Fix Choppy, Glitchy, Stuttering 4K Footage Playback in VLC Media Player
If you’re experiencing choppy, glitchy, or stuttering playback of 4k footage in VLC media player this is the solution to fix it by changing some preference parameters.
Changing the parameters should optimize 4k playback from VLC media player on any operating system. Please do note, this is a workaround for systems that have limited processing power such as laptops and is a solution to to be able to preview 4k footage and may not be perfect.
Change the Decoding Threads
Open VLC Media Player
Go to “Tools > Preferences” on the top toolbar menu of the window
On the bottom right hand corner of the window box under “Show settings” tick or select “All”
Scroll down until you see “Video codecs” and click the arrow.
The menu should collapse, select “FFmpeg”
On the right column, look for “Threads” and input the numerical value “2”
Click “Save” to apply the changes and the Simple Preferences window will close
Don’t play video yet, proceed to the next steps below.
Change Video Output Module to Open GL
Go to “Tools > Preferences” on the top toolbar menu of the window
On the top menu select “Video”
Under the “Display” column look for “Output”
Change Output from “Automatic” to “OpenGL video output for Windows” by choosing it from the dropdown menu.
Click “Save” to apply the changes and the Simple Preferences window will close
Close VLC media player
Open VLC media player again
Now you can open your 4K video for playback and you will see the choppy, glitchy, stuttering is now gone.
Congratulations! You fixed and optimized 4K video playback on your system.
Hope it helps!
Troubleshooting
If you’re still experiencing some glitchy effects after completing the steps above, proceed with the steps below…
Go to “Tools > Effects and Filters”
Select the “Video Effects” tab
Under the “Advanced” tab, make sure the “Denoiser” is unchecked
Done!
If you’re still experiencing issues, be sure to leave a comment and will be more happy to help.