VLC Media Player Hits 6 Billion Downloads, Unveils AI-Powered Subtitle Generation at CES 2025

VLC celebrates 6 billion downloads with new AI subtitles feature

The world-renowned video player app will use open-source AI models that can run locally on the device. At CES 2025, non-profit organization VideoLAN announced that their open-source media player app VLC Media Player crossed an incredible milestone: over 6 billion downloads, TechCrunch reports. According to a LinkedIn post written by VideoLAN's president Jean-Baptiste Kempt, the user base for VLC continues to grow despite the ubiquitous popularity of streaming services. To celebrate its undying popularity, VideoLAN demoed at CES 2025 an upcoming feature for VLC Media Player that uses generative AI to automatically create subtitles on the fly based on the media content being played, and can even translate across languages in real time. The feature will use open-source AI models that can run locally on the user's device without having to connect to the internet. This is a huge deal for anyone who consumes foreign-language content, who's hard of hearing, or simply prefers subtitles while watching. VideoLAN has not yet said when the feature will be rolled out, but given the live demo, it can't be too far off... Right?

VLC hits 6 billion downloads and shows off AI-generated subtitles

AI-powered subtitles in over 100 languages are coming soon to VLC VideoLAN, the nonprofit organization behind VLC Media Player, announced in a presentation at CES 2025 that the popular open-source multimedia tool has reached a milestone of 6 billion downloads. While this achievement is quite significant, the figure may be conservative, as the company likely excluded download numbers from third-party sources. Along with that, the developers at VideoLAN announced its future plans with the showcase of their next big feature: AI-powered subtitles and real-time translation for 100 languages. The feature is currently under development and is designed to create subtitles in real-time using open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models. Interestingly, VLC's upcoming AI-powered subtitle feature seems to take inspiration from advancements like OpenAI's Whisper, an automatic speech recognition (ASR) system designed to transcribe audio into text. Whisper has been praised for its ability to handle various accents and dialects using large-scale datasets for training. However, VLC is taking a different approach where the AI-models will operate offline built directly into the VLC app. This feature is particularly noteworthy as it eliminates the need for an internet connection or reliance on cloud-based services, which are often a concern for privacy-conscious users. Talking about the new feature, Jean-Baptiste Kempf, president of VideoLAN, said "At the same time we have automatic translation working to translate the subtitles to your own language. What's important is that this is running on your machine locally, offline, without any cloud services. It runs directly inside the executable." The AI subtitling is also capable of handling various media formats, making it an essential tool for users looking to enjoy content across different languages without external software. As per the company, the AI will be able to generate subtitles and translations for videos in over 100 languages, making VLC more accessible for a global audience. VideoLAN has yet to confirm an official release date for the new feature, though it is anticipated to launch as a free update in the near future. Further details will be shared via the company's blog. While the addition of AI-powered subtitles and translations is a big step forward for VLC, questions remain about how the developers will address common issues with inaccurate AI-generated subtitles, which can negatively impact user experience. As pointed out by PC Mag, there is curiosity about which open-source AI models the media player will utilize and whether the feature's system requirements could lead to significant resource consumption. Chances are that you may require a PC with a dedicated NPU (Neural Processing Unit).

VLC media player will use AI to provide users with subtitles

VLC media player, developed by nonprofit VideoLAN, has surpassed 6 billion downloads globally and announced a forthcoming AI-powered subtitle feature at CES 2025. The new functionality will automatically generate real-time subtitles and translations for any video using local, open-source AI models, ensuring that an internet connection or cloud services are not required, as demonstrated by VideoLAN at the event. VideoLAN, which originated in 1996 as a project by students at Ecole Centrale Paris to stream video across their campus, has successfully maintained a free and ad-free model while expanding its platform across various operating systems. The organization continues to operate without advertising, data collection, or commercial revenue streams. 41% of global firms plan layoffs by 2030 due to AI Jean-Baptiste Kempf, president of VideoLAN, noted in a LinkedIn post that the number of active users of VLC is increasing even within the competitive landscape of streaming services. The AI-generated subtitles and translations will function locally, negating the dependence on internet connectivity or cloud services, according to the presentation. However, VideoLAN has not specified when this feature will be rolled out. The developers have indicated plans to release a blog post shortly, which will detail the new subtitle function. They have yet to confirm which languages will be supported, as well as the necessary system requirements for operating the AI locally. Images from the CES showcase indicate potential translations in languages such as German, Hebrew, Japanese, and French.

