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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. images 1 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 1 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 2 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 2 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 3 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 3 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 4 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 4 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 5 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 5 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Open VLC Media Player. Its app icon resembles an orange-and-white traffic cone.
  2. images 6 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 6 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Media. This tab is in the top-left corner of the VLC Media Player window. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. images 7 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 7 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Stream…. It's near the bottom of the Media drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Stream window.
  4. images 8 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 8 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 9 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 9 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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.
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    Images 10 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Open. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This will add the video to the stream.
  7. images 11 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 11 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Stream. You'll find it at the bottom of the window.
  8. images 12 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 12 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next. It's in the bottom-right side of the window. Doing so takes you to the Destination Setup window.
  9. images 13 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 13 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 14 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 14 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click HTTP. It's in the drop-down box.
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    Images 15 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Add. This is to the right of the HTTP box. Doing so opens the HTTP setup page.
  12. images 16 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 16 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Note the port listed here. You'll need to know through which port the stream is traveling later.
  13. images 17 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 17 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 18 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 18 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next.
  15. images 19 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 19 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Uncheck the "Activate Transcoding" box. It's near the top of the window.
  16. images 20 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 20 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 21 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 21 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Select the "TS" format. Click Video - H.264 + MP3 (TS) in the drop-down menu.
  18. images 22 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 22 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next.
  19. images 23 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 23 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Check the "Stream all elementary streams" box. It's near the top of the page.
  20. images 24 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 24 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 25 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 25 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Open VLC on the other computer.
  22. images 26 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 26 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Open the Network Stream window. Click Media, then click Open Network Stream….
  23. images 27 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 27 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 28 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 28 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 29 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 29 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Open VLC Media Player. Its app icon resembles an orange-and-white traffic cone.
  2. images 30 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 30 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click File. This menu item is in the upper-left side of the Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
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    Images 31 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Streaming/Exporting Wizard…. You'll find this option near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
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    Images 32 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Check the "Stream to network" box. It's near the top of the window.
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    Images 33 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next. This blue button is in the bottom-right side of the window.
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    Images 34 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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.
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    Images 35 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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.
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    Images 36 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Open. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window.
  9. images 37 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 37 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next.
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    Images 38 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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.
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    Images 39 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Note the port listed here. You'll need to know through which port the stream is traveling later.
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    Images 40 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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.
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    Images 41 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next.
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    Images 42 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Make sure that both "Transcode" boxes are unchecked. Both of these should be in the middle of the page.
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    Images 43 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next.
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    Images 44 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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.
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    Images 45 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Click Next twice. Do this on the current page and on the "Additional streaming options" page.
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    Images 46 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 47 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 47 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Open VLC on the other computer.
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    Images 48 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Open the Network Stream window. Click File, then click Open Network….
  21. images 49 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 49 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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. images 50 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    Images 50 of How to Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer
    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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