Watching movies or viewing video clips should be a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, these videos can sometimes suffer from interruptions such as choppiness, jerking, skipping, buffering, or stuttering. Thereby disrupting the flow and ruining the fun.
Choppy, jerky, or skipping all mean the same. “Something that is not happening smoothly or continuously, but rather in a halting or interrupted way.”
Choppy: This means frequent but small interruptions or breaks in the flow.
Jerky: This means more forceful or abrupt interruptions or stops.
Skipping: Refer to something that has been missed out completely.
These problems can manifest in a multitude of ways. One might see sudden jumps in the videos, uneven movements, lacking natural flow, audio or video might not sync well, sound echo effects, noticeable gaps in audio and video sections, abrupt pauses or stops, video stuttering, or skipping a part of it, pixelated videos, missing individual frames, distorted audio, etc. These video playback issues and problems might turn the most fun and exciting evenings into frustrating moments.
This article is your one-stop guide towards understanding the issue and its causes and finding various solutions to help you fix choppy video files.
Table of Contents:
How To Fix Video Playback Issues (Choppy, Jerky, and Skipping Problems) on Windows and Mac?
Fixing choppy videos can be done in various ways before delving deeper into advanced solutions such as converting video files, updating drivers, using specialized video repair tools, or updating Windows OS. I highly recommend trying quick workaround techniques to understand and pinpoint why your videos are choppy.
How To Fix Choppy Video Files saved locally or on any Storage Device?
- Check if only one Video file is showing a Choppy Playback Issue
- Restart Your System
- Close the Unwanted Background Application
- Play the Choppy, Jerky, or Stuttering Video Files on a Different Media Player
- Verify the Device Specifications
- Reduce the Resolution or the File Size of The Choppy Video Files
- Increase the Speed of the Choppy Videos in VLC
- Disable the Anti-Virus Software
- Update Device Drivers
- Convert the File Format of the Choppy Videos
- Repair Corrupt Video Files Using SFWare Video Repair Tool
How To Fix Choppy Video Files Streaming Online?
- Check the Internet Connection
- Reduce the Resolution of the Choppy, Jerky, or Stuttering Video Files
- Fix Choppy Videos By Clearing Browser Cache
Solution 1: Check if only one video is problematic or if other Video Files are Showing the Same Issue of Choppy Playback
The first step is to identify if the problem is with one specific video file or all videos. This can help users understand and pinpoint if the issue is with the video file, the program, or the device.
Try playing any other video file. If you are unable to play any of your video files properly, then this means the issue is with the media player.
If it is only one video file or certain files troubling you. Then, they might have gotten corrupt. In such situations, it is highly recommended to use a specialized video repair tool that helps repair the corrupt video files with choppy playback issues, thereby allowing seamless video playback.
SFWare Video Repair Tool is a reliable tool to fix choppy videos without any hassle. The tool can also help you repair damaged or corrupted videos due to header errors, changes in file formats or codecs, compression issues, etc.
Download the tool now and start repairing your choppy, jerky, or stuttering videos easily.
They all had choppy playback issues if you have tried playing multiple video files. Then, the issue, in most cases, is with your videos. To eliminate the guess work, I recommend you try restarting your system, closing the background applications, play the video files on a different Media Player, i also recommend your device specification, reduce the video resolution and compress the video file to reduce it’s size, etc. These solutions might help you fix choppy videos as well as fix video playback stuttering issues, as explained in the following section.
Solution 2: Restart Your system
Sometimes, the most complicated problems might have easy solutions. The video lagging or video skipping problem is not different. One can try restarting or rebooting their Windows or Mac system to see if the issue was resolved.
Rebooting your system might sometimes fix some software glitches and minor issues.
Solution 3: Fix Choppy Video Files by Closing Background Applications
Simultaneous usage of resource or power-intensive programs or applications running in the background can compete with the video play for necessary resources required to play high-quality video files. Thereby causing performance issues such as lagging, stuttering, or choppy while playing the video files.
You can free up some of the necessary system resources by closing unwanted programs when you want to watch your video files.
If the issue of choppy video playback persists. You can play the same video file on other Media Players.
Solution 4: Play The Choppy Video File(s) on a Different Video Player
Sometimes, choppy video can result from default Windows Media Player issues. In such cases, there is no harm in trying out playing a choppy video in a different media player.
The VLC player could be the most suitable alternative, including the various video file formats, but you could also consider other media players.
If you cannot properly play the video file(s) on any media player. Then, there’s a high chance that your device or system might not be compatible with playing high-quality or high-resolution video clips. In that case, I recommend you check your system specifications.
Solution 5: Verify the Device Specifications
Most videos you play on your computer play seamlessly with minimum system requirements. Make sure your computer is equipped and meets all the features.
It is recommended to have 3.0 – 3.7 GHz of processors and at least 6 GB RAM to play videos with high-resolution. Similarly, for low-resolution videos, the computer should have minimum requirements.
Videos can get choppy on any media player, whether a Windows media player, VLC, or any other.
Solution 6: Reduce the Resolution and the File Size of the Choppy Videos
Reducing the size of the video file or the resolution of the videos might be an effective solution to fix choppy video playback issues, especially if your device or system has limited processing power or lower internet bandwidth.
Higher-resolution videos or larger videos demand more processing power, resources, and data to decode the video files and display the videos more smoothly.
