Can VLC Play 4K Videos? How to Fix VLC 4K Choppy Playback Issue? [Video Converter]

Part 1: Can VLC Play 4K Videos?

Developed by VideoLAN, VLC media player is a free and open-source, portable, and cross-platform media player and streaming media sever. It’s available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS devices.

VLC supports many audio and video compression methods and files formats, including DVD-Video, and Video CD. As a video player, VLC can play almost all video files.

Does VLC play 4K videos? Yes, VLC can play 4K videos. With the release of VLC 3.0, it enables hardware decoding by default for 4K and 8K playback.

However, several users have problems playing 4K Ultra HD videos in VLC like choppy playback, video lagging or stuttering. How to play 4K videos smoothly in VLC? The following part mainly brings 10 useful methods to fix VLC 4K choppy/lagging/stuttering issues.

Part 2: How to Fix VLC 4K Choppy Playback Issue?

Nowadays, many TV shows, movies, and recorded videos are available in 4K resolution. Have you ever met any problems when playing 4K videos in VLC? Like video lagging or stuttering or VLC crashes when playing 4K?

To make your 4K videos play smoothly in VLC media player, here’re 10 methods to fix VLC 4K playback issues.

#Method 1. Update VLC Media Player

For a better VLC 4K playback experience, you can update VLC media player to the latest version. When you have any problems playing 4K videos in VLC, the first thing you need to do to fix the playback issue is to update VLC to the newest version.

Click Help in the top menu bar and select Check for Updates…. Then, follow the onscreen instructions to update VLC.

Also read: Does Premiere Pro Support MKV & How to Import MKV into Premiere

#Method 2. Change the Hardware-accelerated Decoding Setting

VLC’s hardware acceleration lets the video playback move from your CPU to GPU to save your battery. If VLC crashes when playing 4K or you’re facing a choppy playback, try the following steps to change the hardware-accelerated decoding setting to fix the issue.

Step 2. Go to the Input / Codecs tab, click the Hardware-accelerated decoding drop-down menu and choose Disable.

If you’ve disabled the hardware-accelerated decoding, you can choose Automatic to fix the VLC 4K playback issue.

Step 3. Click Save to save your changes. Relaunch VLC and try to play your 4K content again.

#Method 3. Change the Skip H.264in-loop Decoding Filter

To get a smooth playback experience when you play 4K in VLC, you can change the Skin H.264 in-loop deblocking filter setting.

Step 2. Click the Skin H.264 in-oop deblocking filter drop-down menu and choose All.

Step 3. Click Save. Restart VLC and play your 4K video.

Also read: WFP to MP4: What Is a WFP File & How to Convert WFP to MP4

#Method 4. Change the Video Output Setting

If VLC crashes when playing 4K, you can also try to adjust the video output setting to fix the playback issue.

Step 2. Go to Output in the Video Settings. Click the drop-down menu, select DirectX (DirectDraw) video output or OpenGL video output, and click Save.

Step 3. Close VLC media player and open it again. Check if the 4K video is playable in VLC.

#Method 5. Increase Cache Value 

If your 4K 60FPS video is lagging or stuttering in VLC, try to increase the cache value to fix it.

Step 2. At the bottom left corner, switch Show settings from Simple to All.

Step 3. Click the Input / Codecs under Advanced in the left side.

Step 4. Scroll down and go to the Advanced section, and change the value of File caching (ms) to a higher value. Click Save to save your changes.

Related:

#Method 6. Change the Value of FFmpeg Threads

This method also helps to fix VLC 4K choppy playback issue.

Step 2. On the left side, click Video Codecs and choose FFmpeg.

Step 3. Change the value of Threads to a higher one like 0 to 4.

Step 4. Click Save. Relaunch VLC and play your 4K video.

#Method 7. Update Graphics Driver

When you can’t play 4K videos in VLC, try to update graphics driver of your computer.

Step 1. Press Win + R and type “devmgmt.msc” in the Run dialog box, and click OK to open Device Manager.

Step 2. Expand the Display adapters and select Update Driver.

