Is there any way to show current time and total time over the video?

[Silhouette]

Hi,

I'm using VLC version 2.2.1 on OSX Yosemite 10.10.3.

While playback, if I hit T I can briefly see the "Current Video Time / Total Video Time" displayed over the video.

Can I have that info displayed all the time while playback?

PS: I've tried using Marquee but unfortunately I couldn't find any relevant/recent format string to do so. You can display actual time of the day using format strings but couldn't find any for video current time or video total time.

Thanks.

[auralarch]

I've been wishing such a feature existed- a shortcut to toggle the display of the "Time", as well as a way of cycling through the various ways of showing that. (Elapsed/Remaining/Total)

But since there is no such shortcut to customize in the prefs- the command must not exist.

[dfuhrmann]

Click on the time right beneath the progress bar (both in windowed and fullscreen mode).

[Silhouette]

Thanks for the answers @auralarch and @dfuhrmann.

Apparently this is not supported currently.

@dfuhrmann, I know how to see the remaining and elapsed times interchangably by doing as you described. But what I wanted is to have video time info displayed at the top-right corner all the time while watching the video without me clicking anything.

[vlcneville]

I want to make sure I have this correct ... In OSX, it is not possible to display both elapsed time and remaining time at the same time, like I can in Windows, is that right? I really don't understand some of the decisions developers make.

Can I at least show elapsed time and total time, like I can in Windows? I have a lot of training videos that range from 3 minutes to 60 minutes. In Windows, all the info I need is right there. I can glance down and see my progress. On Mac there is only the elapsed OR remaining.

On the Mac, I'd really like to see
elapsed and remaining, or
elapsed and total,
like the Windows version.

Or even better, all three -- but just
elapsed and total would be fine.

On Windows, I remember adding and deleting buttons and moving stuff around. Is that not even possible on the Mac?

[dfuhrmann]

Please clarify what do you mean - VLC for OSX can show the same things as all other versions _over_ the video. But you are probably only talking about the values beside the sliders and on the fullscreen controllers.

In fullscreen controller, you already can see both elapsed and remaining (or elapsed and total). This is not possible for space reasons in the normal bar, just switch to fullscreen if you desperately need both information.

[vlcneville]

Yes, next to the slider, that's what I was looking for, just like the Windows version. It looks like there is plenty of room to me. I'm on a 1920x1200 screen. But is says 'developer' under your name, so you must know what you are talking about. Care to enlighten me? I was a programmer for 6 years. Does this have something to do with Apple's security, or their dumb-it-down philosophy?

For this last batch, I added the total time to the file name, so that shows in the title bar. But it's harder to see, and it's really too much of a hassle to get the video length and rename the files and all that.

Is there maybe some plug-in or hack to show the times for me?

[dfuhrmann]

Does this have something to do with Apple's security, or their dumb-it-down philosophy?

Why should that be?

Its a design decision to only show one time in the controls bar. If you want to, you are very welcome to help us with improving the UX design.

[vlcneville]

Because Apple seems to prefer the "clean" look, which to me is the "stripped" look or just plain dumbed-down.

I guess I expected the VLC Mac version to mirror the VLC Windows version, so I thought maybe Apple was causing the missing timer. Platform parity is really nice.

I appreciate VLC. I've used it for many years on Windows and love it, and I thank you.

[dfuhrmann]

No, the Mac version does not mirror the windows version. While the feature set is somewhat similar, the user interface is different in certain parts.
Some features are missing, and some features exist only for the Mac version, but now for Windows.

[cometkay]

Has this been fixed yet? Can we show elapsed time and remaining time at same time, like Windows VLC, ... And also like Spotify, Quicktime, Media Player, Youtube, Videos on Twitter, the 5K player ... in fact are there any players (other than Mac VLC) that don't show both values?

[ajmas]

Not in 2.2.4. You can toggle between the values by clicking on the time value.

There are many things that the developers would love to address, but you need to remember that they are team of volunteers that are not getting paid for the time they spend providing a free product. They do what they can. If you can contribute a change or know someone who would like to contribute in terms of coding, please encourage them and be ready to pay them a round of beer or their choice of potion.

The VLC UI limitation you see is purely Mac based and has nothing to do with Apple. The devs on the Mac side of VLC have chosen a design that they feel fits best with the expectations of Mac users and the Mac UI design philosophy. Sure it could be better, but it takes time and experimentation to create improved experiences.

[sgon00]

Are there any solutions in 2019? Thank you very much.

[stumit63]

Simple. Toggle forward/remaining time. Tap on the time!