WindowsFAQ-0.8.x

This page contains list of common questions and problems that Windows users have about VLC media player.

Video output related questions and problems

Why does VLC only give black, white or garbled video output?

Usually the problem lies in display adapter drivers. If you are too scared to update your display adapter drivers you can change VLC settings to make video work. If you are using Windows XP or older the easiest fix is usually to disable Overlay video output which can be found first opening Settings -> Preferences... and then choosing Video. After you have unticked the Overlay video output, press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled. Image about Overlay video output setting

If disabling Overlay video output doesn't help the next step is to change video output module. Open Settings -> Preferences... and then choosing Video -> Output module (remember to tick Advanced options box). There are multiple output modules you can use. For Windows XP and younger you can try DirectX 3D, DirectX, OpenGL and Windows GDI video output modules. With Windows Vista DirectX and Windows GDI output modules will disable Aero so if you want to use Aero, please use DirectX 3D (should be default). Remember to press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled. Image about video output modules setting

Direct3D video output is a bit blurry

This is known issue that has been fixed in latest Nightly builds.

Video shows green, blue or red lines

See Why does VLC only give black, white or garbled video output?

How can I adjust brightness or contrast?

You can adjust brightness, contrast and other settings via Extend GUI. Open Settings -> Extend GUI to adjust these settings. Changes should show up realtime.

Audio output related questions and problems

Crackles, pops, hizzes and other audio anomalies

If you hear some unwanted audio problems you can try another audio output module to see if that solves the issue. Open Settings -> Preferences... and then choosing Audio -> Output module (remember to tick Advanced options box). There are multiple output modules you can use for audio. DirectX and Win32 waveOut should work in most cases. With ASIO only cards, you should try PORTAUDIO.

Crackles, pops, hizzes and other audio anomalies with SPDIF passthrough

SPDIF passthrough of Dolby Digital (AC3) and DTS audiotracks don't work with all soundcards. Win32 waveOut output module should work better with SPDIF and you can also try latest Nightly builds with Win32 waveOut.

I don't hear dialog, conversations etc. while playing 5.1 audio

Make sure you have select proper speaker setup from Windows audio settings or from soundcard control panel. If you have done so, make sure VLC also has right settings. Audio -> Audio Device to select proper speaker settings.

How do I adjust audio delay?

During playback you can press Ctrl + k or Ctrl + l to adjust audio delay (adjust step is 50 ms).

(Graphical) user interface related questions and problems

How can I separate playback controls from playback window?

Go to Settings -> Preferences and Interface -> Main interfaces -> wxWidgets and untick Embed video in interface selection. Remember to press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled.

How can I make skinned interface my default interface?

Go to Settings -> Preferences and Interface -> Main interfaces and from Interface module dropdown box select Skinnable Interface. Remember to press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled.

My remote control, media keys or special input device can't control VLC

Current VLC Hotkeys feature doesn't support special mediakeys so you have to bind keys to regular keyboard keys. Latest Nightly builds support mediakeys.

My remote control, media keys or special input device can't control VLC (nightlies)

Make sure you disable other software that might capture those keys while you set those keys in VLC (for example Winamp may cause issues).

My VLC Equalizer settings aren't saved when I close VLC

This is known issue. There isn't any workaround for this in current stable releases.

Codec compatibility related questions and problems

How can I identify what codecs the file uses

With VLC, Open the file you want and open View -> Stream and Media Info and go to Advanced information tab.

VLC doesn't identify used codecs correctly or gives "undf" as codec or I want more information about specs

There are multiple video and audio identification tools, but one very useful is tool called Mediainfo.

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC playback is too slow

You can speed up the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC playback by disabling loop filter for H.264 decoding. To do this go to Settings -> Preferences and Input / Codecs -> Other codecs -> FFmpeg (remember to tick Advanced options box) and in the drop-down box for Skip the loop filter for H.264 decoding change it to All. Remember to press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled.

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC interlaced content crashes VLC (MBAFF and PAFF)

This is known issue. Current stable VLC versions don't support interlaced H.264/MPEG-4 AVC content. Latest Nightly builds should support most interlaced H.264/MPEG-4 AVC videos.

No Real audio or Real video support

Current stable VLC doesn't play all Real video or audio codecs but support has gotten little better on latest Nightly builds.

Why can't VLC use CoreAVC, FFDshow, AC3filter, etc. codecs?

VLC only uses build in codecs so it doesn't support VfW or DirectShow APIs for codecs.

But you support DMO (Direct Media Object) module for WMV video and WMA audio

WMV and WMA are exceptions to this external codec support.

