Why does VLC forget my brightness setting?
VLC doesn’t save Image adjust values as a preference, so they reset when you quit. You have to set them again each time, or save a darker copy of the video.
Free · runs in your browser
How to darken a video in VLC
VLC can turn the brightness down while you watch. Saving that change to a new file is possible but fiddly, so here are both, and a simpler alternative.
To darken a video in VLC while it plays, choose Tools → Effects and Filters, open the Video Effects tab, and on the Essential tab tick Image adjust. Drag Brightness left, and lower Gamma a little for the midtones. The picture changes immediately. On a Mac, the same controls are under Window → Video Effects or the extended controls.
This only changes playback. VLC’s own documentation notes that the image adjustment isn’t saved as a preference, so it resets next time, and the video file is not altered. To make a darker copy, VLC can re-encode the video with its Image properties filter, but the route is long and doesn’t always pick up your settings. The tool at the top of this page is a more direct way to save a darker video.
Darken a video in VLC for playback
Open Effects and Filters
Play the video, then choose Tools → Effects and Filters (Ctrl+E). The window is called Adjustments and Effects.
Turn on Image adjust
Select Video Effects, then Essential, and tick Image adjust.
Lower Brightness and Gamma
Drag Brightness to the left of its middle position. Lower Gamma slightly to darken midtones, and raise Contrast a touch if the picture looks grey.
Close the window
Click Close. The adjustment stays on until you quit VLC or untick Image adjust; it is not stored in the file.
Saving a darker copy with VLC
VLC can apply the same adjustment while converting a file. The steps below are the commonly used route; VideoLAN doesn’t document it fully, and users report mixed results, so check the output before deleting anything.
- Set Image adjust as above, so the values are in place.
- Choose Media → Convert / Save, click Add, choose the video and click Convert / Save.
- Click the spanner icon (Edit selected profile), open Video codec, then the Filters tab, and tick Image properties filter. Click Save.
- Choose a Destination file with Browse, then click Start. VLC plays through the file while it converts.
If the result isn’t darker, VLC didn’t carry your Image adjust values into the conversion. In that case a dedicated tool is the reliable route, such as the one on this page or an ffmpeg command like `eq=brightness=-0.06:gamma=0.85`.
VLC’s sliders, in numbers
- Brightness and Contrast run from 0 to 2, with 1 as normal. Below 1 darkens or flattens.
- Gamma runs from 0.01 to 10, with 1 as normal. Below 1 darkens the midtones in VLC.
- Hue and Saturation change colour; lowering Saturation can make a glaring clip feel calmer.
VLC’s Brightness shifts every tone by the same amount, so blacks lift towards grey as well as whites coming down. That is fine for comfortable viewing but not the best fix for an overexposed recording. For a saved copy that keeps its depth, see how to fix an overexposed video.
A simpler way to save a darker video
- Open darken.video and drop the file onto the tool.
- Press Auto fix, or choose Dim it down for a straight reduction like VLC’s, and set Strength.
- Select Export video, then Download video.
It runs in your browser, keeps the sound, and the file never leaves your computer.
Darkening in VLC: questions
Does changing brightness in VLC change the video file?
No. Image adjust only affects what you see while it plays. Use Convert / Save with the Image properties filter, or another tool, to make a new file.
Where is Effects and Filters in VLC on a Mac?
On macOS the image controls are in the Video Effects window (Window → Video Effects) or the extended controls, under Adjust Image.
Which VLC setting darkens a video most naturally?
A small drop in Gamma, with Brightness only slightly below 1. Gamma keeps the blacks and whites in place and darkens the middle, which looks less grey.
Is VLC 4 different?
VLC 4 is still in testing at the time of writing. The steps here are for VLC 3, the current release.