When on default, VLC cannot play 4K videos, but this can be made possible by changing the settings of a VLC player through the graphics chip and processor of the computer. At other times, even when your computer has the required features, you may find out that 4K videos playback in a choppy manner. VLC Media Player for Mac. Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.7.5 or newer. VLC Media Player, an uncluttered, open-source and cross-platform program, supports DivX and MPEG streaming. It can play DVDs, CDs, VCDs, network streaming protocols, and various types of video files. The best video player Mac offers playlist for viewing multiple videos one after. The VLC media player is an open-source multimedia platform which is available in Operating system as well as in mobile such as iOS, Windows 10, Android, Linux and more. It was developed by the VideoLAN project in February (2001). Though it’s an old app it still gives best movie quality but now Windows 10 users are encountering some issues such as VLC media player not working, VLC media.
Nowadays, HD has taken a new leap with '4k UHD' offering higher than 1080p resolution. 4k UHD is mainly used in digital cinema with 4096x2160 as its pixel resolution or Ultra HD television with 3840x2160 as its resolution. With the popularity of 4K, more and more people trend to watch and play 4K video or movie to get Ultra HD movie experience. In this case, having a piece of 4K video player software that is capable of playing this increasingly popular and widely used format of ultra high definition video smoothly will make all the difference in how much you enjoy the experience. If you are searching for some of the most useful and powerful 4k video players that are available for free on Mac and Window 10 platform then the article below can provide you huge details. We hope this helps you to make the right choice for your 4K viewing needs!
Top 5 Free 4K Video Players for PC & Mac
1. VLC Media Player
This open source and free to use 4K UHD video player offers cross platform multimedia support and its advanced framework is capable enough to play almost all popular media file formats. The best addition is its support to all advanced streaming protocols so that users can update content live to internet without external plugins.
Key Features:
It is incredible simple, powerful and fast tool.
VLC media player can play everything ranging between live streams, devices, webcams, files and discs etc.
It can play all popular file formats without additional codecs.
You will not feel annoyed with ads and spyware issues while using VLC.
VLC media player can play everything ranging between live streams, devices, webcams, files and discs etc.
It can play all popular file formats without additional codecs.
You will not feel annoyed with ads and spyware issues while using VLC.
2. 5K Player
It is time to enjoy impressive HD video content with MKV support in 5K player. You will be glad to know that it offers all in one service with extended support to Online Downloader, AirPlay Media Streamer, Music Player and HD Video Player.
Key Features:
5K player supports DVDs, 1080P HD video content along with 5K and 4K resolution.
All popular media file formats like FLAC, APE, MP3 and AAC etc. can be easily played.
Well equipped with AirPlay receiver and sender unit that allows live streaming from iPhone 7.
Download videos directly from Vimeo, Dailymotion and YouTube etc.
All popular media file formats like FLAC, APE, MP3 and AAC etc. can be easily played.
Well equipped with AirPlay receiver and sender unit that allows live streaming from iPhone 7.
Download videos directly from Vimeo, Dailymotion and YouTube etc.
3. DivX Player
DivX is designed with edge video technology and it is popular for its award winning software interface that allows impressive playback for HEVC files. You can also access 4K UHD videos on DivX along with other high quality video files. This player is well designed to support web based video clips, TV Shows, and movies.
Key Features:
MP4, MKV, AVI and DIVX formats supported.
Big screen streaming feature added.
It allows smooth RW/FF feature with trick play abilities.
Follows better organization with loop, play, create.
It offers impressive organization of content on media library.
Big screen streaming feature added.
It allows smooth RW/FF feature with trick play abilities.
Follows better organization with loop, play, create.
It offers impressive organization of content on media library.
4. MPC
MPC-HC is well known open source, light-weight medial player that is recommended as most interactive video player for window users. It extends support to almost all audio and video file formats without asking for additional codecs. The best part is its advertisement free platform and 100% protection from spywares.
Key Features:
It is lightweight solution for SSE CPU as well as for old systems.
Highly customizable platform with wide variety of tools.
MPC is well known as a all around player that can also be used like a DVB player.
Highly customizable platform with wide variety of tools.
MPC is well known as a all around player that can also be used like a DVB player.
5. PowerDVD
PoweDVD is simply the best companion for your home entertainment systems as well as for personal computers. This software environment is packed with advanced featured to manage music, movies and photos at same place. You will always have incredible experience with its rich tools. PowerDVD offers ability to enhance user experience for 4K and HDR TV.
Key Features:
Professionals call it truly stunning environment with best sound and picture details.
It appears like essential solution or home entertainment.
You can play blu-ray content on PowerDVD.
It extends support towards VR headsets.
It appears like essential solution or home entertainment.
You can play blu-ray content on PowerDVD.
It extends support towards VR headsets.
Editor's Note:
Actually, to play videos in 4K resolutions on those devices with superb quality, there is another way to go in addition to 4K media players: convert 4k videos. And with a 4K Ultra HD Video Converter app - EaseFab Video Converter (available for Windows and Mac users), users can convert 4K video to common used video formats like MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, 3GP, WMV, etc with the best quality. This 4K Video Converter is also available to customize the output resolutions to any size the users want.
> Resource > Instructables > Best 5 Free Video Players for PC & Mac
Can VLC play 4k? Yes, but it can be extremely annoying to watch a super choppy video that hampers the UHD video playing experience. 4k videos not playing or stuttering are common errors in VLC. The footage recorded in 4K at 60fps can be extremely lagging at times if VLC is not configured properly. In this post, we will analyze common causes of VLC playback error and corresponding fixes.
