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How To Hide Controls in VLC for a Cleaner Media Viewing Experience

VLC media player is one of the most popular and versatile video players available. It can play almost any video and audio format and has a wide range of features. However, the on-screen controls can sometimes get in the way of your viewing experience. Here are some tips on how to hide the controls in VLC for a cleaner, distraction-free media viewing:

Use the Keyboard Shortcut to Temporarily Hide Controls

The fastest way to hide VLC controls is to simply press Ctrl + H on your keyboard. This will instantly hide the control bar and toolbar, leaving only the video displayed.

To show the controls again, just press Ctrl + H once more. This keyboard shortcut lets you quickly toggle the visibility of controls while watching videos.

Disable Showing Controls in Full Screen Mode

If you want the controls to remain hidden whenever you enter full screen mode, you can disable this option:

  1. Open VLC and go to Tools > Preferences
  2. Go to the Interface tab
  3. Uncheck the “Show controls in fullscreen mode” option
  4. Click Save to apply the changes

Now when you double click a video or press F to enter full screen mode, the controls will not appear at all.

Enable the Minimal Interface

Enabling the minimal interface is another way to keep controls out of your way:

  1. Go to Tools > Preferences
  2. In the Interface tab, check the “Minimal interface” option
  3. Click Save

This will display a simplified interface with only the basic playback controls visible. You can press Ctrl + H to toggle between the minimal and default interfaces anytime.

Customize the Interface to Remove Specific Controls

For precise control over which UI elements are displayed in VLC, you can fully customize the interface:

  1. Go to Tools > Customize Interface
  2. Uncheck the box next to any controls you want to hide
  3. Drag around other controls to reposition them
  4. Click Save to apply the new customized interface

This lets you hide specific controls like the title bar, volume control, full screen button, etc. while keeping the rest visible.

Use Skins to Change VLC’s Appearance

Skins allow changing the look and feel of VLC’s interface. Many skins available online have hidden controls by default:

  1. Download VLC skins and extract them into the skins folder
  2. Go to Tools > Preferences and set the interface to Skins
  3. Select the skin you want from the Appearance tab

Try out different skins to find ones that suit your needs. Some skins only show playback controls during mouse movement.

Use a Remote Control App to Avoid On-Screen Controls

Rather than relying on VLC’s interface for control, consider downloading the official VLC Remote app on your smartphone or tablet. This allows controlling playback remotely without ever needing the on-screen UI.

The remote app connects to VLC over WiFi and gives you all essential controls like play, pause, volume, etc. right from your mobile device.

Use Hotkeys for Control

If you don’t want to display any controls on your screen, using hotkeys is the way to go. VLC has shortcuts for all common playback actions:

  • Space – Play/Pause
  • F – Fullscreen on/off
  • + – Increase volume
  • – – Decrease volume
  • → – Seek forward
  • ← – Seek backward

Simply memorize keys for the operations you need instead of hunting for buttons in VLC’s interface.

Conclusion

Hiding VLC’s controls gives you a cleaner viewing experience and lets you focus entirely on enjoying your videos without distractions. Try using the keyboard shortcuts, customizing the interface, or learning hotkeys to keep controls out of sight.

With these tips, you can configure VLC to perfectly match your playback preferences and viewing style. Just toggle off any UI elements that are obstructing your view. VLC offers endless options to customize controls to your liking or eliminate them entirely for an immersive, theatre-like media viewing experience right on your desktop.

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