VLC for Dummies?

[Chris Carl]

Any possibility of a "VLC for Dummies" type of guide in the near future? I just came across VLC last week and, after doing a little research on the Web, realized that this is an awsome program that can do a LOT of real cool things. That said, the problem is that there is absolutely no up-to-date (Version 1.0.0) documentation or "how to" for this program anywhere to be found. A comprehensive list of the various things you can do with VLC, in conjunction with step-by-step instructions for how to accomplish them would make VLC a truly awsome application (and probably double it's user-base). As it is now, it seems like VLC is more of an excersise in futility for the less technically inclined.

For instance, I am a Windows user using the VLC GUI. I saw that VLC could stream video over the Internet or LAN and thought "hey, wouldn't it be cool to be able to stream an ISO file of a DVD on my desktop computer so I could watch it from any computer with VLC on it from anywhere in the world." Long story short, it took me nearly five hours of garnering bits and pieces from various outdated examples on the Web, in conjunction with much frustrating trial and error in order to successfully stream something via HTTP and to connect to the stream via VLC to watch it. Where as a simple version 1.0.0 how-to document on the subject would have had me up and running in five minutes instead of five hours.

Heck, VOD using the VLM sounds like it might do something that I would be interested in, but as it is now I have neither the time nor patience to even attempt figuring out what it can be used for and how to do it.

Now, I understand that, being an open source project, that VLC is more about being a cool techy hobby than about being a valuable tool for the common man, but it sure would be nice if us "dummies" could take advantage of this awsome program as well. Heck, I'd even be willing to help with such a dummies guide, if only I could figure out how to do anything with VLC in the first place.

LOL, I'd be in heaven if only I had a "Here are all the things you can do with VLC, and how to do it, using Windows and the VLC GUI" manual.

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

Noone has time to work on that.

[brigrove]

Then obviously the techies among you don't want VLC to reach its full potential among ordinary users if you want to keep things like helpfiles and this forum only in techspeak

example - on page http://wiki.videolan.org/Change_the_bri ... of_a_video it says
If output file does not maintain the changes try toggling the video overlay setting (CTRL-S - Video)
But doesn't say where to find that setting!

[Jean-Baptiste Kempf]

help is welcome to improve it!

[brigrove]

I would be glad to help, but not being a techie means that I'm one of the ones needing help.

But very simple things like how to choose where to save a recorded file (recorded while playing) are complicated or impossible to find in VLC
I found that answer in this forum, but a) why is the location of that control so well hidden in VLC in the first place? Who would think to look in inputs and codecs to set where you want to save a recorded video (ie the output!)
And b) why aren't things like that in the FAQs or wiki?
This is an example.
a tab for preferences like "save options" would be more intuitive, where you can set location to save videos and snapshots and settings to save them

[jahwoto]

That's a good idea brigrove.
Please submit it to the vlc feature request/bug tracker.

For instance, I am a Windows user using the VLC GUI. I saw that VLC could stream video over the Internet or LAN and thought "hey, wouldn't it be cool to be able to stream an ISO file of a DVD on my desktop computer so I could watch it from any computer with VLC on it from anywhere in the world." Long story short, it took me nearly five hours of garnering bits and pieces from various outdated examples on the Web, in conjunction with much frustrating trial and error in order to successfully stream something via HTTP and to connect to the stream via VLC to watch it. Where as a simple version 1.0.0 how-to document on the subject would have had me up and running in five minutes instead of five hours.

You could put the information on how to do that on the wiki.

Then other people who will be able to do it in five minutes.
And maybe even yourself if you forgot about it.
You can set an example with this.

[brigrove]

sorry but where is the bug tracker?

[jleslie48]

Isn't it amazing how techies don't understand the need for simple "how-to" guides to the easy stuff for beginners.

For example:

"how-to" guide to play a video with VLC player.

step instruction:

1) open vlc player

2) click on Media --> open file

3) browse to the file you want to play.

4) click on that file.

5) play should begin. use the butttons on the bottom to control the play, the triangle thing means to start playing,
the two vertical lines means its paused.

6)...

I should be able to use the search facility, type in [ "how-to" guide ] and get all kinds of articles.

here I just made the first one.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Isn't it amazing how people don't understand that volunteer developers have more interesting and motivating things to do that write howtos that will get obsoleted in no time?

You're most welcome to work on the VideoLAN wiki if you find it incomplete.

[brigrove]

I guess it depends on your priorities. If you want to be part of developing a program which will have the widest possible number of users, then making it easy to understand and use the basic features is an essential part of that development.
If you want to be part of a development team basically working for techies only, and aren't interested in having ordinary people use your work, continue as VLC developers do right now.
For example, I had so many problems trying to save a video one it was rotated that I gave up, earched for a free program that specifically did that, and now use that for that specific feature. A simple button to "save" the reconfigured video would make life easier but I guess developers have more interesting things to do than think of the rest of us.

