Why Can't I Open ZIP or RAR Files with VLC?

VLC Media Player is primarily a multimedia player designed to handle a wide variety of audio and video formats. While it excels at playing files, it lacks built-in capabilities for opening or extracting compressed files like ZIP and RAR. Instead, these files are typically used to store multiple files or folders and require extraction before access to the media content within them.

Understanding the Issue

Here are a few reasons why you might be encountering issues opening ZIP or RAR files with VLC:

File Format: ZIP and RAR files are not designed as media files. They are merely compressed archives, not meant to be played directly by a media player. Extraction Required: To access the media files within a ZIP or RAR archive, you will need to extract them first using a proper file compression tool. Corrupted Files: If the ZIP or RAR file is corrupted, it may not open properly in an extraction tool, leading to confusion about why VLC is unable to play the content.

Steps to Open ZIP or RAR Files with VLC

Download a File Extraction Tool: Use software like WinRAR, 7-Zip, or WinZip to extract the files. Extract the Files: Right-click on the ZIP or RAR file and select the option to extract the files to a folder. Open with VLC: Once extracted, navigate to the folder where the media files are located and open them with VLC.

Handling RAR Files for VLC

VLC can handle video files that are represented as a broken up set of RAR files, provided the files were originally broken up in a proper manner. In such a scenario, you will need to know which piece of the RAR file set to point the player at when you want to play.

For devices like the Amazon tablet, where the VLC version does not support such RAR file sets, you can use a tool like 7-Zip to extract the video files into a more standard single-file format that the tablet version of VLC can handle effectively.

In cases where ZIP files are involved, VLC lacks specific capabilities. The .rar format, in particular, is used for breaking a large file into smaller pieces, which is not typically beneficial for video files, as they are already highly compressed.

By following these steps, you should be able to play the media files contained within ZIP or RAR archives using VLC, ensuring a seamless multimedia experience on your device.