Fast-Forward Downloaded YouTube’s FLV file in VLC Media Player

September 4, 2008 · Filed Under Software · Comment 

You’ve been using VLC Player or also known as VideoLan player for quite some time now, it’s the best player around town with the ability to execute almost every video files, the only problem is, you can’t rewind or fast-forward FLV files you downloaded from the internet, such as FLV files from YouTube.

Problem: Every single time I try and fast forward / rewind / jump ahead to a specific time (using that control and entering the time), or jump ahead by moving the position dot in the play bar ahead — the player window immediately closes.

So, what’s the problem?

The truth is, .FLV format is encoded in flash format, and they are not seekable in most FLV player, but you can fast forward videos in YouTube, why not in your own video player installed in your desktop? A good question indeed, the answer is pretty long and it has to do with the codec and the way FLV player reads the file.

According to rumors, the up and coming version 9 of VideoLan Player has this issue corrected. No words yet on the release date, Download VLC media player Win32 nightly builds, it has some bugs but if you desperately need to fast forward flv videos, do give it a try.

Fast-Forward Downloaded YouTube's FLV in VLV Media Player

Alternatively, FlvPlayer4Free is another FLV player on the block, as good as VLC media player. Yes, fast forward FLV files using FlvPlayer4Free is available.

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