Why 4K Video Not Playing Ideally in VLC?
• The resolution is too high
If the resolution of the video is too high, then it is possible that while running the video playback, you will have a lagged video that might buffer or stutter at many points.
• The frame rate is too high
The stuttering can also happen if the frame rate is high as well. This is because the GPU takes a longer time to render the frame than it is expected and sometimes it might even skip the frame. Once that happens, the video is bound to give a choppy output. That's in fact the trade off when CPU is overloaded. VLC enables frame dropping to decode less frames, thus causing the choppy video performance.
• Encoding affects the video playback
Vlc Player Mac 4k Full
If the video coding engine is not up to the mark and 60fps video is being run with equal quality and speed, then the lag will be a continuous part of the playback and there will be a workload on the GPU.
• Slow system
If the system is too slow to decode the images, then also the video can be choppy and there can be numerous breaks.
Best Solution – Tailor 4k Video for Your Good Old VLC
Vlc 4k Player Download
Don't fret out if none of above method works. If you want stick to VLC instead of switching to default Media Player, VideoProc can help you out. With this tool, you will be able fix 4K videos stuttering when playback, compress unlimited 4K files as well as time-lapse videos. Changing the codec, frame rate, bitrates and so on is 1-click away.
- Transcode 4k video at full GPU acceleration
- Compress 4k video while retaining high quality
- Adjust 4k frame rate, bit rate, playback speed
• Change 4K Video Codec and Format
You can transcode 4k video from HEVC to H.264 without significant quality loss. The conversion process can be delivered at fast speed, thanks to full GPU acceleration powered by Intel, AMD or Nvidia.
• Change Frame Rate
Click the codec option (Gear icon on your imported video), find Frame Rate section and change it to a desired one. You can play with it until a suitable FPS is found.
• Compress 4k Video without Quality Loss
For smoother 4k playback, you can compress videos using VLC, but it would be demanding on old computers. As one of the best companions for VLC, VideoProc support compress 4k videos at full GPU acceleration, thus delivering a fast and high quality result.
Besides format compression, you can also change video resolution and trim out unwanted clip parts easily. The editing you made is non-destructive for the original 4k video, as you can always save a copy.
Another 5 Methods to Fix 4K Playback Choppy in VLC
It is the current trend to record high definition videos on 4K devices and DSLR cameras. Now people are also inducing action cameras, drone cameras and even cell phones that support 4K. But it would be a waste of time if the video playback is lagging. So today we are going to give you the solutions that will help you to fix 4K 60fps playback error.
Method 1. Update VLC.
Update your VLC media player to the latest version. In fact, VLC 3.0 and higher versions provide better 4K video support.
Method 2. Disable/Enable GPU Acceleration
This method seems contradictory, but the situation various since users have different systems and hardware environment. Toggle GPU acceleration on or off? Feedbacks from users are divergent. Enabling GPU acceleration works for some users and disabling it works for others. For instance, StackExchange user harrymac provided his example in the thread How to configure VLC to play 4K content properly. When Hardware-accelerated decoding is not disabled, 4k video freezing issues exists; when disabled, VLC can manager better frame rate, though it requires high end CPU.
You can try to switch it on or off and stay with whatever works for your 4k videos.
Step 1. From VLC menu, click tools > Preferences.
Step 2. Click Input/Codecs, in Hardware-accelerated decoding, select Disable.
Step 3. Save settings, close VLC and restart it again. See if you 4k video playback smoothly this time. If not, follow step1-2 to enable hardware decoding.
Step 2. Click Input/Codecs, in Hardware-accelerated decoding, select Disable.
Step 3. Save settings, close VLC and restart it again. See if you 4k video playback smoothly this time. If not, follow step1-2 to enable hardware decoding.
Method 3. Change Cache Time
Increasing cache value can improve the smoothness in video playback. You can change the File caching value from 300 (3 seconds) to 1000 for instance. Keep adjusting the value until you find one that suits you. Here are steps to change VLC cache time.
Step 1. Go to Preferences > Input/Codecs.
Step 2. Tick Show settings: All.
Step 3. Navigate to Input/Codecs advanced section, and change caching time.
Step 4. Save the changes, restart VLC and load your 4k video.
Step 2. Tick Show settings: All.
Step 3. Navigate to Input/Codecs advanced section, and change caching time.
Step 4. Save the changes, restart VLC and load your 4k video.
Method 4. Change VLC Video Output Settings
Changing output settings from automatic to DirectX, Open GL, and DirectDraw are proved as workable for many users. You can go to tools > Preferences > Video, and switch output settings.
Method 5. Amend FFmpeg Thread Settings and Loop Filter Skipping
This fix is from VideoLAN official forums, where many users found changing FFmeg settings works to avoid choppy 4k playback. Here are the steps.
Step 1. VLC menu Tools > Preferences > Select All in Show settings to manage advanced settings.
Step 2. Search for FFmpeg in filter box, or navigate to Input/Codecs > Video codecs > FFmpeg.
Step 3. Change threads from the default 0 to 1, 2, 3, 4 or other numbers.
Step 4. Save, close VLC and restart it. Load your 4k HDR videos.
Tips: You can also tweak loop filter skipping settings for FFmpeg until 4k playback worked.
Step 2. Search for FFmpeg in filter box, or navigate to Input/Codecs > Video codecs > FFmpeg.
Step 3. Change threads from the default 0 to 1, 2, 3, 4 or other numbers.
Step 4. Save, close VLC and restart it. Load your 4k HDR videos.
Tips: You can also tweak loop filter skipping settings for FFmpeg until 4k playback worked.