Using Ubuntu is generally associated with system admin roles or software development roles, but what if you want to take a break and watch something on Ubuntu 22.04. Worry not, as you can install VLC Media Player on your computer and play media files of almost any format. You can play local media as well as files from network sources on VLC.

So, how can you go about installing VLC on your Ubuntu 22.04? There are multiple ways, let me guide you.

Through the Ubuntu Software Store

If you don’t want to fiddle around in the terminal, you can simply head over to the Ubuntu Software Store in Ubuntu.

Click on the search icon in the upper left corner and type “vlc”. You will see VLC pop up at the top of the list.

On the next screen, click on the “Install” button to get started. You will be asked for a password, so make sure that your user has “sudo” privileges.

Once the process completes, you are ready to use the ultimate media player on Ubuntu.

Through the terminal

The installation process through the terminal is fairly straightforward. You don’t have to install a ton of packages in order to get this working. You can get started by updating the system apt repositories:

$sudo apt update

Once this completes, simply go ahead and type the following to start the installation:

$sudo apt install vlc -y

When you get your prompt back, you are ready to launch it.

Launching VLC

Through the terminal

If you are working in the terminal and want to view something on VLC, you can launch the VLC media player by typing:

 $vlc

Through applications

Simply go on into applications and type “VLC” in the search bar. Click on the cone icon that shows up to launch VLC.

Installing VLC Plugins

If you want additional support for an extended library of file types, you can install a package to extend the support.

$sudo apt install vlc-plugin-access-extra libbluray-bdj libdvd-pkg

Furthermore, you can use “sudo apt install” to install any VLC plugins you like. For instance, if you want to add the Jack audio plugin, you can type:

$sudo apt install vlc-plugin-jack

Or if you want to add the FluidSynth plugin, you can use:

$sudo apt install vlc plugin-fluidsynth

Uninstalling VLC

If you want to switch to another media player or if you just want to remove VLC from Ubuntu 22.04, you can use the following:

$sudo apt autoremove vlc -y

Conclusion

VLC is an amazing all-in-one media player, which can virtually play any type of multimedia content. Its open-source nature allows for the development of plugins and add-ons that can extend the functionality of VLC beyond the basic set.

I hope that you were able to follow through with the guide without any hassle. If you run into any issues at any step, drop a message below and I will gladly help you out.