Video Repair: How to Repair Damaged MP4 File

Eleanor Reed

Nov 16, 2020 • Filed to: Photo/Video/Audio Solutions • Proven solutions

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The world we live in today is the world of video. Everything we do in our lives is captured on cameras in the form of video. People love filming videos as it gives them the chance to preserve the moments that mean something to them. Most of the videos people shoot are digital videos. These digital videos come in various types of formats. Some of the popular types of digital video formats include WMV, ASF, MOV, MP4, and M4V. WMV is Windows Media Video and is Microsoft’s preferred format for digital videos. MOV is Apple’s digital video format while ASF or Advanced Systems Format is another of Microsoft’s video formats. MP4 and M4V are video container formats that are introduced by Microsoft and Apple respectively.

Dealing with an MP4 file corruption? Then for sure, you are facing issues with playing the digital video content on your device. You need digital video repair. MP4 is the most common and used format for digital multimedia and is compatible with almost all devices. Be it desktops, laptops or mobiles, either it is Windows or Mac, this format is the most renown and used. But if you are unable to play the videos, then there is a problem with the format of the file is said to be corrupt. Here are some of the points that would be discussed in detail throughout the article.

Part 1: A Brief of Digital Video Damaged or Corruption

If your digital video is not responding or is failing to open then there is a strong chance that it has corrupted or gotten damaged somehow. There are many reasons why a digital video can get damaged. The following are some of the possible reasons that can lead to a corruption of a digital video.

• Due to any logical damage, corruption in video files can be a result of a broken header. If the header of the video is not playing, then there is no way for the remaining content to play.
• The incomplete downloading process of the video files due to loss of internet connectivity will cause file corruption.
• A sudden power failure, while the digital video was being played, can cause it to corrupt.
• Memory card issues can also lead to corruption of the digital video files.
• Inappropriate or incomplete read or write command may cause an error.
• Already damaged video files can be due to the compression problem.
• Files that are downloaded via unreliable internet resources might not play in any media player due to authentication issues.
• A virus or malware threat can cause an error.
• Corruption can be the result of the conversion to other file formats.
• Irregular power surge while playing, editing or transferring.
• Server error can be another potential reason.
• Making use of an unreliable third-party converter for converting digital videos from one format to another can also cause them to corrupt.

Part 2: Download Professional Digital Video Repair Tool

If you are looking for a way to repair a corrupt video file, then the only method available to you is to make use of a video repair tool. Wondershare Video Repair is designed specifically for digital video repair and contains all the necessary features that are needed for recovering the video data from the damaged digital video. This digital video repair tool is capable of accomplishing this task reliably and safely.

This step-by-step guide has been created to give you an idea of how you can use the Recoverit Video Repair to repair a corrupt video file.

Step 1 Add corrupted video files

Launch Digital video repair tool on your PC, click the button of "Add". Make sure your digital video files such as MP4 video files, MOV video files can be selected from memory cards or other storage devices.

Step 2 Select and repair the corrupted video files

Select your all corrupted video files, or select a specific video file and click "Repair" button to process

Step 3 Preview of Repaired Videos

After the repairing process completed, select one repaired digital video file to preview. You can preview and recover different formats of video files.

Step 4 Save the Repaired Videos

Click the "Save" button to save the repaired digital video files at the selected destination.

Note: If the video is severely corrupted and doesn't meet repair expectations, try "advanced repair" mode by adding sample video to repair. A sample file is a valid file created with the same device and the same format as the corrupted video. In this way, Recoverit will perform a deeper repair process. After that, it will take a few seconds to save the repaired video. Congratulations, the process is completed and your video files are repaired.

Precautions:

If you want to ensure that your digital videos never get corrupted or damaged in the future, then you will have to keep the following precautions in mind.

• Make use of an updated antivirus software program that is capable of safeguarding your PC.
• When transferring video files from one storage device to another, make sure that you don’t eject any of them before the file transfer is completed.
• Take extra care when shutting down your PC.
• Be on the lookout for bad sectors on your hard drives.

Part 3: Free Methods to Repair Corrupted Video Files

Check for the possible reason that is causing an error in your case. Once done with pointing the reason, the next step is to find out an appropriate solution for digital video repair or digital video repair mac. Below mentioned is the list of solutions.

1. Repair Corrupt MP4 Files with VLC

Playing the MP4 file format on VLC media player sometimes resolves the issue or one can run the digital video repair mechanism with VLC. It helps to de-corrupt the media files efficiently. Following is the stepwise procedure for the digital video repair.

Step 1 Install the VLC media player on your device if required or play the corrupt media MP4 file in the player if it is already present on the device.

Step 2 Continue the process by selecting the corrupt media file, right-click on it to select the option of Rename.

Step 3 Here you can change the format of the media file from corrupted MP4 to.AVI, click enter to continue.

Step 4 Proceed with playing the media file with the altered format in VLC. In the tools menu, select the option of Preference.

Step 5 In the preferences menu, click on Input/codecs. A new window will appear on the screen.

Step 6 In Files drop-down, select Always Fix from the Damaged or Incomplete AVI file section.

Step 7 Now play the corrupt media MP4 file.

After completing all steps, the video file will play in the VLC media player.

2. Replicate Video File to Gain Accessibility

If the above-mentioned solution i.e. repair corrupt MP4files with VLC for Digital video repair does not work for you, then head to this solution. Your next option can be replicating the video file to gain accessibility. All you need to do is to copy the media file into another format and try to play it. Here is a stepwise procedure regarding how to carry out the process of digital video repair with this solution.

Step 1 Start the process by creating a copy of the MP4 corrupted file.

Step 2 Once the copy is created now rename the file.

Step 3 Play the media file in the device media player. It will work.

Part 4: How to Avoid Video Corruption?

Facing Mp4 file corruption errors is common and fixing them with various solutions is now just a matter of a few steps. Yet there are some of the precautionary measures that could be checked for avoiding the video file corruption. Here are some of the points mentioned below.

• Avoid excess playback of the video file as much as possible.
• Complex manipulation of the clips on the source media should be avoided.
• Always check for data integrity before transferring it to another drive.
• Maintain an appropriate power supply to the device when playing any media file.
• Use strong anti-virus software to protect your device from any malware attack.
• Do not change the file names of source media unnecessarily.
• Always maintain a sound network connection for playing or downloading the Mp4 media files.
• Files should always be downloaded from reliable resources.
• Avoid the compression of large media files.

Hence, in this article, all the possible reasons playing an important role in Mp4 file corruption are discussed in detail and potential solutions for digital video repair are proposed to resolve the video file corruption. Some of the essential points are also mentioned to avoid the video file corruption first hand.