VLC Will Soon Use AI to Generate Subtitles in Multiple Languages

The feature supports Hebrew, German, French, and Japanese languages VLC media player, the open-source project developed by VideoLAN, is getting a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature. At the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2025), the project showcased an AI-powered subtitle feature that can generate and show subtitles on the fly. The feature also supports real-time translation and can instantly generate translated captions in multiple languages. The media player's AI feature will be powered by open-source and local large language models (LLMs) and function offline. There is no word on when this feature will be rolled out to users. AI-generated subtitles have grown in popularity in recent times. Samsung unveiled its new Vision AI technology for displays that can generate subtitles in real-time. Google previously added an Expressive Captions feature to all devices running Android 14 or newer in the US. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf showcased the new AI feature for the VLC media player and highlighted that the subtitle generation and translation are based on local and open-source AI models. Open-source AI models are those that are available in the public domain and can be used and built into software without paying the developers or the parent organisation any licensing fee. Some of the examples include Meta's Llama 3.1 405B, Mixtral 8x22B, and Alibaba's DeepSeek. VideoLAN is using such open-source models (the team did not reveal the name of the AI model) locally to add the AI-generated subtitles feature natively. Since the feature is built into the application, it can work locally and without requiring cloud support. While the team did not address whether it would substantially increase the basic requirements needed to run the VLC media player, it stated in a post, "The goal is to not depend on an expensive cloud operation!" Notably, VideoLAN showcased AI-generated subtitles in English, French, Hebrew, German, and Japanese languages. Kempf also claimed that eventually, VLC's AI-generated subtitles feature will support more than 100 languages. The project has yet to announce a release date for the feature.

CES 2025: VLC Media Player Introduced AI Subtitles and Translation That Work Offline

VLC media player is among the surprise entrants at CES 2025, and the company is demoing a feature that automatically generates subtitles for you. When I see companies launching new AI features, I'm usually skeptical because it has become an overused buzzword -- but in this case, it does seem useful. VideoLAN, the parent organization of VLC media player, says it uses open-source AI models to introduce automatic subtitling to its media player. There are two layers to this: The first is generating subtitles itself, and the second one is translation. In the CES demo, VLC media player can be seen playing a video with subtitles in multiple different languages. At the moment, there is no word on when this feature will be available, but I really like the fact that translation is supported because it'll make videos more accessible to people who don't speak English. In a video uploaded to X, VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf said the AI subtitle generation feature works completely offline. This is heartening to hear because AI tools have often been criticized for violating your privacy by using your data without consent and for extremely high energy usage at data centers. Even though the world has largely adopted streaming services to play videos, there is still a big market for media player apps like VLC media player. VLC media player has crossed 6 billion downloads, according to Kempf. His LinkedIn post reads, "The number of active users of VLC is actually growing, even in this age of streaming services. We'll see how much it will continue to grow!" There are better-designed alternatives, but VLC media player has retained its place on every computer I've used. It still plays practically any video file I throw at it, and it has lots of hidden features for those who want to dig deeper.

