How to Crop Video in VLC Media Player

The infinitely versatile and trusty VLC Media Player has some clever editing features like trimming and cutting neatly tucked behind its advanced controls. But, did you know that it can also crop your videos?

Well, VLC Media Player's cropping feature isn't anything to write home about. It's quite complicated and requires careful execution of the steps involved to crop a video. So, you can use it to perform an odd cropping job every now and then. This guide will tell you everything you need to learn so that you can crop videos in VLC easily and create great videos. Also, as a bonus, you learn about a powerful tool that's much easier to use and delivers a far superior cropping experience. Let's get started.

Part 1: How to Crop Video in VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player's video cropping feature is not directly available in the playback menu or the advanced settings. It's hidden behind the Tools section under Effects and Filters. The good news is that it is available for users on both Mac and Windows devices and the steps are similar, although not identical. Additionally, the steps are simple to follow, but there are many of them. So, follow this tutorial closely to crop video in VLC:

• Step 1: Open Video in VLC

Launch VLC Media Player >> Click "Media" >> Select "Open File…" >> Browse and select videos to open in VLC. Once VLC plays the video, note which areas you wish to crop from the video. Make a mental note of how far these areas extend from the four edges of the video. You'll need it for cropping.



• Step 2: Navigate to Effects and Filters

Click "Tools" >> Select "Effects and Filters".



• Step 3: Switch to Video Effects

Click on the "Video Effects" tab in the dialog box that opens >> Navigate to "Crop". Here, you'll find the crop video length VLC needs you to input. For instance, if you input 100px in Top, your video will be cropped by a length of 100 pixels from the top edge. The changes you make are immediately visible on the screen, so crop the video accordingly and note down all four values of pixels for the cropping. Once you have inputted various crop values from all edges, click "Close."



• Step 4: Navigate to Preferences Setting

The previous steps only create a cropping effect for the playback and are not preserved in the video. To preserve it, the following steps must be followed:

Go to "Tools" once again >> Choose "Preferences".




In the dialog box, select "All" under "Show Settings.



• Step 5: Crop the Video

In the newly available advanced features, go to "Video" >> Select "Filters" >> Choose "Croppadd" >> Enter the pixel values you obtained from Step 3 into the "Crop" field >> Hit "Save".

Part 2: Benefits and Drawbacks of VLC Crop a Video

Fans of VLC Media Player now have another reason to like this powerful tool. However, it's important to remember that VLC is not a full-fledged video-editing tool; therefore, its editing features are available in convoluted processes. But for casual users looking for a familiar and convenient tool to crop video length, VLC is great. Here are some benefits and drawbacks of using it:

Part 3: Easy Way to Crop Video with VLC Alternative

VLC is a great media player but a poor editor. It just takes too many steps in VLC to crop a video. That doesn't mean you must learn complicated video-editing tools to perform simple tasks like cropping. HitPaw Univd (HitPaw Video Converter) streamlines video editing for casual users. Univd is designed for beginners to professionals who need to perform basic video editing features. It prioritizes speed, performance, and productivity, while delivering high-quality video edits.

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• 4K Video Edits: Crop, cut, and do more on videos up to 4K resolution
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• Lossless: Preserve the original quality of your videos after cropping them
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How to Crop Video in HitPaw Univd?

• Step 1: Activate Crop Feature in Univd

Download and install HitPaw Univd. Launch the program >> Go to "Editor" >> Select "Crop & Rotate" feature.


• Step 2: Enter Crop Mode

Click "Add Files >> Select "Add Videos to import the video into HitPaw Univd >> When the imported videos are listed in the tool, click the "Crop" icon below the video to be cropped. You can also use the drag-and-drop feature to add videos directly to the tool.


• Step 3: Crop Video

Use the rectangle cropping tool to select the areas to be retained after cropping. You can also use preset sizes on the right to select cropping areas.




Use the "Play" button at the bottom of the video to preview your edits and when you're satisfied, click "Confirm." Selecting "Apply all to list" applies the cropping dimensions to all videos in your imported list.

• Step 4: Export Videos

After cropping, return to the main window >> Click "Export" or "Export All".

FAQs about VLC Crop Video

Conclusion

VLC Media Player is a good solution for someone looking to crop videos without having to learn an entirely new video editing tool. However, users find it extremely difficult to use since it's a media player first and only offers basic editing features. Thankfully, HitPaw Univd makes video editing a breeze. With HitPaw Univd, there's no learning curve as the guided user interface will have you cropping your first video in a matter of seconds. HitPaw Univd is fast, easy to use, and incredibly powerful. Try it today.