The VideoLAN Forums

Hi !!

I just downloaded a movie in .ts format ... It's 400MB & 360p resolution. The file plays smoothly in Windows Media Player.

However, in VLC when I load the file, the handle to drag the timeline takes almost 5 seconds to appear. Thereafter when I drag to any spot in the timeline it takes about 5 seconds or more to begin playing and displaying the video. The video gets stuck & stutters.

If I just leave it to play, it take some 10 seconds to begin but then plays fine. But, if I scrub down the timeline, it sort of freezes for 5 to 10 seconds before resuming playback.

Once again, everything works flawlessly in Windows Media Player.

All my other files & formats mp4, mkv, etc. play flawlessly. Even 4k files of well over 2gb play perfect.

Laptop specs: Intel i7 (3rd gen), 1tb ssd, 16gb Ram, 2gb Nvidia GPU.

I'm running Photoshop & Lightroom flawlessly too. I figure my laptop has more than sufficient horse power.

Any ideas anyone?

TS is a format for storing video on DVDs. Try converting the file to MP4 by clicking Media ---> Convert/Save.
Click Add and navigate to your video and then click Convert/Save. Vlc will automatically choose the MP4 format. Browse to the destination and then click Start.

You might want to make a copy of your video first.

Thx!! I appreciate the reply & solution.

Is there any particular reason though, that Windows Media Player plays it smoothly while VLC stutters & struggles.

After all, I do know VLC to be a far superior Media Player software.

Is there no way VLC can play "ts" files smoothly?

Warm Regards.

Thx!! I appreciate the reply & solution.

Is there any particular reason though, that Windows Media Player plays it smoothly while VLC stutters & struggles.

After all, I do know VLC to be a far superior Media Player software.

Is there no way VLC can play "ts" files smoothly?

Warm Regards.

I'm not familiar with the inner workings of WMP I'm afraid so I can't answer your question in that respect.

360p video though is a low resolution format. It depends to some extent on what resolution you've selected to run the video on which might affect its performance. You can experiment by selecting another format to see if it will improve playback by going to Tools ---> Preferences and then click "All" at the bottom.

In the left hand panel click Input/Codecs and then in the right hand panel you'll see "Best video resolution" with the default set as "Best available". Use the dropdown arrow to select a different resolution. Click Save and then run the video to see if it makes any difference.

360p (the "p" means Progressive Scan) in 4:3 aspect ratio has a resolution of 480 x 360 while the 16:9 translates to a resolution of 640 x 360. If none of the options help, try switching "Deinterlacing" from the default "Automatic" to "On". To access it switch back to the Simple menu at the bottom and then click the Video button at the top. Deinterlacing is about halfway down the UI and has a dropdown menu with three options.

VLC used to play them buttery-smooth at one time many moons ago. Version 1.0.5 was the last one that did so.