VLC media player will soon offer AI-generated subtitles

VLC is one of the most popular multiplatform media players, and VideoLAN - the company behind the app - has been working on a major update. Soon, users will have access to AI-generated subtitles in multiple languages, even offline. VideoLAN teased the technology at CES 2025 and shared some videos of it in action. Essentially, VLC will use AI to automatically generate subtitles for videos. The AI will also be able to translate the subtitles into other languages, all offline and in real time. "At the same time we have automatic translation working to translate the subtitles to your own language," Kempf says, with more than 100 languages planned for support. "What's important is that this is running on your machine locally, offline, without any cloud services. It runs directly inside the executable." In a series of videos shared on X, VideoLAN showed open-source AI models generating real-time subtitles in different languages. According to the company, the feature will work not only for pre-recorded videos, but also for live broadcasts. As noted by The Verge, VideoLAN had already been developing a plugin based on OpenAI's Whisper to generate subtitles, but the new demo seems to show a native feature built right into the VLC app. Details on when exactly the feature will be available to the public remain unclear. In March 2024, VideoLAN announced that it has been working on version 4.0 of VLC, which will be a major update that will rewrite "the whole core" of the app. The update, which is still under development, brings a refreshed interface and some other new features. VideoLAN also said it was working on a version for Apple Vision Pro.

VLC Media Player to Use AI to Generate Subtitles for Videos

VLC media player is preparing to harness AI to automatically generate subtitles in real-time for videos played on the popular app. At CES, the nonprofit team behind VLC is showing off the upcoming feature, which taps open-source AI models to generate translations for whatever video is playing. The tech uses AI models to transcribe what's being said and then translate the words into the selected language. The feature can also generate subtitles locally on the PC without relying on third-party servers, so users can view the subtitles offline. In the demo, VLC added that the feature supports over 100 languages. The technology promises to address one weakness of watching videos over VLC. For years, users have had to download a separate file, usually in the .srt format, to display subtitles for whatever videos they were watching unless the captions were already built-in. But it looks like VLC has found a solution with today's generative AI models. VLC Chief Marketing Officer Natacha Holtzhausser says the AI-generated captions and subtitles will open up accessibility, no matter the language, for downloaded movies and TV shows, lectures, and live streams. "This innovation isn't just about subtitles; it's about inclusivity and enriching the way we consume content globally," she said. Holtzhausser adds that the VLC team plans on revealing more in a blog post. A key question is which open-source AI models the media player uses and its system requirements since the feature might hog computing resources. In the meantime, some concern is emerging that VLC may be tapping OpenAI's open-source speech-recognition tech Whisper to power the feature, raising questions about how the AI models were trained. Another issue is that AI-generated subtitles can sometimes be inaccurate, which can generate complaints of a poor experience compared with human-generated subtitles.

VLC player demos real-time AI subtitling for videos

The popular open-source VLC video player was demonstrated on the floor of CES 2025 with automatic AI subtitling and translation, generated locally and offline in real-time. Parent organization VideoLAN shared a video on Tuesday in which president Jean-Baptiste Kempf shows off the new feature, which uses open-source AI models to generate subtitles for videos in several languages. "At the same time we have automatic translation working to translate the subtitles to your own language," Kempf says, with more than 100 languages planned for support. "What's important is that this is running on your machine locally, offline, without any cloud services. It runs directly inside the executable." AI-powered subtitling has been under development for some time in the form of a plug-in using OpenAI's speech recognition system Whisper, but this new demo appears to be built directly into the VLC app, and generates translated subtitles in real-time. There's no word on when the feature will roll out. This week VideoLAN also celebrated hitting six billion downloads, with Kempf boasting that, "The number of active users of VLC is actually growing, even in this age of streaming services." With CES 2025 still in full swing, we'll track VideoLAN down on the show floor to see the AI subtitling in action for ourselves.

