Vls can stream MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 files that meet two critera : the file must be MPEG PS (Program Stream) or MPEG TS (Transport Stream), that contain video and audio multiplexed. Vls cannot stream MPEG ES (Elementary Stream), i.e. a file with only audio or video. In order to know if an MPEG file is MPEG PS, MPEG TS or MPEG ES, read the file with vlc and look at the messages (select in the menu View / Messages, or use the command line vlc -v) and look for a line : module: locking demux module `mpeg_XX' If XX = ps or XX = ts, then your file is MPEG PS and MPEG TS respectively, and you may be able to stream it. If XX = es, then your file is MPEG ES and is not streamable. the sequence header of the video must repeat itself regularly, which is often the case with MPEG 2, but very rare with MPEG 1. There is no easy way to know if the sequence header is repeated regularly. Files with a .vob extension are normally MPEG 2 files and files with .mpg or .mpeg extension or usually MPEG 1 files. You can download this streamable MPEG 2 PS file for your tests : presentation_short.vob.