Today, most Windows users are using Windows 10 due to its outstanding features and customizations that appeal to ordinary and advanced users.
However, when a user upgrades the system from a previous Windows version such as Windows 8, 8.1, 7, Vista, XP, etc., they experience some glitches or disturbances while playing a video on Windows Media Player, VLC, or other similar programs.
Although many users do not face this issue, for those of us who face this video stuttering issue, we have here several solutions for this issue on Windows 10. These fixes can also be used for Windows 8.1 and 7.
The stuttering or glitching issue is usually reported by users when they try to play video files on Windows Media Player, VLC, etc., but the file fails to play. This issue can also occur on web browsers such as Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, etc., when streaming videos online.
You may even get a blue or black screen that stutters in the beginning and then starts lagging.
Check out this article if you want to fix “A Network Change Was Detected” Error.
Causes
There is no specific cause behind the glitching issue in Windows 10.
There can be several reasons, such as:
- incompatible graphics drivers
- corrupted files
- virus and malware infection
- unstable browser cache
- unfavorable hardware configuration
- faulty CPU or board processor
- flash player issues
A fault can also cause the video issue, so it is recommended that you try to get the specific file again.
If you cannot get the file and are using VLC, you can follow the below steps to fix your file and then check if it stutters.
- In VLC, open the file and then click on the Tools tab.
- Go to the preferences option available at the bottom of the context menu.
- Switch to the Input/Codecs option available at the top of the page.
- In the file category, go to Damaged or Incomplete AVI file and then choose the Always fix option.
- Once the above steps are done, save the changes, and press ‘X’ to close the window.
- Try to start the video again and check for stuttering. If the issue persisted, check out the given fixes.
In case the error occurs on web browsers while streaming online, check if you have a strong internet connection.
You can also try to update the browser and clear cookies and temporary files. After that, you can reboot the system or check the modem for internet issues.
If you have any issues with your Audio rendering then you can check out our article on How to Fix an Audio Renderer Error in Windows 10. For screen tearing problems in Windows 10, you can use this article. Do check out our fix “we can’t activate windows on this device” error. Refer to this article if you are having System Service Exception BSOD (bug check 0x0000003B).
Fixes for Stuttering and Glitching
We have listed ten fixes to help you fix the video stuttering issue to resolve this issue on browsers and media players.
Most of these are troubleshooting techniques that include making some configurational changes and upgrading the system or the defective product. Feel free to apply these and fix the problem. Check out this article if you want File record segment is unreadable.
Sometimes, the glitching issue might occur due to invalid or missing data or cookies in the browser.
Follow the below steps to delete cookies and browsing data:
Step 1. Open the web browser and then go to Settings by clicking on the three dots at the top right corner.
Step 2. Scroll down to go to the “Clear browsing data” option in the Privacy and security section.
Step 3. Change the data time range to “All time” and then mark the checkboxes of all the entries listed.
Step 4. Click on the “Clear data” button and relaunch the browser.
This might fix the stuttering issue for watching videos online. If the issue still persists, attempt the below fixes.
2. Scan for Hardware Changes
Sometimes the video stutters because of hardware changes. You can scan your device for any incompatible hardware change using Device manager.
Follow the below steps to scan for hardware changes:
Step 1. Simultaneously press the Windows icon key and ‘R’ key on the keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
Step 2. Type ‘devmgmt.msc‘ in dialog box and press enter. Alternatively, you can press the Windows icon key and ‘X’ key simultaneously on the keyboard to open the WinX menu. Find and click on Device Manager from the options.
Step 3. In the Device Manager window, right-click anywhere in the blank area on the screen and click on the “Scan for hardware changes” option.
After completing the procedure, close the window and play it again to see if the error is resolved.
3. Restore the Default Settings for your Chosen Power Management Plan
A power plan is vital in every PC for excellent battery life and enhanced computer performance.
There is a power management control system on which users can easily make changes in some of the functionalities system’s power plan.
However, sometimes changes in power options might lead to playback issues in Windows 10.
Restoring them to their default state might help fix the playback problem.
Here is what you can do to fix it:
Step 1. In the taskbar, right-click on the battery icon and select Power options from the context menu items.
Step 2. Click on “Change plan settings” present next to your chosen power plan. Click on “Change Advanced Power settings.”
Step 3. Click on the “Restore default settings for this plan” option present at the bottom of the page. Windows might ask you for confirmation before it can restore default settings.
Step 4. Click the “OK” button.
Step 5. Repeat the above steps for all the power plans to change plan settings for each of them by clicking on “Restore default settings for this plan” against each plan. Once you have restored all of them to default, restart the computer.
Once the computer restarts, try to open the file again to see if the issue has been resolved.
4. Update Graphics Drivers/Display Drivers
Sometimes playback error in windows 10 might occur due to incompatible, outdated, corrupt, or missing graphics or display drivers.
Every system has a graphics card installed in it that allows you to play games (dedicated graphics card) or watch online videos (integrated graphics card).
