How can I open VLC multiple times on Mac?

Question

I would like to dump several parallel Flash videostreams on my Mac.

How can I do that?

Answer 1

From the Terminal you can open multiple instances of any application by doing:

% open -n /Applications/SampleApp.app/

In this command SampleApp.app is the application bundle in the /Applications folder (see http://www.mactipsandtricks.com/articles/Wiley_HT_appBundles.lasso for a slightly old intro to what is inside an app bundle).

For VLC do the following:

% open -n /Applicatins/VLC.app

On OS X, the open command is used to open a file as it would be if you clicked on it via the GUI. You can try it on any file in your system to get a feel for how it works.

By using the -n option you get a new instance of the app even if one is already running. From the man page (i.e. man open at the Terminal) :

 -n  Open a new instance of the application(s) even if one is already run-
     ning.

Answer 2

Assuming that you have a pretty recent version, and that VLC media player on Mac is similar enough to the Linux version (this is most likely) then you should be able to enable this via an option in the preferences:

Untick: Tools > Preferences > Interface > Instances > Allow only one instance

Save preferences, close VLC media player and re-open it so that this change takes effect.

Answer 3

regarding PeterJCLaw response; This didnt work for me perhaps as my factory settings (which are hidden here) were different. You can view these options and change them so that you CAN VIEW MULTIPLE INSTANCES by following these steps; Tools > Preferences > Show Settings > All > Advanced > Performance options > UN-TICK ALL OPTIONS!

Answer 4

If it's just a few instances you need, you can use the rather inelegant solution of duplicating the app a few times and launching all the copies.

(Though I'm sure there's a better way to do this.)