Having a corrupt or damaged video file can be a frustrating experience for anyone. Don’t worry if you ever lose your precious memories or important footage due to corruption or sudden damage. Such instances generally occur due to incomplete downloads, interrupted transfers, or hardware/software issues. However, with the right tools and techniques, you can easily repair video and restore your damaged videos to their original state.
Here, in this comprehensive guide, we will explore various video repair methods to provide you with how to repair corrupt video files effectively.
Why Do Video Files Get Corrupted or Damaged?
Before you apply methods to repair video files, it’s important to find the exact cause of your video corruption. There are several reasons why video files usually get corrupted. Some of the common reasons are as follows:
- Incomplete Downloads: Interrupted or incomplete downloads from the internet can lead to the corruption of video files.
- File Transfer Errors: Errors while transferring videos between devices or storage media can cause video corruption.
- Software Issues: Bugs, glitches, or crashes in video editing software or media players or other software tools installed on your device can corrupt video files.
- Hardware Problems: Faulty hardware components, including hard drives, SSDs, or memory cards, can cause data corruption or even loss of important data from your device.
- Codec Issues: Incompatibility or issues with video codecs can result in video playback issues and even corrupt your videos.
Quick Methods to Repair Your Corrupt Video Files
Now that you are familiar with the reasons for video corruption on your device, it’s time to apply proper methods to repair video files. Here are some most commonly used methods to repair video files that have been corrupted or damaged for any reason:
Method 01: Use VLC Media Player to Repair Corrupted Videos
VLC Media Player is a Windows built-in versatile media player that offers multiple features to repair minor corruptions in video files. Follow the below-given steps to know how to repair corrupt or damaged video files using VLC Media Player:
- Firstly, right-click on your corrupt MP4 video file and select Rename.
- Change your video file format to .avi and press Enter key.
- Now, launch the VLC Media player, click on Tools and select the Preferences option.
- Go to the “Input/Codecs” section, and scroll down to the Files section from the Inputs/Codecs “Settings” window.
- Select “Always fix” next to the “Damaged or incomplete AVI file” option and click Save.
Once you are done with the above steps, try playing your corrupt video with the VLC player and check if it is working.
Method 02: Transcode Corrupt Video Using VLC
Another alternative to repair a video file using Windows’ VLC player is by transcoding it. Transcoding any video file involves changing the video codec, bitrate, frame rate, resolution, or other video parameters to make the video compatible with different devices, platforms, or playback scenarios. Here’s how you can repair video by transcoding it in VLC media player:
- Launch VLC Player and click on the Media option from the top menu bar.
- Now, click Convert/Save from the Media menu.
- Click the Add button and upload the corrupt MP4 video that you need to transcode.
- Tap the Convert/Save button and select a file name and desired file location within the Convert window.
- Also, select the preferred input codecs from the Profile list for your video file.
- Select the Edit Selected Profile option to configure your profile settings for a specific profile and click the “Start” button.
- Lastly, restart your device, play corrupt video and check whether the error is fixed or not.
Method 03: Repair Corrupt or Damaged Videos Using QuickTime
If you are a Mac user and facing issues like corrupt or damaged video files on your Mac, you can use QuickTime to repair video. QuickTime Player is a multimedia framework and media player application which is compatible with both macOS and Windows. On Mac, it offers several features and functionalities for not only playing your videos but also to repair them. Here’s how to repair corrupt or damaged video files on Mac using QuickTime Player:
- Play your corrupt video that you need to repair in QuickTime.
- Go to the Windows tab and click on Show Movie Inspector. This will display a detailed description of the MP4 video on your screen.
- If it displays a black screen, you may have corrupt video. In such cases, click the Edit option from the QuickTime menu.
- Now, select Preferences and then tap QuickTime Preferences. Click the Update button to update your player.
- Once done, restart your QuickTime media player and try playing your video again.
Method 04: Use Third-Party Video Repair Tool
If the above-mentioned methods to repair a video file fail, you can try using a professional video repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Video. It is an all-in-one video repairing software which supports quick and easy repairing of your corrupt and damaged videos in a few simple clicks. You can easily repair your video files that are corrupted or damaged due to multiple reasons, like sudden power outages, improper file transfer, physical or logical damage, virus attacks, etc.
The Stellar Repair for Video software supports repairing of damaged videos of any file format, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, FLV, MPEG, and more. It allows you to preview the repaired video file before saving it to your device. Moreover, the software is available in multiple versions which vary in pricing and features; just check their features and select the one that best suits your requirements.
Go through the below-given steps to repair your corrupt video using the Stellar Repair for Video tool:
Step 1: After downloading and installing the Stellar Repair for Video software on your Windows/Mac device, launch it. From the homepage, upload the corrupt or damaged video(s) that you need to repair.
Step 2: Click the Repair button to begin the repairing process.
Step 3: After completion of the repairing process, the software will allow you to preview the repaired video files. Simply preview them and click the Save Repaired Files button to save the repaired videos on your computer.
Wrapping Up:
If you ever experienced corrupt video files, don’t worry, just go with the above-mentioned methods to repair MP4 or other video file format. All the above-mentioned workarounds, including manual as well as third-party video repair software, can easily fix your corrupt memories. If the manual methods to repair a video file seem complex, try using a video repair software, like Stellar Repair for Video to help you out.
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