The easiest solution is to reduce the video resolution and size. A lower-resolution video stresses the graphic card and other system resources less. This results in smooth playback, especially on older or less powerful devices. Lower-resolution videos are often more compatible with different media players and graphic drivers since they require fewer resources to play videos in a better way.
You can try compressing the high-resolution video files. Tools like Windows Photos, VLC media player, Movavi video editor, or other advanced video editing tools like Adobe Premier Pro or Davinci Resolve; one can also use online tools like Clipchamp, Video Smaller, and Clideo to compress your video files.
Solution 7: Increase the Speed of the Choppy Videos in VLC
Playing corrupt or damaged videos on VLC can resolve almost all issues with video files. Using VLC you can easily repair MOV files or any other file formats.
To fix choppy video playback, you need to increase the speed from the Tools tab. Follow the below instructions to perform the same:
- Open the VLC media player, go to Tools, and select Preferences
- Now navigate to Video preferences and select all preferences
- Click on Video Codecs, select FFmpeg, and check Allow Speed Tricks
- Save and restart the VLC player.
By performing these steps, you should be able to fix choppy video file problems.
Solution 8: Fix Choppy Video Files By Disabling the Anti-virus
Activated antivirus software constantly scans your system for threats such as viruses and malware. Consuming a lot of memory and processing power. This might cause conflict between the Anti-virus and the media player in a few cases. In some cases, the anti-virus might also flag some video files as potential threats, interfering with them.
So, the solution is to disable the Anti-virus software, allowing the files and programs to run without interruptions, potentially resolving the video playback issue.
Solution 9: Update Device Drivers
Outdated software of video and audio drivers often affects your video playback status. When you see your videos are getting choppy or broken, check out whether your videos are playing on the latest version of drivers or media players.
You can check the drivers status from the Device Manager.
- Go to Device Manager, select Sound, Video and Game Controller
- Select the existing outdated device and choose Update Driver Software by right-clicking on it.
- Restart your computer.
This method should fix choppy video files if the problem is connected to the driver. If this solution or any of the abovementioned methods did not help you repair a choppy video playback, it is to be considered that your video file is corrupted.
Worry not, the next solution is converting the problematic video file(s) into a new file format.
Solution 10: Fix Choppy Videos by Converting it’s Video File Format
Choppiness can occur for multiple reasons, like playing video files on an incompatible media player and, at times, any outdated or unsupported (upgrading device drive solution is already mentioned above); in some cases, the video files might get corrupted while downloading or storing them. All of these reasons might trigger the choppy video playback issue.
Converting these video files to any other format can fix the issue.
There are some good online free video converters available online. You can try any reliable software to fix the issue.
If you do not want to convert the video files or these files have gotten severely corrupted. In such situations, it is highly recommended to use a video repair tool that helps repair even the most severely corrupt video files and eliminate any audio-video-related issues, thereby allowing seamless video playback.
Solution 11: Repair The Choppy Videos Using a Video Repair Tool
SFWare Video Repair Tool is reliable and can fix your choppy video without any hassle. The tool is designed to repair damaged or corrupted videos due to header errors, changes in file formats or codecs, compression issues, etc.
Steps to fix the choppy or jerky video file using SFWare Video Repair Software
1: Launch the tool upon completion of the download and install process.
2: Click the Add button on the main screen and select the choppy, jerky, or skipping video file.
3: In case the video file’s header is severely corrupt or is missing. Then, the tool will ask you to add a reference file shot on the same camera.
4: The SFWare Video Repair Tool will repair the selected choppy video.
5: Once the video repairing process is complete. You can preview the repaired video file and save it in any location.
Solutions to try if you are facing the issue of choppy videos while streaming or viewing the files online or on the web.
Solution 12: Check The Internet Connection
An unstable or slow internet might be why the video files you want to view show jerky or choppy issues. I highly recommend you check your internet connection and speed to fix the choppy video issue while watching videos online.
If the internet connection and the speed are stable. You can try reducing the video resolution on your device.
Solution 13: Reduce the Resolution of the Choppy, Jerky, or Stuttering Video Files
Try reducing the resolution by one size at a time. For example, if you are watching videos at 1080p, you can try reducing it to 720p, and so on.
This can help fix the choppiness without significantly compromising the video quality.
Solution 14: Fix Choppy Videos By Clearing Browser Cache
The internet browser you use temporarily stores data, like website elements, cookies, passwords, settings, etc., in its cache to save loading time when you visit the site in the future. However, the cache grows with cluttered, unwanted, and outdated data over time. This might interfere with the website’s performance, causing glitches and slowdowns and resulting in video playback issues.
Therefore, removing or deleting your browser’s cache data makes perfect sense to improve its performance and resolve the issues one might encounter while streaming videos online.
I am sure after using the solutions mentioned above, you were able to fix the dreaded issue of choppy, jerky, or skipped video files.
Reasons why videos get choppy
- Outdated drivers
- Outdated media players
- Audio or video codec issues
- Corrupted or damaged video file
- Unsupported video file formats
- Deficient system requirements
- Defective SD cards
- Small or temporary errors in a system that occurs due to unknown causes.
Conclusion
Video can become jerky for several reasons. You can avoid video getting choppy or corrupt by following a few measures like keeping a backup of your video files, using a good antivirus to keep your data safe, using trusted software to convert or edit your videos, etc. If you successfully fix choppy video files with the help of this article, do share your thoughts in the comment section below.
