How to Rotate Videos in VLC Media Player

In addition to being able to play most video formats, VLC media player offers some interesting video editing tools, including video rotation, which you can use for free.

With VLC's "Transform" feature, you can rotate the video to any angle within 360 degrees.Let's see how to adjust the orientation of a video using this feature.

How to Rotate Videos in VLC

Make sure you have the VLC media player provided by VideoLAN installed on your computer if you haven't already.

First, open the video you want to rotate with VLC media player.After opening:

1. Click "Tools" in the top menu bar, go to "Effects and Filters".

2. Go to "Video Effects" and tap "Geometry".

3. You can rotate the video to the default angle, or use the rotary knob to select your preferred angle.

4. Click the "Transform" checkbox to rotate the video to the default angle.Make sure not to check the rotation option at the same time.Doing so may distort the video.

5. To manually rotate to any angle, click the Rotate checkbox.Make sure to uncheck the "Transform" checkbox first.

6. Double-click the knob and slowly rotate it to any angle.To increment the number of rotations in increments, click the knob and press the PgUp or PgDn keys to rotate in either direction.

7. Click Save.Then close to apply the changes.

This change only affects VLC, not the rotated video.Therefore, any video you open with VLC will keep the selected orientation until you delete it.Therefore, the rotation is only temporary, and opening the video with other players will not retain this orientation.

You can remove directions by following similar steps highlighted above.Then uncheck the Rotate and Transform checkboxes accordingly and click Save > Close.

How to Permanently Rotate a Video Using VLC

You can also edit the video further by permanently rotating the orientation.This way, even if the video is opened on another media player or device, it will continue to play at that angle.This little VLC secret feature involves converting and saving the rotated video to a new directory on your computer.

To permanently rotate a video with VLC:

1. Go to Tools > Effects and Filters > Video Effects > Geometry.

2. Click the Transform checkbox to use the default orientation options, or click Rotate to activate the manual rotation knob.

3. When you are done rotating the video, click Save.Then close.

4. Click Media on the left side of the top menu bar.

5. Click Convert/Save.

6. Click Add and select a video file.

7. Click Convert/Save.

8. Then, click the Edit (wrench) icon to the right of the Profile drop-down menu.

9. Go to Video codecs.Click the video checkbox (if it's not checked).Then go to filters.

10. Scroll down and select Rotate Video Filter and Video Converter Filter.

11. Click Audio Codec.Under Encoding Parameters, click the Codec drop-down menu and select MP3; this ensures that the output video's audio codec is compatible with many media players, as most support the MP3 format.

12. When finished, click Save.

13. Next, click Browse and select a destination folder.Then save.

14. Finally click Start.Wait for VLC to convert the rotated video.This may take a while.

Once you're done, you'll be able to play the rotated video using any of Windows' media players.

Rotate Videos for Free with VLC

Unlike dedicated video editors, which often require some technical manipulation in addition to purchasing a license, VLC offers a direct and free option to rotate video.While VLC can adjust the orientation of a video in just a few steps, its editing capabilities are often inferior to dedicated video editors.