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Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 22:26

How To Install VLC Media Player on Ubuntu 24.04

This tutorial will help you install VLC Media Player on Ubuntu 24.04. VLC (Video LAN Client) is the most famous audio and movie player everybody who uses computer and phone knows and it is a free software licensed under GNU GPL. Its logo is the orange cone you often find at road constructions. And we will begin to use it on Ubuntu like the following. Now happy reading!

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Why VLC?

By default, because of unfriendly patents in the field of software, Ubuntu is still unable to play MP3/MP4 unless we install some codec packages first (however, Ubuntu is able to play OGG/WEBM flawlessly because these are friendly to software freedom). To solve this problem, one easy way many can do is to simply install and use VLC.

How To Install VLC Application

1. Run Terminal.

2. Type the following command line followed by Enter:

$ sudo apt-get install vlc

3. Let the installation process take place for a while.

4. VLC installed. Done.

Pro Tip!
Want to learn more about Ubuntu's Terminal command lines? Please read our Jewel and Pearl: A Terminal Tutorial that includes explanation as well as step by step exercises you can follow. Good luck!

How To Run VLC

1. Click Ubuntu button on your desktop.

2. Type vlc and click VLC logo.

3. VLC runs.

How To Open a Video

To watch a video file, there are several ways you can pick. Here's the default one:

1. Run VLC.

2. Click menu Media -> Open File...

3. Select one or more files to open -> Open.

4. VLC plays the video. (VLC can also play audio files.) Done.

There are another ways and even quicker ones to do that like below.

How To Play MP3 in VLC

1. Navigate to a folder with an MP3 file.

2. Right-click MP3 file -> Open With... -> VLC -> enable "Always use this" -> OK.

3. Double-click the MP3 file.

4. MP4 audio playing in VLC. Done.

How To Play MP4

1. Navigate to a folder with an MP4 video.

2. Right-click MP4 file - Open With... -> VLC -> enable "Always use this" -> OK.

3. Double-click the MP4 video.

4. MP4 video playing in VLC. Done.

Relationship to Ubuntu

VLC is a free software like most of software packages provided by Ubuntu.
VLC is not default application on Ubuntu.
Videos (aka GNOME Totem) is the default application for video playback purposes.
VLC is made available by Ubuntu freely in its official repositories.