vlc/FAQ

Frequentely Asked Questions for VideoLAN Client
$Id: FAQ,v 1.10 2002/07/25 22:34:37 lool Exp $

1. Using VLC

1.1 How do I read a DVD ?
-----------------------
Just launch vlc and use the "open disc" command from the graphical
interface. In case of trouble, you may want to use the command line
interface :
    vlc dvd:/dev/dvd

1.2 How do I read an encrypted DVD ?
----------------------------------
It's exactly the same as for a normal DVD. You will need write access to
/dev/dvd, because of the key negociation process.

If you compiled your VLC by hand, please bear in mind that you also need
to install libdvdcss. It can be downloaded from the VideoLAN website. It
used to be distributed in the same package as VLC, but now you must install
them seperately.

1.3 How do I switch to full screen display ?
------------------------------------------
Press 'f' to toggle fullscreen mode. Note that not all video output
devices support full screen.

1.4 How do I hide the mouse cursor ?
----------------------------------
It should disappear after a few seconds if you stop moving the mouse.

1.5 How do I use vlc if I don't want to install Gnome and all this
#@!£% *$@&§% !@# bloat ?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can run :
    vlc --intf dummy myfile.mpg
Most commands are available from the command line, see vlc --help for
more information.

1.6 VLC eats my buffer cache, how to I use raw device ?
-----------------------------------------------------
If you don't know what is a raw device, don't even read this answer :-).
There is an experimental support for raw devices in libdvdcss. It needs
that you set up a raw device pointing to your DVD device (under Linux,
use the "raw" utility). Then pass the raw device as second argument, for
instance :
    vlc dvd:/dev/dvd@/dev/raw0

1.7 How do I use VLC as a client for VLS/VLMS streaming ?
-------------------------------------------------------
First you must set up a VLS or VLMS stream. Please refer to the
documentation of these programs. Then start VLC :
    vlc udp:
You shouldn't need any option. If you're paranoid and want to control
everything, here is the exact syntax :
    vlc udp:[<server>[:<server port>]][@[<bind address>][:<bind port>]]

1.8 How do I uninstall / reinstall VLC ?
--------------------------------------
Why would you want to ?  ;)

If you're using a source distribution of VLC, for example a tarball or
the CVS, then you have probably used "make install" to install the
compiled VLC.  To remove it just "make uninstall".  If you want to
install a newer version than the currently installed one, you should
first uninstall the first one.  If you deleted the original source tree,
a "make uninstall" in the newer tree should still work.

For binary packages, remove old packages first and install the new ones
(normally this should be handled automagically by your sytem).

1.9 Debian: what should I put in my sources.list for videolan ?
-------------------------------------------------------------
deb     ftp://ftp.videolan.org/pub/videolan/ debian/
deb-src ftp://ftp.videolan.org/pub/videolan/ debian/


2. Troubleshooting

2.1 When I start vlc, I don't have any interface coming...
-------------------------------------------------------
If you installed a binary package, make sure you also installed an
interface package such as vlc-gtk or vlc-qt. If you installed from
source, make sure the development package for gtk or qt is correctly
installed (often gtk-dev or gtk-devel) and recompile.

2.2 Clicking on "disc" in the interface doesn't do anything
-----------------------------------------------------------
Wait a few seconds. Key cracking can take much time on some discs. If it
still doesn't work, you can have a more verbose output using "vlc -vvvvv".
Here are a few things to check for :
* Did you install the libdvdcss package ?
* Do you have write access to your DVD device ? For instance :
chmod 666 /dev/hdc
* Does your kernel log contain line about your DVD device ?
* Do you have a link from /dev/dvd to your real DVD device ? For instance
ln -s hdc /dev/dvd

2.3 [REMOVED]
-------------

2.4 The video runs but the picture is distorted...
-----------------------------------------------
There is probably a problem with the output layer. There are several
ways of troubleshooting it. First, try with another output plug-in, for
instance :
vlc --vout sdl
vlc --vout x11
Second, change your screen depth and/or definition. It quite often helps.
Lastly, have a look at your XFree86 video driver (nVidia for instance
releases optimized drivers for its boards).

2.5 Video is choppy...
-------------------
Your system is too slow to decode all pictures. It might be that your
CPU basically isn't fast enough. It can also be that the subsystem is
misconfigured/misdriven. Here are some elements to improve speed :
* Turn on DMA on your DVD device, for instance :
hdparm -X34 -d1 /dev/dvd
* Upgrade to the latest XFree86 version and the latest driver for your
video board ; check that the xvideo plug-in is effectively used with
vlc -vvvv
* Kill other applications running...

2.6 Audio is choppy...
-------------------
This is not normal ; it is a known problem and is being investigated.

2.7 Audio and video are out of sync
-----------------------------------
This is not normal. Try using another output plug-in (for instance --aout dsp),
kill esd or artsd if they are running... This is a known problem and
is being investigated.

2.8 [REMOVED]
-------------

2.9 Sound volume is too low
----------------------------
You can raise it with --volume commandline switch or in the preferences
window of your graphical interface.

2.10 I have no image under DirectX
----------------------------------
Check that your video card drivers are in their latest version and that
your DirectX is up-to-date.

2.11 VLC crashes
----------------
Increase the verbosity level (either in the preferences or with a
"-vvvv" command-line option) and look at the debug messages (on the
terminal or in the Messages window).

2.12 I can only play a DVD as root
----------------------------------
Check that as user you have write access to your DVD drive / device.

2.13 I'm stuck with option xxx, how do I reset options ?
------------------------------------------------------
Under unices, remove your ~/.videolan/vlcrc; for Windows, remove vlcrc
in the videolan subfolder of your "Application Data" directory.


3. Ports and features

3.1 MacOS X port

3.1.1 Does VLC support the ATI DVD hardware acceleration cards ?
--------------------------------------------------------------
Currently it doesn't. We'd be glad to support them, but we lack technical
information on them.

3.1.2 [REMOVED]
---------------

3.2 Win32 port

3.2.2 When moving the focus to another window, VLC network input stops
working properly !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a known problem with Win 95-class systems. Upgrade to an NT-class
system.

3.3 Planned ports

3.3.1 Do you have plans for a MacOS 9 / OS/2 / &{#!@}~ port ?
--------------------------------------------------------
No, nobody reported to be actually working on a MacOS 9 port.  If you
feel like you could write it, we would of course welcome it.  Currently,
the developers are more interested in supporting the latest Operating
Systems and completing the functionalities.

3.3.2 Does VLC have dxr2 / dxr3 cards support ?
---------------------------------------------
This support is currently being developed.

3.3.3 Does VLC support RTP ?
--------------------------
No, but this is planned.