'I use VLC Media Player to play almost every video file. But, recently, while opening an MP4 video with VLC, I faced an error – ‘Unable to open the file.' Although every other video file format was working fine, only the MP4 video was not working. Is there an issue with the VLC media player or the MP4 video?'
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I just have encountered that problem. My system is iMac 9,1 Mac OS X 10.11.6 I also use (needs new battery, so not right now) an MBPro with the same Core Duo & same limitation. Play pokemon emerald on mac. I went to their site & they say version 3.0.6 will not work anymore with Core Duo CPU's. Along with the H.265/HEVC codec widely used, more and more devices and media player are up-to-date to have H.265/HEVC support, while VLC is not in the queue. So, there's lots of VLC and H.265/HEVC playback errors posted online. Luckily, this tutorial will provide some positive ways to solve VLC not playing H.265/HEVC videos. I have run the movie before on vlc and it played ok, does play on windows media player so cant work out why not vlc - Collapse - For optical drives, doesn't mean a thing. The Win PC running VLC Media Player can see (and play recorded video material stored on) the 2 UPnP servers and the servers when acting as clients, can see each other and play.
You can find many queries on the Internet that users have posted related to VLC not playing MP4 videos.
I have run the movie before on vlc and it played ok, does play on windows media player so cant work out why not vlc - Collapse - For optical drives, doesn't mean a thing. The Win PC running VLC Media Player can see (and play recorded video material stored on) the 2 UPnP servers and the servers when acting as clients, can see each other and play each other's recorded material. However none of the Macs running VLC 2.2.4 can see the UPnP servers.'
Reasons for VLC not Playing MP4 Videos
The VLC media player is amongst one of the widely used media players that support almost every video file format, and MP4 is one amongst them. However, sometimes, users are unable to open their MP4 videos with VLC, which can take place due to various reasons.
- Using an older version of VLC
- MP4 codecs are missing
- Video settings are not enabled
- MP4 file is corrupt
Use xbox controller on mac. Don't worry! There is a solution to every problem. In this article, we will talk about multiple solutions to fix ‘VLC not playing MP4 videos' issue.
But, before proceeding to the methods, it's necessary to verify whether the MP4 file is corrupt or the VLC is the culprit? To know the actual problem, do the following:
- Play the MP4 file with other media players. If it works with other media players, then the problem lies within the VLC media player.
- If the MP4 file doesn't work on other media players as well, then the MP4 video is corrupt.
Methods to fix the ‘VLC not Playing MP4 Videos' issue
Here, we will discuss the solutions for both the problems so that you get the maximum benefit from this blog.
- Fix MP4 Codec Problem
- Disable Hardware Video Decoding in VLC
- Open the VLC media player and go to the Tools and select Preferences.
- In the opened tab, click Show Settings from the lower left on the window and then select the ‘All' button.
- The options will display on your window, go to Input/Codec >>Video Codecs>>FFmpeg, and then disable the ‘Hardware decoding' option.
- Download the Latest Version of VLC
- Repair MP4 File with Kernel Video Repair Utility
- Download and configure the software on your system.
- On launching the tool, click the '+' folder icon to select the corrupt MP4 videos.
- Select the MP4 files or other videos that you want to repair and click OK.
- Once the files are uploaded, click ‘Repair Files' at the bottom.
- A pop-up window will appear on the screen to select a location for saving the videos after repairing. Click OK after choosing the location.
- The tool will start repairing the corrupt videos. You can stop the process in-between by clicking the Stop button.
- Once the files are repaired, click OK to end the process. And if you want to save the repairing report to CSV, click ‘Save the report to CSV.'
One of the main reasons behind VLC not playing MP4 video could be the incompatibility of MP4 codec with VLC. To fix this issue, you need to convert the MP4 file to other formats that are fully compatible with VLC. To convert the MP4 file to another format, you can use the Kernel Video Converter tool that is packed with multiple convertible formats.
Or you can download the VLC codec pack from the VLC site to install the required codecs for the MP4 video. After downloading or converting the MP4 file, see if the problem still persists or not.
The Hardware decoding of VLC is often not capable of handling the rendering effects of video files. It generally happens when the video file has many subtitle tracks. So, what you can do is to disable the hardware video decoding option on VLC with the following steps:
After that, close the VLC media player and restart it, and then play the MP4 video file with it.
When the MP4 codecs are not compatible with the VLC media player, it will not play the video. So, try to upgrade the VLC Media Player to the latest version, which is equipped with all the codecs. Vlc player for mac os sierra. Generally, users keep their VLC media player to auto-update.
However, if you haven't enabled that option, then check the official website of the VLC media player to download the latest version.
