Many VLC alternatives are well suited for playing videos and music on desktop PCs, smart TVs, and mobile devices. If you put a lot of value on modern features, such as stories and cloud functions, RealTime is certainly an attractive option. The media center, Kodi, is a good substitute for Apple TV. Apple TV is a high end top box running tvOS with a dedicated TV Operating system with a 4 th and 5 th generation Apple TV. The Apple TV has all the enhancements and upgrades from the previous run generations along with the App Store filled streaming services, apps and games with an access to Siri via the touch assembled Siri remote. Manage and watch your IPTV (m3u) and EPG (xmltv) feeds. Feedlix is an IPTV feed aggregator and live streaming. LIVE TV (IPTV) - Most Recent channels - Favorites channels - M3U links and files - VLC player (as alternative) - Airplay, Picture in Picture (PiP), now playing center - iCloud Drive (Files.
A few weeks ago, we talked about the best apps for Apple TV and even showed you how to get a web browser on Apple TV. But apart from that, you'd also expect Apple TV to be a step ahead in the streaming section as well, wouldn't you? If you want to play any video on your Apple TV without having to use the iPhone or iPad. Well, you all know the answer to that. Yes, its VLC media player for Apple TV. But have you ever been really able to use it seamlessly? VLC for Apple TV although a powerful app, is not very intuitive and often full of errors. So, we made this guide to help you make the most out of it.
VLC for Apple TV primarily offers three ways to stream both local and online media.
1. Local Network
The local network media support in VLC for Apple TV lets you stream media from a Mac or Windows computer connected to the same WiFi network. All you have to do is select any local device under Local Network on the top left of VLC app interface and enter your login credentials for the selected device. You can then simply browse through the device disk and play any media file. VLC can even play the file formats that can't be played on your Mac or PC.
Problems faced:
- Device is not visible on Local Network.
- Cannot browse files even after using correct credentials on Mac.
Solutions:
- Make sure that your Mac or Windows is connected to the same wifi network or LAN as your Apple TV.
- After you log in with the credentials of your Mac on the Apple TV, go to the Sharing option under Settings on your Mac and check if File Sharing option is on from the menu on the left. Also, click on options under file sharing on the right and check both the boxes you find inside. This will make sure that your Mac is accessible from your Apple TV and all the media files on your Mac can be then played on your Apple TV.
2. Remote Playback
The Remote Playback option on VLC gives you access to videos stored on your other devices without having to use your Mac as a server. Just swipe up to the Remote Playback option on the VLC app on your Apple TV and click on ‘Enable Remote Playback'. You'll see two links displaying on the screen, one is the local IP address and the other is the local network address. You just have to type either of these on your web browser on Mac which is connected to the same WiFi or LAN network.
Once you open either of the links, you'll see a page that offers two modes of media access i.e. drag & drop, and a file picker dialogue box. This dialogue box that says ‘Enter URL here' which is not to be confused with a Network URL. It is rather a local address it requires. All you gotta do is drag n drop a media file which will then start uploading on the Apple TV local memory and alternatively you can click on the ‘+' sign to browse through your Mac's memory disk and choose a file to upload.
The files you upload will then be temporarily saved on your Apple TV local memory and will be visible on the remote playback screen at the bottom. You can simply click on a file and your video will start playing on the Apple TV screen. The reason we say the term ‘temporarily saved' is because these files can be automatically deleted by your Apple TV if it requires the space for itself but until then, you can view the saved files multiple times without having to face the problem of buffering or connecting to your Mac.
Problem Faced:
- Clicking on the ‘+' icon doesn't do anything.
- Copy pasting URL doesn't bring up the video.
Solutions:
- There are two ‘+' icons on the screen, you have to choose the top right one. Clicking on the ‘+' icon in the center of the screen won't do the job.
- You are probably copy-pasting a ‘web URL' in the dialogue box which is not recognized by the remote playback feature. The URL here means a local address of your Mac and not a web URL. The simplest option is to drag & drop a media file in this window and it'll automatically get uploaded to Apple TV local media.
3. Network Stream
The Network Stream option is most tricky of all. This option lets you play media with the help of a network URL and support network streams, including HLS, MMS or RTSP. Meaning, if you have an FTP or a web server online, you can simply use the URL of a media file stored in that server and play it on your Apple TV. And as far as we heard it can support the URL from one of your cloud storages like Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. which didn't actually work for us but you may give it a shot. Maybe VLC support team could be of some help too.
