VLC Media Player set to lunch AI-generated subtitles in 100 languages

[Drfun]

VLC Media Player just hit a huge milestone—6 billion downloads. This number could be even higher, as they didn't count downloads from third-party sources. To celebrate, they revealed a new feature at CES 2025: AI-generated subtitles and real-time translations in over 100 languages. The feature is still in development, but it's exciting.



What makes this feature special is that it will work offline. Unlike other tools that rely on cloud services, VLC's AI models will run directly on your device. This means no internet needed, which is great for privacy-conscious users.

Jean-Baptiste Kempf, the president of VideoLAN, explained that the subtitles will not only appear in real-time but will also be automatically translated into your preferred language. It all happens locally on your machine, so there's no need for any cloud-based processing.

The new subtitles feature will work across different media formats, making it easier for people to watch content in other languages without using additional software. VLC plans to offer subtitles and translations for videos in over 100 languages.

There's no set release date yet, but it's expected to come as a free update soon. More details will be shared on the VideoLAN blog.

One thing to keep in mind: AI-generated subtitles can sometimes be inaccurate. People are curious about which open-source AI models VLC will use, and whether the feature will require a powerful computer. It's possible that a machine with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) might be needed.