Distorted Sound From Laptop Speakers When Using VLC Media Player

The VLC audio player can cause issues with speaker playback, refer to the steps to help resolve audio issues while using VLC Media Player (India, Vietnam) and BaoFeng, Xunlei, SheShou and Baidu media players (China).

When using VLC Media Player, volume can be increased to maximum output. This eventually distorts the speaker output.

If audio/video playback is continuously done using VLC Media Player with volume higher than 100% over a period of time, even if the volume is kept at a lower level later, sound would be distorted. This distortion is permanent.

Some audio applications like VLC Media Player will allow large power output through speaker, approximately 200% to 400% of original sound output. In this situation, excessive usage may damage the speaker.

If you are using VLC or any other amplification software, follow these steps.

• Update the audio drivers from Dell.com/support/drivers. Installing Microsoft Windows or Ubuntu will use only the native device drivers.
• Update the BIOS to the latest version. To learn more, see the Dell knowledge base article Dell BIOS Updates.
• Ensure that the audio output from media players like VLC Media Player does not exceed 100% and the internal audio does not exceed 95%.
• Use audio files with a bitrate of 320kbps for optimum quality and disable all audio enhancement.

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