VLC version: 3.0.0 Operating System: mac os. My test with h264 on the IINA player shows their reverse frame by frame method is very usable. VLC media player. A much easier way would be to install Media Player Classic, which comes installs freely with K-Lite Codec Pack. Ctrl + Left/Right arrow would move the video frame by frame, forward/backward.
While watching movies and playing audio using VLC, the navigation bar is an important tool. It helps us to navigate the media that is currently playing. We can click on a spot in the lengthy navigation slider and boom, we go are closer to the scene that we’re looking for. But this process can be done with more accuracy. We can use the left and right arrows and hotkeys available in VLC Media Player for elegant navigation. In this way, we can efficiently get to the exact spot in a lengthy movie.
Using Hotkeys
We have found that using hotkeys (or shortcuts) is the best and the most effective way in navigating long video or audio files. Suppose, you are watching a movie or listening to a podcast while writing down notes. If something is missed and needs to be re-played, it is not always convenient to pause and go back using the interface’s navigation slider. Well, hotkeys to the rescue.
The simplest way is to press the left and right arrow keys. The left key will take us 10 seconds behind. The right key will take us 10 seconds forward. Pressing them more than once will do the trick. But we are not limited to 10-second jumps. We can actually do very short(3 seconds), short(10 seconds), medium(60 seconds), and long jumps(300 seconds). The length of these jumps can also be defined.
To specify jump sizes in VLC’s interface, follow these steps:
- Go to Tools > Preferences
- Click All under Show settings to go to Advanced Preferences.
- Navigate to Interface > Hotkeys settings
- Specify the respective jump sizes in seconds
- Hit Save.
These are the jump lengths by default-
- Very short jump length: 3 seconds
- Short jump length: 10 seconds
- Medium jump length: 60 seconds
- Long jump length: 300 seconds
The default Windows hotkeys for the four jumps forward and backward are-
- Very short backward jump: Shift + Left
- Very short forward jump: Shift + Right
- Short backward jump: Alt + Left
- Short forward jump: Alt + Right
- Medium backward jump: Ctrl + Left
- Medium forward jump: Ctrl + Right
- Long backward jump: Ctrl + Alt + Left
- Long forward jump: Ctrl + Alt + Right
Jump to Specific Time
There are also additional features like the Jump to Specific Time [CTRL + T] (accessible from Playback > Jump to Specific Time) in VLC for Windows. If we know the exact timeframe of the scene that we want to jump to, we can punch in the hours, minutes and seconds and hit go.
Hit Go and it will take us to the exact spot in the media file.
Fine Tuning and Reaching the Exact Frame with Frame Forward
When we are paused in a scene and we know that the exact frame of the video is a few frames ahead, we can use the frame forward option. Just hit the E shortcut key. It will take us ahead one frame at a time. The movie has to be paused otherwise it will be paused after pressing the hotkey. Another way to access the frame forward feature is from the advanced controls.
The advanced controls are brought up by going to View > Advanced Controls. With the frame stepping button, we can do a frame by frame navigation in VLC. But sadly, there is no frame backward button. So, while we can easily navigate ahead one frame at a time, we cannot go back to the previous frame. It is a highly demanded feature but it unavailable in VLC.
Custom Bookmarks
We might not remember the exact scene every time. To solve the problem, there is the Custom Bookmarks feature. When a media file is open, go to Playback > Custom Bookmarks > Manage [CTRL + B].
Ensure that the media pointer is at the correct time. Hitting Create will remember the time in the bookmark. Multiple bookmarks can be set for a single file. Once, it is all set up, close the dialog. The next time Playback > Custom Bookmarks is accessed, the saved bookmarks will be there. Click on them and the video position will be navigated automatically to the previously saved position. But sadly, the bookmarks are lost once the media is closed or when the player is crossed off. It should be thought of as a temporary feature for a single playback session.
Loop from point A to B Continuously
Suppose, we want to watch a certain scene of a movie repeatedly. Let’s say the scene is from 10:00 to 12:22. We can loop between these two points continuously with VLC Media Player.
The feature is accessible from the advanced controls (View > Advanced Controls). We need two points to loop through continuously. Make sure the movie’s pointer is at the right spot. Define the first point or “A” as you click the A-to-B loop button for the first time. After you reach the second point, define “B” by clicking the A-to-B button again. Now hit the same button again. The movie (or audio) will repeat from the defined points A to B position repeatedly. It is an interesting way to watch the desired scene repeatedly in VLC Media Player.
Advanced Tutorial: Playing Multiple Parts/Sections of a Video (or Audio)
With this special hack, we can play only the desired parts or sections of a video in VLC Media Player. It will allow us to skip the undesired sections. It is like the A to B loop that we discussed before but we have multiple parts that we go through. So, we have to figure out the exact timestamps for the start and end times of the video portions.
The output of skipping and playing certain portions of a media can be understood with the above screenshot. Here we are playing three sections. We need to figure out their timestamps in seconds The timestamps for 12:20 would be (12*60+20) = 740. For 13:30, it would be (13*60+30)=810. The rest of the timestamps are 1568 to 1702, and 2716 to 2810.
Now, we open up notepad or something similar. Note down the full name of the video file like video.mp4. Then, we input the following code
#EXTVLCOPT:stop-time=810
video.mp4
#EXTVLCOPT:start-time=1568
#EXTVLCOPT:stop-time=1702
video.mp4
#EXTVLCOPT:start-time=2716
#EXTVLCOPT:stop-time=2810
video.mp4
The time points in your video file can be different. The code can be modified as per the requirement. Save the file as play.m3u. Or something else as long as it has a .m3u extension. It will be saved as a playlist file and VLC will recognize the M3U playlist file.
Now, put the play.m3u file in the same folder as the video file. Open the play.m3u file using VLC. It will do the trick and play multiple portions of the video in one go. You can enjoy your favorite scenes exclusively from a long movie using this trick.
We hope that the different tips and tricks presented in this post helped you out in one way or another. We have shown you multiple ways to enjoy a good playback session through VLC Media Player. Please let us know about anything related in the comments. Happy playing.
Slow motion videos have become a trend now-a-days, there are tons of videos available in the internet and forwarded by social networking apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter, but you must need a perfect slow motion video player to play such apps. Slow motion videos are created using different software and the output video is larger than the original video, so, in other words, the FPS of the slow motion video is less than original videos. So, If you have a large chunk of slow motion videos available in the media library on your Windows PC or Mac, you will definitely need a professional slow motion video player to play the videos in perfect manner. Here's our Sneak peak of best slow motion video players for Windows or Mac.
1. Filmora Video Editor:
Last by not the least on this list is the one of the most amazing and perfectly video player and editor available for both windows and Mac PC. It will not only let you play the videos, but you can also edit them in the best way possible. Approximately, any type of videos can be watched in the slow motion mode, by frame by frame and it will also let you export the videos in very high quality. From adding text to audio files, you can also crop out the video or change the speed with just one click. The best part is that audio file can be detached from the video, so you can add another audio file to play the video in perfect manner.
Web Address: Click Here
Price: $39.99
Ratings: 9.5/10
2. VLC Media Player for Windows and Mac:
One of the oldest and free media players to play slow motion videos on Mac and Windows is the VLC Media Player. It was one of the first media players to play any format audio or video files. The user interface is pretty much sleek and easy to use, everyone can handle it without any problem and that's just not it you can play approximately any video file with any frame rate and there are plenty of options which can changed during the playing of files such as brightness, audio settings, subtitles, slow motion or hyper lapse videos playing and much more. Although it works perfectly with small and normal quality video but when you try to play a 1080p movie or a blue-ray quality rip, the VLC media player doesn't respond well.
Web Address: Click Here
Price: Free
Rating: 8/10
3. Wondershare Media Player:
Wonder Share media player will also play any video files out there but in a modern and sleek way, the design of this media player is what makes it different from all other media players out there. The best part is that it will work with any DVD or video files in a perfect way.
Main Features:
- Works flawlessly, Pretty Fast and Modern design .
- Play any Video files you want.
- Support any audio file present on the internet.
- Perfect player to play the edited slow motion video files.
- Provides best quality weather you are watching videos in small screen or full screen.
- Bookmark your favorite videos to play anytime you want.
Web Address: Click here
Price: Free
Ratings: 8/10
4. Media Player Classic:
As the name of this video player indicate, it will play videos in a classic mode. With so many enriched features, it has a downside, it is only available for the windows. Here are some of prominent features of this video player.
Main Features:
- Free, Open Source media player.
- Ultra-Fast and portable.
- Plays any audio or video files smoothly.
- Works on any windows platform even on your old school PC.
- No limit for customization, you can customize everything you want for the media player.
Web Address: Click here
Price: Free
Ratings: 6/10
5. Flip Player for Mac:
Flip Player although doesn't support all kind of media formats but it supports the most popular formats, with the new sleek design, you can play and even edit any kind of video files in it.
Main Features:
- Supports Retina Display for latest iMacs and MacBooks.
- Powerful editing features.
- Slow motion videos Playback with the amazing quality.
- Make ringtones for your iPhone.
- Modern design with every basic playing feature.
- Perfect export mode to export videos for your iPhone, TV and iPad.
Web Address: Click here
Price: Free or Pro version $29
Ratings: 7/10
6. Quintic Player:
Quintic Player is not like any other media player out there, it is the best way to play slow motion videos forward or backward direction. It is more kind of a coaching software, you can't only play videos files from media library, but it will also let you add the different URL's to play different videos. The best part about Quintic player is the portability of this software, you can easily send this software to other friends for coaching instructions of any specific video. It is so far the best video player for sports analysis and teaching purposes.
Web Address: Click here
Price: Free
Ratings: 7/10
7. BS Media Player:
BS media player is more like a pro version of VLC media player, it supports ton of audio and video formats but it doesn't provide a prominent slow motion playback feature in the player. You can play the already converted slow motion videos but there is no way to play videos in the slow motion right inside the software. Apart from this, it has other amazing features such as support for the subtitles, playlists and it also has a multi-language feature. Moreover, you can also save the images right from the video using the capture shortcut in the media player.
Web Address: Click here
Price: Free
Ratings: 6/10
8. Jaksta Media Player:
If you are looking for a simple, free and easy to use and perfect slow motion video player for Windows, Jaksta media player should be your choice. It can also stream the video files from YouTube and the slow motion video playing feature is just way too awesome but the downside part of this video player is that it will only work with the Windows and there is no software available for the Mac.
Web Address: Click here
Price: Free
Ratings: 8/10
Vlc Frame By Frame Issue
9. Full motion Video Player:
Full motion video player is a very strong media player and powerful video editing software available for the windows. It supports different video formats and you have different options to play with such as changing the frame rate of the video, applying different effects and filters and there are 100 different filters available to apply on a video. The output video can finally be either exported locally to media library on your PC or you can upload it directly to the 'YouTube' or 'Facebook' right from the software.
Web Address: Click Here
Price: Free or $30
Ratings: 7/10
10. Sport Video Player:
As the name of this software indicates, it is basically used to analyze the different sports videos in slow motion. It is only available for the windows PC and works very efficiently, you can watch each and every frame by clicking one simple button on your mouse or track pad on your laptop.
Vlc Play By Frame
Web Address: Click Here
Price: Free
Vlc Advance Frame By Frame
Ratings: 6/10
Comparison of All Slow motion Video Players:
| Sr. No. | Features | VLC Video Player | Wondershare Video Player | Media Player Classic | Flip Player for Mac | Quintic Player | BS Media Player | Jaksta Media Player | Full Motion Video Player | Sport Video Player | Filmora Video Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Slow motion feature in Player | √ | √ | × | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| 2. | Frame By Frame Checking | × | × | × | √ | × | × | √ | × | √ | √ |
| 3. | Powerful Editing Features | × | × | × | √ | × | × | √ | √ | × | √ |
| 4. | Mac Support | √ | √ | × | √ | × | × | × | × | × | √ |
Vlc Frame By Frame
Among all video Players and editors, Filmora Video Player is the one which have approximately every feature needed for a perfect slow motion video player and editor, with its Mac compatibility, it is one of the most useful software out there.