How Do I Solve Different VLC MKV Problems

Despite how effective and popular VLC media player is, it can encounter errors that disrupt video playback. If you use VLC media player very often, then chances are you’ve come across such problems too, even if you don’t know what caused them. Attempts will be made to give you as much information as possible about these errors and how you can fix them.

Part 1: Overview of Playing MKV Videos on VLC

VLC is a powerful open-source media player that effortlessly plays MKV files. To make the most of this robust media player, set it as your default player for playing MKV files. There are 2 quick ways to go about doing this:

Part 2: Different MKV Playback Problems on VLC Player

VLC media player’s popularity and efficiency notwithstanding, it’s still plagued by some errors. Some of the most common errors users have experienced are:

There are also times when the screen goes pitch black as you play the MKV video file using VLC media player. All you can hear is the audio of the video but nothing is displayed on the screen. In other cases, the problem is reversed and it’s the pictures of the MKV files that display but without the audio. The cause could be damage made to the MKV file during the download process.

And if you are operating a relatively older version of the VLC media player, it may or may not support the new MKV file format, so n update is necessary here.

Another potent factor in how well your MKV videos play or don’t play is whether your display adapter is updated or not. Your display driver provides graphics and display capabilities so it’s indispensable if you want your MKV video files to play properly.

Also, damage to the MKV files caused by improperly shutting your system or sudden power outage or using an inefficient media player can all fail MKV files.

When some codecs are missing from your VLC media player, the player’s streaming capabilities might be compromised and fail to work as it should.

Part 3: Different Methods of Fixing Not Playing MKV Files

As mentioned earlier, there are different reasons as to why an MKV video does play on the VLC media player, and the reasons may vary. The good news is depending on the type of error you are experiencing, there are different ways to go about fixing those MKV files that are not playing.

Solution 1: How to fix VLC skipping MKV or HD MKV files

Follow these simple steps to fix MKV files skipping when played in VLC media player:

Solution 2: Fixing a Damaged or Corrupted Original MKV File

Wondershare Video Repair is a renowned software with a dedicated feature for repairing corrupted files with ease. It can be used to repair and recover damaged files from external and internal drives and even cloud storage units. Any video damaged by virus attacks, improper shutdown, or some other reason can be repaired using this powerful tool.

The software provides 2 different video repairing modes: The Quick and Advanced modes. Follow these steps to repair your damaged or corrupted video files.

Quick repair

Step 1: Launch Wondershare

The first thing to do is to launch the application and add the corrupted video to the home screen. You can do this in two ways, and both of them are simple.

And remember that you can add videos in multiple different file formats, so you’re not just restricted to MKV video formats. The software can also fix damaged videos in these formats: including MOV, M4V, MP4, MKV, M2TS, 3GP, FLV, and AVI.

Step 2: Repair the Corrupted Video or Videos

Once you’re sure you’ve added or uploaded the right video, just click on Repair. The size of the file does not matter as Wondershare Video Repair does not have size restrictions. To reiterate, you can add more than one video file for the repair.

The repair process shouldn’t take too long and once it’s done, a new window will pop up, notifying you of the completion of the process and asking you to preview the repaired video-you can just skip that and save it. Click the Ok button to save the video.

Step 3: Preview the Repaired Video

Look to the bottom left of the window you’re on. Do you see that little triangle that looks like a Play button? Click it to preview the video before you save it.

The simple reason you’ll want to do this is to see whether the video was repaired properly so you can proceed to save it.

Step 4: Add sample video via Advanced Mode

What you just learned was the Quick Repair but, if for some reason, the repaired video does not come out the way you want it to, you can try the Advanced Repair mode for a better outcome. This option is for severely damaged videos. Do you see that Preview failed? Try the Advanced Repair button? Click it.

In the next window, you’ll see a folder icon. Click it to locate the sample video on your computer and add it to the software.

