Troubleshooting Playing Videos In Windows 10
Many users use their computer as a multimedia center to watch videos and TV shows. But the native Windows operating system does not support some video file formats. There are several reasons why you won’t be able to enjoy the latest season of Game of Thrones or any other movie or show. So, what to do if the video on your computer doesn’t start? Let’s look at the best solutions for this problem in Windows 10.
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Install codecs
If you are a beginner PC user, you’ve probably had situations where you encountered problems while listening to music or watching video files. For example, a movie is playing without sound or the sound is separate from the picture and you can’t watch the movie properly.
These problems are usually caused by the absence or malfunction of codecs on your computer. Also, you need to install other codecs.
What is a codec?
Codec is usually a small program designed to encode (compress) and decode (playback from the compressed state) audio and video files (multimedia files).
Hence the origin of the name. The word CODEC comes from the combination of the first letters in the words CODER/DECoder. Also, you can download the Media Feature Pack from Microsoft. This package provides support for multimedia features in Windows 10.
Codecs allow encoding a stream/signal for subsequent transmission, storage, or encryption and decode it for viewing (playback, decryption).
Using Alternative Audio/Video Players
Standard players do not have the best features. Many popular media players are initially equipped with a huge database of codecs, as well as work better with audio tracks.
Here are some players you can try, and each one has its own features.
KMPlayer
The KMPlayer has some unique features. In particular, it is the best program for viewing the 3D video, due to a huge number of functions for working with this format. However, the relevance of this chip nowadays is rather questionable.
Media Player Classic
One of the oldest free media players for Windows. A true classic! The main advantage of the player is its excellent adaptation to any video format. In addition to all the most popular video formats, it can also play the absolutely rarest types of video, such as encrypted recordings from official surveillance cameras. None of the above-mentioned competitors are capable of this (without having specific video codecs pre-installed).
It’s also worth noting that the program consumes practically no resources of your PC or laptop. That’s why HD video can be watched even on an old PC with an ancient processor.
Over the years, this player has proved itself in the best way. It supports all popular video codecs and easily manages heavy video files. The player is also difficult to confuse with competitors, thanks to the proprietary design of the interface, which is ruled by transparency, orange tones, and minimalism.
VLC Media Player
Perhaps the program has only one serious disadvantage – poor optimization for weak hardware. Simply put, where an alternative player will work without problems having only 4 GB of RAM, VLC will slow down and think for a long time.
GOM Player
I have been using this player for a very long time and I have not had any problems with it. In my opinion, it is one of the best video players I have ever used. It supports a huge number of formats, some of which I haven’t even heard of.
Not only is it a video player, but it is also an audio player. There is a playlist, an equalizer, all these components can be grouped into one and you get a comfortable audio player.
Also, video compression can help you, as in some cases it can help by switching from one codec to another. Since video in compressed format has different launching rules.
Updating Video Card Drivers
Another important condition for the correct playback of video files can be called a normal work of the video card drivers.
Whether or not to update “video” drivers is an interesting and controversial question. After all, different categories of users will give different answers to it.
If you work in Microsoft Word, 1C or write code in Visual Studio, you can use outdated drivers for years without losing performance. Upgrading, on the other hand, will probably not give you any noticeable improvement.
On the other hand, you need to update your drivers for gameplay. After all, video card manufacturers are constantly optimizing their products to meet the requirements of various games, and driver updates can seriously add FPS. In severe cases the game simply won’t start without the latest drivers.
So whether or not to update your graphics card drivers depends on what you are using your computer for. If you need high-performance graphics, you should definitely update. In our case, for a video playback problem, updating your drivers will probably solve the problem.
Online Video Does Not Play
Over the many years of using web browsers, many problems have accumulated regarding difficulties in displaying clips. More often than not, videos do not play in the browser when using the web, which is due to the particular sensitivity of the supporting software. You might also be helped by an alternative solution if videos are not playing on browsers.
The following problems may occur during operation:
- Appearance of an error when trying to play a video.
- Black (blank) screen.
- Video does not load and is in a frozen state.
- Video is playing, but slows down.
- Green screen appears.
- Browser does not recognize the video format, video does not play.
- Video cuts off while playing.
- Video is not displayed, but there is sound.
This is just a part of the difficulties that users face. There can be many reasons why the browser does not play the video, starting with the lack of some software, downloading conflicts with other programs.
Let’s highlight the main reasons why videos don’t play:
- Disabling, missing or using an old version of Flash Player;
- Difficulties in the work of the player on the portal;
- Low speed of the Internet or provider’s faults;
- High load on the server, resulting in a failure to start or slow video;
- Problems with or restriction of access to the video on YouTube;
- Browser malfunctions, for example, memory contamination with unnecessary cache;
- Other malfunctions.
Problems with Flash Player
A black or blank screen often indicates a problem with Adobe Flash Player which you need to repair. This extension runs at the same time the video is turned on and makes it work. A common reason why the video doesn’t play is that it’s using an old version.
If these actions do not help, you need to check that Adobe Flash Player is turned on. Often there are situations when the program is updated but does not work because it is disabled.
Problem with JavaScript
Difficulties with downloading videos often occur due to a glitch in JavaScript. It is a scripting language that enhances the capabilities of webmasters when creating Internet portals. The user can enable and disable this tool. If the tool is disabled, the functionality of the site may stop working. In addition, a more serious situation can arise when a black screen appears in the browser instead of a video.
Conclusion
In this article, I have tried to talk about all the most common causes of nonplaying videos in Windows 10. There are also many more reasons, but they are solved by going to a master, as these causes are mostly related to the breakdowns of the PC itself. Once the problem is solved, you can work with the obtained videos, including the possibility to edit, format and combine videos on Windows 10.
I hope I have helped you in solving the problem. If you think I am wrong about something or have missed something – you can always add that information. Thank you for your attention and have a good movie night!