Fix GoPro Video Won't Play on Computer

“I have a GoPro 8 black edition. The footage is all MP4. Apparently, Windows 10 does not support viewing MP4 files? How can I look at my footage on my computer?”

You may be wondering why your computer can't play GoPro MP4 files, but other MP4s play fine. In fact, the MP4 format is not the issue, the issue is the resolution and codec. You probably shoot GoPro videos in 4K resolution. In this case, GoPro will encode the 4K video using the HEVC codec (see this article https://community.gopro.com/s/article/hevc?language=en_US). However, your computer hardware may not support 4K resolution, and all Windows systems don't have HEVC decoders. Therefore, you cannot play GoPro videos on your computer.

You can run the Windows Video Playback Troubleshooter (go to steps in #part 2) and see if your computer comes with support for 4K and HEVC. If the cause is confirmed, you can read on to see the corresponding fixes in the next part.

* Here are the methods to help fix your GoPro video issues on Windows.

Step 1. On Windows 10, go to the “Start” menu and open “Settings”.

Step 2. Next, navigate to “Update & Security.”

Step 3. Find “Troubleshoot” > “Video Playback”, and then run the troubleshooter.

Step 4. Choose “I want to continue with this troubleshooter.”

Step 5. Click “Next” on all dialogs until the troubleshooting is complete.

Step 6. Now, you can see the problems found. Click “View detailed information” to get the recommended solutions to the detected issues.

By installing the HEVC video extension on your computer, you will be able to play HEVC-encoded GoPro videos. You can buy this extension from the Microsoft Store for $0.99. Alternatively, you can install the K-Lite Codec Pack, which contains the free HEVC codec, to enable HEVC video playback.

Please note that this codec only works on your Windows device. If you want to play GoPro videos on any device, it is recommended that you change the codec. The next solution will show you how.

H264 is a video codec that is compatible with most devices and software. Therefore, you can convert GoPro HEVC videos to H264 to fix GoPro videos not playing on computer. For this, we can use a professional video converter, WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro. It can help you convert HEVC to H264 without losing video quality. Additionally, it provides options to change video resolution, bitrate, frame rate, etc. This conversion is simple and fast (hardware acceleration is available). Here's a simple workflow for changing your GoPro video codec.

Free download the software before you start.

Step 1. Open the software on your PC and enter the “Converter” module.

Step 2. Import or drag your GoPro videos into the converter.

Step 3. Click the right-side format image to open the output format list. Next, go to the “Video” category and choose H264 as the output profile.

Optional. If needed, you can change the resolution to 1080P in the “Quick setting”.

Step 4. Finally, click “Run” to start the conversion. The converted files should have no problem playing on your Windows media player.

Tips. Adjusting the high bitrate and high frame rate of your GoPro videos to lower values is also a good way to reduce GoPro file size and play GoPro videos on low-end devices.

If you don't mind using a different media player, then you can find another HEVC player to play HEVC videos, which is the easiest way to solve GoPro HEVC video playback issues. VLC Media Player and PotPlayer are two of the most popular and reliable HEVC video players for Windows. You can get them on their official website.

Note that the 4K videos will still stutter in these HEVC players if your computer’s hardware does not support 4K.

If your computer does not support 4K, you can convert GoPro 4K videos to 1080P for smooth playback. You can use the video converter in Solution 2 to convert GoPro 4K to lower resolution. Here are the simple steps.

Step 1. Run the software. [Quick Download Quick Download]

Step 2. Open “Converter” and add the video to the conversion list.

Step 3. Navigate to the “Quick setting” on the lower-right of the program and drag the slider to point to a lower resolution.

Step 4. Hit “Run” to start the resolution conversion.

You can also buy a 4K PC if it's within your budget. When choosing a new system, you should check the minimum system requirements for 4K playback and editing.

In this article, we provides five solutions to help you troubleshoot GoPro playback issues on your computer. But in addition to these methods, you may also want to free up RAM for smoother playback of GoPro videos, as they are often resource-intensive.

That’s all we want to share about in this article. Thanks for reading to the end. Have a nice day!

If your GoPro video is playing slow or choppy on your computer, it may be because your computer can't handle the high resolution or high frame rate of the video properly. The best solution is to reduce the resolution and frame rate of your GoPro video to a level that your computer supports. However, you will inevitably lose some video quality when doing this.

GoPro has the official GoPro Player that lets you play 5.3K, 4K, custom videos, as well as HEVC, H.264, Apple ProRes, and CineForm on Windows 10 or later. But it requires your graphics card to support HEVC decoding.