#Method 8. Convert and Compress 4K Video

If the above methods can’t help you fix the VLC 4K playback issue, you can convert and compress your 4K video especially a large-sized 4K video. Use a free video converter like MiniTool Video Converter to downscale 4K to 1080p and convert your 4K video to a format compatible with VLC.

MiniTool Video Converter is a free video converter that can handle various video conversion tasks. It also allows you to convert video frame rate and change the video quality, resolution, encoder, and bitrate.

Here’s how to convert and compress 4K videos using MiniTool Video Converter.

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool Video Converter on your PC. After the installation, launch it.

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Step 2. Click the Add or Drag files here to start conversion area to browse for the video you want to convert. Select this file and click Open.

Step 3. Click the icon in the below screenshot that is marked out with a red square and click Video. Then choose the desired video format and then select the HD 1080p option.

If you want to create a custom format, follow the steps below.

  1. After selecting the desired output format, click the + Create Custom.
  2. Give the new format a title, choose Medium Quality or Low Quality, and set Resolution as 1920×1080 or a lower value.
  3. Click Create to create the custom format. Find and choose the custom format.

Step 4. Click the Convert to start the conversion task. Once done, go to the Converted tab and click the Show in folder to locate the converted file.

Step 5. Open VLC media player to play the convert video.

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In addition to converting videos, MiniTool Video Converter also allows you to convert audio files, extract audio from video, download videos from YouTube, and record your computer screen.

Related:

VLC Convert 4K to 1080p

Alternatively, you can use VLC to convert 4K to 1080p. VLC is not only a video player but also a video converter. You can use it to convert your 4K video to 1080p and change the video format.

Step 2. Under the File tab, click the +Add… to add your 4K video and click the Convert/Save button.

Step 3. Click the Profile drop-down menu and select Video for MPEG4 1080p TV/device option from the list.

Step 4. Click on Browse to choose a folder to save the converted video. Click Start to enable the 4K to 1080p conversion.

#Method 9. Try Another 4k Video Player

When VLC have any problems playing 4K videos, you can try another 4K video player, such as Divx Player, 5KPlayer, PotPlayer, KMPlayer, etc.

#Method 10. Repair Corrupt 4K Video

Still can’t play 4K videos in VLC? If your video has gone corrupted, you can’t play it properly.

Source: us.suanoncolosence.com

To repair the corrupted 4K video, you need a video repair application like MiniTool Video Repair.

MiniTool Video Repair is a free video repair tool. It helps you repair damaged, unplayable, and choppy video files, including MP4, MOV, M4V, F4V, etc.

MiniTool Video Repair also repairs unplayable or broken videos from GoPro, Sony, Canon, DJI drones, and more. Its Advanced Repair feature can repair severely damaged videos.

MiniTool Video Repair is simple to use. You can follow these steps to repair corrupted videos.

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool Video Repair. Launch this program after installation.

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Step 2. Click Add video(s) and start repairing button in the middle to upload the video file you want to repair.

Step 3. Click the Repair button at the right-bottom corner.

Step 4. If some of the videos failed to repair, click the Advanced Repair button to continue.

Step 5. Preview the repaired videos and click the Save All to save them.

Step 6. Open VLC and play the repaired video.

Part 3: VLC Media Player Download for PC/Mac/Android/iOS

This part tells you how to download and install VLC media player on your Windows PC, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. You can download VLC for free on your computer and smartphones.

VLC Media Player Free Download for Windows 11/10

You can download VLC media player from the official website and Microsoft Store for free.

Option 1: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

Then, click the vlc EXE file and follow the onscreen instructions to install VLC on your PC.

Option 2: https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/vlc/XPDM1ZW6815MQM?hl=en-au&gl=au

From the Microsoft Store, click Get and sign into your Microsoft account to download VLC media player.

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VLC Media Player Free Download for Mac 

You can download VLC media player from the official site to your Mac for free.

Download link: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.ast.html

Locate and open the download file. Click and drag the VLC icon to the applications folder, and release it. Then, VLC will be copied to the applications folder. Double-click the VLC icon and click Open to give the permission.