To insert a URL just swipe to the network stream option and type in the URL in the dialogue box. Apple TV remote app on your iPhone or iPad will be of great use in typing that tedious and long URL. Alternatively, you may also copy – paste the URL using the Apple TV remote app. Additionally, VLC will also help you get subtitles for the media you're playing through online sources like OpenSubtitles.org
The great thing about this feature is that once the URL is used, it'll always appear on the screen unless you delete it. Meaning that if you want to see your favorite movie or a personal video, again and again, you just have to click on the URL and it'll pop-up on the Apple TV screen.
Problem faced:
- There is only a buffer sign on the screen after you insert a URL and the video doesn't play.
- There are too many wrong URLs that are saved on the screen which you wanna get rid of.
Solutions:
- The reason why your video isn't turning up on the screen after you have checked it on the web browser is that you have been inserting a web URL whereas VLC for tvOS only supports a media-specific URL which is super tricky to find. This media specific URL could be found on the page source and it'll probably have an extension of a media file as a suffix. As for your server is concerned you'll have to use a precise media specific URL for that too. Although VLC support team hasn't come up with an absolute solution to this issue, we hope this could be made rather simpler or else VLC will lose its charm on Apple TV.
- To delete a previously used URL simply scroll down to it and press the ‘play-pause' button on your Apple TV Siri remote to get options and press ‘delete'. You'll have to do them one by one if you have many wrong URLs in the list.
Summary :
Sometimes, you may need VLC alternatives because of the annoying 'Rebuilding Font Cache' thing or others. This post lists different VLC alternatives for Windows/Mac. Choose the best VLC alternative 2019 depends on your actual situation.
Quick Navigation :
Have you ever used VLC media player? This post is going to show you some excellent VLC alternatives for Windows/Linux/Mac. You can find a suitable VLC alternative 2019 to play video and audio files.
VLC is a free, open-source, portable, and cross-platform media player and streaming media server developed by the VideoLAN project. It is able to play incomplete, unfinished or damaged video, but it will drive you crazy sometimes.
For example, here is a true story.
I have been using VLC media player for a while and was pleased with it. Then I get a notice about an update, which I did. Now all I get is green lines over the movie. I have tried everything to solve the problem, installing the backup, uninstall and install, with no success. Everything worked great until this update. Does anybody have a solution to this? It is driving me crazy. Please help. Thank you.
In general, a VLC alternative can solve this problem easily. The below are some common problems you might encounter when using the VLC media player.
4 Reasons Why You Need a VLC Alternative
1. VLC is unable to play broken files.
Generally, VLC media player can play unfinished or damaged video. But, sometimes, it cannot play video file and tells you that the file is damaged. Actually, this file is just being downloaded.
2. VLC doesn't support a few codes and file types.
VLC supports a lot of video and audio codes and formats, but it requires codec settings for a few formats. For many common people, it is a difficult job.
3. VLC crashes without warning.
Sometimes, VLC media player suddenly crashes when you watch some normal files, try to insert subtitle or make it full screen.
4. VLC media player will damage the speakers!
If you are using VLC media player and keep the volume loud for a long time, your speakers could be damaged. Sadly, some manufacturers like Dell say replacing the speakers will not be covered by the hardware warranty. Therefore, please keep the volume down while using VLC.
Now, it is time to look for VLC alternatives to play your video or audio files. No matter you have come across these problems or not, it is a good idea to prepare a suitable alternative to VLC.
You will find many people are searching for VLC alternatives on the Internet. Here, we list different alternatives to VLC media player for Windows/Mac/Linux. Read on and find out which one suits you best.
Part 1. VLC Alternatives 2019 for Windows
VLC is a free video editing software, you might need to look for a VLC alternative because of the unfriendly UI, 'Rebuilding Font Cache' thing and other problems. Now, try the following alternatives to VLC media player for Windows.
No 1. Windows Movie Maker
There is no doubt that many people have probably heard of Windows Movie Maker, a video editing tool developed by Microsoft. It not only allows you to watch video, but also lets you edit this video simply, for instance, add text to video. Video editing movie making software, free download.
Related article: How to Add Text to Video in Windows Movie Maker (Step-by-Step Guide).
