Many people these days have the free VLC media player on their computers, because it’s so versatile and good at what it does. But most of us probably only use it to play DVDs and home movies. I doubt many people realise the power of VLC when it comes to streaming media. This is because it used to be difficult and hacky. Nowadays it’s as easy as changing channels on your TV.

VLC has integrated with several online services to make it easy for you to start watching streamed media. In a couple of clicks, you can listen to online radio, preview the best free tracks available to download online and even watch TV. Now that’s powerful!

How To Access VLCs Preset Streaming Services

On a Mac, you’ll find streaming services under File > Services Discovery and then choose the option of your choice.

On Windows, go to View > Playlist then look at the bottom of the list for “Internet“. When you click on this, you’ll see all the options listed below.

Online Radio – Icecast Directory

VLC originally sourced radio stations from the Shoutcast directory, but due to an issue with AOL was forced to drop it for now. They’re in talks with Shoutcast to try to remedy this. In the meantime, VLC gives you easy access to the Icecast directory, which is basically an open-source online radio directory.

Free Music – Best Of Jamendo

If you turn on the Jamendo service, you’ll be given two main folders: “Top 100 Most Popular Tracks This Week” and “Top 20 Albums This Week“. Below this you can see folders for albums and the names of the tracks, so you can pick whichever looks best and have a listen. If you decide you like it, head over to the Jamendo site and you can download it for free.

More Free Music – Darker Radio

For the lovers of free independent music, Darkwave Radio collects free music and releases a new selection monthly. Tunes range from gothic and darkwave to indie and synthpop. Quite a selection! With VLC, you can quickly listen to the latest offerings as a streamed service. Then, if you like it, find it at the Darkwave site for free.

TV Streaming Channels – Channels.com

The Channels.com service seems to be available only on the Windows client for now. However, this service will allow access to quite a few American TV shows. Plus, it lists plenty of online shows like TED, so you can easily access this through VLC.

TV Streaming Directory – Shoutcast TV

Until recently, Shoutcast TV was also offered as an option for all people worldwide. When VLC and Shoutcast can come to an agreement in terms it will return. In the meantime, VLC are adding new services regularly and another TV directory may be on their radar.

French TV Streaming – Freebox TV

I was very surprised to find a French TV service (Freebox TV in France) listed in VLC. However, only people in France can watch Freebox TV. VLC is obviously working with some ISPs to offer these services, so one day you may find your local TV service listed.

Don’t Forget Your Own Media

Obviously, you can always watch your own video files, music files favourite radio streams and podcasts. But with all these streamed services at your fingertips too, your evenings of entertainment just got a whole lot better.

Also, check out these VLC player articles:

• How to Add Subtitles to a Movie or TV Show
• Top 5 Free Media Players for Windows
• VLC Media Player Is Now Available On All iOS Devices
• The VLC Media Player – Does it Really Play Everything?

What do you think of VLCs streaming services? What else should they add? Tell us in the comments!