How To Batch Convert Media Files in VLC

The huge variety of media files available for PCs, laptops, and mobile devices is both a blessing and a curse. It’s great because every specific niche out there has a format available to optimize it for playback on all the devices that we carry around with us, but it’s also terrible because every once in a while you find a video file that just won’t play on your particular device.

And there are times when the media files we have on hand are really ill-suited for the device we want to use, such as if you have a huge high-quality .mkv file but want to play it on your older smartphone and really need it to be converted to an MP4. Fortunately, there is a tool out there that solves both these problems.

VLC is an awesome program. It’s a small media player, it uses very few system resources, it can play just about every popular media format out there, and it is free and open source. Not only that, it has great mobile versions for both iOS and Mac, making viewing on the morning commute easier than ever. The program is free, is continually developed and supported, has a huge fan base that’s very serious about keeping the programming going, and on top of that is feature-rich and easy to use.

It’s one of the best programs out there – and we can use it to convert media files into more convenient or better formats to boot. In this tutorial article, I’ll show you how to use VLC to batch convert your media files.

Batch convert media files in VLC

Batch conversion in VLC works the same regardless of whether you’re converting audio or video. The process is exactly the same and contains only a few steps. The actual conversion process may take time though – video files especially are very large and even powerful computers need time to work on them. Much depends on the type of file, the size of it, the format you’re converting from and to and the specs of your computer.

Video editing compilation and conversion takes a lot of working memory. If your computer has lots of RAM and a decent processor, the conversion time will be relatively short. If you’re using an older computer, it’s going to take longer. MP4 conversion takes longer than MP3, partly because of file size but also the information contained within it. So be patient!

Here’s how to batch convert media files in VLC.

1. Open VLC.
2. Select Media and ‘Open multiple files’.
3. Click Add and select all of the files you want to convert.
4. Click the small down arrow next to Play in the bottom right.
5. Select Convert.
6. Select the format where it says Profile.
7. Select somewhere to save it to in Destination File.
8. Select Start to begin the process.

Depending on how many files you’re converting, their type, size, and your computer, this process can take less than a minute or several hours. VLC works quickly but it’s about more than just raw processing power.

Use a batch file to convert media files in VLC

Videolan.org, the people behind VLC, have also put together a series of script files that use PowerShell or CMD in Windows or the terminal in Linux to batch convert files in VLC. If you prefer doing things with a cript that automates the tedious process of transcoding multiple videos at once, then this page on how To transcode multiple VLC videos is for you.

As a fan of PowerShell, Microsoft’s automation and configuration management system, I tried this method as well as the menu method above and it worked just fine.

Simply open up PowerShell as an administrator and paste the following into it:

$outputExtension = ".mkv"

$bitrate = 8000

$channels = 4

foreach($inputFile in get-childitem -recurse -Filter *.MP4)

{

$outputFileName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($inputFile.FullName) + $outputExtension;

$outputFileName = [System.IO.Path]::Combine($inputFile.DirectoryName, $outputFileName);

$programFiles = ${env:ProgramFiles(x86)};

if($programFiles -eq $null) { $programFiles = $env:ProgramFiles; }

$processName = $programFiles + "\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe"

$processArgs = "-I dummy -vvv `"$($inputFile.FullName)`" --sout=#transcode{acodec=`"mp3`",ab=`"$bitrate`",`"channels=$channels`"}:standard{access=`"file`",mux=`"wav`",dst=`"$outputFileName`"} vlc://quit"

start-process $processName $processArgs -wait

}

You can set the script to work with multiple files types, audio or video. You will need to modify the outputExtension to match the file you’re converting from and the end of the ‘foreach’ line to match your desired output format.

You will also need to modify bitrate to match the file type and channels to fit the audio. I have bitrate to 8000 as it is measured in kbps and I required HD, which is 8mbps = 8000 kbps.

The VLC HowTo/Transcode multiple videos page has much more information on the various script options you can choose.

Other options to convert media files

There are third party programs that can convert audio and video for you and even websites that will do it online. Some programs are very good indeed and may be more suitable for if you’re producing media for public consumption rather than your own enjoyment.

Some programs include Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate, Prism Free and Any Video Converter. A website I have used is OnlineVideoConverter which is pretty good too. The site can work slowly at times, depending on the time of day and how many requests it is handling at the time. For a one-off project, this might be useful but for anything more frequent, VLC or one of these other apps will get the job done.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy this article on the best music player for Windows.

There is a lot more to VLC than just a media player, so much so that I cannot believe it is a free and open source application, free to download, free to use, with no strings attached. While it remains at no-cost (and open source programs tend to remain free) it will always be my go-to media player and the app I use to batch convert media files.

If you have any opinions on VLC, please leave a comment below!