Complete Guide: How to Fix Video Playback Errors on Your Computer?

It's so frustrating when a playback error occurs when you've just opened a movie to watch, or the movie stops in the middle, leaving only a message: "An error occurred during playback."

Have you experienced similar video playback problems? Do you want to know why video playback fails and how to fix these errors on your computer? Don't worry. In this article, we'll detail everything you need to know about video playback issues and provide ten effective solutions. But first, let’s figure out what type of playback error you’re facing.

Most of your videos play fine, but a specific file (like an MKV, AVI, or high-def 4K download) refuses to load, stutters, or plays audio with no picture (or picture with no audio).

If only some of your videos won’t play properly, the issue most likely lies with the file itself: either the media player doesn't support the format, or the file is corrupted. Keep in mind that it’s usually the codecs used inside the video that determine whether it can be played back successfully. If the media player lacks the necessary codec, it won’t play the video or audio.

Check out how to fix this type of playback error 👉

No matter what file you click or what app you open, your local media players freeze, crash, or throw a system error.

If all videos suddenly fail to play, it’s unfortunately a system-level issue. Note that graphics drivers control how images are display on the screen. When it has glitches or becomes corrupted, all video playback is affected. Faulty system updates can easily introduce such errors.

Check out how to fix this type of playback error 👉

Your offline files work great, but streaming sites like YouTube or Netflix are stuck buffering, showing HTML5 errors, or a green screen.

This typically happens because your browser is clogged up with redundant data (junk cache), an ad-blocker is accidentally blocking the video by mistake, or issues with background display settings (causing the specific “green screen” issue). When any of these things happen, the browser gets stuck and causes video playback errors.

Check out how to fix this type of playback error 👉

Unsupported video format and codec is the main reason for most video playback errors. Converting the video file type to a format or codec that your device or player supports is the most effective way to fix a video that won’t play.

What we need to use is a professional and reliable video converter such as WonderFox HD Video Converter Factory Pro. Also, this software can help you convert quality and size to make your video more accessible. Free download Free download the software and follow the steps to start your conversion.

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Besides converting videos, you can also install the necessary codecs to your computer to fix the video playback errors.

🗨️ Codec is a piece of software to compress and decompress video and audio data. Media player needs codecs to decompress and play a media file correctly.

Microsoft Store provides multiple video codec extensions for download, such as HEVC video extensions, AV1 video extensions, MPEG-2 video extensions, VP9 video extensions, and more.

Alternatively, you can download a codec pack to get all the common video codecs installed on your computer to fix your current video playback issue as well as to avoid playback errors in the future. The codec packs you can use include K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Codec Pack, and Combined Community Codec Pack. These are all free codec packs. But be careful to download the codec from only the source you trust in case of malware installation.

After installing the codec pack, the playback error should be fixed and you are able to play various types of videos without a problem.

An outdated media player can easily cause various playback errors. So developers always release new versions to fix bugs and bring more features. By updating the media player to the latest version, you are also able to troubleshoot playback issues. You can go to the official website of the media player you’re using and get the up-to-date version.

However, if you are using an older version of Windows Media Player, you can follow the instructions below to update it to the latest version - Windows Media Player 12.

If none of the methods above work, the video file may be corrupted. In this case, you’ll need to redownload the file or use a video repair tool to try to fix the video.

In Windows 10, you can use the built-in Video Playback troubleshooter to try to fix the playback issue you’re having. It can auto-detect the existing playback problems and apply quick fixes. Here’s what to do:

💡 If you are running Windows 11, you can access this Video Playback troubleshooter by going to Settings > System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters > Video Playback > Run.

Updating or reinstalling video drivers to the latest version can improve video playback performance greatly, hence fixing video playback issues at the same time. You can search for the latest graphics drivers on the manufacturer’s site and download them manually. Or you can follow the instructions below to let your computer automatically update or reinstall the latest video drivers.

Step 1. Open Device Manager.

Step 2. Click the Display adapters option.

Step 3. Right-click on your video driver and choose Uninstall device.

Step 4. Click Action > Scan for hardware changes. This will automatically re-install the latest video driver.

Step 5. Restart your computer to finish the installation.

Updating Windows isn’t the usual solution for video playback problems. But it might work. Here is the how-to:

Nevertheless, if your Windows is already up to date, and the playback error occurs after the last update, you can try restoring Windows to a previous Restore Point where there is no playback problem. This will require you to create a Restore Point beforehand. Also, before applying this method, don’t forget to back up your important files and apps that you created after the Restore Point as the restoration will erase all these data.

Now, here is how to restore the Windows system to troubleshoot playback issues.

Try the following methods one by one to resolve the issue where your browser cannot play videos.

• Update Chrome: Click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner > Help > About Google Chrome. This will prompt Chrome to check for updates and download the latest version automatically. Then restart Chrome.
• Clear cache: Press shortcuts Ctrl + Shift + Delete to clear cache in Google Chrome.
• Turn off hardware acceleration: Click the three-dot icon in the upper-right of Chrome. Then select Settings > Advanced > System. Switch off Use hardware acceleration when available. Restart the browser and test the video playback.
• Disable extensions or add-ons: Click the Extensions button in the upper-right toolbar and select Manage Extensions. Then disable the extensions one by one till the playback issue gets fixed.
• Enable JavaScript: Click the three-dot icon in the upper-right of your Chrome browse. Select Settings. Then select Privacy and security > Site Settings. Scroll down to select JavaScript. Enable JavaScript. Now, restart Chrome and check if the playback error is gone.

Whenever you are ready to play a video, you are likely to run into all kinds of video playback issues. It could be due to an outdated media player, outdated display driver, unsupported video format or codec, and so on. The good news is, most video playback problems can be easily solved with the solutions above. You are recommended to try out each method till your problem gets fixed.

That’s all I want to share about how to fix video playback errors. I hope this article was useful to you. Thanks for reading till the end. Have a great day today!