4 Ways to Fix Video Codec Not Supported on Windows or Android
Summary: This post shares 4 useful ways to fix the video codec not supported error when opening a video on our Windows or Android smartphone.
When opening a video file on VLC media player, Windows Media Player, or other media players on Windows or Android devices, sometimes we’ll get an error message on the screen that says,
- Cannot playback the file. The format is not supported (Error=80040265)
- Can’t Play. This item was encoded in a format that’s not supported. 0xc00d5212 (0xc00d5212)
- File format not supported
- The file or codec isn’t supported
- Failed: Video/audio codec
- Invalid File Format (Error=8004022F)
- …
Why Is Video Codec Not Supported
It’s easy to tell from the error message, that the video codec not supported error occurs because the media player on Windows or Android lacks the support for the certain codec. Codecs refer to compression technologies. A codec has two components, an encoder to shrink the file size for storage or delivery and a decoder to decompress for playback. There are hundreds of codecs available in this digital world, including H.264/AVC, H.265/HEVC, VP8, VP9, AV1, DivX, and MPEG-4. However, unfortunately, almost all media players have a limited support list for codecs. To take the recently released Windows Media Player as an example, it does not support VP8, VP9, MPEG-2, AV1, Vorbis, Opus, and many codecs natively.
In addition, the incompatible format can also render an unsupported video codec error. Formats refer to the container for holding the video and audio streams that have been compressed by particular codecs as well as some extra data. MKV, AVI, MP4, MOV, and WebM are some of the most widely used formats. The problem is that no device can support all video formats natively. For example, Android is compatible with H.264 codec but lacks the original support for MOV. If we have a MOV file that contains the video stream compressed by H.264, then we’ll still get a codec not supported error message when opening it on a media player like VLC or instant messenger like WhatsApp on Android.
How to Fix Video Codec Not Supported
As we’ve discussed, the unsupported codecs or formats will cause the video codec not supported error. That gives us the clue to fix the error. We can convert the incompatible video file to another codec/format that’s supported by Windows, Android, or the particular media player. Adding the missing codec pack or upgrading the media player can help us get support for some codecs. In addition, we can switch to another media player that supports certain codecs and formats to fix the unsupported video codec error.
Solution 1. Convert Video Files
Though every media player or device has its own set of compatible formats and codecs, the majority of them support MP4 (H.264 + AAC). Thus, the easiest and quickest solution to fix the video codec not supported error is to convert the video file to MP4 (H.264 + AAC).
With VideoProc Converter AI, we can get things done effortlessly. This best video converter supports 420+ popular and rare video/audio codecs. Thanks to a self-explained UI, everyone can convert video to MP4 (H.264 + AAC) or other desired codec in one click to fix the unsupported codec error.
- One Click to Fix Video Codec Not Supported — VideoProc Converter AI.
- Convert MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, H.264, HEVC, AV1, VP9, MPEG-2, ProRes, OGG…
- Can change video file type without converting or losing quality.
- Adopt high-entropy codec algorithm: No visible quality loss after converting 4K/8K videos.
- Support full GPU acceleration tech. Convert videos at 47x real-time faster speed.
- Can also compress, edit, download, and record video and audio files.
Step 1. Download and install VideoProc Converter AI on Windows or Mac. Hit Video > + Video.
Step 2. Drag the original video(s) to the software.
Load MP4 Files in VideoProc Converter AI
Step 3. Select MP4 (H.264+AAC) and hit Run.
Choose MP4 H.264 as Target Format in VideoProc Converter AI
Solution 2. Install Additional Codec Packs
A powerful codec pack can contain all prevalent and rare video and audio codecs. Thus, suppose your media player or device lacks the support for a particular or multiple codec(s), installing an additional codec pack can help you out. Let me show you how to fix the codec not supported error when playing H.265/HEVC on Windows Media Player by installing the K-Lite. Holding H.265/HEVC, HVC1, and tons of video and audio codecs, K-Lite is one of the most powerful codec packs.
Step 1. Go to the official site of K-Lite to download the basic, standard, full, or Mega version of this free codec pack.
Step 2. Run the downloaded codec pack installer. Follow the instructions in the download and installation wizard. When the Installation Preferences panel pops up, choose Windows Media Player as the preferred video and audio player.
Step 3. Restart the computer after installing the K-Lite pack. Now you may be able to play the video on Windows Media Player without an unsupported video codec error.
Solution 3. Update the Media Player
If your video is compressed by advanced codecs like HEVC, AV1, and VP9, then there are chances that you can fix the video codec not supported error by updating the media player to the latest version. To take VLC media player as an example, some earlier versions don’t support AV1, HEVC, and a few high-compressed codecs. However, its recent version can play these video files without problems. Here’s how to update your media player:
Step 1. Click on Help which is located on the top menu bar.
Step 2. Press Check for Update.
Step 3. Follow the wizard on the screen to download and install the latest version of your media player.
Solution 4. Upgrade the Graphics Driver
An out-of-date graphics card driver might cause the video codec not supported error when playing videos on Windows. Thus, installing the latest available driver for your graphics card might do you a favor. Just follow the below steps to detect, download, and install the latest graphics driver.
Step 1. Press Windows and R on our keyboard to open up the Run box. Input devmgmt.msc and then press OK.
Step 2. Right-click on the target graphics card under the Display adapters menu and then choose Update Driver Software.
Step 3. After upgrading the Graphics card driver, we restart the computer.
FAQs
1. How to fix video codec not supported on Android?
If you’re meeting the video codec not supported error on Android 4.4 or earlier, then you can get things fixed by converting the video to MP4 H.264. Suppose you are on Android 5.0 or later, then you can also convert the video file to MP4 HEVC or MP4 AV1 to solve the problem.
2. How to fix video codecs not supported on TV?
To fix video codecs not supported on TV, we just need to convert the original video to a format that’s compatible with the TV.
To take recent Samsung TV as an example, it supports H.264 BP/MP/HP, HEVC, H.263 Sorenson, motion JPEG, MVC, MPEG-4 SP/ASP, Window Media Video 9 (VC-1), MPEG2, MPEG1, Microsoft MPEG-4 version 1/2/3, and Window Media Video 7 (WMV1)/8 (WMV2) codecs that are held by AVI, MKV, ASF, WMV, MP4, and several other container formats. Thus, we can fix video codecs not supported on Samsung by converting the video files to the said codecs.
Since almost all smart TVs are compatible with MP4 H.264, converting the original video file to MP4 H.264 via VideoProc Converter AI or any other capable video converter is the easiest way to fix video codec not supported on TV.