Setting up VLC with PulseAudio on Linux: A Step-by-Step Guide

VLC (VideoLAN Client) is a popular media player available for multiple platforms including Linux. However, some users may encounter issues when trying to play audio through certain soundcards or headphones while using PulseAudio as their default system-wide audio manager.

In this article, we will walk you through the process of setting up VLC with PulseAudio on Ubuntu-based distributions like Ubuntu and Mint. The steps provided should also be applicable for other Linux distros that use apt-get package management tool.

Prerequisites:

- A working installation of your preferred Linux distribution (we'll assume it's Ubuntu or a derivative).

- pulseaudio, bluez-tools, alsa-utils packages installed.

- VLC media player installed from the official repository. For this guide, we will be using vlc-nox version which is a minimalistic build without graphical interface.

Step 1: Install Necessary Packages

Before proceeding with any further installation or configuration steps, make sure you have all required dependencies and packages installed on your system:

```bash

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install pulseaudio alsa-utils bluez-tools pulseaudio-module-bluetooth vlc-nox omxplayer libpulse-dev PulseAudio-client-binary mpg123 vorbisenc libvorbis-java pavucontrol pavpiper pulseaudio-alsa paplay arecord aumix alsamixer

```

Step 2: Configure VLC to Use PulseAudio

After installing the necessary packages, you need to configure VLC to use PulseAudio as its default audio backend. To do this:

1. Open terminal or command prompt and navigate to your .config directory (usually located at ~/\\.config/):

```bash

cd ~/.config/

```

2. Create a new file called `vlc` if it doesn't exist:

```bash

touch vlc

```

3. Now, open the newly created `.conf` file using your favorite text editor and add or modify the following lines at the end of the file (make sure there are no spaces before each line):

```ini

'alsa'

autodetection = yes

'aout_vorbis'

plugin = vorbis_plugin.so

```

4. Save changes to the `vlc` configuration file.

Step 3: Restart VLC and Test Audio Output

After making these modifications, you need to restart VLC for them to take effect:

```bash

killall vlc

sleep 5s && startvorbisplayer /usr/share/sounds/alsa/oss/pulse.oga &

```

Once restarted, try playing an audio file using VLC and check if the sound is being output through your default PulseAudio sink (usually 'Built-in Audio' or similar). If everything has been set up correctly, you should be able to hear the audio coming from your speakers/headphones.

Troubleshooting Tips:

- Make sure that pulseaudio service is running in background. You can start/stop it using `sudo systemctl enable/disable --no-reload pulseaudio` commands respectively.

- In some cases, completely removing and reinstalling VLC may resolve issues with PulseAudio integration. To do this: `sudo apt-get remove vlc-nox && sudo apt-get install vlc`.

- If you're experiencing difficulties playing certain types of audio files (like MP3 or FLAC), try installing the necessary codecs using packages like libvorbis-java, vorbisenc etc.

In conclusion, setting up VLC media player with PulseAudio on Linux distributions can sometimes be a bit finicky due to various dependencies and configuration factors involved. However, following these step-by-step instructions should help you get your desired audio playback working smoothly without any major hiccups. If problems persist despite trying out the troubleshooting tips mentioned above, feel free to ask for further assistance in the comments section below!

Vlc pulseaudio