Summary: This post shares the best solutions to fix video freezing, buffering or audio lag in VLC Media Player. In some cases, if troubleshooting the VLC Player doesn’t fix the video freezing issue, try Stellar Repair for Video. The software fixes corruption in video frames, slider movement, etc.
VLC Media Player is one of the most compatible and user-friendly media player. It can play almost all video file types from any source stored in hard drives, SD cards, CD/ DVD, and others.
But as technical glitches can occur anytime, videos may start to stutter, freeze, or show audio lags in VLC Player. This is commonly reported while playing large-sized HD or UHD videos, such as movies, animated films, etc. The HD or UHD videos don’t play smoothly and skips frames or freeze in VLC.
‘When I watch 1080p H265 .mp4 movie file, the VLC Player freezes randomly after about 5 minutes. However, I can hear the audio track, but the video lags. Can I fix this?’
Here are the best six solutions to fix Video Stuck or Freeze in VLC.
Although there isn’t a set solution, changing the VLC media player’s settings can work. You may have to try various methods shared here to fix the video freeze or lag issues in VLC Media Player.
You can apply the solutions here to play high quality, HD/ UHD/ HDR, 8k, or H.265 videos of any size and file format.
Just in case, your videos freeze, stutter, or are not playing in VLC Media Player, first update the player to the latest version. The updates improve support for new HD codecs, advanced formats, HDR, H.265/HEVC, 4K & 8K playback, 360-degree videos, VP9 (HD videos at lower bitrates), and others for decoding and encoding. It also fixes streaming issues and bugs, if any.
Also read: How to open HEIC, HEVC files on Windows 10
VLC Player preloads video cache files in the computer’s RAM to access and play the video properly. You can try to fix the video buffering issue by increasing the cache value. This would increase the number of seconds videos are cached to play in VLC Player.
Steps to increase cache value in VLC:
Figure: Reset Preferences in VLC
Figure: Input/Codecs pane in VLC
VLC Media Player can use the GPU of a computer to accelerate video decoding in high-quality videos. However, your PC’s drivers may behave abruptly, resulting in video playback or streaming issues. You can try disabling hardware decoding to fix Video Stuck or Freeze in the VLC player.
Steps to disable hardware decoding in VLC:
Making changes in the FFmpeg video codec in VLC Player has worked for some. You can also try to resolve video stuttering and freezing with this technique.
Try switching between output video stream settings in the VLC media player. You can either set the output video module to Direct 3D video output, DirectX DirectDraw, or Open GL video output.
Steps to change video output in VLC:
Figure: Video output modules in VLC
Now, check if VLC Player can play your videos without freeze or other interruption.
If the above methods using VLC Media Player don’t fix video freeze, lag, or stuttering issues, the video file may be corrupt. To confirm corruption, see if your video freezes while playing in another media player.
If yes, try video repair software that can fix corruption in the file header, frames, and slider movement that may result in video freeze or stuttering.
Stellar Repair for Video is one such tool, which can easily repair damaged videos and fix Video Stuck or Freeze in VLC player. You can download the free trial to evaluate the software capabilities and preview the repaired videos before saving them.
Steps to fix videos freezing issue using Stellar Repair for Video
Step 1: Launch Stellar Repair for Video
Step 2: Click Add file to add the corrupt video files not playing VLC or other media players. You can add multiple videos of different formats and repair in one go using Stellar Repair for Video.
Step 3: Click the ‘Repair’ button to begin the repair process.
Step 4: Preview the repaired videos before saving them to your desired location. Select videos and click on Save Repaired Files.
Here we have recommended changing the settings of VLC Media Player to fix video freezing or lag using the below methods:
In case changing the VLC settings doesn’t work, your file may be corrupt. Repair it using an advanced video repair software — Stellar Repair for Video that fixes corrupt header, data, frames, slider movement, etc., in videos.
Hope you found this helpful. Do share with our readers, which method helped you fix Video Stuck or Freeze in VLC player issue in the comment box below.
Nishat Paiker is an expert technical writer and editor with over 8 years of experience. She has deep knowledge about data recovery and loves to explore new technology and DIY tools. Nishat has keen interest in photography. You will often find her giving photography tips and hacks.
Thank you but now I cant see any subtitles in VLC 🙁
Hi Thomas,
We are glad that using the above-mentioned methods to fix the video stuck in VLC, you were able to fix the issue.
As for the subtitles, they can also be added externally in simple steps if the embedded subtitles are not showing after the fix.
While playing any video just go to the Subtitles tab and select “Add Subtitle File”. Pick the file from the resulting dialog box to display your captions/subtitles. To switch between languages, go to Subtitles Track and select the preferred option.
Happy to be of help!