VLC Media Player is a well-known open-source software used for streaming videos all over the world. The software is supported on many operating systems including Linux platforms, Windows, Mac OS, etc. VLC helps users to run many types of video formats such as mp4, MOV, MPEG, and WMV. Users can add multiple video effects with VLC media player, including watermark and filter. All these features make VLC media player an easy-to-use tool that becomes more popular with each passing day.
In this tutorial, I will show you how to install VLC Media Player on a Linux Mint 20 system.
Prerequisites
- Recommended OS: Linux Mint 20 system
- User account: A user account with sudo rights
Installing VLC media player
Updating system repository
Before starting the installation process, users need to update the existing repository of their Linux Mint system. Open up the Terminal window from the ApplicationsTerminal or simply use the Ctl+AlT+T shortcut.
Once the terminal window is opened, update the repository of the system by using the following command:
$ sudo apt update
Provide the password for the sudo user, then press the <enter> key. The updates will begin as shown in the figure below:
Method # 01: Installing VLC media player using apt package
The first method used for the installation of VLC media player in Linux Mint system will involve rge command line/ terminal window. Type the following command on the terminal.
The installation will begin, after some time the prompt will appear. Type Y then press the <enter> key before proceeding with the installation.
The process of installation will be time taking so do not exit the terminal, otherwise, it will stop.
Method # 02: Installing VLC media player using Linux Mint software manager
In the second method, we will be using the GUI of the Linux Mint system. Go to the Applications then search Software Manager in the search bar.
Double click the Software Manager option, the Software Manager window will appear listing all available software in the Linux package.
You need to search VLC media player in the search bar. The desired media player will appear in the available options.
The option of installation will appear against the name of the software. Click on the Install button to begin the installation of VLC software.
As soon as you click on the Install button, a modal will appear on the screen listing the additional software that are to be installed. Press the Continue button in the modal window to proceed with the installation of all required additional software.
The VLC installation process will begin as shown in the figure below:
The installation process will take some time so make sure that you do not exit the Software Manager, otherwise the process will stop.
Verifying the installation of VLC media player
One option of verification of this installation process is to search the software in Applications. Users can also access the application through the command line, by typing:
$ vlc
The VLC application will begin to run and the terminal will show an output like the one displayed below:
Exit the terminal window, to see the VLC application running in the background. For the first time, the newly installed VLC application will ask user for their permissions. Mark the Allow metadata network access checkbox, then press the Continue button to access the software.
As soon as you press the Continue button, you will be able to view the installed application similar to the one displayed below:
Uninstalling VLC from Linux Mint 20
To uninstall the VLC media player from the Linux Mint system, type the following command in the terminal window:
$ sudo apt-get remove vlc
Press the <enter> key to start off the VLC’s uninstallation process. After a while, a prompt will appear, type Y then hit enter.
The VLC media player will be easily removed from your Linux Mint 20 system using the method discussed above.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we have seen two methods to install VLC Media Player on Linux Mint 20 system. Both of the discussed methods are quite easy to implement on the system. First, we used the command line option to install the VLC Media Player and in the second method, we used the graphical user interface of the system. Users can choose either of the two methods depending on their preference. We have also discussed the uninstallation process so that users can easily remove the software from their system if needed.
