How to Fix Windows Media Player Low Quality Issue (Quick Guide)

Part 1. Why Is Windows Media Player Low Quality?

It is always good to know what the real cause of the problem is before leaping to fixes. There are a number of different sources of Windows Media player low quality playback and knowing what source fits you can save a great deal of trial and error.

• Video scaling issues: WMP has a tendency to scale lower-resolution material to fit your screen. The outcome is a blurry image which is actually a lot worse than the original file.
• Missing or outdated codecs: In the absence of the appropriate codec, WMP uses a generic decoder that is not capable of decoding modern video formats correctly. The result is a blow to quality.
• Audio enhancement interference: A few of the audio effects of WMP can slightly disrupt the audio-video sync, which can make the entire experience feel out even with a picture that is technically perfect.
• Outdated or conflicting display drivers: GPU driver conflicts prevent WMP to use hardware acceleration, instead it switches to software rendering which appears significantly less impressive.
• USB drive playback limitations: Playing files directly on a USB drive can cause read-speed bottlenecks. When the file is larger than the buffering rate of WMP, it discards frames and downgrades it on the fly.
• Incorrect video renderer settings: The default Enhanced Video Renderer will perform well in most computers; however, in some older configurations the older VMR-7 or VMR-9 renderers will look much better.
• The source video is just low quality: Sometimes it’s the file itself that was recorded or downloaded at a low resolution or was over-compressed. Any amount of player settings will not add the detail that was never present in the first place, but an AI enhancer can.

You may also like:

Update OGV Codec for Windows Media Player & Convert OGV to MP4 [Full Guide]

⚡ Part 2. How to Fix Windows Media Player Low Quality Issue

Fix 1. Disable Video & Audio Enhancements in WMP

WMP comes with a bunch of built-in enhancements that are meant to improve your experience, but on a lot of systems they actually do the opposite. Turning them off is the quickest first thing to try.

• Open WMP and start playing any video.

• Click anywhere on the video window, right-click and select Enhancements. A submenu will expand showing all enhancement options.

  

• Open each panel (Video Settings, SRS WOW Effects, Crossfading, etc.) and click Turn off at the bottom-left of each panel, or set all sliders to their neutral default positions.

• For extra benefit: right-click the speaker icon in the system tray → Sounds → Playback tab → double-click your speakers → Enhancements tab → check Disable all enhancements.

In the case of audio, go to Tools, then Options and then Enhancements and deselect Use audio enhancements. This single modification corrects the poor quality feel to more individuals than you would think.

Fix 2. Adjust Video Settings Inside WMP

WMP in fact affords you greater control over its rendering and scaling of video than most people have assumed.

Adjust Video Settings:

• Play a video → right-click the video area → Enhancements → Video Settings

• Adjust Brightness, Contrast, Hue, and Saturation sliders to your preference

  

• Click "Reset all settings to default" if you want to undo changes

The changes are particularly useful in correcting Windows Media player low resolution which is caused by poor scaling as opposed to a truly poor-quality file.

Fix 3. Enhance the Quality of Original Videos with 4DDiG AI Video Enhancer

Tweaking the player will not do much when it is the video file itself that is the problem and not the settings in WMP. The 4DDiG AI Video Enhancer comes in there. It applies AI to recreate detail, sharpen edges, reduce noise, and upscale footage all the way to HD, 4K, or even 8K.

• AI-Powered Super Resolution: Upscales low-res or blurry images to HD, 4K or 8K without the hideous pixel enlargement of traditional upscaling.
• Video Denoising and Deblurring: Removes grain, compression artifacts and motion blur which accumulate in old or poorly coded video clips.
• Colorize Black and White Videos: Gives old footage the lifelike, artificially-created coloring.
• Face Enhancement: Clarifies the facial detail on a portrait and video call, which no other media player has ever imagined doing.
• Batch Processing: Allows you to process a number of videos at once, and this saves a great deal of time.
• Wide Format Support: Supports MP4, MOV, AVI and MKV, among others without the need to convert any content to any other format.