VLC Media Player Free Download for Android and iOS

You can download VLC media player on your Android devices from the official site and Google Play Store.

Download page:

  • https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-android.html
  • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videolan.vlc&hl=en&gl=US

Likewise, you can download VLC for your iPhone and iPad from the official site and App Store.

Download page:

  • https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-ios.html
  • https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.videolan.vlc&hl=en&gl=US

Also, you can download VLC for Apple TV via the App Store and the official site, https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-appletv.html.

Get VLC for Windows Phone: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windowsphone.html

Get VLC for Linux: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-debian.html

Also read: How to Install & Uninstall YouTube Music Desktop App on PC

Conclusion

This post shares 10 ways to fix the VLC 4K playback issues. Hope these methods can help you play 4K Ultra HD videos smoothly in VLC media player.

Also, this post gives you the VLC official download sources. You can get VLC for your computer and mobile devices via the above download links free of charge.

If you have any problems while using MiniTool Video Converter or MiniTool Video Repair, you can contact us via [email protected] for help.

— Update: 19-03-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article How to Fix VLC and Video Lagging or Stuttering? from the website www.remosoftware.com for the keyword fix 4k choppy video lagging issues in vlc media player.

Video lagging is the delay in response or decreases in frame rate while playing a video saved on the hard drive due to issues related to video, network, media player, or laptop. Due to video stuttering, your video continuously stops and plays on VLC or Windows media player over and over. The problem of video or VLC lagging is not restricted to the offline videos saved on your laptop or external drives. But it also happens while playing online videos on YouTube or Google chrome. 

                               source: Reddit

How to Fix VLC and Video lagging?

Fix VLC lagging or stuttering while Playing the Video

The VLC media player supports almost all audio and video formats. Irrespective of its compatibility, sometimes you might see VLC lagging or stuttering while playing HD videos.

If you are frustrated due to the VLC media player lagging while playing your videos on the computer, then this section with reliable tricks is for you. But make sure you restart the VLC media player after completing the method to play videos without any stutter or lag.

  1. Modify File Caching Parameter
  2. Disable Hardware Decoding
  3. Convert HD Video

1. Modify File Caching Parameter to Deal with the Issue of Video Lagging

In case, the lagging HD video is stored on your local hard drive. Then follow the below steps to alter the file caching value to fix video lag and stutter.

  1. Go to the VLC media player.
  2. Select Tools and Click the Preferences option.
  3. Then, go to Input / Codecs.
  4. Under Show Settings, select All and click on Input / Codecs.
  5. Here, you need to change the File caching (ms) value (the default value is 300). Possibly, it is set to a higher value which might lead to HD videos lagging or stuttering. So, change the File caching value to a smaller value (Setting the value to 1000 will buffer for 1 second).

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2. Disable Hardware Decoding to Fix the Video lag issue

Enabling hardware decoding might cause choppy video playback issues. To resolve this, you need to disable hardware encoding. Even though hardware encoding is required for the decoding process, sometimes it creates playback issues. Hence, it is better to disable it to fix VLC lag or stutter.

  1. Open VLC and navigate to Tools > Preferences.
  2. When you see the settings window, click on Input and Codecs on the left sidebar.
  3. Now, Disable the Hardware-accelerated decoding option.

By utilizing the above method in the VLC media player, you can fix video lagging or stuttering issues. However, if you cannot fix video lag, then this could be due to compatibility issues. Move down to find other reliable methods to fix video lag and stuttering.

3. Convert HD Video Using a Video Converter

If you are still facing VLC lagging and stuttering issues while playing HD videos. Then convert your videos to VLC-compatible format with the help of the following steps.

  • Launch VLC and go to Media > Select Convert / Save option.
  • In the Open Media window, Go to File > Click Add button to select the video file you want to convert >  Hit the Convert/Save button.
  • Now, select the destination folder and filename and hit the Start button.
  • Wait until VLC converts your video file.

If your VLC media player is faulty, then the above methods will easily fix it to play your videos without any lag or glitch. But, in case, if VLC is still lagging, then the problem can be due to your computer or video.

