Vlc-record-2021-05-24-16h17m26s-index-dvr.m3u8-... -

This specific file name format— vlc-record-2021-05-24-16h17m26s-index-dvr.m3u8- —is the classic digital footprint of a user trying to save a live network stream using the VLC media player.

VLC will now actively transcode and package the live stream segments directly into a standard MP4 file on your hard drive in real time. 🧹 What to Do with Your Old VLC Record Files?

Go to the top menu and click > Convert / Save (or press Ctrl + R on Windows / Cmd + R on Mac). Click the Network tab at the top. vlc-record-2021-05-24-16h17m26s-index-dvr.m3u8-...

To understand why this happens, we can look at the anatomy of the file name itself:

VLC is highly forgiving. Drag and drop the file directly into VLC. If it was a raw data dump, VLC might still be able to read the video frames. Go to the top menu and click >

: This is the default prefix VLC gives to any file created using its manual recording feature.

Paste your .m3u8 live stream URL into the box and click the button at the bottom. Drag and drop the file directly into VLC

: The exact timestamp the record button was pressed (4:17 PM and 26 seconds).