Dark video in VLC - OK in medie player

[tkterje]

I have a problem, hope you can help me.

When I play videos in VLC it is very dark, and its the same problem in every format (mpeg,avi,wmv,dvd etc.) The same videos is working correctly in other players like Mediaplayer, Windvd etc.

Never had this problem before, this happend after I formated and reinstalled WinXP.

Help

[DJ]

It is quite normal for the video to be on the dark side when you have a comfort level for Windows GDI. You can adjust the Overlay options of your video card as this effects all players. VLC will also pick these setting up when it opens. You can also use the Extended GUI to make changes. This uses real filters so it will not effect your overlay settings.

[tkterje]

I tried to adjust the settings in the extended GUI, whitout getting i good quality. But when i tried to do a image clone, the clone is good quality and the orginal still dark. Why?

I can not use the settings the video card cause all other video players are working perfect.

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[DJ]

Many cards don't support the use of video acceleration for the second monitor and you should probably shut off the "Overlay video" option in Preferences, Video.

Cloning is not recommended here at the video card level as generally it creates problems over time or length of the video. Like in a playlist or in looping.

[tkterje]

It is working now. thank you for help DJ. Something had happened to my overlay preferences.

[DJ]

Some video games store info.. where they shouldn't and resetting the video card generally resolves the issue.

[calintz]

Hey I got the exact same problem. The colours are waaaay off (image is very red) and sometimes the colours are inverted. Turning off the overlay doesnt help, so I tried restarting. This worked and the colours are correct however it was now pretty dark. I disabled the video overlay and now its not as dark although it doesnt feel "normal". The colours look dull and washed out a bit. I tried messing around with the graphics card settings (hue, saturation, brightness etc) though none of them seem to get the image any better.

It used to run perfectly however I reformatted 2 days ago and now it wont work correctly.

[DJ]

Video drivers are most often the issue. But quite often over looked in a reinstall is the AGP or PCIe drivers that don't come with the operating system and more often than not, don't come with video card updates.

These are available from your motherboard Manufacture and are specific to the chip set.

[Indigo]

Hi all,

I was just about to post the same question as this... good thing I did a searc first.

When I play a tv show on VLC... it is very dark but when I play it on WMP it is also dark but I am able to adjust the brightness very easily.

I checked preferences and can't find the brightness function. I found one in video but already maxed out at "2" setting.

Please advise if there is a "brightness" setting that I can adjust on VLC. I have the contrast and brightness set on my monitor at 100% and it is still very dark.

I read in a reply above that said something about "extended GUI". What is that?

I am a computer n00b so will need step by step instructions.

I appreciate any help...

Thanks

[DJ]

Settings, Extended GUI or ctrl g will open a menu. This is real time adjustment using real filters, that does not change the overlay settings on your video card. If you want to save these settings open preferences and press Save.

More often than not, adjusting the overlay settings of your video card first is the better place to start.

[calintz]

DJ, i made sure i reinstalled the drivers for my Videocard. I cant seem to figure out what the problem is. Today I gave it another try and instead of being reddish, it is infact a little too blue and dull looking. I tried playing a trailer which has a pure white image at the beggining and yes that was bluish instead of white. I remember you mentioning something about games causing problems so Ive avoided playing any game today and restarting the pc several times. No luck.

[DJ]

Restarting the PC may not clear the issue if the game has stored settings for or on the video card (generally in the registry settings for the video card). Reseting the card should clear the problem.

BTW color temperature for a CRT also effects the perceived whiteness of a monitor.

[calintz]

Ill try restarting the graphics card, but i dont know how :S

Changing the temp doesnt help either because if i make the video brigher, the desktop becomes too bright. Also its too blue.

[DJ]

If the desk top colors are also effected suggests a CRT adjustment or the color settings are not correct in the video cards utilities.

In the video cards utilities reset the card to the defaults for Color, OpenGL, Direct3D and Overlay. The and only then adjust your monitor to a comfort level or play with the color adjustments of your monitor. Once this is correct you can start with media players.

[calintz]

sorry for late reply. Yep tried that, now its completely messed up. All my videos are pink. Changing the hue just makes it more blue or red or orange or yellow etc etc.