VLC celebrates 6 billion downloads, teases AI-generated subtitles and translation

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. What just happened? VideoLAN hit the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week to showcase some AI-based enhancements destined for its popular VLC media player. Chief among them is automatic subtitle generation, which runs on local and open-source AI models rather than having to tap into a cloud-based service. As President Jean-Baptiste Kempf demonstrated in a video shared on VideoLAN's X account, the tech will also be able to translate subtitles to your preferred language on the fly. According to Kempf, more than 100 languages will eventually be supported. The Verge notes that AI-powered subtitling has been in development for a while now, albeit as a plug-in that uses OpenAI's Whisper speech recognition system. What VideoLAN is showing off at CES, however, is built directly into the VLC executable and works in real time. VideoLAN also used its time at CES to celebrate a new milestone: over six billion downloads worldwide. VLC was originally conceived as a client / server to stream video from satellite dishes in the late 90s, but was eventually rewritten from the ground up and released under a GNU General Public License in early 2001. These days, it's among the most popular cross-platform media players on the market. The program is beloved by fans for its ease of use, compatibility across a variety of operating systems, and support for a range of video formats, and is even a TechSpot Editors' Pick. Six billion downloads is no doubt an impressive milestone, but it may be on the conservative side. Presumably, VideoLAN is only counting downloads from its own site. If true, it wouldn't account for the numerous additional downloads tallied from third-party hosts. I'm not sure how one would get a more accurate estimate of true downloads, but surely it's more than 6 billion. Kempf didn't say when the new AI-based features would find their way to the public release of VLC media player. The latest release, version 3.0.21, dropped in October 2024 and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

VLC is working on offline AI-generated subtitles as it surpasses 6 billion installs

Summary VLC has reached 6 billion total downloads, announced at CES 2025. Real-time translation feature showcased at CES is a proof of concept, potentially revolutionizing movie subtitles and conversations. VLC embraces AI for automatic subtitle creation and translation, leading the way for more open-source solutions in the future. ✕ Remove Ads VideoLAN Client, otherwise known as VLC, is a rather popular video player across operating systems, having racked up 100 million installs on the Play Store alone, and that's nothing compared to the number of its total downloads, recently revealed at CES to be 6 billion. It's safe to say the entire planet loves VLC's open-source software; even in the age of streaming, VLC is growing, a testament to its usefulness. And what better way to prove how useful your app is than to reveal real-time local AI subtitle generation? This is precisely what VLC has done this year at CES, rather impressively. Related 14 best video players on Android in 2024 View content in various video codecs with these handy Android video players Posts VLC reveals local real-time subtitle creation and translation ✕ Remove Ads If you check out the short video VLC posted on X (Twitter), Jean-Baptiste Kempf, the president of VideoLAN, displays on the floor of CES 2025 how VLC can auto-generate subtitles and translate them to another language in real-time, using what appears to be a video of Ricky Gervais's famous Golden Globes speech from 2020 (give it a watch if you haven't). While it is hard to see precisely what is being translated in the above video, VLC did follow up with a few more tweets showcasing Hebrew and German translations, along with French and Japanese. Real-time translation could mean big things for the future Seemingly, this display at CES is just a proof of concept, a demo to show what's possible, as there has been no announcement of the feature's arrival. Still, AI translation for video content could be a boon, not only for companies that spend funds on translators who don't always do the best job. Real-time translation for movies and TV could also usher in plenty of benefits for real-time translation of actual conversations between humans, like over video calls. With VLC out here proving just how possible real-time subs and translations are, we likely aren't far away from a future where differing languages are no longer a hurdle in communication or consuming media. ✕ Remove Ads So not only has VLC earned its 6 billion installs across operating systems by providing one of the best video players around over the last 24 years, but it also appears to be at the forefront of automatic subtitle creation and translation, something anime fans likely know a thing or two about as Crunchyroll eyballs AI for its own translations. In other words, AI translation is inevitable, which is why it's great to see open source software like VLC embrace the tech so users can roll their own solutions and stop being reliant on corporations. ✕ Remove Ads

