The player is compatible with most file formats including MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, AVCHD, etc. Get VLC Media Player to fix video codec error on Android, Mac or Windows. May be the default media player of your device doesn’t support the video file format. If videos are giving codec error in one media player, try with another. Similarly, Windows Media Player won’t play FLV or FLAC files due to absence of their codecs. It cannot play other formats such as AVCHD, MKV or WEBM, etc. For instance, QuickTime Player only supports MOV, MPEG, some AVI, and WAV files. Not every media player supports all video file formats. You can also consider installing the supporting codec on your system to play the video s.īelow are the methods to fix unsupported codec error and play the videos on your device in any media player: Method 1: Play video in a different media player

There are various ways to deal with the unsupported format problem in videos.Įither convert the file format to one that is supported by your media player or change the player itself. How to fix an unsupported video codec error? Other than lack of supporting codec, the invalid file format error may also appear when the video file is corrupt. So if your media player or device doesn’t support the video format or codec, it won’t play the video file. A container is the file format that contains the file metadata while codec is required to encode or decode the video data. Technically, a video file comprises a codec and a container.

The error as obvious with the messages, appears due to absence of a codec that is required to play the video file on your computer or smartphone. Why does unsupported codec or format error occur? Unsupported format errors are also reported while trying to open a file in video editing tools. You can get such error messages when trying to play a video on PC, Mac, Smart TV, Android or other devices. ‘Windows Media Player cannot play the file because the required video codec is not installed on your computer.’Īn error occurred. An item was encoded in a format that’s not supported.’ It’s annoying to receive unsupported video codec or format errors as they don’t let you play videos. Figure: Missing codec error in Films & TV app

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