[calintz]

ACtually i just tried reinstalling the drivers. LOL just turns the pink into some browny green colour. I tried using windows media player and that too is messed up.

EDIT:
SUCCESS!! sort of.... I put overlay back on and tweaked around with the nvidia settings after the reinstall. Its all working fine so far! Unfortunately this isnt true for DVD's. Although movie files work, when i put a DVD in, the colour is over saturated and very dark. If i play the dvd and then open a 2nd vlc window playing a movie file, the dvd window instantly turns normal. Do you know why?? Its a bit of a pain having to open another VLC's playing another movie file just so i can watch a DVD.

Thx for ur help so far DJ.

[DJ]

When the brightness is to low the picture will appear over saturated in color and of coarse to dark, but this is kinda normal for a video overlay when a comfort level has been found within Windows for the setup of your monitor.

There are several choices here, but before I start I strongly recommend resetting your video card to all of the defaults for Color, OpenGL, Direct3D and Overlay and then rebooting to be sure the defaults took.

1. Open WMP and start playing a video and adjust the Overlay settings on your video card. Generally this is a brightness only adjustment. Check several videos to be sure you have it comfortable and real bright scenes are not washed out. Remember you can't judge night scenes because this is most generally a film makers problem and LCDs have no true black only a dark shade of gray. So white balance becomes the criteria.

2. VLC will pick up the overlay settings you did with WMP and really there shouldn't be a difference here. If there is the first thing I suggest is to reset your preferences or better yet delete the preferences folder. Then try VLC again. VLC offers real filters to do color, brightness etc. in the Extended GUI. When you get it the way you want it go to preferences and press Save. The next time you open the player the settings you made should stick.

What the issue of opening the second instance of VLC is I don't know! But if you do this procedure, I would tend to believe it will disappear.

[calintz]

thx for the quick reply as always DJ.

Basically i have gone beyond resseting and just reinstalled. I cannot alter the settings in wmp (or any other program) because the settings are already absolutly perfect. After using it for a while ive figured out wat happens. Tehre seems to be two states, normal and dark. After i turn on my computer and open up something to watch it will be (for example) normal. If i were to close this and open another, (or just open another without closing the first, since the effect is still the same), any video playing will all turn dark. If i open a third, they all turn normal again. Open a forth, all dark.... and so on. I can't figure out why this is happening! Makes no sense at all.

For now i have disabled video overlay, this seems to eliminate the switching between normal and dark, but the disadvantage is that the image is a tiny tiny bit too bright (but not significantly, just being fussy) and a slight lack of quality (again only sliightly). Its just a temporary fix i guess.

[DJ]

I would venture a guess that the overlay settings for your video card are screwed up somehow and recommended resetting the card to its defaults which you obviously don't want to do because it's "perfect" in WMP. The other possibility is the number of overlays that can be opened at any given time would be a function (limitation) of your video card through directx.

Considering shutting off the overlay setting in VLC resolves this issue for you I would suggest updating your video drivers.

[calintz]

Its worse than i thought. Just played counterstrike. Then tried opening up a video. Completely screwed the brightness. Turning overlay on/off doesnt resolve it either, so i resorted to resetting the card. EVEN WORSE! now its all pink!

[DJ]

Try opening another player after resetting the card. Like playing any video file in WMP and then open VLC, does the issue still persist?

[calintz]

Basically wmp doesnt suffer from the switching of 2 states (normal and dark). Only VLc has this problem. However, like VLC, wmp also suffers from getting super screwed after playing a video game.

I think resetting the computer fixes it (it was screwed up last nite, but today seems fine), however its not really ideal to keep resetting the comp everytime i want to play a movie.

[DJ]

That answer didn't answer my question or help me to provide further info..

[calintz]

Didnt it?

I tried wmp several times and its fine. VLC has the problem of going dark sometimes. However, after playing a game BOTH wmp and vlc mess up. (This was all done after resetting).

If you mean trying on wmp and then straight away on vlc to see if that fixes it? Then no, it doesnt im afraid.

[calintz]

oh I just discovered that only counterstrike source messes up my video. Tried playing a few other games and they dont affect it at all. wierd...