VLC media player Gets Even Better With AI-Generated Subtitles

Whether you're watching a home video, a movie, or a TV series, subtitles are useful to understand what's going on on your screen. However, it can be difficult to find the right subtitles for your movies and shows, and your own recorded videos likely has no subtitles at all. Thankfully, Video LAN, the makers of VLC media player, introduced a new AI tool that will solve this at CES 2025. VLC media player Will Soon Let You Add Subtitles to Your Videos Using Local AI VideoLAN, the non-profit behind the popular VLC media player, showcased its new AI tool in Las Vegas. This feature would allow anyone using VLC media player to add subtitles to any video it's playing. Aside from that, Life Hacker also said that it could automatically translate the subtitles, allowing non-English speakers to read what the speakers in the video are saying in their own language. So, whether you're watching a family video or downloaded a movie legally to your device to watch it offline, VLC media player will soon let you add subtitles to it, even if you don't have an available subtitle file. What makes this tool unique from other AI services is that it's run locally on your own device -- internet connection not required. This means you don't have to connect to some distant data center that might be misusing your data and consuming a lot of power. You can remain totally anonymous when using this feature, especially as VLC media player doesn't require any kind of login or personal information to download, install, and use. However, VideoLAN hasn't revealed yet the hardware requirements for you to run this feature, although we believe that this would likely require a PC with an NPU (which is different from CPUs and GPUs). The organization also didn't say when users can get the feature, so we're holding our breathe when we can start enjoying subtitles quickly and easily. Hopefully, the AI model that VLC uses is accurate, or else we'd just end up with comedy gold at the start and frustration for the rest of the video we're trying to watch.

VLC tops 6 billion downloads, previews AI-generated subtitles | TechCrunch

VLC media player, the popular open-source software developed by nonprofit VideoLAN, has topped 6 billion downloads worldwide and teased an AI-powered subtitle system. The new feature automatically generates real-time subtitles -- which can then also be translated in many languages -- for any video using open-source AI models that run locally on users' devices, eliminating the need for internet connectivity or cloud services, VideoLAN demoed at CES. The firm didn't say when it planned to rollout the feature. VideoLAN started in 1996 as a project by students at Ecole Centrale Paris trying to stream videos across campus. Unlike many open-source projects that have struggled to survive on donations alone, VLC has maintained its free, ad-free model while expanding across multiple operating systems. The media player continues to operate without advertising, data collection, or commercial revenue streams. "The number of active users of VLC is actually growing, even in this age of streaming services," VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf wrote in a LinkedIn post.

AI will start subtitling your videos thanks to VLC

AI will start making videos on popular media player VLC more accessible, the company announced at CES. VLC is adding a new feature that uses AI to generate subtitles and translations in real time. No more digging through shady subtitle databases or syncing files. Instead, VLC's AI will transcribe audio and display it as the video plays, even translating it into any of more than 100 languages. It's a notable shift from the way you currently have to add subtitles. If your video didn't come with captions baked in, you had to go hunting for the right file online VLC's new AI-powered subtitles aim to make that process obsolete. VLC is using open-source AI models for the feature and said that the whole thing will work on your device, meaning you won't need to be online or send any data about what you're watching. Of course, the AI doesn't just transcribe; it translates too. Say you're watching a Korean drama and want to share it with a friend who doesn't speak the language. VLC's AI can generate subtitles in English, Spanish, or one of the dozens of other languages. VLC's AI plans aren't a perfect solution, of course. Any AI transcription or translation may fall prey to confusion, bad transcription, and awkward translation. Accents, fast-talking, and other elements may make the captions more of a hindrance than you'd like. The feature is also likely to demand some serious processing power. Real-time transcription and translation are no small tasks, and older devices might struggle to keep up. It might be time for an upgrade if you're still running VLC on a laptop from the pre-HD era. Still, the potential is enormous for more than just casual viewers. People with impaired hearing or who are learning a new language will definitely benefit from immediate and (mostly) accurate transcription and translation. It could be a real boon for students, international travelers, or others who want or need text to accompany their viewing. While VLC isn't unique in leveraging AI for subtitles, it stands out in terms of ease of use and practicality. Skipping the need for internet connectivity or a subscription service makes it both cheaper and more private than other options. It might not always get things perfect, but for most users, "good enough" will probably feel like a revelation.