Follow the below section, to fix video stuttering due to your computer or video corruption.

Troubleshooting methods to fix video lagging on Windows 10

Video stuttering or lagging is not only due to the VLC media player but can also be due to issues related to your Windows computer or video itself. There are multiple ways on Windows through which you can fix video stuttering. Some of the most reliable methods are as follows:

  1. Scan for hardware change 
  2. Upgrade Graphic/ Display Drivers
  3. Reinstall Device Drivers
  4. Install Windows update

1. Scan for Hardware changes to Resolve Video Lag Glitch

Hardware changes in the Windows computer can lead to video lag. Therefore, make use of this method to scan for hardware changes to fix any issue related to it.

  1. Press the Windows key + x at once.
  2. Open Device Manager and click on the Action tab and select Scan for hardware change. Alternatively, you can also click on any particular driver and Scan for hardware change.
  3. After its completion, you can try playing your video with no glitches.

2. Upgrade Display Drivers to Repair issues with Video 

Graphic or Display drivers are essential to play any video without any glitches. By updating the display drivers to the latest version, you can easily solve multiple video errors including video lagging.

  1. Press Windows key + R and type devmgmt. msc and then click OK.
  2. Expand Display adapters and right-click on the display hardware and click the Update driver option.
  3. Click on Search automatically for updated driver software and then, follow the self-explanatory instructions to update the display driver.

3. Reinstall the Device Drivers to Solve the VLC stuttering Problem

Reinstalling the device drivers not only repairs the video lagging. But also resolves various errors including Windows Media Player encountered a problem while the video. The following are the reliable steps to fix HD video lag and stuttering on Windows for free.

  1. Go to Control Panel > Choose View by as Large icons.
  2. Select Device Manager > Click on Sound, video, and game controllers.
  3. Right-click on every option available in that Sound, video, and game controller’s driver to reinstall.
  4. Now, install the latest available updates for these drivers.

4. Install Windows Update to get Rid of the Video Lagging Problem

Video lagging can be due to pending Windows updates. Regularly installing Windows updates can fix many errors including video lag. Below are the steps to install the Windows updates.

  1. Click on the Windows search box and type Check for updates.
  2. Now double-click on Check for updates from the displayed list.
  3. Click on the Check for updates button to find any new updates to be installed or if you find any available Windows updates, then click on Download and install.

Once installing Windows updates completes, restart your Windows computer. And check whether you can play videos with no stutter or not.

Note: Check this article, if you encounter a Windows update error fix it for free on any version of the Windows operating system including Windows 10.

Is your video still lagging or stuttering?

If you are unable to fix video lagging or stuttering even after performing the above solutions related to the VLC media player and Windows computer, then this can be due to video corruption. 

During video corruption, the only way to fix VLC or video lagging is by making use of video repair software. MOV and MP4 video stuttering can be fixed easily using Remo Video Repair with simple clicks.

Use the Remo Video Repair tool to Easily Fix Video Lagging or Stuttering issues

Steps to fix video lag or stutter using Remo Video Repair software:

  • Download and install Remo Video Repair software.
  • Select the corrupt video on which you are encountering stutter, lag, or any glitch.
  • Click the Repair option.
  • Preview and Save the repaired video.

Tips to Overcome HD Videos Stuttering or Lagging Issues:

  1. Ultra HD or 4K Videos stutter or lag because of their size and format. Playing 4K videos is difficult due to compatibility issues with media players and computer resources like RAM, GPU, and many more. Hence, reducing the video resolution and size might fix video lag and stutter.
  2. You can fix video lagging by updating the Windows operating system to its latest version. Updating Windows OS fixes compatibility and system performance issues.  
  3. Deleting cookies and temporary files can fix the video lag or buffer issue.
  4. Always update the VLC media player to its latest version to fix video stuttering.
  5. Fix slow internet connection and close unused web windows.
  6. Update your browser to its latest version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Source: https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/vlc-4k.html

Article post on: us.suanoncolosence.com

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