Using the latest version of graphics drivers might fix the playback error.
Here’s how you can resolve it:
Step 1. In the Start Menu, locate the Power button at the bottom left pane and select it.
Step 2. Hold the shift key and simultaneously left-click on the restart option using the mouse. This interrupts the PC’s usual start and will display a list of options you have to choose to troubleshoot.
Step 3. Select the advanced option and then choose Startup settings. Now restart your PC.
Step 4. Once the computer reboots, a list of options displayed on the screen can be chosen using function keys – F1 to F9. Based on the list, select the appropriate option to boot the computer in Safe Mode.
Step 5. Once your PC is in safe mode, Right-click on the windows icon at the bottom left of your taskbar and choose Device Manager.
Step 6. In the Display adapters section, right-click on your display hardware and then uninstall it. Confirm your action in the windows popup dialog box to proceed.
Step 7. Once again, restart your computer.
Step 8. After the PC reboots, simultaneously press the Windows icon key and ‘S’ key on your keyboard to launch the search bar. Search for “Windows Update” and select the first search result that comes up.
Step 9. In the Windows update settings, select the “Check for Updates” button. You can check when it was your computer last updated. This will allow Windows to check for available windows updates and install them automatically.
Step 10. Restart your computer according to the restart popups after windows update and then check if it stutters or not.
This procedure will most likely resolve this glitching if caused by a faulty graphics driver or display driver.
However, if the driver isn’t installed or is still incompatible, you can manually update the desired driver.
Step 1. In the Device Manager, click on the Display adapter. Choose your adapter from the drop-down menu and right-click on it.
Step 2. Select the “Update driver” option.
Step 3. A popup window will appear that will ask you whether you want to search and update the driver automatically or manually. For manual update, choose “Browse my computer for driver software.”
Step 4. Browse to the location where the driver is downloaded and select it.
Step 5. Windows will install the driver, after which you must restart your computer.
You can also update the audio drivers and then check the video quality and video glitching.
5. Temporarily Disable your Antivirus Program
Many users have found that temporarily disabling their antivirus programs has resolved the video stuttering and glitching.
This has also been confirmed by a few of the antivirus software developer companies, such as Bitdefender.
You can also try this and see if the fix works for you. If it does work, then consider switching to any other antivirus brand permanently.
6. Install Windows Update
Sometimes your system might misbehave if the latest windows updates aren’t installed. This is an essential step in fixing bugs such as video stuttering in windows 10.
For this, you need to install all the available updates for your operating system.
Follow the below steps and install the windows update:
Step 1. Simultaneously press the Windows icon key and ‘S’ key on the keyboard to open the search bar.
Step 2. Search “updates” in the search bar and click on “Check for updates” from the list of results displayed.
Step 3. In the Update & Security window, click on Check for updates button.
Step 4. Windows will download and install all the available updates. Restart your system once all updates are installed.
Now check and see if the video loads correctly, and you can watch it or not.
7. Change X-reality Settings (for Sony users)
Many of the users who use Sony machines must have heard about ‘X-reality’ image processing technology that refines image quality.
Making a few tweaks in X-reality settings will help fix video stuttering and glitching issues.
Here’s how you can do it:
Step 1. On your Sony machines, open VAIO Control Center.
Step 2. Navigate to the “Image Quality” tab available on the left navigation pane on the screen.
Step 3. On the screen’s right side, locate “X-Reality for mobile” and disable all the options. Restart your PC to allow the above changes to take effect.
8. Change your Wallpaper Settings
Wallpapers are used to personalize our desktop; however, in Windows 10, there is a bug that occurs when we use slideshow instead of solid color or fixed picture as wallpaper.
Whenever the wallpaper changes, it skips a frame, which further enhances the glitching. It can still be resolved by either setting up a solid or fixed wallpaper or setting a more extended time interval for the slideshow.
You can follow the below steps to make changes to your wallpaper settings.
Step 1. Simultaneously press the Windows icon key and ‘S’ key to launch the search bar in the start menu. Search “wallpaper” in the dialog box and click on the first link which comes up.
Step 2. In the personalization section, go to the Background tab present in the navigation pane on the left side.
Step 3. You can change the background by setting it either on a picture or solid color. You can also apply slideshow as wallpaper but keep long-changing intervals such as 30 minutes.
Step 4. Restart your system.
Setting a longer interval decreases the wallpaper change frequency. This can help resolve the glitching.
Check to see if the video playback error is resolved or not. You can always revert to your previous settings if the glitching issue still exists or if you are unhappy with the current wallpaper settings.
9. Change your Browser Settings for hardware acceleration
The above settings were for video stuttering offline mode when you played the video file using a video player like Windows Media Player, VLC, etc.
However, video stuttering and glitching issues can also occur while playing video online on YouTube platforms.
Unlike local video files stored on our system, videos that we play on the browser are not played on a video player installed on our computer.
