How to Trim a Video in VLC on Windows and Mac

VLC can trim a video, but its Record feature captures a segment while the video plays, so a long clip requires you to let playback run from the start point to the end point. If you need to trim video in VLC on Windows or Mac, the main challenge is finding the recording controls and checking what VLC saves afterward.

This guide explains how to cut video in VLC on both desktop platforms, where to find the saved file, how to check its container and playback, and when a file trimmer or DVD-source tool makes more sense.

How to Trim Video in VLC on Windows

When you use VLC to trim or cut a video, VLC records that portion during playback and saves it as a new file, while the original stays untouched. This is different from a dedicated video editor, which removes parts of a clip directly on a timeline. Here are the steps to trim a video in VLC on Windows.

Step 1: Install the Latest Version of VLC

Visit the VideoLAN website and download the latest version of VLC on your computer.

Step 2: Open Your Video File

Once VLC is installed and launched, open the file you want to trim. There are three easy ways to do this in VLC:

1. Drag and drop the video file directly onto the VLC window.
2. In the main VLC window, click Media > Open File…. Find your video in the file browser and click Open.
3. Press Ctrl + O on your keyboard, find the video file, and open it.

Step 3: Enable Advanced Controls

After your file is open in VLC, turn on the module used for trimming. Click View in the menu bar and select Advanced Controls. A new control panel with additional buttons appears just above the standard playback controls.

Step 4: Play and Start Recording

Move to the point where you want the trimmed clip to start. The simplest way is to drag the seek bar to an approximate position. If you do not know the exact time, click Play or press the Space bar to start playback, and pause as soon as you reach the point where you want the recording to begin.

When you have set the starting point, click the Record button or press Shift + R to start recording. Resume playback with Play or the Space bar and let the video continue until you reach the desired end point. After recording starts, the red circle button in the advanced controls changes color, showing that VLC is recording this part of the video for trimming.

Step 5: Stop Recording at the End Point

When you reach the point where you want the trimmed segment to end, click Record again or press Shift + R to stop recording. You can pause playback after stopping the recording.

After VLC saves the clip, reopen it and check both the beginning and ending boundaries before using it for precise editing. A dedicated trimmer is a better choice when the exported cut must match exact frames.

Step 6: Locate Your Trimmed Video

After the recording finishes, VLC does not show a pop-up notification. Instead, it automatically saves the recorded clip to your Videos folder in Windows. The default path is usually C:\Users\[Username]\Videos.
The new file name typically starts with vlc-record-, followed by the date and the original file name, so it is easy to recognize. If the clip does not appear, check that the configured folder exists and that you have permission to write files there.

If you want to change where trimmed clips are saved, go to Tools > Preferences > Input / Codecs > Files > Record directory or filename, click Browse…, and set a new default save location.

How to Trim Video in VLC on Mac

The steps below show how to trim a video with VLC on Mac by recording the selected segment during playback.

Step 1: Open VLC on Your Device

Once VLC is installed using the steps above, open the app to see its main interface.

Step 2: Add the Video to the Playlist

Drag and drop the video into the playlist and start playing it. If playback does not start automatically, double-click the video.

Step 3: Start the Trimming Process

Move the playhead to the point where you want the trim to begin. Open the Playback menu in VLC and click Record, then press the space bar to start or resume playback. A checkmark next to Record indicates that recording is active.

Let playback continue to the point where you want the clip to end, then click Record again to stop recording.

On macOS, Playback > Record toggles recording during playback. The clip is captured while the video plays, and VLC does not show a notification when the recording finishes.

Step 4: Check the Output Folder

By default, VLC saves recorded clips in the Movies folder on macOS. If you want to choose another location, open VLC > Preferences > Input / Codecs, then set the Record directory or filename field and restart VLC. Reopen the saved clip and check its start point, end point, and audio sync before using it.

Is VLC Really Suitable for Trimming Videos?

Can VLC trim videos? Yes, but VLC is not a full video editor, and it works better for simple trimming tasks than for anything complex. Here are the main limits when you use VLC to trim video:

• There is no batch trimming, so you cannot trim multiple files at once.
• You cannot remove several separate sections within the same video in one pass.
• VLC does not let you split one video into several smaller clips in a single run.
• In practice, trimming in VLC usually means cutting the start and end of a video, not cutting out many precise parts.

There are also output limitations worth knowing about. As noted in the Windows steps, Record may preserve existing encoded streams, while Convert/Save can transcode video or audio according to the selected profile. A different file extension alone does not establish quality loss. VLC Record may wait for a video keyframe before writing output, so the exported start and end points may not match the preview position exactly. For a quick, forgiving clip this rarely matters, but it is worth checking the trimmed file's length and audio sync before you rely on it for anything precise.