File and media format compatibility related questions and problems

Some DVD movies don't work at all or they crash/freeze to menu or playback

If you open DVD with DVD (menus) selection, try just plain DVD option (aka dvdsimple).

Some new DVD movies use copy protection mechanisms that VLC doesn't support. It might help if you rip that movie to hard drive using tools like DVDFab Decrypter or AnyDVD and use VLC to playback these files from hard drive.

DVD movies don't playback smooth (they stutter, lag, etc.)

One thing that might help is increasing the VLC DVD cache. This can be done from Settings -> Preferences and Input / Codecs -> Access Modules -> DVD with menus (or DVD without menus if you use dvdsimple method for playback) (remember to tick Advanced options box) and increase Caching value in MS value to for example to 5000 or to 20000.

FLV (Flash Video) rewind doesn't work

This is known issue. It should be fixed in latest Nightly builds.

Some MP4 or 3GP files don't have audio at all

If those files have AMR audio (usually ones from mobile phones) they won't work with current stable VLC versios. You can try latest Nightly builds to see if they work better with AMR audio.

MP4 and MKV rewind time is equal to system uptime

This is known issue. It should be fixed in latest Nightly builds.

Transport stream (TS and M2TS) files or Blu-ray files don't work

This is known issue. Some MPEG-2 only files work but H.264/MPEG-4 AVC or VC-1 inside guarantees failure.

No RA, RAM, RMVB support

Please see No Real audio or Real video support.

I have many MKV files in same folder and that seems to cause issues to VLC

This is known issue. It should be fixed in latest Nightly builds.

MOD files from my video camera don't work

This is known issue. There are currently two workarounds. Either change file extension from .mod to .mpg or remove libmod_plugin.dll file from vlc\plugins folder.

Is it safe to remove libmod_plugin.dll?

Yes it is. After removing libmod_plugin.dll you can't listen module music formats like MOD, S3M, XM etc. but nowadays most people don't listen those files at all. If you need to get MOD, S3M, XM etc. support back, then just extract libmod_plugin.dll back to vlc\plugins folder from VLC zip file.

Subtitles related questions and problems

How do I adjust subtitle delay?

During playback you can press Ctrl + h or Ctrl + j to adjust subtitle delay (adjust step is 50 ms).

How can I select right subtitle track?

If your video has multiple subtitle tracks, you can select the one you would like to see from Video -> Subtitles Track.

Can I disable hardcoded or "burned" subtitles with VLC?

No.

Dragging and dropping the subtitles to VLC disables pause

This is known issue. It will be hopefully fixed in upcoming releases. Only solution is to either open subtitles from Use a subtitles file when you open file you want to watch or trust to Autodetect subtitle files and name the subtitles in same as the movie (for example, my_movie.avi and my_movie.srt).

SSA and ASS subtitles look horrible and don't support all styles

This is known issue. Support should be better in latest Nightly builds.

Can I change font, font size, style or color?

You can with text-based subtitle formats (Subtitles_codecs). Go to Settings -> Preferences and Video -> Subtitles/OSD -> Text renderer (remember to tick Advanced options box) and adjust anything you want. Font size in pixels overrides Relative font size selection. Remember to press Save to save VLC settings and restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled.

General problems and issues

VLC crashes/freezes/BSODs my computer

VLC doesn't do that. Normal apps shouldn't be able to cause issues like these to operating systems. Culprit is usually bad device driver (for example display adapter driver, soundcard driver, chipset driver, network adapter driver etc.) or broken hardware.

How do I reset VLC settings?

If you can start VLC, go to Settings -> Preferences... and then press Reset All and Save to reset and save VLC settings. Remember to restart VLC after that to make sure changes are enabled.

If you can't start VLC, go to %appdata% folder and delete vlc folder from there.

VLC crashes on startup

This usually happens because VLC setting files have been corrupted. Resetting VLC settings should fix this.

I messed up my file associations or I want to modify them

Check this.

Can VLC burn CD, DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray discs?

No.

Is VLC legal in all countries?

Probably not. Specially DeCSS module might violate DMCA (and similar laws) and some codecs would require licenses for personal/commercial use. There haven't been any court cases related to VLC but specially companies should make sure they pay license fees to license holders if they use VLC commercially and use patented formats or codecs.

Can I run multiple VLC instances?

Yes you can. How_to_play_multiple_instances_of_VLC

Can I start VLC instances synchronously?

Yes you can. Check this thread (command line) or this thread (GUI).