Use VLC Media Player to Stream Multimedia to Another Computer

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An easy guide to streaming video with VLC
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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 both computers will have to be on the same wireless network. This process is tricky and can take some fiddling to figure out, but we’ll explain how to improve your chances of streaming successfully!

Stream to Another Computer with VLC

Install VLC Media Player on both the computer you're streaming from and the computer you're streaming to. You'll need the IP addresses of both computers to set up the stream. To stream multiple videos in a row, create a playlist in VLC before broadcasting.

Section 1 of 3:

General Setup

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  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.
    • VLC is available for free on both Windows and Mac computers, as well as on most Linux distributions.
    • Download VLC from the official website: https://www.videolan.org/ .
  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. This is your computer’s local IP address rather than your public IP address. Here’s how to find it:
    • On a PC, go to Start > Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi . Select the network you’re connected to, then find your IPv4 under the Properties header.
    • On a Mac, go to Apple menu > System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi . Click Details next to the name of your network, then select the TCP/IP tab. Locate the IP address near the top of the menu.
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  3. Both the computer you’re streaming from and the one you’re streaming to 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.
    • 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. 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.
    • 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.
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Section 2 of 3:

Stream from Windows

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  1. Its app icon resembles an orange-and-white traffic cone.
  2. This tab is in the top-left corner of the VLC Media Player window. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. It's near the bottom of the Media drop-down menu. Doing so opens the Stream window.
  4. 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.
    • Make sure you’re on the File tab in the “Open Media” window.
  5. 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. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. This will add the video to the stream.
  7. You'll find it at the bottom of the window.
  8. It's in the bottom-right side of the window. Doing so takes you to the Destination Setup window.
  9. This drop-down box usually has the word "File" in it. A drop-down menu will appear.
  10. It's in the drop-down box.
    • If you want to see your stream on both computers at once, click the check box next to Display locally before you continue.
  11. This is to the right of the HTTP box. Doing so opens the HTTP setup page.
  12. You'll need to know through which port the stream is traveling later.
    • By default, this port is usually 8080 .
  13. While you can enter the IP address of the computer you’d like to stream to here, it’s not necessary to do so. Entering an IP address may reduce your chances of connecting successfully. If you leave the field blank, you can stream to any other device on the same network.
    • If you’d prefer to enter the other computer’s IP address here, don’t delete the “/” at the beginning of the “Path” field. Type or paste the destination IP directly after it.
    • Click Next to continue.
  14. It's near the top of the window.
    • If you can’t get the stream to work properly, experiment with leaving this box checked instead. We were able to get it to work both ways during testing.
  15. You'll find this on the right side of the window. Clicking it prompts a dropdown menu with different video and audio codecs. Attempt to use the default selection first, but you may need to experiment with different options to find one that works.
    • If you encounter visual or audio glitches while streaming, return here to pick a different codec.
    • Click Next to continue.
  16. It's near the top of the page.
  17. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will complete the stream setup and begin streaming your video to the network.
  18. You need to have VLC installed on the computer you want to stream to.
  19. Click Media , then click Open Network Stream… . You can also press Ctrl + N .
    • If the other computer is a Mac, select File > Open Network .
  20. 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.
    • 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.
  21. After a delay of up to 30 seconds, you should see the other computer's video begin playing in your media player.
    • On a Mac, the stream will be added to a playlist window. Double-click it or select it and click the Play icon at the bottom of the window to start the stream.
    • Unfortunately, even when following all the steps described above, streaming from one computer to another is tricky and unreliable. You may need to experiment with different codecs and fiddle with other settings (such as leaving “Activate Transcoding” checked or unchecked) to get it to work.
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Section 3 of 3:

Stream from Mac

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  1. Its app icon resembles an orange-and-white traffic cone.
  2. This menu item is in the upper-left side of the Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. It’s near the bottom of the menu.
  4. You can either drag and drop your video into the box at the top of the window, or click Open media… to browse for a video in Finder.
  5. If this doesn’t work, you can go back and try selecting a different codec from the dropdown menu. You can also click the Customize… button for more advanced options.
  6. You’ll find this button at the bottom of the window, under the Choose Destination header.
  7. This button will appear after you click the Stream button.
  8. Unlike on the Windows version of VLC, where you can leave the destination path blank, you must enter something in this field to stream from a Mac. Type in the private IP address of the computer where you’d like to receive the stream.
    • Make note of the port listed in this menu, to the right of the “Address” field. You’ll need to enter it on the receiving computer. By default, it may be something like “1234.”
  9. This will take you back to the main Convert & Stream window.
  10. This button is in the bottom right corner of the window. This will add your video to a playlist in the main VLC Media Player window.
  12. Click File , then click Open Network… .
    • If the other computer is a PC, select Media > Open Network Stream… instead.
  13. 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.
    • 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.
  14. After a delay of up to 30 seconds, you should see the other computer's video begin playing in your media player.
    • Unfortunately, this process is tricky and unreliable, and you may need to do some experimenting to get it to work. If you get an error message, try setting up the stream again with a different codec.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    What about playing two different movies on two TVs at the same time?
    Community Answer
    This is possible, but you would have to have two HDMI ports on your computer. Go under VLC tools → Preferences → Interface. Under the interface tab, uncheck "allow only one instance" and "use only one instance when started from file manager," both of which are under the section "Playlists and Instances." Next, hook up the two HDMI cords to your computer and the two TVs. Now, go to Menu → Stream and choose your first movie file. Set the stream output to the monitor 2. Do this again, but with the other movie file and set the output to monitor 3.
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      Tips

      • If you want to stream several videos in a row, you'll first need to create a playlist. The easiest way to do this is by selecting the videos that you want to play, right-clicking a selected video, clicking Add to VLC media player's Playlist in the drop-down menu, and then saving the playlist by clicking Media (or File on Mac) and clicking Save Playlist to File .
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      • If the computer or TV that you want to stream from also has a Chromecast device, this process is a bit easier. To stream what's playing in VLC on your computer, go to Playback > Render and select your Chromecast.
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