Now, some users might want to know where to get this tool since it was officially discontinued on January 10, 2017. Fortunately, you can get this Microsoft video editing tool by clicking the following button.
Cons
- It supports playing videos as well as pictures.
- It can edit your videos simply.
- It is able to share your videos on YouTube, Facebook, etc.
Related article: How to Use Movie Maker | Step-by-step Guide for Beginners.
Pros
- Microsoft does not support it now.
- It cannot play music alone.
No 2. 5KPlayer
5KPlayer is a mixture of free (MKV) HD video player and music player. This real media player is compatible with Windows as well as Mac OS X. If your VLC crashes suddenly, you can try this alternative.
Pros
- It supports a lot of video formats, including MKV, M2TS, MPEG1/2, WMV/ASF, AVI, MOV, RM, OGV, FLV, MP4, H.264, M4V, WEBM.
- It can play 4K UHD videos without any glitches.
- It is able to play 1080p or 1080i high-definition videos under 10% CPU cost.
- It can play MP3 AAC APE FLAC music perfectly to activate your senses.
- It can download online videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.
Cons
This alternative to VLC media player for Windows might be confusing for beginners.
No 3. Windows Media Player
Windows media player is another VLC alternative. It allows you to play video and audio files. Modern warfare 2 mac download. Besides, it allows previewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices.
Pros
- It provides a less cluttered user interface.
- It offers a better music library.
- It supports network sharing.
- It can access to online music services.
Cons
- It cannot handle 4K, 3D and 360-degree video.
- It doesn't support for VR headsets.
No 4. Photos App
If you are running Windows 10, you have another great VLC alternative 2019 – Photo app. This Windows 10 hidden media player not only can play video but also can play images. Besides, it can help to trim video.
Related Article: How to Cut Video Easily and Quickly (The Definitive Guide).
Pros
- It can play videos quickly.
- It has a simple, touch-friendly interface.
- It also supports browsing photo, and is able to create albums automatically.
- It has cool video editing effects.
Cons
- It cannot tag faces.
- It doesn't support panorama stitching and selective focus.
No 5. KMPlayer
KM player can play video as well as audio in Windows. This alternative to VLC supports almost any format that Windows can play including AVI, ASF, WMV, AVS, FLV, MKV, and many more. With the VLC alternative, you can slow down or increase playback speed, select parts of a video as favorites.
Pros
- It supports many audio and video formats.
- It supports 3D and VR and setting related to that.
- It has extensive subtitle management.
- It can capture audio and video.
Cons
Advertisement (There are no hidden or misleading clauses while installing, but we will be asked whether we want to install Avast Antivirus after installing.)
After learning these different VLC alternatives for Windows, you can take a look of the below wonderful video tool.
No 6. MiniTool Movie Maker
MiniTool Movie Maker, free and simple video tool, lets you review videos, and pictures. Besides, it also lets you create videos and slideshow easily and quickly. For instance, I usually use this simple and free tool to create Facebook Slideshow.
Vlc On Tv
Pros
- It supports a lot of video format including WMV, MP4, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, GIF, MP3, and so on.
- It offers wizard-like interfaces. This tool can help you create a movie without requiring professional knowledge and skill.
- It offers movie as well as trailer templates. You are able to easily create cool movies or Hollywood-style movie trailers.
- It allows you to make video with pictures easily and quickly.
- It offers some filters to help you change the color, style, or tone in minutes.
- It offers plenty of useful transition effects to make the presentation, slideshow or movie good looking and impressive.
- It not only can split large video into small parts but also can trim video to remove the unwanted frames from the start or end of a clip. More details can be found in How to Trim Video Easily (Step-by-Step Guide with Pictures).
Cons
It only supports Windows OSs, now.
Part 2. VLC Alternative Mac
Mac users can try the following alternatives when the VLC media player isn't working.
No 1. QuickTime Player
QuickTime player, the best VLC alternative Mac, is the most familiar media players for Mac users. As the default movie player as Mac, QuickTime player is capable of supporting various formats of videos, music, images, and other media files.
Apple Tv Vlc Alternatives
- QuickTime player enables you to set playback from 1/2x to 3x the normal speed.
- This alternative to VLC is capable of watching videos from hard drive and internet.
