Difference between revisions of "Windows/VLC"
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[http://videlan.org VLC] is my favorite media player for the simple reason that it cross-platform running on Windows, MacOS X, and Linux/Unix without a lot of fiddling around. Not just that, it can play pretty much everything that you throw at it. |
[http://videlan.org VLC] is my favorite media player for the simple reason that it cross-platform running on Windows, MacOS X, and Linux/Unix without a lot of fiddling around. Not just that, it can play pretty much everything that you throw at it. |
||
=== Making VLC the default DVD player on Windows XP === |
=== Making VLC the default AudioCD and DVD player on Windows XP === |
||
As the computer support staff of the extended family I had a case where there were problems with playing videos after the installation was done I went my merry way. Only to get another call a week later that DVD's are not playing. Turned out that the Windows Media Player on XP was still the default player. After trying to explain the user to right click the drive icon then select ''Play with VLC'' a few times without much success I decided for everyone's sanity to make it the default player. |
As the computer support staff of the extended family I had a case where there were problems with playing videos after the installation was done I went my merry way. Only to get another call a week later that DVD's are not playing. Turned out that the Windows Media Player on XP was still the default player. After trying to explain the user to right click the drive icon then select ''Play with VLC'' a few times without much success I decided for everyone's sanity to make it the default player. |
||
During VLC installation there is an option called <tt>Discs Playback</tt> which will add a context menu to AudioCD or DVD disc in explorer. Which is good but does not really offer the comfort of a simple double click on the icon and VLC will play back the disc. To get there we need the <tt>reg</tt> tool. |
|||
==== Backup existing entries ==== |
|||
Always have a plan B so before starting we want to backup the registry entries in question. |
|||
reg export HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AudioCD hklm-software-classes-audiocd.backup.reg |
|||
reg export HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\DVD hklm-software-classes-dvd.backup.reg |
|||
When uninstalling VLC these files are needed to restore functionality to Windows Media Player. |
|||
==== Removing the old entries ==== |
|||
Now we can remove the old entries if you want to confirm deletion of the keys and sub-keys omit the <tt>/f</tt> option. |
|||
reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AudioCD\shell\PlayWithVLC /va /f |
|||
reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\DVD\shell\PlayWithVLC /va /f |
|||
==== Changing the default entries ==== |
|||
Now we get down to business and overwrite the default Windows Media Player entries. But first we need to know where VLC is located on the disk. And <tt>reg</tt> can help us once more with this task. |
|||
reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\VideoLAN\VLC /ve |
|||
! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0 |
|||
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VideoLAN\VLC |
|||
<NO NAME> REG_SZ <span class="highlight">C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe</span> |
|||
[[Category:Windows]] |
[[Category:Windows]] |
||
Revision as of 21:33, 15 May 2012
VLC is my favorite media player for the simple reason that it cross-platform running on Windows, MacOS X, and Linux/Unix without a lot of fiddling around. Not just that, it can play pretty much everything that you throw at it.
Making VLC the default AudioCD and DVD player on Windows XP
As the computer support staff of the extended family I had a case where there were problems with playing videos after the installation was done I went my merry way. Only to get another call a week later that DVD's are not playing. Turned out that the Windows Media Player on XP was still the default player. After trying to explain the user to right click the drive icon then select Play with VLC a few times without much success I decided for everyone's sanity to make it the default player.
During VLC installation there is an option called Discs Playback which will add a context menu to AudioCD or DVD disc in explorer. Which is good but does not really offer the comfort of a simple double click on the icon and VLC will play back the disc. To get there we need the reg tool.
Backup existing entries
Always have a plan B so before starting we want to backup the registry entries in question.
reg export HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AudioCD hklm-software-classes-audiocd.backup.reg reg export HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\DVD hklm-software-classes-dvd.backup.reg
When uninstalling VLC these files are needed to restore functionality to Windows Media Player.
Removing the old entries
Now we can remove the old entries if you want to confirm deletion of the keys and sub-keys omit the /f option.
reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AudioCD\shell\PlayWithVLC /va /f reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\DVD\shell\PlayWithVLC /va /f
Changing the default entries
Now we get down to business and overwrite the default Windows Media Player entries. But first we need to know where VLC is located on the disk. And reg can help us once more with this task.
reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\VideoLAN\VLC /ve
! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VideoLAN\VLC
<NO NAME> REG_SZ C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe