VLC is one of the best multimedia players of today, it is the favorite of many mainly for its ability to reproduce almost any format that we launch it. Maybe today does not seem like much, but there was a time when the headache of installing a bunch of packages of codecs separately and still not being able to see or hear some videos was a reality. VLC was one of the biggest influences to change that.

The free, multiplatform, open source player that at first glance seems to be extremely simple because of how easy it is to use, it hides more of an additional trick and tool that goes beyond just playing music or videos. Just as you can play all kinds of formats, you can also convert them.

Convert audio or video files

The process for converting both audio and video is the same, which changes are the input and output formats supported. VLC supports a huge number of formats, so you have many options.

• Open VLC and in the top menu click Medium and look for the Convert option. You can also simply press CTRL + R from the Player window.

• Now select your file. Click the Add … button (you can add several but only convert one at a time). Select the one you are going to convert and press the Convert / Save button.

• Now you have to choose the output format, the destination location and the final name for your file. Under Preference and Profile click the drop-down menu and navigate through the options until you get the format you want.

• If you want to edit more than the output format, you can click the button with a tool key to access advanced options. From there you can modify parameters such as bitrate, channels, sample rate, etc., if you are converting audio. If you convert video you have a lot of options ranging from frames per second, resolution, subtitles, filters and special masks.

• Once you have chosen all the desired options, click on Explore, select the destination location and enter a name for your file. Now you just have to press the Start button and wait for VLC to finish. The conversion screen is the same as the playback screen.