How to Repair CCTV Video Footage? – A Complete Guide!

CCTV footage plays a crucial role in security, investigation, and legal evidence. But the issues arise when the video becomes unplayable, blurry, or corrupted. It occurs due to various reasons that lead the homeowners, businesses, and security professionals into a stressful situation.

If you are one of those who are facing the issue, then this blog is for you.

Here, you will get to know about the root causes and practical solutions to repair CCTV video footage without compromising video quality. No matter whether you are handling home security or professional surveillance systems, this guide serves them all.

What are the Reasons Behind the Damaged CCTV Video Footage?

Here are several reasons behind CCTV videos not playing out. Check them out to understand the issue more clearly.

• Unsupported CCTV video formats.
• Power failure during the recording.
• Faulty or Overheating issues in storage media.
• Network and frame rate issues can cause this error.
• DVR/NVR system crashes often corrupt the recorded files.

Try These Initial Checks Before You Repair CCTV Video Footage!

Here are the essential steps that you must perform before repairing the video footage.

Step 1. Play the video on the original DVR/NVR device

Connect a monitor directly to the DVR/NVR to check if the video plays smoothly. If yes, the issue is with the media player.

Step 2. Use Different System or PC

Sometimes, a video playback issue arises due to codec or driver problems that are specific to the system.

How to Fix CCTV Videos Not Playing Issues Manually?

Go through this section to find the most appropriate native solutions to fix the CCTV footage playback issues.

Solution 1. Repair CCTV Video Footage via Compatible Media Player

Standard media players generally fail to play CCTV video footage. So, try the steps below to solve this:

Step 1. Identify the file format of your CCTV video footage.

Step 2. Download the compatible media player on the system.

Step 3. Open the video in the recently downloaded player.

Step 4. Check if it plays or not in that media player.

Solution 2. Convert CCTV Video to a Standard Format

Converting the video to another format is best when it plays but stutters. Here’s how:

Step 1. Use the DVR built-in export or conversion utility.

Step 2. Select MP4 or AVI as the output video format.

Step 3. You can convert these files easily with VLC or another media player.

Step 4. Try to play the converted video file on your system.

Note: If the video footage is already corrupted, then this method will lead to permanent damage to the file.

Solution 3. Resolve File System Errors on CCTV Storage

Logical file system issues can also trigger the CCTV video footage playback errors. Fix them with the following steps:

Step 1. Reboot the system to remove temporary software conflicts.

Step 2. Check the physical connections and power supply.

Step 3. Verify the drive status using System Settings> Storage> HDD Manage option.

Step 4. Run the Disk Check utility to diagnose for bad sectors.

Step 5. Connect the drive to the system if the DVR/NVR is unable to fix the error.

Step 6. Recover all the videos from the drive to a safe location.

Step 7. Then, format the hard drive to resolve the file system errors and bad sectors.

Solution 4. Recover CCTV Footage from DVR/NVR Hard Drive

Sometimes, the DVR hard drive is the issue which leads to CCTV video not playing error. So, recover the video footages immediately with these steps:

Step 1. Power off the DVR/NVR devices completely.

Step 2. Remove the internal hard drive carefully.

Step 3. Carefully, connect the removed drive to the system via SATA/USB adapter.

Step 4. Scan the entire drive and recover CCTV footage to a secure location.

Note: Never use the same drive to store the video footage.

Advanced Solution: Repair Damaged CCTV Videos Instantly!

All the above-mentioned methods will help you to repair CCTV video footage easily. If not, then the video file is severely corrupted or damaged. In that case, using the Recoveryfix Video tool will be the best option.

Our Video Repair tool fixes the video headers, frame indexes, metadata, and audio-video sync issues without any manual efforts. It supports the batch repair process of all the popular video formats, such as MP4, 3GP, MOV, AVI, FLV, M4V, WEBM, and many more.

Free Download

Smart Ways to Protect CCTV Footage From Errors & Corruption!

Here are the expert tips to keep your CCTV recordings safe for future purposes:

• Always use surveillance-grade hard drives.
• Establish stable and consistent power backup.
• Avoid forced or abrupt shutdowns.
• Make sure that the firmware is up to date.
• Export and backup CCTV video footage regularly.

Closing Insights

Hopefully, you are now able to repair CCTV video footage with the provided methods. The clear and stepwise instructions will help you execute the procedures without any assistance.

If the manual solution fails to resolve the CCTV video not playing issues, then switch to the recommended solution. It brings back the colour, clarity, and other attributes of video files to their original state.