How to Fix Video Lag in VLC Media Player on Windows

VLC is a popular media player tool among Windows users, thanks to its versatility, ease of use, and support for a wide range of file formats. Yet, like most software, VLC can sometimes disappoint you with unusual glitches. One example is when it fails to play your videos smoothly and continuously slows.

Fortunately, there’s no need to settle for a mediocre experience since it is simple to address this bothersome issue. Here we show you seven basic ways for fixing video lag in the VLC media player for Windows.

Verify the File Format

Although VLC media player supports nearly every major video format accessible, it does not support them all. If the video you’re attempting to play is in an unsupported format, you may suffer lag.

You can visit VLC’s official webpage to check all the file formats it supports. If your video is in an unsupported format, you’ll have to convert it first. If you need help doing that, see our guide on how to convert videos for free.

2. Disable Hardware Acceleration

The hardware acceleration option in VLC uses your GPU to expedite the decoding process and provide a smoother video playback. Nevertheless, there are times where this feature malfunctions, causing videos to stutter in the VLC media player.

You can try removing the hardware acceleration feature in VLC and see if that improves the situation. To accomplish so, utilize the following steps:

Open VLC media player.

Click on Tools and pick Preferences from the resulting menu.
Choose the Input / Codes tab at the top.
Click the drop-down menu next to Hardware-accelerated decoding to select Disable.
Click on Save.

Restart the VLC app after this and see if the video plays properly.

3. Change Power Plan to High Performance

Setting a stringent power profile on your Windows machine can cause apps to perform slowly. As a result, videos in the VLC media player may slow or stutter. To avoid such performance concerns, you might adjust your computer’s power plan to High Performance mode and see if it helps. Below are the instructions for the same.

Hit Win + R to launch the Run dialog box.
Type control in the Open field and hit Enter. This will open the Control Panel window.
Select the drop-down menu in the top right corner to change the view type to Little icons or Big icons.
Click on Power Options to access that applet.
Choose High performance.

4. Disable In-Loop Deblocking Filter

Another thing you may do to fix video latency in VLC is to disable the loop filter for H.264 decoding. Here’s how to accomplish it.

In the VLC software, click the Tools menu at the top and select Preferences. Instead, you can hit Ctrl + P to immediately open the VLC Preferences window.

Go to the Input / Codes tab.

Select the drop-down menu next to Skip H.264 in-loop deblocking filter and select All.

5. Change the Caching Value

When you use VLC to stream a movie from the web, it caches some of the content for faster playback. If you’re experiencing video lag while streaming, you can try raising the network and file cache sizes to fix the issue.

To boost the network and file caching values in VLC, perform these steps:

Open the VLC media player on your PC.

Click the Tools menu at the top and select Preferences from the list.
Choose the All option under the Display settings section.
Choose Input / Codecs from the left pane column.
Under the Advanced section, raise the value in the File caching (ms) column.
Similarly, increase the value for the Network caching (ms) as well.
Hit the Save button.

6. Reset the VLC Preferences

VLC allows you to change a number of settings and preferences that affect its behavior. But, if some of these parameters in the VLC software are not configured correctly, it could cause it to misbehave on Windows. Instead of going through each of your preferences one by one, it’s easier to reset them completely and start over.

To reset your VLC media player preferences, perform these steps:

Open the VLC media player on your PC.
Click the Tools menu at the top and select Preferences from the list.
Under the Interface tab, select the Reset Preferences button at the bottom.
Click OK when the Are you sure you want to reset your VLC media player preferences prompt appears.

Restart the VLC media player and see if the videos still slow.

7. Update or Reinstall VLC Media Players App

updates are critical for any app, and VLC is no exception. If the video playback troubles in the VLC media player are caused by a bug, applying current versions should assist.

To check for pending updates in the VLC media player:

Open the VLC media player on Windows.

Click the Help menu at the top and select Check for Updates.

If an update is available, follow the on-screen steps to install it. Following that, videos should play smoothly on Windows.

If updating the VLC media player doesn’t help, it’s conceivable that some of its essential program files are corrupt. In that scenario, you might consider uninstalling and reinstalling the VLC media player as a last option. For that, use the following steps:

Click the Start menu and click the gear-shaped icon to access the Settings app.
Go to the Applications tab using the left sidebar.
Click on Installed applications.
Browse through the list or use the search box at the top to quickly identify VLC media player on the list. Click the three-dot menu symbol next to it and pick Uninstall.
Choose Uninstall once again to confirm.

After uninstalled, enter Microsoft Store on your Desktop and search for the VLC program. Then, click the Install option to download the app.

Experience Smooth Video Playing in VLC for Windows Again

Such troubles with the VLC app can ruin your experience. Hopefully, the remedies above have helped you address the video lag issue in VLC for Windows, and you are now at ease.

Although VLC is a popular media player for Windows, it is not your only option. There are dozens of fantastic media player programs available for Windows.