Many VLC player users would come across such kind of occasions: the files with .mp4 extension they put into VLC are failed to be recognized and played by VLC. Generally speaking, VLC media player is MP4 friendly. However, since MP4 is an open source file container, which means the inside codec would be different from that is supported by VLC. Therefore, sometimes VLC player would fail to play MP4 files. This is why your VLC can’t play MP4 files. In this guide, we would like to share VLC player MP4 solutions to let you easily turn your VLC player an MP4 VLC player. You could then freely play any MP4 files on VLC media player.

Part 1: Possible Reasons for MP4 Playback Failure on VLC

Actually, the reasons for MP4 playback failure vary. The possible reasons will be given in various cases. Some clues can be traced according to the above introduction in the beginning, but for your further details on the possible reasons why VLC cannot play MP4 will be listed via the following points. You can track back from the following symptoms to confirm the exact reasons.

1. Corrupt MP4 files. First of all, you must make sure the MP4 files you have dragged to VLC Media Player are all protected and have not been damaged. If this is the cause for the failure, what you need to do is to download the correct MP4 videos to make the playing process work properly.

2. VLC “Video output modes” is set in the wrong mode. Sometimes, if you do not set the VLC Media Player in the proper way, for example, you have not activated some output video formats, then you may experience the MP4 video failure at last. Then, you have to open VLC and click on the “Preferences” to enable the “Video” option to “X11 video output”. Finally, restart VLC Media Player to come effective.

3. Lack of MP4 video codec. Actually, the lack of MP4 video codec may be the main cause for the MP4 failure on VLC Media Player. MP4 is a container video format which is able to contain various audio, video and subtitle streams. If the MP4 file you have tried to play on VLC contains another video codec which is not compatible with VLC, then it will fail to play VLC. In order to solve the problem, you have to download and install MP4 video codec.

Part 2: Fix MP4 File with VLC

If the MP4 file is corrupt, then what you need to do is to fix the MP4 file accordingly. With the help of VLC Media Player, you can repair the damaged MP4 files correctly. You can simply refer to the following steps.

Step 1. Locate the MP4 file on your computer and right click on the file and select “Rename” option.

Step 2. Change the MP4 file name. First, change the file format MP4 to AVI as shown below and confirm the change.

Step 3. Open VLC and select “Tools” >> “Preferences”.

Step 4. Enter “Input/Codec” section. Then you can find the “Input/Codec” settings window. Under files section, select “Always fix” under the drop down menu “Damaged or incomplete AVI file”. Then click “Save” button.

Step 5. Restart VLC Media Player and try to play the corrupt MP4 file again.

Part 3: Disable Hardware Video Decoding in VLC

Sometimes, the hardware video decoding may result in the failure of MP4 files on VLC. In such a case, if you can disable the hardware video decoding in VLC, it will work effectively. The steps are quite simple.

Step 1. Open VLC Media Player and click “Tools” and then “Preferences”.

Step 2. Click “Input/Codec” option under “Preferences” submenu. Then you can view the “Input/Codec” setting window. Next, click the “Hardware-accelerated decoding” drop down button and choose “Disable” option.

Step 3. Restart VLC Media Player and load the MP4 file to the player to make another try.

Part 4: Download and Install MP4 Codec for VLC

VLC Plays most codecs with no codec packs needed: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, MPEG-4 ASP, H.264, DivX 4/5/6, XviD, SV1, 3ivX D4 and H.264/MPEG-4 AVCMKV, AMR, WebM, WMV, MP3… However, MP4 files containing codecs like H.265 and other VLC unsupported A/V codecs cannot be read by VLC. A codec is a computer program that is able to convert the digital files by encoding and decoding them to the preferred format. Therefore, in order to activate the MP4 file on VLC Media Player, you have to install the correct MP4 video codec for VLC. How to download MP4 codec for VLC Media Player? Here, you can turn to download and install a codec pack which consists of many codecs that are installed at once so that you don’t have to install them in the future.

Step 1. try to download VLC player MP4 codec packs from CNET. Download and install it immediately by following the on screen installation steps.

Step 2. You only need to select the “Easy Installation” mode instead of “Expert Installation” mode to complete the installation process.

Step 3. Once the VLC Codec Pack has been installed successfully on your computer, restart your computer and VLC Media Player, then you can simply click on the MP4 file and select “Open in VLC Player”.

Part 5: Free Alternative to Play MP4 Movie

If you’re not a dedicated VLC player user, you could take a VLC MP4 player alternative to play MP4 files. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player is what you need. As an all-inclusive media player, Leawo Free Blu-ray Player performs even better than VLC player. It supports all video formats like MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV, WMV, etc. in different codecs like MPEG-4, H.264, H.265, etc. With Leawo Free Blu-ray Player, you could never be bothered by VLC player can’t play MP4 files issues.

This free media video player is 100% which can play any media in any format for totally free. No in-app purchase or another kind of cost required. Besides acting as a free 4K video player, it’s region-free 4K Blu-ray player software to play 4K Blu-ray disc, regardless of disc protection and region restriction. Thirdly, Leawo Blu-ray is able to play up to 4K UHD/1080P Full HD video without quality loss in any format, including 4K MKV, 4K MP4, HD MP4, HD AVI, etc. Finally, users can also select subtitles and audio tracks, even add extra subtitles. Deliver cinema-like movie experience with the support of various advanced audio decoding technologies like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc. If you want more VLC alternative options, please visit 10 Free VLC Alternatives for Mac and Windows.

Conclusion

After referring to the article elaborated above, you will not be puzzled by such questions any more. If you have a general idea about the detailed reasons or causes for the MP4 failure on VLC, then you can carry out the detailed steps accordingly.

Generally speaking, first of all, you should attempt to check the MP4 files you have obtained. Make sure the MP4 file is not damaged. Then, you can also try to disable the hardware video decoding in VLC to make it work properly. Alternatively, you can turn to other solutions. For example, you can take a try on another powerful media player that is capable of playing all kinds of digital video files -- Leawo Blu-ray Player. What’s more, if you have obtained the steps on how to convert the MP4 video format to other formats that are more compatible with VLC Media Player, then it will be quite perfect to solve the problem. Leawo Video Converter is one of the best MP4 to VLC encoder software that offers you the best solution to convert MP4 video to VLC supported formats. With Leawo Video Converter, you could change MP4 videos of different video and audio codecs into VLC MP4 video with either MPEG-4 or H.264 AVC codec.