If you’re a YouTube vlogger, professional videographer, or content creator, experiencing unplayable, choppy, distorted, or pixelated videos can pose a significant challenge for your work. These errors usually mean the video file is damaged or corrupt.
But don’t worry. After reading this blog, you will be well-equipped to fix a damaged or corrupt video file, and learn how to avoid damage to video files.
Signs of a Damaged Video:
If a video file is damaged and corrupted, it will display the below signs:
The video file becomes completely unplayable or refuses to play.
Visual distortions or blackouts in certain segments of the video.
Pixelated footage, discoloration, or flickering.
Issues with audio-visual sync or missing and distorted audio.
Video file stops unexpectedly, or the playback is slow.
The video file is choppy or fragmented.
Green, blue, red, and gray lines or boxes appear during playback
Video files take time to open or only work with a specific media player.
Video file displays an error every time you open it.
How Videos Get Damaged?
You will find so many blogs and vlogs stating several common reasons for video corruption, but the exact cause may vary with different scenarios. Although several potential factors are at play, it’s unpredictable what can damage a video file.
It can be due to the following factors:
File format incompatibilities
Issues with video player
Power outage
Sudden device shutoff
Glitches in editing software
Hardware malfunctions
Recovered video file
Interruption in the transfer process
Network fluctuations in device
Download error
Magnetic interference while recording videos
While all these factors might be responsible for damaging video files the source of video file corruption can be more diverse and sometimes unpredictable.
Tips for Successfully Repairing Damaged Videos
Try out Video Repair Software
One of the easiest and most effective ways to fix damaged video files is by using professional video repair software. Tools like Stellar Repair for Video are designed to fix corrupted video files. This free-to-use video repair tool can identify issues in the video file and repair the damaged or corrupt sections using advanced algorithms. Such video repair tools can help you while dealing with problems caused by missing codecs, or other severe corruption issues.
Use Codec Repair Tool
If you are a tech-savvy individual, try fixing the video file’s structure or metadata; this can help you fix the damaged video. Tools like hex editors or specialized video analysis software can offer a rewarding experience. You just need to upload the file, and then locate and fix the damaged sections of the codec data manually. Although this method requires a deep understanding of video file formats and codecs, it can yield great results, if executed carefully.
Use a File Conversion Tool
Sometimes, a video file can get damaged because of a specific container. Hence, by converting the file to a widely supported format, such as MP4 or AVI, you may be able to fix the corruption and make the video playable. This simple and effective technique can often resolve compatibility-related problems. VLC media player can help you convert the file.
Use FFmpeg Command-Line Tool
FFmpeg is a powerful open-source tool to help you fix damaged or corrupted video files. You can use FFmpeg commands to resolve issues with the video file index, metadata, and codec with basic commands. A tech-savvy person can also use advanced commands to re-encode the entire video and fix severe corruption. While FFmpeg is free to use and helpful in fixing corrupt videos, it requires a good amount of technical knowledge to operate.
Use Untrunc Tool
You must have heard about Untrunc. Again, this is a free and open-source tool designed by experts to repair and restore corrupted video files. This can help with MP4, M4V, MOV, and 3GP video file formats. The tool repairs broken files using a sample video for reference and reconstructs the damaged file to make it playable again. However, the reference sample video must be recorded using the same device as the corrupted file.
Conclusion
These are the best tools and methods to repair a damaged or corrupt video file. By utilizing the above methods and the mentioned tools, you can fix basic to severe corruption issues in a video file, irrespective of the file format. It should be noted that today, having a protective and powerful backup strategy is a must. So, back up your video files regularly to external storage or cloud platforms.