Not many of us know that video is played on the browser using hardware acceleration or using Flash. If these are not correctly configured, then video playback issues might occur while online streaming videos.
Various browsers are used to stream videos. We will talk about resolving video playback glitches in the following three popular web browsers.
(A) Chrome
With many loyal followers, Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers globally due to its unique features, ease of usage, and accessibility.
However, a feature called “Hardware acceleration” in Chrome might be the reason behind the video glitching. Let us try and switch it (i.e., disable if it is enabled and enable if it is disabled)
Step 1. Open Google Chrome and open the menu by clicking on the three vertical dots present in the top right corner next to your Google profile.
Step 2. Choose Settings to open the settings tab.
Step 3. In settings, Scroll down the page to find the “Advanced” option present at the bottom of the page.
Step 4. Inside advanced, go to the “System” category and click the “Relaunch” toggle. This will enable or disable the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.
Step 5. Relaunch the browser to apply the changes.
In case the issue still persists, repeat the above steps and, this time, do the opposite of the toggle option you did last time.
(B) Firefox
Like Chrome, Firefox also can switch the toggle to resolve video stuttering issues caused by hardware acceleration.
Follow the below steps to fix the glitching:
Step 1. Open Mozilla Firefox and open menu options by clicking on the top right corner’s menu button.
Step 2. Click on Options and then uncheck “Use recommended performance settings.”
Step 3. Now enable or disable the “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.
Step 4. Relaunch Mozilla Firefox to apply the changes.
This should fix the video playback problem if it’s caused by hardware acceleration in Firefox.
(C) Microsoft Edge
Unlike Chrome and Firefox, Microsoft Edge video playback is caused by Flash.
You can resolve the problem by disabling Adobe Flash. Let us see how:
Step 1. Open Microsoft Edge and go to the menu button.
Step 2. Click on settings. Scroll down the page to locate the “View Advanced Settings” option. Click on it.
Step 3. Inside advanced settings, click the “Use Adobe Flash Player” toggle to turn it off.
Step 4. Save the changes and relaunch Microsoft Edge.
Even after disabling Adobe Flash, if the issue still persists, repeat the above steps and enable Flash.
After that, perform the following steps:
Step 1. Simultaneously press the Windows icon key and ‘R’ key on the keyboard to open the run dialog box.
Step 2. Type “inetcpl.cpl” in the dialog box. Press Enter. You can also click the “OK” button.
Step 3. Navigate to Advanced. Find the “Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering” option on the page and enable or disable it.
Step 4. Click on Apply and then OK buttons.
Try to start the video again to check if the issue persists. You can repeat the steps and then changes made if the problem is not resolved.
10. Update WideVine Component in Chrome
An outdated WideVine component in Chrome could also be why video stuttering and glitching problems while video streaming online.
Chrome’s WideVine Content Decryption Module is a built-in decryption module for Chrome that allows the browser to play HTML5 video and audio protected by DRM.
However, before updating WideVine, you need to clear cookies and data from your Chrome. Follow the steps given in Fix 1 to do that.
To clear data, open chrome and go to Clear data option in settings. Here, choose “All time” as the time range, select all the checkboxes listed and then click on “Clear data.”
Now that you have cleared the data, follow the below steps to update the WideVine CDM component in Chrome:
Step 1. Simultaneously press the Windows logo key and ‘R’ key on the keyboard to open the run dialog box.
Step 2. Type “C:/Program Files (x86)/Google/Chrome/Application in the box and press enter or click “OK.”
Step 3. Go to the folder that is named using a code number and then delete the WideVineCDM directory present inside the folder.
Step 4. Once again, open the run dialog box by following the instructions given in step 1.
Step 5. Type “C:\Users\(Your username)\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data and press the Enter key or click OK.
Step 6. Find WideVineCDM and delete it.
Step 7. Launch Chrome and type “chrome://components” in the URL bar—press Enter.
Step 8. Navigate the WideVine Content Decryption Module. Note the version and then click on the “Check for Updates” button.
Step 9. Let the process complete, and then close the browser.
Step 10. Once again, open the run dialog box by following the instruction given in step 1.
Step 11. Type “C:\users\(Your Username)\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data. After that, press the enter or OK button.
Step 12. Navigate to the WideVineCDM folder and rename the inside entry to the version you note down in Step 8. Relaunch browser.
Attempt to play the videos again to check if the video stuttering is resolved.
Final words
Make sure that your system is backed up before you use the above solutions to help you fix video stuttering. These fixes will definitely help you watch your favorite videos without any problem.
With everything being digitized, it is challenging not to watch your favorite movies and TV series.
Many of us are working or attending colleges and schools from home. However, many people cannot attend office meetings or take online classes due to video stuttering and glitching issues of windows 10. This has caused unnecessary delays in our work.
With the above fixes, you can easily watch videos, play games, stream online videos, attend meetings, classes, and much more without any unnecessary glitching.