Most of the time, this error occurs due to a corrupt MP4 file. So, you need to repair corrupt MP4 videos to play it with the VLC media player. To repair the file, you can use the Kernel Video Repair tool, which is specifically designed to repair video files of all formats. It is integrated with advanced algorithms that can fix all severe corruption issues of video files.
Also, it comes with a friendly and easy-to-use interface, which makes it easier for users to use the tool and repair the video files. Let's go through the working process of this tool to understand it better.
That's how you can quickly repair corrupt video files with this practical video repair utility.
Wrap Up
MP4 is an extensively used video format, which is compatible with all the media players and operating systems. But it sometimes doesn't function properly with VLC media player, which could be due to a problem with the VLC or corruption in the video files. In this article, we covered all the aspects of fixing the problem, and suggested some alternative methods and third-party tools that can be used to fix the problem.
More Information
The MP4 file format is supposed to be universally compatible across all platforms and operating systems. And VLC is a popular video player that can play just about any video or audio file thrown at it and MP4 is no exception. However, it's very annoying when you use VLC to play MP4 files it ends up in 'fail to open' or 'black screen' situation in VLC. And there are some frequently asked questions quoted from forums:
Q1:'I recently downloaded an mp4 torrent file, it contains two mp4 clips and main movie is mp4 as well. VLC player will play the two shorter clips no problem but will not play the main movie.'
Q2: 'I usually play .avi files in VLC, but I downloaded an .mp4 video and it won't play on VLC right. The sound is perfect, but the screen lags or it freezes while the song goes on.'
Vlc Player Not Working On Macbook
Q3: 'I have downloaded a new MP4 video from the website, but my VLC won't play the mp4. I am using latest version of VLC. Who can tell me can VLC play MP4 and how, please?'
In fact, there are many possible reasons that might lead to this issue like nonstandard MP4 codecs, corrupted MP4 files or the VLC 'video output modes' is set wrong. In these situations, you only need to check MP4 and VLC own problems again. If your MP4 video and VLC have no damage, you may get trouble with the MP4 video codec. From VLC official website, we learn that MP4 is really one of VLC Player supported video formats, but you must know it has strict requiements: VLC Media Player is only compatible with MPEG-4 ASP, DivX 4/5/6, XviD, 3ivX D4 and H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC. If your an MP4 file contains a VLC unsupported audio or video codec, it can't be recognized by VLC. So the MP4 file can not be played in VLC smoothly.
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Plus, attach VLC Media Player supported format chart:
What if you cannot get your MP4 files and VLC to play nicely? Fortunately, there are many solutions out there that allow you to solve the problem. Here, we provide you serval solutions to VLC not playing MP4 problem according to different situations.
I. VLC MP4 Hardware Decoding Limitation:
If the MP4 video still cannot play back in VLC, chances are that it might contain too many subtitle tracks or rendering effects, which is difficult for hardware decoding and your video card doesn't like to accelerate.
Vlc Media Player Audio Not Working Mac
Solution: Try disabling hardware video decoding in VLC
1. Find it in Tools --> Preferences. Then in the lower left of the window, click to show all settings.
2. Now navigate to 'Input / Codecs' --> 'Video Codecs' --> 'FFmpeg', in there you'll want to uncheck the box that relates to 'Hardware decoding'.
3. Close VLC and open it up again, load up your video and see if that works.
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II. VLC MP4 Codec Problem:
VLC Plays most codecs with no codec packs needed: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG-4 ASP, H.264, DivX 4/5/6, XviD, SV1, 3ivX D4 and H.264/MPEG-4 AVCMKV, AMR, WebM, WMV, MP3. HOWEVER, MP4 files containing codecs like H.265 and other VLC unsupported A/V codecs cannot be read by VLC.
Solution 1: Download VLC Codec Pack
Try update your VLC to the latest version, and download VLC codec packs from CNET for this matter. There is not much to illustrate about this solution, since it is like 'key-to-door' problem. Once you get the keys and you can open the certain door.
Solution 2: Convert MP4 codec to VLC supported codec
Directly converting the MP4 videos into MOV or other files formats that VLC can handle is one of the most convenient way to avoid VLC not playing MP4 issue. If you are not sure about the target converting format, you can test a certain video format that can be played by your VLC to decide. Here, we recommend you some professional converters you might be fond of: EaseFab video converter; Any video converter; Handbrake, Freemake Video Converter. Whichever you choose, be sure that it supports the needed output formats.
For more info, you can visit:
Top 5 Video Converter Softwares on Windows 10
Top 3 Online Video Converters for Mac
III. Other Unknown VLC MP4 Problems:
Vlc Media Player Not Responding
If the above solutions cannot solve your particular MP4 playback issue in VLC, and you do not specifically need VLC to play mp4 files, we suggest that you change a player.
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Vlc Player Not Working On Mac Computer
