DON'T USE VLC ON LAPTOP OR NOTEBOOKS

Numerous owners have reported that Dell Tech Support is saying that speaker damage is not covered if the popular VLC Media Player is installed on the laptop.
 A Dell liaison wrote:

"Take this as a warning, if you are using VLC player and have the volume set to maximum for a prolonged period of time it could cause damage the speakers, and replacing the speakers will not be covered by the hardwarewarranty. So if you do use VLC keep the volume down."

Be aware that you can be denied warranty service on the speakers just by having the player, whether you use it or not. If you contact Tech Support about a speaker problem and they do a scan and find VLC thenyou could be denied service.

VLC has a feature that can make the audio sound louder than it does with other players. 

VLC achieves this by using a process that creates hard clipping (see below for explanation). 

Clipping has always been knownto be dangerous to small speakers and the speakers in a laptop are tiny.
 Dell has tested VLC and verified that the speakers can be damaged after several hours of using VLC. 
I believe that HP also says that VLC damage is not covered under its warranty.