The sample video to be added has to the same format as the corrupted video and it must have been created by the same device. What’s the reason for this? It’s because the information from the sample video will be utilized to fix the damaged video. In this case, both the sample and the corrupted video have to be MKV file format too.

Next, click Repair. You’ll be asked if you wish to save the video you’ll repair before you move to the Advanced Repair. The reason you’ll be prompted with this option is that by default, Advanced Repair does not automatically save any repaired video. So, choose by either clicking Yes or No.

Step 5: Save the Repaired Video

Once you click on Save, select a directory where the repaired file will be saved. But don’t select the same location as the original file or the damaged video, or else you risk corrupting the video again.

If you're unsure where to choose, just select a drive on your computer that has a lot of space. Once you click Recover, the video will be saved in the location you specified. Another option you have is to click New Folder and then Recover. Do this and the video will be saved in the new folder you just created. You can rename the folder if you so wish. The renaming makes it easier to locate the folder too, so that’s recommended.

Well, that’s all there is to it. Follow these steps and you’ll have your videos fixed and playing smoothly in no time again. Wondershare Video Repair is a very powerful tool, but it makes everything look so easy, doesn’t it?

This video can help you fix your corrupted video files with a step-by-step guide.

Solution 3: VLC Media Player Audio Preferences Reset

When you attempt playing your MKV videos using VLC Media player but no sound comes out, try resetting the VLC media player’s audio preferences.

Solution 4: Installing MKV Codec for VLC Media Player

Missing MKV codecs on your VLC Media Player can result in videos that don’t play as they should. You can download the MKV codec and install it on your device to avoid future mishaps.

If you’re unsure what a codec is, it’s a format that supports a remarkable number of video and audio files so they can be played on your VLC media player and your system’s other media players. If you see Codec Pack instead of MKV Codec, it’s still the same thing, so go ahead and download it.

Solution 5: Fixing Streaming function

In a situation where the streaming function on your media player is not enabled, you can rectify this by enabling Open GL in the preferences

Step 1: Launch VLC Media Player

Step 2: Go to Tool>Preferences and click on Video

Step 3: From the Video drop-down menu, select OpenGL Video Output

Step 4: Save the changed settings

Step 5: Activate changes by restarting VLC.

Solution 6: Updating Display Adapter Driver

Your system can’t hope to function properly without drivers, the simple reason is that a driver is a program that enables your computer to use other hardware components and other parts of that computer. Thus, as an in-built Microsoft software, the display adapter driver provides graphic display capabilities. So, always keeping an up-to-date driver is paramount. You can download the software online in several ways. Even better, just update your Windows, thereby updating the Display Adapter Drive in the process.

Solution 7: Updating VLC Media Player

At times, operating an outdated version of VLC media might the reason why the MKV files are not playing. Update the Media Player to its latest version and enjoy all it has to offer.

Part 4: How to Prevent MKC VLC Problems

Although some users have reported certain issues with VLC media player, it’s still considered one of the best media players in the world. It is compatible with different platforms and is relatively easy to use to us. Here are some workable tips and suggestions on Playing MKV files smoothly in VLC.

Step 1: Launch VLC media player and go to Tools>Preferences.

Step 2: Select Input/Codecs

Step 3: Change the option to Disable.

Step 4: Save the new settings.

Step 1: Go to Tools in the menu bar and then Preferences.

Step 2: Select All at the bottom right side of the screen and then click on Input/Codecs.

Step 3: Scroll down to the Advanced section and change the File caching value which is I milliseconds to 1000 or 2000.

Furthermore, changing the values for Network caching (ms) and Disc caching (ms) can improve VLC playback performance. Network caching comes into play when you play a video stored on a network on your current system.

Closing Words

It is not uncommon to experience difficulties whilst playing MKV videos on a VLC media player. A fair share of users has reported an issue or two they had. The article showed you the reasons behind those issues and how you can go about fixing and repairing damaged/corrupted MKV video files. Wondershare video repair is an amazing and powerful tool that you can use to repair MKV video formats among others.

* Some of the above codec formats may need to be supported by system.