Using VLC to play Streams

Software name: VLC
Software version: 0.8.6

VLC will play just about every format there is. Notably it is one of the few players across platforms that plays back Ogg streams. Ogg is a Free Software video format. Streaming is a way of broadcasting audio and video online, a bit like on online TV or radio. To play streams follow these quick steps:

When you have VLC installed launch the application. You should have something that looks like this (on all platforms):

What we want to do is choose the Open Network Stream from the file menu:

 

Now you should see a window that looks something like this:

Now,...I am going to assume you are looking to open a Ogg Theora live stream with an address like:

http://24.72.34.35:8000/theora.ogg

If this is the case, then you need to enter this information (the stream location) into the interface. You enter this content by first choosing the HTTP/HTTPS/FTP/MMS item :

Then you must enter the stream location into this field:

You should then press ok and hopefully you see and/or hear your stream!