- This VLC alternative Mac allows you to screen recording your Mac, edit movies and extract audio from a video. However, you need to purchase the QuickTime Pro license key to unlock the recording, editing and extracting features.
No 2. MPlayerX Media Player
MPlayerX, a free and open source media player, is another VLC alternative.
- It can handle any media format in the world without extra plug-ins or codec packages as it is armed by FFmpeg and MPlayer.
- It provides you the easiest way to control the playback as it will follow your gestures.
- It can automatically and seamlessly detect and convert the encoding method of the subtitle file.
Vlc For Apple Tv
No 3. Movist
Movist, a free, simple yet powerful player for Mac, supports QuickTime, FFmpeg as well as subtitles.
- It is easy to use.
- It owns a beautiful and convenient user interface.
- It is available to adjust aspect ratios and configure keyboard shortcuts.
Unfortunately, this VLC alternative Mac doesn't support Apple remote.
Part 3. VLC Alternative Linux
Let's start with a true example from my best friend.
I've used VLC in Linux for years. But lately, it's been choking and dying for no discernible reasons and attempts to troubleshoot have failed. Are there any other comparable alternatives for media players out there at the moment? https://pinoyfree.mystrikingly.com/blog/can-t-play-minecraft-offline.
Now, my friend can try the following VLC alternative Linux.
No 1. Bomi Player
The best VLC alternative Linux, Bomi player (known as CM Player), works well on Linux and provides GUI features.
- This easy-to-use VLC alternative Linux provides some powerful features which you will find in the context menu.
- It supports audio file and subtitle at all.
- It allows browsing your old playlist because it generally saves all your playback record.
No 2. SMPlayer
SMPlayer supports for all the default formats as like as other media players.
- This VLC alternative Linux allows you to play YouTube video directly from this player because of its built-in codec.
- This VLC alternative 2019 loads the subtitle of a movie from the internet. And, it saves your all settings when you play video.
- This alternative to VLC is fully resume supported video player.
- It supports playing videos as well as pictures.
- It can edit your videos simply.
- It is able to share your videos on YouTube, Facebook, etc.
Related article: How to Use Movie Maker | Step-by-step Guide for Beginners.
Pros
- Microsoft does not support it now.
- It cannot play music alone.
No 2. 5KPlayer
5KPlayer is a mixture of free (MKV) HD video player and music player. This real media player is compatible with Windows as well as Mac OS X. If your VLC crashes suddenly, you can try this alternative.
Pros
- It supports a lot of video formats, including MKV, M2TS, MPEG1/2, WMV/ASF, AVI, MOV, RM, OGV, FLV, MP4, H.264, M4V, WEBM.
- It can play 4K UHD videos without any glitches.
- It is able to play 1080p or 1080i high-definition videos under 10% CPU cost.
- It can play MP3 AAC APE FLAC music perfectly to activate your senses.
- It can download online videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc.
Cons
This alternative to VLC media player for Windows might be confusing for beginners.
No 3. Windows Media Player
Windows media player is another VLC alternative. It allows you to play video and audio files. Modern warfare 2 mac download. Besides, it allows previewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices.
Pros
- It provides a less cluttered user interface.
- It offers a better music library.
- It supports network sharing.
- It can access to online music services.
Cons
- It cannot handle 4K, 3D and 360-degree video.
- It doesn't support for VR headsets.
No 4. Photos App
If you are running Windows 10, you have another great VLC alternative 2019 – Photo app. This Windows 10 hidden media player not only can play video but also can play images. Besides, it can help to trim video.
Related Article: How to Cut Video Easily and Quickly (The Definitive Guide).
Pros
- It can play videos quickly.
- It has a simple, touch-friendly interface.
- It also supports browsing photo, and is able to create albums automatically.
- It has cool video editing effects.
Cons
- It cannot tag faces.
- It doesn't support panorama stitching and selective focus.
No 5. KMPlayer
KM player can play video as well as audio in Windows. This alternative to VLC supports almost any format that Windows can play including AVI, ASF, WMV, AVS, FLV, MKV, and many more. With the VLC alternative, you can slow down or increase playback speed, select parts of a video as favorites.
Pros
- It supports many audio and video formats.
- It supports 3D and VR and setting related to that.
- It has extensive subtitle management.
- It can capture audio and video.
