Life in the pandemic has led to an increase in the amount of visual content we consume through our mobile phones or laptops. However, it is extremely hard to find a solution to fix issues that are causing trouble while watching any video on your PC or smartphone. Choppy video Playback is one such common issue that you would come across while watching videos.
A Choppy video is pretty annoying when you are trying to watch your favorite movie, and wondering how to fix Choppy video playback on Mac/Windows. In this article, we are going to talk about choppy video playback issues and a few simple methods to fix them.
What is a Choppy Video Playback?
A video is said to be choppy when it is not able to play properly. In other words, audio video out of sync, video getting blurred or jerky, and video playing without sound, are all an example of choppy video playback. Now let us look at the common reasons behind video getting choppy or jerky.
What are the causes behind choppy or broken videos?
There are many possible reasons behind this phenomenon, some of the most common indications of a choppy video are as listed below:
- A video file having issues with the audio codec or video codec
- Video file is damaged or corrupt can make your video file choppy
- Trying Outdated media players
- If your device is running on outdated device drivers, it can make your video-watching experience choppy
- Inadequate system requirements to play the intended video file
These are the most common causes behind a choppy video file. There are various methods to fix this issue. All being simple and easy to implement this article has everything explained to you in detail.
How to fix choppy videos?
The below DIY methods will help you in fixing choppy videos. All you need to do is follow the processes listed below one by one and check if they work. However, in the end, if none of the DIY methods help we have provided you with a super easy solution you can try to repair your choppy video.
1. Re-transfer the video or Copy the video again
Your video may not have been properly transferred or downloaded from the source. Therefore, try downloading the file again. If the video hasn't been removed from the source or if you haven't used the 'Cut' and 'Paste' properly.
2. Try to play the video with different media players.

The choppy video playback could be triggered by the corruption of the video file or the video settings of your video player. Try streaming the video in a different media player instead of a regular media player, sometimes it might play in other media players. There are hundreds of media players few are open source, and some of the most well-known are listed below.
- VLC media player
- PotPlayer
- KMPlayer
- Windows media player.
3. Clear the web browser’s cache
Clear your web browser's cache files if you're experiencing choppy video while streaming. follow the steps below to clear the web browser's cache.
- Open web browser > settings
- Click on Advance > Privacy and Security

- Click on Clear Browsing Data.
4. Convert your mp4 file into another video file format
If the video format is different and incompatible, your videos will not play. However, transferring the file to another format will certainly help you in properly view your images.
In this case, there are many online converters that can assist you in converting your mp4 video into other video file formats. You can now monitor your videos to see if they are playing properly after they have been converted to a compatible format still, the video not playing smoothly then try updating the device driver.
5. Update Device Driver
Outdated device drivers can be one of the reasons behind choppy video playback. Sometimes, to fix this issue all you have to do is just update the drivers. Follow the steps below to update the device driver:
- Go to Device Manager, select Sound, Video, and Game Controller.

- Select the device you want to update and click on Update Driver Software

- Restart your computer.
6. Reduce the Video Resolution or Size you are trying to Play
Playing high-quality videos can also make your video-watching experience choppy or blurry. Try to reduce the video resolution from 1080p to 720p or even 480p. If you have a large video file that is having trouble playing, you can compress the video using any third-party tools. You can use a VLC player to compress it easily. Doing this can help you fix choppy video playback issues on your computer.
7. Verify your computer meets the minimum system requirement
This is an important part you should look for on your computer. The computer requires a 2.4 GHz processor with a minimum of 4 GB RAM to play videos of high resolution. Hence if you are trying to play an HD video or a 4k video make sure your system meets the minimum system requirements.
If you are facing the choppy video playback issue in spite of having your computer meeting the above specifications, then the problem is not with your computer or the media player. The issue can be because of a broken or damaged video file.
Note: If your HD video lags while playing it on VLC Media Player, then here is an article on how to fix video stutter smoothly.
If you are looking for an automated solution to fix choppy video file issues or if you are certain that you have a damaged video file- it is recommended to make use of a trusted video repair tool .
Repair Video File Using Remo Video Repair
Helps With Choppy, Jerky, or stuttering playback issues
Utilize Remo Video Repair software which is dedicated to video repair software to fix choppy video playback safely. This tool can also easily help you easily fix broken, jerky, or corrupted video files. It is compatible with the latest Windows and Mac operating systems like Windows 11, Windows 10, and macOS Ventura and Big Sur.
We gathered some reviews from trusted review platforms like Trustpilot to help you decide better.
Elise Winters-Huete- 2 reviews- US- Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Amazing software & support - HUGE life-saver
I am a violinist and book author. I accidentally deleted an irreplaceable video from an SD card before transferring it to my computer. I realized instantly what had happened and stopped using the card... and crossed my fingers. After much research, I tried Stellar Data Recovery. They let me down TWICE, very expensively, and with half-hearted customer service (disappeared with no refund). Remo Video Repair not only salvaged the corrupt video file produced by Stellar, but their support team was able to re-recover the entire original video, FULLY INTACT, using their Remo Recover product. Their technicians were patient, thoroughly knowledgeable, and incredibly responsive. It was an anxiety-provoking situation but ended up being literally one of the best software support experiences I've ever had. Ten stars. Super grateful!!!
Date of experience: May 26, 2021
Source: Trustpilot.
Steps To Fix Choppy Video playback:
Download and Install the Remo Video Repair tool on your computer and follow the steps below:
- Launch the software click on the select file option and add the choppy video that needs to be repaired.

- Now choose any Reference file similar to that of the one that needs to be repaired taken on the same camera. For example, MOV, MP$, AVI, etc.

- Click on the Repair button to start, to start fixing the video file having choppy playback issues.

- Click on Repair to start the repair process. After completion of the repair process, you can preview the repaired video file before saving it to the desired location.

With these 3 simple steps, you will be fixing choppy video playback issues easily. In case of video files you are facing choppy issues of different formats AVI, you can learn more about repairing AVI video files.
Note: Watch how to repair videos with choppy video playback issues with Remo Video Repair Software.
Pro Tip- How to prevent video corruption?
- Eject media safely, and make sure no data transfers are in progress.
- Make sure you always have a backup copy of important video files.
- To edit your videos, just use trusted and recommended software.
- Use reliable software while converting the video format.
These are some common tips for you to avoid corruption or damage to your video file. However if in case you have a damaged or corrupt video you can make use of Remo Repair MOV or video repair software to easily repair MOV files and also the Repair mp4 files.