How to remove audio from a video in VLC

Convert to a silent copy on Windows

VLC can write a new file through its Convert/Save tool. The trick is a profile that copies the picture without re-encoding it and leaves the audio out. Menu names below are from VLC 3 for Windows.

1. Open VLC and choose Media > Convert / Save.
2. Click Add, select your video, then click Convert / Save at the bottom of the window.
3. In the Profile list, choose an MP4 profile such as Video - H.264 + MP3 (MP4), then click the wrench icon next to it to edit the profile.
4. On the Encapsulation tab, choose MP4/MOV (or the container your file already uses).
5. On the Video codec tab, tick Video and tick Keep original video track.
6. On the Audio codec tab, untick Audio.
7. Click Save to store the profile.
8. Click Browse next to Destination file, type a new file name ending in .mp4, then click Start.

The progress bar in the main window shows the conversion. Because the video track is copied, it is usually much faster than real-time playback.

Match the container to the file name. If you pick MP4/MOV on the Encapsulation tab, the destination should end in .mp4; for an MKV source, choose MKV and end the name in .mkv. VLC doesn’t correct a mismatched extension for you, and some players refuse files whose extension doesn’t match what is inside.

Always save to a new file name. Writing over the source while VLC reads it can damage both.

Do the same on a Mac

VLC for Mac uses a different window but the same idea. Choose File > Convert / Stream, drop your video into the window, choose a profile and click Customize. Set the encapsulation, turn on keeping the original video track, turn audio off, and apply the changes. Then choose Save as File, pick a destination and file name, and click Save.

Save the profile for next time

Instead of editing a built-in profile, you can create a new one with the button next to the wrench icon and name it something like Video only. Set the same three options as above: the container on the Encapsulation tab, Keep original video track on the Video codec tab, and Audio turned off on the Audio codec tab. It then appears in the profile list for every future conversion, so muting another file takes a few clicks. Remember that the edited profile stays changed: if you modified a built-in profile, switch audio back on before you use it for normal conversions.

If the result doesn’t play or looks wrong

VLC’s converter is built mainly for streaming and transcoding, and users regularly report problems with the keep-original option, such as files that won’t play in other players or lose subtitles. If that happens, try these in order:

• Choose an encapsulation that matches the source, for example MKV for an MKV file.
• Untick Keep original video track and pick H-264 as the video codec. VLC then re-encodes the picture, which takes longer and may reduce quality slightly, but the result is usually more compatible.
• Use ffmpeg, which is more predictable for stream copies. One command removes the audio while copying the video as it is.

Clicking the speaker icon or using Audio > Audio Track > Disable in VLC only affects playback. The file on disk keeps its sound.