• Download and install the 4DDiG File Repair on your Windows PC. Open the app and select the tab of “AI Enhancer” on the left side panel. Choose “Video Enhancer” in the menu.

  

• Click “Add Videos” and add the low-quality videos that you need to enhance from Windows Media Player.

  

• Select your preferable resolution (HD, 4K or 8K) and select an enhancement option such as Quality First or Speed First.

  

• Press “Enhance” and leave the AI with it. Majority of the files are completed in a couple of minutes. Preview and save your improved video at any location of your choice.

  

As soon as it is completed, the video will be played in any player (including WMP) without any issues since the enhancement is embedded into the file.

Fix 4. Install a Codec Pack (K-Lite Codec Pack)

Should WMP choke on some file type, particularly MKV, HEVC, or AV1, then it is likely a missing codec that is causing you to see Windows Media Player low quality playback. This is sorted out by a good codec pack.

• Visit the K-Lite Codec Pack official site and download the Standard or Full one.

  

• Run the installer. In the option that requires you to select a player profile, choose Windows Media player.

• In codec settings screen, High quality H.264 decoding and HEVC support should be both selected.

  

• Finish the install and restart your PC.

• Open WMP, play your video, and check whether things have improved.

You can also choose LAV Filters to be used as default decoders using the K-Lite installer. These are much more efficient in dealing with the modern video formats compared to the inbuilt capabilities of WMP.

Fix 5. Force Higher Resolution / Disable Stretch-to-Fit

The default stretch-to-fit feature is one of the reasons behind Windows Media Player low resolution that is most likely to be overlooked. You play a 720p video on a 1080p monitor or a 4K and WMP will simply stretch the video to fit the window and it will look blurred. Switching this off allows WMP to play the video in its original native size.

• In the video section of the WMP, right-click anywhere and see Fit video to player on resize. In case it is checked, then do not forget to click it to enable it to be off.

• Click on View, then Video Size and choose 50 or 100 to view the video at its actual size instead of a now-stretched version.

• Alternatively, go to Actions, then Options, then Player and make sure to uncheck the Allow screen saver during playback. On certain configurations this opens the video sizing options.

• Re-open WMP and retest the video.

This is especially effective when you realize that the blurriness is only mostly occurring on larger screens or external monitors.

Part 3. What Is the Best Replacement for Windows Media Player?

Having gotten all the above fixes and still WMP fails to cut the muster, then the call to change players is sensible. The following is a simple comparison of the most popular alternatives depending on what the users actually value:

For most people, VLC is the practical choice since it plays pretty much anything at full quality right out of the box. Neither one actually improves the quality of the source file the way 4DDiG does though.

People Also Ask about Windows Media Player Low Quality Issue

Q1: Why is media player low quality on USB?

When you play a video directly off a USB drive, the read speed of the drive constrains how fast the player can draw in the information. USB 2.0 drives are particularly slow, and in this case, they cannot match the increased bitrate videos and therefore WMP will either drop frames or lower the overall quality of the decode on the fly.

The simplest solution would be to transfer the file to your hard disc and then play it or to use a USB 3.0. In case of a poor video, 4DDiG AI Video Enhancer has the ability to upscale the video and then you can play it anywhere.

Q2: How do I change the resolution in Windows Media Player?

WMP lacks a resolution that determines how a streaming service works. It simply plays whatever the file was coded on. In order to literally improve the resolution of a video, you should use a program such as 4DDiG AI Video Enhancer which uses AI to recreate the lost detail instead of merely stretching the existing pixels.

Conclusion

Trying to work how to fix Windows Media Player low quality often involves a combination of small adjustments within the playback section such as disabling enhancements, ensuring the correct codecs are installed, and scaling of video, as well as the quality of the media file itself.

In the case of videos that are literally low resolution or damaged, 4DDiG AI Video Enhancer is the best available at the moment. It is able to convert the blurry noisy footage into high-definition video with the help of AI, and the results are self-sufficient.