Cons
Advertisement (There are no hidden or misleading clauses while installing, but we will be asked whether we want to install Avast Antivirus after installing.)
After learning these different VLC alternatives for Windows, you can take a look of the below wonderful video tool.
No 6. MiniTool Movie Maker
MiniTool Movie Maker, free and simple video tool, lets you review videos, and pictures. Besides, it also lets you create videos and slideshow easily and quickly. For instance, I usually use this simple and free tool to create Facebook Slideshow.
Vlc On Tv
Pros
- It supports a lot of video format including WMV, MP4, AVI, MOV, F4V, MKV, GIF, MP3, and so on.
- It offers wizard-like interfaces. This tool can help you create a movie without requiring professional knowledge and skill.
- It offers movie as well as trailer templates. You are able to easily create cool movies or Hollywood-style movie trailers.
- It allows you to make video with pictures easily and quickly.
- It offers some filters to help you change the color, style, or tone in minutes.
- It offers plenty of useful transition effects to make the presentation, slideshow or movie good looking and impressive.
- It not only can split large video into small parts but also can trim video to remove the unwanted frames from the start or end of a clip. More details can be found in How to Trim Video Easily (Step-by-Step Guide with Pictures).
Cons
It only supports Windows OSs, now.
Part 2. VLC Alternative Mac
Mac users can try the following alternatives when the VLC media player isn't working.
No 1. QuickTime Player
QuickTime player, the best VLC alternative Mac, is the most familiar media players for Mac users. As the default movie player as Mac, QuickTime player is capable of supporting various formats of videos, music, images, and other media files.
Apple Tv Vlc Alternatives
- QuickTime player enables you to set playback from 1/2x to 3x the normal speed.
- This alternative to VLC is capable of watching videos from hard drive and internet.
- This VLC alternative Mac allows you to screen recording your Mac, edit movies and extract audio from a video. However, you need to purchase the QuickTime Pro license key to unlock the recording, editing and extracting features.
No 2. MPlayerX Media Player
MPlayerX, a free and open source media player, is another VLC alternative.
- It can handle any media format in the world without extra plug-ins or codec packages as it is armed by FFmpeg and MPlayer.
- It provides you the easiest way to control the playback as it will follow your gestures.
- It can automatically and seamlessly detect and convert the encoding method of the subtitle file.
Vlc For Apple Tv
No 3. Movist
Movist, a free, simple yet powerful player for Mac, supports QuickTime, FFmpeg as well as subtitles.
- It is easy to use.
- It owns a beautiful and convenient user interface.
- It is available to adjust aspect ratios and configure keyboard shortcuts.
Unfortunately, this VLC alternative Mac doesn't support Apple remote.
Part 3. VLC Alternative Linux
Let's start with a true example from my best friend.
I've used VLC in Linux for years. But lately, it's been choking and dying for no discernible reasons and attempts to troubleshoot have failed. Are there any other comparable alternatives for media players out there at the moment? https://pinoyfree.mystrikingly.com/blog/can-t-play-minecraft-offline.
Now, my friend can try the following VLC alternative Linux.
No 1. Bomi Player
The best VLC alternative Linux, Bomi player (known as CM Player), works well on Linux and provides GUI features.
- This easy-to-use VLC alternative Linux provides some powerful features which you will find in the context menu.
- It supports audio file and subtitle at all.
- It allows browsing your old playlist because it generally saves all your playback record.
No 2. SMPlayer
SMPlayer supports for all the default formats as like as other media players.
- This VLC alternative Linux allows you to play YouTube video directly from this player because of its built-in codec.
- This VLC alternative 2019 loads the subtitle of a movie from the internet. And, it saves your all settings when you play video.
- This alternative to VLC is fully resume supported video player.
Your Choice
The above video editing tools are good alternatives to VLC media player. You can choose a suitable one to play your videos.
Which VLC alternatives do you like to choose? Let us know by leaving comments.
Vlc For Apple
Should you have any other good suggestions about VLC alternatives, please share them with us. Thanks in advance!
VLC Alternatives FAQ
- PotPlayer
- KMPlayer
- Media Player Classic – Home Cinema
- ACG Player
- GOM Media Player
- DivX Player
- Kodi
- Plex
- 5KPlayer
- MediaMonkey
- VLC Player
- PotPlayer
- Media Player Classic – Home Cinema
