later.
  13. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 17How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 17
    Enter the other computer's IP address. Do this in the "Path" text field. You'll notice a slash (/) in the "Path" field—don't delete the slash when entering your IP address.
  14. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 18How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 18
    Click Next.
  15. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 19How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 19
    Uncheck the "Activate Transcoding" box. It's near the top of the window.
  16. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 20How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 20
    Click the "Profile" drop-down box. You'll find this on the right side of the window. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
  17. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 21How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 21
    Select the "TS" format. Click Video - H.264 + MP3 (TS) in the drop-down menu.
  18. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 22How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 22
    Click Next.
  19. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 23How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 23
    Check the "Stream all elementary streams" box. It's near the top of the page.
  20. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 24How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 24
    Click Stream. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will complete the stream setup and begin streaming your video to the other computer.
  21. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 25How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 25
    Open VLC on the other computer.
  22. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 26How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 26
    Open the Network Stream window. Click Media, then click Open Network Stream….
  23. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 27How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 27
    Enter the stream's address. Type in http://ipaddress:port where "ipaddress" is the streaming computer's IP address and "port" is the port number that was listed on the "HTTP" page.
    1. For a stream from a computer with an IP address of 123.456.7.8 and a port of 8080, you would type http://123.456.7.8:8080 here.
  24. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 28How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 28
    Click Play. After a delay of up to 30 seconds, you should see the other computer's video begin playing in your media player.
Part 3 of 3:

Streaming on Mac

  1. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 29How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 29
    Open VLC Media Player. Its app icon resembles an orange-and-white traffic cone.
  2. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 30How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 30
    Click File. This menu item is in the upper-left side of the Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 31How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 31
    Click Streaming/Exporting Wizard…. You'll find this option near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  4. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 32How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 32
    Check the "Stream to network" box. It's near the top of the window.
  5. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 33How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 33
    Click Next. This blue button is in the bottom-right side of the window.
  6. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 34How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 34
    Click Choose…. It's to the right of the "Select a stream" text box. A Finder window will open.
    1. The "Select a stream" checkbox should be checked, but if it isn't, check it before clicking Choose... here.
  7. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 35How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 35
    Select a video. Click a video that you want to stream. You may first have to click a folder in the left-hand Finder pane or open a folder in the main Finder window to find the video.
  8. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 36How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 36
    Click Open. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window.
  9. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 37How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 37
    Click Next.
  10. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 38How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 38
    Check the "HTTP" box. This option is in the middle of the page. You should see "Port" and a "Source" (or "Path") text fields appear on the page.
  11. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 39How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 39
    Note the port listed here. You'll need to know through which port the stream is traveling later.
  12. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 40How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 40
    Enter the other computer's IP address. Do this in the "Source" or "Path" text field.
    1. If there's a slash (/) in the text field, leave it there and enter the IP address after it.
  13. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 41How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 41
    Click Next.
  14. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 42How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 42
    Make sure that both "Transcode" boxes are unchecked. Both of these should be in the middle of the page.
  15. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 43How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 43
    Click Next.
  16. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 44How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 44
    Check the "MPEG TS" box. It's in the middle of the page. This may be the only option that you have for the stream.
  17. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 45How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 45
    Click Next twice. Do this on the current page and on the "Additional streaming options" page.
  18. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 46How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 46
    Click Finish. It's a blue button at the bottom of the window. Doing so completes your stream setup and begins streaming to the other computer.
  19. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 47How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 47
    Open VLC on the other computer.
  20. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 48How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 48
    Open the Network Stream window. Click File, then click Open Network….
  21. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 49How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 49
    Enter the stream's address. Type in http://ipaddress:port where "ipaddress" is the streaming computer's IP address and "port" is the port number that was listed on the "HTTP" page.
    1. For a stream from a computer with an IP address of 123.456.7.8 and a port of 8080, you would type http://123.456.7.8:8080 here.
  22. How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 50How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer Picture 50
    Click Play. After a delay of up to 30 seconds, you should see the other computer's video begin playing in your media player.
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