VLC Media Player is one of the widely-used multimedia platforms on many devices. It can be the best alternative to Windows Media Player on Windows computers. You can watch your favorite TV shows, movies, or personal videos on a VLC Media Player. However, there have been reports indicating a playback error on VLC Media Player while opening it on Windows 11 PC.
According to some users, they cannot play any video on their VLC Media Player. Other instances show a black screen, no audio, and crash reporting errors. For some users still, VLC won’t run or install on their computers even when downloading it from Microsoft Store.
If you experience the same problem on your Windows 11 PC, you can try to troubleshoot the issue with several solutions and workarounds below.
How to Troubleshoot & Resolve VLC Media Player Not Playing Video or App Not Opening on Windows 11 Computer
Check out each method below and see which will work best in fixing the error on your VLC Media Player for Windows 11 PC. Try to follow each step one at a time and verify if the playback problem still exists or not.
Method #1 – Change Video Settings on VLC Media Player
- Open your VLC Media Player.
- Click Tools.
- Navigate to Preferences.
- Select Video.
- Check the box next to Enable Video.
- Select Windows Decorations.
- On the Output section, click the drop-down menu.
- Select DirectX (DirectDraw) Video Output.
- Click Save.
- Restart your VLC Media Player.
Method #2- Edit the Cache Values of your VLC Media Player
- Launch your VLC Media Player.
- Navigate to the Tools tab.
- Select Preferences.
- Look for Show Settings at the bottom of the window.
- Select All.
- Choose Input/Codecs.
- Look for File Caching and change it to a higher value.
- Click the Save button.
- Restart your VLC Media Player.
Method #3 – Update your Graphics Driver
- Launch the Device Manager of your Windows 11 PC. You can use the Search box or the Run Dialog Box. Enter devmgmt.msc on the Run Dialog Box.
- Go to Display Adapters and expand the menu.
- Right-click graphics driver.
- Select Update Driver.
Method #4 – Turn Off Hardware Decoding
- On your VLC Media Player, select Tools.
- Go to Preferences.
- At the bottom, click All under Show Settings.
- Select Input/Codecs.
- Expand the Video Codecs option.
- Choose FFmpeg.
- Look for Hardware Decoding and click the drop-down menu.
- Select Disable.
- Click Save.
- Restart your VLC Media Player.
Method #5 – Install the Latest Software Version on your Windows 11 PC
- Navigate to the Settings menu of your Windows 11 PC.
- Select Update & Security.
- Click Check for the Updates.
- Select Download & Install.
- Restart your Windows 11 PC.
Method #6 – Reset your VLC Media Player
- On your VLC Media Player, navigate to Tools.
- Choose Preferences.
- Go to the bottom and select Reset Preferences.
- Click OK.
Do you have other solutions that will help fix the VLC Media Player video playback error on Windows 11 PCs? You can share them in the comment section below.
