Video files are important for preserving memories, producing content, and sharing information. However, sometimes your videos become corrupted due to various reasons like interrupted recording, transfer errors, file system errors, etc. which makes them unplayable. Corruption can occur during the recording, transfer, editing, or storage processes. Luckily, multiple methods are available online to repair corrupted or damaged video files without much effort.
This quick guide provides a comprehensive overview of the steps to repair corrupt video files. Just go with these methods one-by-one to enjoy your videos once again.
Common Reasons for Video Corruption
Before diving into video repair methods to fix a corrupt video file, try to identify the exact cause of why videos usually get corrupted. There are several reasons why video files usually get corrupted, some of them are:
- Interrupted Recording: If your camera or smartphone abruptly turns off while recording or saving video files, this may corrupt or damage the videos, making them unplayable.
- Transfer Errors: Issues during the transfer of video files from one device to another can also cause their corruption or even deletion.
- Damaged Storage Devices: If your Hard drives, memory cards, or USB drives have bad sectors, it can corrupt all files, including videos stored on them.
- File System Errors: Corruption in the file system of storage devices can cause video file corruption.
- Software Crashes: Crashes during video editing or playback are also the main reason for the corruption of video files.
- Virus or Malware Attacks: Malicious software can also corrupt video files by altering their data.
How do I Repair Corrupted Video Files?
Whatever among the above is the exact cause for your video corruption, it’s important to immediately proceed with the proper video repair workaround to fix them. Before you use any video repair software or apply manual workarounds to repair a corrupt video file, consider the below preliminary steps:
- Backup the File: Create a proper backup of all the important files, including your precious videos before attempting any repairs.
- Try Different Players: Sometimes, the issue may be with the video player. Try playing the video in different media players like VLC, Windows Media Player, or QuickTime.
Let’s begin the video repair methods in detail:
Method 01: Use Video Repair Software
If you are looking for an easy and quick approach to repair corrupt/damaged video files, then a video repair software will definitely be the best choice. Some specialized video repair software like Stellar Repair for Video is available online that you can use to fix corrupt videos easily. This all-in-one software can repair your corrupt videos of multiple formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, and more.
- The Stellar Repair for Video software can fix multiple video errors including grainy, blurry, stuttering, flickering, black screen, out-of-sync, choppy, jerky, truncated, and frozen videos.
- It supports repairing of videos saved on any internal or external storage device, including hard drives, USB drives, SSDs, etc.
- It can repair multiple video files of the same or different formats in one go.
- It allows you to preview the repaired videos before saving them to your defined location.
- The software is available in multiple versions, which vary in price and features.
Here’s how to repair corrupted video files using the Stellar Repair for Video software:
Step 1: Download and install the Stellar Repair for Video software on your Windows/Mac device. Launch the software and from the homepage, click on the Add Videos button to upload the corrupt videos that you need to repair.
Step 2: Click the Repair button to initiate the repairing process and wait till it is completed.
Step 3: After the repair process, preview the repaired video files and select the ones you need to restore. Click the “Save Repaired Files” button to save selected videos at the desired location.
Method 02: Repair Corrupt Video Files Using VLC Player
Windows built-in VLC Media Player, along with playing video files allows you to repair them in multiple ways. You can use VLC player to easily fix minor corruption issues with your video files. VLC offers a built-in option to fix AVI video files, which can be enabled or disabled manually. Here’s how you can fix a corrupt MP4 video file automatically using the VLC player:
- Firstly, you need to convert your video file to .avi format. For this, right-click on your video and select Rename.
- Now, change the file format to .avi and press Enter to save the changes.
- Now, launch VLC, go to Tools > Preferences > Input/Codecs.
- From the Files section, locate the “Damaged or incomplete AVI file” option select Always Fix from the drop-down menu. Click Save to conclude.
- Once done, try playing your converted AVI video file and check whether it works.
Method 03: Use VLC to Increase Cache Value
Increasing the cache value of your corrupt video file can also help you to repair corrupt or damaged video file. The versatile VLC Media Player includes a built-in repair feature that you can use to increase the cache value of your corrupted video files. Follow the below steps to increase the Cache value of corrupt video in VLC player:
- Launch VLC Media Player, and go to Tools from the menu bar located at the top.
- Now, select Preferences from the Tools menu.
- Now, scroll to the Show Settings section where two options, i.e., Simple and All appear. Select the All option.
- Click on the Input/Codec option followed by the Advanced option.
- Increase the value next to the File caching(ms) box from 300 to 1000 or more.
- Lastly, click on Save and try playing your video again in the VLC player.
Preventive Tips to Avoid Video Corruption
To minimize the risk of video file corruption, follow these preventive measures:
- Check Your Storage Devices: Always check and ensure you are using a high-quality storage device for storing your important files, including videos to reduce the risk of hardware failures.
- Avoid Interrupting Recording: Ensure that your camera or smartphone has sufficient battery life before recording.
- Safely Eject Devices: Carefully eject the storage devices from your computer to prevent file system corruption.
- Regular Backups: Regularly back up your videos to multiple locations, such as external drives and cloud storage.
- Update Software: Make sure your operating system, video editing software, and media players are updated to their latest version to avoid compatibility issues.
Wrapping Up
The aforementioned video repair methods will help you to easily repair a video file that is corrupted or unplayable due to any reason on your device. Whether you use third-party video repair software such as Stellar Repair for Video or Windows in-built VLC Media Player, the key is to immediately proceed with these video repair methods. Additionally, following preventive measures can help minimize the risk of future video file corruption. By understanding the causes and solutions for video file corruption, you can ensure that your precious memories and important content remain intact and accessible.
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