How to Leave One Monitor Usable When Watching Full-Screen Videos in VLC Player for Mac

Zach Zach (248)
2 minutes

When I'm coding, I love to watch the occasional X-Files or Futurama episode on my external monitor while I work. This leads to a problem when using VLC since, by default, the external monitor is blacked out while a video is full-screened.

VLC Player×1
macOS or OS X×1

Howchoo is reader-supported. As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a small affiliate commission at no cost to you when you buy through our links.

Navigate to Applications > VLC.

Access the Preferences pane

In the menu bar, navigate to VLC > Preferences.

Navigate to the Video tab

Click on the Video tab.

Change the video preferences

Uncheck the box that says "Black screens in Fullscreen mode" and click Save.

Zach Zach (248)
2 minutes

I hooked up my external monitor today and found that its desktop background had been replacement by a grey image.