Video files have become an essential component of our modern life. Whether they are memories from the past or an important work presentation, being unable to access them might put you in a difficult situation. The reasons for which videos may appear as corrupt could be a lot – from interrupted file transfer, unexpected power outage, malware attack, faulty storage device to recording error.
However, several effective video repair methods are available to easily repair corrupt or damaged video files. Let us learn more about the various reasons for video file corruption and quick video repair solutions to fix them.
Common Causes of Video Corruption
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Before moving ahead with any video repair methods, it’s crucial to understand what leads to video files becoming corrupt. The common causes are as follows:
- Interrupted File Transfer: Removing the USB drive, memory card, or your external hard drive during video file transfer can make your video file unplayable and damage its structure.
- Unexpected Power Outage: In case of an unexpected power outage when recording, editing or saving a video, the resulting file can be incomplete or even corrupt.
- Malware Attack: A virus or malware attack can affect your video files by modifying, deleting or corrupting them.
- Improper Ejection of Devices: Improper removal of SD cards, USB drives, and external disks from devices can corrupt video files.
- Software Failure: While processing video files, such as during editing of videos or processing with media applications, the failure of software can corrupt video files.
Identifying the exact root cause can help you to determine the best video repair method.
How to Repair Corrupt Video Files? [Easy Methods]
Whenever you identify that your video files are corrupted or not working properly, it is important for you to start with some necessary solutions to fix them. You can use the following ways one by one to repair videos:
Method 01: Play Your Video Using Another Media Player
In many cases, the video files don’t get corrupted, but the media player you use is the problem behind the non-working of video files. Media players have different support for different codecs and file types.
This is how you can play your video in another media player:
- Download and install an alternate media player on your computer
- Open the video file you want to play with this media player
- Check if the video plays properly.
Popular media players tend to have more codec support and will be able to play partially corrupted videos better than standard ones.
Method 02: Change Video Format
If the problem persists even after changing your video player, then there might be something wrong with your video file. In such a situation, you should try converting the video to a different format. Video conversion can help in fixing minor video corruption problems due to the file rebuilding process while converting it.
Steps to convert the video file format:
- Open a video converter software or visit an online converter website
- Upload the corrupted video file.
- Change the output format to something else, like MP4, AVI or MOV.
- Convert the video.
- Save the video in a new format.
The video will play perfectly if the corruption was minor.
Method 03: Use VLC Media Player to Repair Video File
The VLC Media Player includes a video repair tool, which will help you solve small problems of video corruption. The video repair tool allows you to quickly fix corrupt or broken videos and solve video playback problems by following the below steps:
- Start the VLC player on your PC.
- Navigate to Tools > Preferences and click Input/Codecs.
- Find the Damaged or Incomplete AVI File option and select Always Fix from the dropdown box.
- After that, apply the changes and restart your video.
Suggested Read: How to Use VLC Media Player to Repair Damaged Videos
Method 04: Repair Videos using an Online Video Repair Software
When the aforementioned DIY methods fail to fix the video playback problem, you can go for online video repair tools, which will help you repair corrupt videos. Stellar Online Video Repair is one such online video repair utility that will help you fix corrupt video files easily and quickly. This software can be used directly via web browsers and thus, no need to download any third-party tool.
The following steps show you how to repair video using this online video repair software:
Step 1: Open the Stellar Repair for Video Online website and log in to your account. After that, click the Repair Video button and upload the video which needs to be repaired.
Step 2: Now, click the “Upload a Sample Video to Repair” button to upload a sample video which is not corrupted and shot using the same camera or mobile.
Step 3: After you have completed uploading of the sample video file, you should click on the Start Repair button in order to start the process of repairing the video file.
Step 4: After completing the repair process of the video file, you will be able to see the preview of your video. Previewing your repaired video will enable you to know if the repair process was successful.
Step 5: After being satisfied with the preview of the video, you should click on Save Repaired Video.
Conclusion
Video corruption can happen without warning; however, it doesn’t mean that your video is forever lost. There are a lot of different ways through which you can repair videos for free, including switching media players and changing the file formats. If the above remedies do not work for you, you may choose to use third-party video repair software such as Stellar Repair for Video Online. The best method to use would depend on the degree of corruption and the cause of the problem.
By understanding the right video repair workaround and applying effective solutions, you can increase your chances of successfully restoring videos and preserving your digital memories.
FAQs: How to Repair Video Files Effectively?
Why can video files be corrupted?
Video files can become corrupted because of interruptions in transferring videos, power outages, malware attacks, problems with storage devices, crashing programs, and unfinished recording processes.
How to recognise corrupted video files?
The common symptoms of a corrupted video file include problems with playing the video, freezing of the video, black screen, distortion of the picture, absence of sound, synchronisation problems, and inability to open.
Are corrupt videos repairable?
Yes, many corrupted videos can be restored by using video repair software, fixes for media players, format conversion solutions, or professional video repairing applications.
Is it safe to repair video files online?
There are plenty of reliable online video repair services that are usually safe; however, it is recommended to check their privacy policy first.