So VLC can cut video, but both the workflow and the output have real limits. If you need more complex or more precise editing, dedicated video editing software is the better option.

Alternatives to VLC Video Trimming

Now that you know the limitations of using VLC to cut videos, choose a tool based on the input. LosslessCut and Avidemux are lightweight options for existing video files, while DVDFab DVD Ripper is designed to select, trim, and convert content from a DVD disc, DVD ISO image, or VIDEO_TS folder.

LosslessCut

LosslessCut takes a different approach from VLC: it normally cuts existing MP4 or MKV files at keyframes without re-encoding, so the output can retain the source streams. Its experimental Smart cut mode re-encodes the portion before the next keyframe to provide more flexible boundaries. Manual downloads are free, while store builds are paid. LosslessCut is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux, which makes it useful for ordinary cuts when avoiding a full re-encode matters more than unrestricted frame-level precision.

Avidemux

Compared with using VLC's recording feature as a workaround, Avidemux is a tool built specifically for video cutting. It imports common formats such as MP4, MKV, and AVI, uses A/B markers on the timeline to select and remove unwanted parts, and can use Copy mode to preserve compatible video and audio streams without re-encoding. Like VLC, Avidemux is open source and free, and it supports Windows, Linux, and macOS, with Windows and Linux nightly builds dated September 2026; the stable homepage lists version 2.8.1 from September 2022.

DVDFab DVD Ripper

VLC can play DVDs, and ripping a DVD with VLC can prepare a local file for trimming, but most VLC alternatives, including Avidemux and LosslessCut, do not support trimming content directly from a DVD. For that specific case, what you need is a DVD ripper with built-in trimming features, such as DVDFab DVD Ripper.

DVDFab DVD Ripper converts protected DVD discs, DVD ISO images, and VIDEO_TS folders into formats such as MP4, and it also offers built-in video editing features such as trimming, cropping, rotating, and adjusting brightness, contrast, and saturation. It is intended for DVD-source conversion and editing, not as a general editor for existing MP4 files.

More Features:

• Remove common DVD copy protection
• Rip DVDs to lossless-quality video and audio, suited for home theater use
• Compress videos to smaller files while retaining maximum video quality
• Rip DVD/ISO/Folder to 1,000+ video and audio formats
• Speed up DVD ripping with GPU acceleration

How to Trim Video with DVDFab DVD Ripper

Step 1: Download and Launch DVDFab DVD Ripper

Step 2: Open the Ripper Module and Add the File

DVDFab DVD Ripper loads DVD discs, DVD ISO images, and VIDEO_TS folders.

Keep the original DVD source unchanged until you have checked the trimmed output.

Step 3: Select the Output Video Format

Select the output format from the list of options. You can convert your DVD to MP4, AVI, MOV, MKV, and more. Tick Choose Other Profile before clicking the Start button.

Step 4: Trim the DVD Video

DVDFab lets you rip and edit DVDs in one pass. The main functions of the video editor are as follows.

1. Trim: Use this function to remove scenes you do not want in the final ripped video. It also supports multiple trims at once: click the "Trim Tool" button to apply a trim section on the video timeline, move the "Blue T Marker" out of the current trim section, and click the trim tool button again to add another trim section. Use "Trim Invert" to select the video parts outside the trim sections instead.

2. Crop: Click Crop and drag the white edges toward the center of the source video's frame to set the crop area. Preview the cropped video on the right side.

3. Other features in the video edit module: You can add subtitles and adjust their style, change basic video properties such as brightness, contrast, and saturation, and rotate the video 90 degrees left or right. You can also apply text or image watermarks and adjust their style, size, position, and transparency before ripping.

Step 5: Start Trimming and Ripping

Select a local output folder for the trimmed video, then click Start to begin processing.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

VLC's trim feature works well for a quick, one-off clip when you already have the player open and do not want to install anything else. Once you need multiple cuts, batch processing, or frame-accurate results, the record-based workflow becomes the bottleneck rather than the video itself.

For existing MP4 or MKV files, LosslessCut is worth considering for ordinary keyframe-based cuts without re-encoding; its experimental Smart cut mode re-encodes the portion before the next keyframe. Avidemux is another option when you want A/B markers and control over output settings. For DVD sources specifically, a ripper with built-in trimming, such as DVDFab DVD Ripper, saves you a separate conversion step.