How to Fix VLC Black Screen | 6 Solutions ✅

What Causes VLC Black Screen Issues

Many users have reported the VLC black screen issue. Are you one of those who are here to find out the solution? If yes, you are at the right place. Here, we will provide six best working fixes to resolve this issue.

• Fix 1. Use VLC Alternative to Repair Videos
• Fix 2. Update VLC on Your Computer
• Fix 3. Update Graphic Card Driver on Windows
• Fix 4. Disable VLC Hardware Acceleration
• Fix 5. Adjust VLC Video Output Settings
• Fix 6. Turn on VLC Automatic Repair

Before getting into details, it's necessary to understand why this issue occurs. Let's discuss it shortly. The reasons that cause VLC black screen error may be different, like:

❌Corrupted File	The issue may appear if the file you are trying to open with VLC is corrupted or damaged.
⚠️Incomplete downloaded file	The VLC black screen issue may occur because of incomplete file transfer or incomplete file download.
💻Corrupted video location	If the file stored location is corrupted, you may face the VLC black screen error.
❓VLC player issue	The error might also appear because of the issue with the coding system of the VLC player.

Below, we have provided a video that will help you fix the problem quickly:

• 00:00 How to fix the VLC black screen issue introduction
• 00:40 Enable Video Window Decorations
• 01:07 Uninstall and reinstall VLC
• 03:17 Install an older version of VLC

Fix 1. Use VLC Alternative to Repair Videos

Sometimes, VLC shows a black screen error, or VLC doesn't play YouTube videos due to a video file error; in such cases, you must repair the corrupted video file. We recommend using the EaseUS Fixo Video Repair tool to fix the corrupted video file.

• This tool can quickly repair MP4 files corrupted during downloading, recording, copying, editing, converting, etc.
• This tool's advanced and robust repair feature can easily help you fix blurry videos.
• Repair video formats like MP4, MOV, M2TS, MKV, MTS, 3GP, AVI, FLV, M4V, etc.

To learn how to repair corrupted videos with the help of EaseUS Fixo Video Repair, follow the steps below correctly.

Step 1. Open Fixo on your local PC. Click "Video Repair" and add the corrupted MP4/MOV/AVI/MKV/3GP/FLV/MKV/WMV video files by clicking "Add Videos".

Step 2. Move the pointer to a video and click the "Repair" button to start the single video repairing process. If you want to repair all the videos, click "Repair All".

Step 3. Wait a few minutes, and the corrupted videos will be repaired. Click the play icon to preview the videos. You can save a single video by clicking the "Save" button next to the play icon. If you want to save all the repaired videos, choose "Save All".

Step 4. If the quick repair fails, you should utilize the advanced repair mode. Click "Advanced Repair" and add a sample video. Choose "Confirm" to ensure.

Step 5. A list of detailed information on corrupted and sample videos will show up. Click "Repair Now" to start the advanced video repair process. When the repair is complete, you can view the videos and click the "Save" button to save the repaired video files to an appropriate destination.

Hopefully, you like this tool; if it's helpful for you, then feel free to share this page on social media.

Fix 2. Update VLC on Your Computer

An outdated version of the VLC media player can create a black screen issue because of the incompatibility. So, we will recommend you update VLC to resolve this issue. Follow the steps below to complete the process.

Step 1. Open VLC and click on the Help menu from the flyout. 

Step 2. Click on the "Check for Updates" menu.

It will kickstart the update process from the VLC and connect to the official server to find out if an update is available. If yes, then download the update and apply it. Recheck your VLC to see if the issue is resolved.

Fix 3. Update Graphic Card Driver on Windows

Sometimes, outdated graphics card drivers can cause a VLC screen black error. So, we recommend updating the graphic card driver. You can update drivers in Windows 11 or download the graphic card drivers from the official website. Below are the steps to update the graphics card to the latest version. 

Step 1. Download the latest supported graphics card driver version from its official website.

Step 2. Now, install the updated version of the driver, which you downloaded directly on your system, by accepting the terms and conditions and on-screen instructions.

If this is helpful for you, many others will find it useful, too. You can share it over WhatsApp, Facebook, or any other social media so others can use it if they face the same issue.

Fix 4. Disable VLC Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration is helpful for videos, but it can sometimes result in issues. If that makes the VLC black screen, you can figure it out by turning the VLC hardware acceleration. To complete this process, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Open the VLC media player, and then go to Tools > Preferences menu.

Step 2. In the "Simple Preferences" window, switch to the Input / Codes tab.

Step 3. Click on the dropdown arrow next to Hardware-accelerated decoding under the Codecs section.

Step 4. Choose Disable from the dropdown menu and click "Save".

Fix 5. Adjust VLC Video Output Settings

In this part of the post, we will learn another VLC video repair solution - adjusting the VLC video output settings. Follow the exact steps below to adjust the proper VLC video output settings.

Step 1. Do as step 1 in Fix 4 to open "Preferences".

Step 2. Click on the Video tab, then select "DirectX (DirectDraw) Video Output Mode" from the dropdown menu under "Output".

Step 3. Before enabling Accelerated video output (Overlay), select Use hardware YUV to RGB conversions.

Step 4. Choose Save to save your changes.

After saving the changes, check whether the issue is resolved.

Fix 6. Turn on VLC Automatic Repair

Turning on the inbuilt VLC automatic Repair option can resolve the black screen issue on VLC. Follow the steps below to complete this process successfully.

Step 1. Go to VLC Preferences

Step 2. Select the Input/code tab. Now, access the Damaged or incomplete AVI, and from the ride side dropdown, choose  "Always Fix and save it".

Now check whether the issue is fixed; if you think this post is helpful for you, then share this page on your social media.

VLC Black Screen FAQs

Here, we will answer frequently asked questions to clear your doubts on the VLC Black Screen issue.

1. How do I fix the VLC black screen on Mac?

You can fix the VLC black screen on the Mac by turning off the VLC hardware acceleration. To do this, open VLC, go to Tools > Preferences and click on the Input/Codecs tab. Under Codecs, uncheck the box next to Hardware-accelerated decoding. Click Save and restart VLC.

2. Will video corruption cause VLC to have a black screen?

Yes, video corruption causes VLC to have a black screen, and you can fix it by repairing video files with the help of any reliable third-party video repair tool. Here, we will recommend you use the EaseUS Fixo Video Repair tool.

3. How do I fix the grey screen on VLC?

You can fix the grey screen on VLC by adjusting VLC Video Output Settings.

• Go to VLC preferences, and then switch to the Video tab.
• Go to the Video tab, click the dropdown icon next to Output, and choose DirectX (DirectDraw) Video Output Mode from the context menu.
• Check the box before Accelerated video output (Overlay) and Use hardware YUV -> RGB conversions.
• Choose Save to save your changes.

4. How to repair corrupted videos without VLC?

You can quickly repair corrupted videos with the Help of any third-party video repair tool, like  EaseUS Fixo Video Repair; make sure to use an authentic and reliable tool for the best result.

Summary

In this post, we have given you six fixes to resolve the VLC black screen issue. Try all these methods to understand which is less time-consuming and provides the best result. If you have no technical knowledge and want to resolve the error quickly, we recommend downloading the EaseUS Fixo Video Repair software to repair videos.