The VideoLAN Forums

When playing standard DVD VOB files (stored on a hard drive), VLC playback is good except during slow panning scenes (e.g., at the beginning of The Martian). Playback of the same files and scenes is smooth using the Wondershare Player.

If it weren't for Wondershare's tiny menu fonts (as in one case I'm using it on an HTPC and controlling it from several feet from the TV), I might switch to Wondershare. But except for this one slight choppiness problem, I like VLC and would like to keep using it, not just on my HTPC, but on other Windows computers also (where the same thing happens). The computers are relatively new (e.g., i7-3770S) and it doesn't seem to be a resource issue.

Are there any settings or changes that might fix this problem?

Is it known why Wondershare has smoother playback?

Thanks in advance.

No settings changes will fix this issue. Version 1.0.5 is the highest that does not have the problem. But downgrading that far isn't really practical.

Thank you!

Do you know of plans to fix this problem? Or is there a reason it won't be fixed?

Besides Wondershare (which has a difficult interface when viewed on a TV), do you know of others players that play VOBs smoothly?

I couldn't tell you. I'm just a schmuck'ol user that's played with trying to fix this for hours. I could guess that it won't be fixed because VOBs and DVDs overall are artificially dated and no one wants anything to do with them. And no one in a position of power to fix it has recognized the issue anyways. Evidence by the FAQs telling the user to use recent hardware and adjust the buffering times or DMA settings or interlace settings. That's not where the problem is. Too bad because I liked VLC and have used it for ages and only ran into this now when putting my vintage DVDs on an HTPC.

The hot format & codec of the day is MP4/MKV and h265 respectively it would seem. Whatever streaming services and smartphones are using. But if you want smooth DVD and VOB playback..
MPC-BE
MPC-HC
Kodi
..are worth looking into. And there are likely others. They played silky smooth on my old and new hardware. Right out of the box with no adjusting.

Thanks. I'll try them.