How to Make VLC Default Player on Windows and Mac?

As a free and open source multimedia player, VLC Media Player can be used on multiple systems including Windows and Mac OS X. For this reason, VLC Media Player is loved by many users and is now used by thousands of people around the world. As a multimedia player, VLC Media Player can read most common media formats including MPEG, MPG, AVI, MP3, MKV, DVD and so on, and output high-quality audio and video. What's more surprising is that VLC Media Player not only does not take up too much disk space, but also supports users to convert media file formats. However, when VLC is installed on Windows or Mac, it will not automatically become the default player. Users can set VLC Media Player as the system's default player by changing some simple settings. This article will give you a detailed introduction to how to make VLC default player on Windows and Mac, as well as some VLC Playback errors and corresponding solutions. Of course, I will also introduce alternative for VLC Media Player, if you need it, don't miss it.

Part 1: How to Make VLC Default Player on Window?
Part 2: How to Make VLC Default Player on Mac?
Part 3: VLC Playback Errors and Solutions
Part 4: Alternatives for VLC Media Player

Part 1: How to Make VLC Default Player on Window?

At present, a large number of computer users in the world use Windows. To set VLC Media Player as the default player in the Windows system, only the following simple steps are required:

Step 1: Open the "Start" menu on the Windows desktop, and then click the "Settings" button in the lower left corner.

Step 2: The system will pop up a page named "Settings". Click the "Apps" button in the lower left corner of this page.

At this time, there is an option of "Default apps" in the menu bar on the left side of the page, click it, and then click the button under the label named "Video player" on the right. If you have never changed it, the name of this button will most likely be displayed as "Movies & TV".

Step 3: At this time, the system will pop up a dialog box named "Choose an app". Select and click "VLC media player" in this dialog. It is worth noting that you must ensure that your computer has installed VLC Media Player. Otherwise, you will not be able to set the default player to VLC Media Player.

After completing the above steps, you will set VLC Media Player as the default player for the Windows system. If you need to use VLC Media Player to play a video file in the future, you only need to double-click the video file, and VLC Media Player will automatically open and play it.

 

Part 2: How to Make VLC Default Player on Mac?

With the popularity of Apple mobile phones and computers worldwide, the Mac system has gradually entered the public's field of vision. Since the Mac system is different from the Windows system, the steps to set VLC Media Player as the default player in the Mac system are also special:

Step 1: Find a video file of any format in the computer, and then right-click on it. Find and click the "Get Info" button from the pop-up menu.

 

Step 2: At this time, a window with specific information about the opened video file will pop up. In this window, open the drop-down list named "Open with" and select the option "VLC.app" in this list. It is worth noting that you must confirm that VLC Media Player has been installed on your computer. Otherwise, there will be no "VLC.app" option in this list.

Step 3: Go back to the previous window and click the "Change All..." button under "Open with". This button will instruct the system to open all video files in any format by default using VLC Media Player. 

At this time, the system will display a dialog box, and ask you whether you really want to change all similar documents to open with VLC Media Player. You just need to click the "Continue" button in the lower right corner.

 

After completing the above steps, you will set the default player of the Mac system to VLC Media Player. In the future, you can directly double-click the video file to command VLC Media Player to open and play the video.

Part 3: VLC Playback Errors and Solutions

As one of the most popular software for playing video and audio files, the function of playing and converting video and audio files of VLC Media Player is deeply loved by users. However, it is undeniable that users will also encounter some problems when using these functions. These problems will seriously affect the user experience. Below I will analyze some common VLC Media Player playback and conversion problems and corresponding solutions.

1. Lagging and/or skipping

Many users have reported that VLC Media Player will lag or skip when playing any format of high-definition video files. There are many ways to solve this problem. For example: modifying the VLC buffer size of each video, switching hardware slowdown, and using different video output modules.

2. MP3 playback problem

Some users stated that when they use VLC Media Player to play MP3 files, the sound of the file sounds like a slight blow, rather than the original sound of the file. Of course, users can solve this problem by checking the bit rate or VBR format of the MP3 file. In addition, updating VLC Media Player to the latest version seems to be a perfect solution.

3. Freeze and crash

Freezing and crashing problems mainly refer to computer crashes or VLC Media Player crashes encountered when VLC Media Player plays MKV files with a specific subtitle file extension -ass. But users can solve this problem by changing the parameters and disabling hardware decoding.

4. AVI playback error

In some cases, VLC Media Player is very slow to open and play AVI format files. The main cause of this problem is improper settings or plug-in cache corruption. Therefore, the best way to solve this problem is to reset the preferences.

5. VLC sound problem

When VLC Media Player plays large MKV files, the sound of VLC Media Player often has problems. For example: when the MKV file exceeds 12 GB, the sound played by VLC Media Player will become unrecognizable. At this time, the user can disable the hardware decoding first, and then play the video file again to check whether the problem is solved.

 

Part 4: Alternatives for VLC Media Player

Of course, there is a way to avoid all the playback problems of VLC Media Player, which is to use other multimedia playback software instead of VLC Media Player. Leawo Blu-ray Player is one of the great alternatives to VLC Media Player. Leawo Blu-ray Player is one of the best free Blu-ray players currently on the market, capable of playing video files in various formats including Blu-ray, DVD, Video, etc. With advanced image and audio processing technology, Leawo Blu-ray Player has become the best 4K Blu-ray player software. Surprisingly, Leawo Blu-ray Player is also a regionless DVD player, able to recognize DVD discs, DVD folders and DVD ISO image files in any region and play them for free. In addition, Leawo Blu-ray Player also has a video conversion function, which can convert Blu-ray/DVD lossless to MKV format files. As a video player, Leawo Blu-ray Player has other surprising little features. For example: it has a built-in screenshot snapper, allowing users to take screenshots anytime and anywhere during video playback, and save the pictures in JPG, PNG or BMP format.

In short, Leawo Blu-ray Player itself is excellent enough, and the image and audio processing technology used is also advanced enough. Therefore, using Leawo Blu-ray Player can avoid the playback problems that occur when using VLC Media Player.

We know that VLC Media Player has been on the market for more than ten years. As a senior software, VLC Media Player sometimes inevitably has some conversion or playback problems. When encountering these problems, users can take specific solutions to these problems, or use other software that can replace VLC Media Player, such as Leawo Blu-ray Player. If you know other solutions to VLC problems, or know other great alternatives to VLC Media Player, you may wish to discuss with us in the comments below.