[jleslie48]

I guess it depends on your priorities. If you want to be part of developing a program which will have the widest possible number of users, then making it easy to understand and use the basic features is an essential part of that development.
If you want to be part of a development team basically working for techies only, and aren't interested in having ordinary people use your work, continue as VLC developers do right now.
For example, I had so many problems trying to save a video one it was rotated that I gave up, earched for a free program that specifically did that, and now use that for that specific feature. A simple button to "save" the reconfigured video would make life easier but I guess developers have more interesting things to do than think of the rest of us.

This is exactly the part of programming that gets the least attention and is probably the most important. Such a shame so many dismiss this this as trivial. Right now I'm designing software to be used by the military. I keep having to remind my fellow engineers that the average readling level of our target audience is 6th grade, and not to overcomplicated the required steps. My peers simply cannot take themselves out of their own college educated, electrical engineers shoes and try and see the world from someone else's perspective, aka, the perspective of someone who has never used the "right-click" button, ever, or even tried the "Windows Explorer"

Sorry Rémi Denis-Courmont, you can have the greatest software in the world but if you can't explain simply how to use it, its worthless.

[jleslie48]

Isn't it amazing how people don't understand that volunteer developers have more interesting and motivating things to do that write howtos that will get obsoleted in no time?

You're most welcome to work on the VideoLAN wiki if you find it incomplete.

Just took a look at videoLAN wiki. I didn't even know it existed until you mentioned it, thats how bad the documentation is for VLC media player. It doesn't even say to go to VideoLAN Wiki. Anyway, thats ok since VideoLAN Wiki is totally useless, its format is beyond understanding, I can't figure out how to submit an article and for that matter there are no articles on "how do I converter from x to y" or any way obvious to me on where I submit one.


this forum is much better to write articles if those skilled in the art would simply answer the questions that are repeated dozens of times here.

there needs to be a "how do I" forum section (aka "how-to" xyz ) that has step-by-step examples of what every laymen wants to know.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Oh, I totally agree. In fact, I do write whichever documentation my employer asks from me. But would you care to tell me how much your fellow military-contracted engineers are paid every month? I spent somewhere between 5 to 10 man-year worth of effort on VLC. For two T-shirts and one return medium-haul flight ticket. And you pretend to tell me what I should work on?

If you want a VLC manual, write it yourself or pay someone to write for you.

[jleslie48]

Oh, I totally agree. In fact, I do write whichever documentation my employer asks from me. But would you care to tell me how much your fellow military-contracted engineers are paid every month? I spent somewhere between 5 to 10 man-year worth of effort on VLC. For two T-shirts and one return medium-haul flight ticket. And you pretend to tell me what I should work on?

If you want a VLC manual, write it yourself or pay someone to write for you.

That's not my point. If I could I would. MY point is that when someone asks directly for an answer on this forum, a simple answer can't be supplied. I"ve certainly done it plenty of times with my own charity website.

How many posts on this website are "hey I'm new here, How do I..."

and not one single "expert" cant answer directly.

step 1) open VLC player version *x.y.z"
2) click on...
3) ...


something is wrong when "experts" can't do this.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Experts are not able to do it because they have finite time. And that time is better dedicated to improving the software, which profits millions of users than helping a single person on the forum. As such, any non-trivial question is likely to be ignored. That's life.

[jleslie48]

... time is better dedicated to improving the software, which profits millions of users than helping a single person on the forum. As such, any non-trivial question is likely to be ignored. That's life.

" you can have the greatest software in the world but if you can't explain simply how to use it, its worthless."

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

The numbers are against you. Improving the software has much better effects on the user base than helping one individual user, especially for open-ended support queries that may drag on and on. Historically the forum was created in hope of that some users would help others because developers could not keep up with the inflow of support requests on the mailing list. Same goes for the wiki with the regards to the documentation.

There is over one million user per active developers. And there are a whole zero support staff and documentation writers. You're essentially suggesting that the already insufficient development resources be divested into support. This is wrong. First, it will never be enough. Second, it will slow down development. Third, it will demotivate our fragile developer base. Developers are not the problem, nor the solution.

It would actually be a lot more useful to write documentation than to answer questions on the forum, because it would scale a lot better. But that won't happen by complaining. That will happen by offering enough money to get someone to write it.

[etr220]

Whatever VLC may be able to do, and however well it may be able to do it, if people don't know how to get it to do that, then as far as they are concerned, it can't do that.

What is needed is not so much a better mouse trap, but instructions on how to get the best out of the one we've already got.

The whole tenor I get from this forum is that VLC is a product by geeks, for geeks - and as I just want to play media, I'll get rid of it, and get something which lets me do just that.

The answer to the subject question is NO, VLC is not for dummies, only experts.

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Yeah yeah. We have tens of millions of users, and plenty of positive reviews and it's all computer experts.

The reality is more trivial. You can't get VLC to work, while all those other normal non-expert people figured the Media menu out. And then you obviously don't understand how the open-source community development work.

I am fed up with being abused by users like you. This topic is locked.