Vlc youtube not working 2020

VLC YouTube function offers us a much easier way to watch YouTube videos and movies without annoying advertisements or popups. If any interesting or educational video has attracted you, you can also save it with VLC to local folder for further viewing. However, YouTube transmission protocols change occasionally, and the changes may break the YouTube module embedded in VLC, thus making VLC unable to open YouTube videos. As YouTube updates unexpectedly, VLC YouTube not working problem may also happen out of your control, and therefore you are suggested to bookmark this guide when you want to stream and download YouTube with VLC.

How to Solve VLC YouTube Live Stream not Working?

First, make sure it is not your poor network causing VLC YouTube not working for video streaming. Second, assure your VLC is in the newest version, if not, update VLC on your computer from its official site.

After scouring, I have only found that in May 2018 YouTube had figured out a way to detect the client playback and stopped the stream on Mac computer, which also means that YouTube video download on Mac through VLC is unavailable any more. As for Windows users, someone says it is workable for VLC YouTube not streaming issue following the below method.

Step 1. Turn off the Windows Firewall & third-party antivirus software
The Firewall or antivirus program may block the path of VLC media player to access the internet source and stream YouTube. Therefore, all you need to do is to visit your Firewall options and set all tools to be able to access the internet. At the same time turn off the antivirus software.

Step 2. Download youtube.luac file

6. Copy the youtube.luac file to the following location:
On Windows 64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist\
On Windows 32-bit: C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist\

If lucky, you won't see the message "Your input can't be opened. VLC is unable to open mrl.", but stream YouTube videos directly through the URLs.

VLC Media Player is an open-source media player available to different devices, including mobile phones and computers. It supports a wide range of audio and video formats, including DVD, Video CD, and AVI. With its latest updates, it allows users to stream videos from YouTube. With that being said, you can play a video directly to VLC by just pasting the URL of the YouTube video. There are numerous ways in streaming videos YouTube. It brings a better streaming experience with VLC. It allows you to eliminate unwanted ads, chats, and comments on the interface. We better check this because we discuss different ways to play YouTube video with VLC Media Player. Read down below to learn the different ways to enjoy YouTube videos with VLC.

How to Directly Watch YouTube Video in VLC

If you're looking for a manual way on how to play youtube video in VLC, you can rely on the new update of VLC. The update allows users to stream directly from different video sharing sites. In connection with this, go to the tool's network protocol window and just put the video's link from YouTube. Follow the steps below to learn how to stream on YouTube with VLC Media Player.

Step 1 Download and Install VLC

First, launch any web browser to visit the official website of VLC Media Player. From the tool's webpage, click the "Download VLC" button to download the installer and follow the installation guide to save the media player on your computer. After installing, launch the media player to access the main interface of the tool.

Step 2 Look Video from YouTube

Next, open a new tab to visit video sharing sites like YouTube. Then, play YouTube live stream in VLC that you wish to stream on VLC and copy its URL. From the media player interface, click the "Media" button on the upper left corner of the tool to select the "Open Network Stream" menu.

Step 3 Stream YouTube Video with VLC

From the Open Network Stream window, paste the URL of the YouTube video on the "Network Protocol" bar. Lastly, click the "Play" button on the lower right corner of the tool to start the streaming YouTube videos.

How to Play Downloaded YouTube Video in VLC

The first thing you need to do before you play a YouTube video on VLC is to download it. That being said, AceThinker Video Keeper can help you with that task. This app is an all-in-one downloader that can get multiple YouTube videos at the same time. Besides, this tool supports downloading video quality ranging from 720p, 1080p, 4K, and even 8K resolution. Additionally, it can even grab all videos in an entire YouTube playlist with its “Batch Downloading” feature. To learn more about this excellent solution, follow the steps provided below.

Step 1 Download and Install the Software

First, click one of the "Download" buttons above to get the Video Keeper's installer. Then, run it and follow the set-up wizard to install it on your Windows computer. Once done, launch it to access the main interface.

Step 2 Download YouTube Video

After that, go to YouTube, and get the URL of the video that you want to download. Then, paste it on the search bar of Video Keeper to start analyzing the video. Once done, click the “More” drop-down button and choose your preferred quality and format. Lastly, click the “Download” to start saving the video to your computer.

Step 3 Watch YouTube Video on VLC

When finished, go to the "Downloaded" section and right-click on the video, and choose "Open File Location". From there, right-click on the video file again and select "Open With" and choose VLC. It will play the video on the VLC automatically.

If you don't want to go through all these processes, you can actually download YouTube video by changing link.

Troubleshooting VLC Not Playing YouTube Video

There are some instances you might experience errors in streaming YouTube with VLC. If you have encountered problems like videos from YouTube are not working through VLC and some videos are crashing. Then you might take a look at the steps to fix the YouTube error. In this section, we will show you some tips on how to resolve VLC YouTube not working. Follow the detailed guide below to know how to play YouTube videos on VLC.

1. Change the Value of File Caching of the tool

First, on the main interface of VLC. Click the "Tools" option, then click "Preferences" to go to the media player's settings window.

On the preference settings window, click the "All" button on the lower-left corner to preview the advanced settings. Next, click the "Input/Codecs" menu and find the "File Caching" option on the right side of the window and set it to 800. Once done, click the "Save" button to keep the changes you made.

2. Disable Hardware-accelerated decoding

Next, from the settings window, go to the "Input/Codecs" menu of the media player. From here, click the "Dropdown" menu to expand the list and choose "Disable." Lastly, click "Save" to save changes.

3. Change the Threading Value of Media Player

From the lower-left corner of the Settings window, click the “All” button to see the advanced settings and go to the “Input/ Codecs” menu.

Next, click "Video Codecs" to expand the option list of the tool. Here, click "FFmpeg" and change the value of the "Threads" option into 2. When the set-up is completed, click "Save" to keep the changes.

VLC allows to play YouTube videos in its interface. Copy any video URL from YouTube. Then go to VLC, press Ctrl+N, paste the URL and play the video. But this is not working for many. Then how to solve this issue?

You can set VLC media player to directly play YouTube videos on your Windows. By default VLC allows users to play YouTube videos by putting the video URL in the designated field, as mentioned above (second screenshot below). But many users face issues that VLC is not playing the YouTube videos. I will tell you how to set VLC media player to play YouTube videos hassle free. It’s a simple procedure.

Before solving the VLC not playing YouTube videos from URL issue, let us see why people prefer VLC to play videos from YouTube. Some of the advantages are;

1. Play YouTube videos without annoying ads.
2. Watch videos while you are doing something else on your computer by putting VLC always on top.
3. Take screenshot from videos.
4. Better viewing pleasure.

Steps to Solve the VLC Media Player YouTube Video Not Playing Issue.

GO to the following page and download the file youtube[dot]lua.

Download youtube.lua

Now go to the “playlist” folder that you can see inside the VLC installation folder on your computer and paste the downloaded file. The default location normally may be as follows.

C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist\youtube.lua

Now open VLC and use Ctrl+N and paste any video URL from YouTube. You can see now VLC smoothly runs the YouTube video.

How you feel watching YouTube videos on VLC? Hope it’s entertaining.