How to Fix Pixelated or Grainy Videos Instantly

Can you guess what is in a pixelated picture? Neither can I. Pixelated video is not the same as blurred video. The image above was an example of a pixelated video, wherein pixels and colors are not showing properly, making it impossible to understand.

If you have watched a pixelated video before, you would know how annoying it is to miss out on the action on the screen while the audio is still rolling in.

The good news is you do not have to settle for just hearing the video's audio. There is a simple way to fix pixelated videos, and guess what? You do not have to be a data recovery expert or a video editing guru!

Save your time and effort by following the three methods in this article. Don't just take our word for it. Give it a try and see for yourself.

Part 1. Why are Videos Pixelated and Grainy?

Videos may be pixelated and grainy for a couple of reasons. The possible reasons are the following:

• • Video is corrupted
• • Video was compressed
• • The video format is incompatible with the playback device
• • The video was shot in a dark environment
• • The video was shot with non-optimal camera settings
• • The video was shot from cameras designed for quantity, not quality, such as webcams, dash cams, CCTVs, etc.
• • The video was shot from cameras with small sensors (such as smartphone cameras)

Part 2. How to Fix Pixelated and Grainy Videos?

Method 1. Easy Way: Use AnyMP4 Video Repair

AnyMP4 Video Repair is an easy-to-use software that can fix broken, corrupted, damaged, or unplayable videos. It works well with any video resolution and videos from any device.

This software fully automates the process of fixing videos, with an incredibly high success rate, and handles your data and videos in the safest way possible so you can have peace of mind.

AnyMP4 understands the value of your time, effort, and safety, so we highly recommend this app for your video repair needs.

To repair the pixelated video with AnyMP4 Video Repair, Download it now:

1. Run AnyMP4 Video Repair and click the + button on the left to add your pixelated video. Select the video you want to fix.

2. Click the + button on the right to add a sample video with the same video format as the pixelated video. There are two ways of getting the right video:

Way 1. Shoot a new video using the same used in the pixelated video sample

Way 2. Find an undamaged video with the same format. Getting a video shot from the same device over the internet also works.

3. Once you have loaded the sample video, click Repair. It will only take a few seconds to minutes for the repair process to finish, then you’re done! You can preview or save your file to your desired destination.

Try these three simple steps and see how easy it is to fix pixelated videos with AnyMP4. Aside from the app's accessibility, it also champions reliability and effectiveness with an astounding 99.9% success rate.

Method 2. Alternative Way: Using VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a free multimedia player that can play almost any audio or video format. Aside from being a video player, VLC Media Player can convert videos and fix damaged or incomplete AVI files. What if the video format is NOT AVI?

Phase 1. Convert the video to AVI.

If your video format is already AVI, skip to Phase 2

1. Open the Media dropdown and select Convert / Save.

2. Click the + Add and select the non-AVI video you want to convert. Next, click the Convert / Save dropdown and select Convert.

3. From the Profile row, click the right-most button to Create a new profile.

4. Select the AVI button under the Encapsulation tab. Feel free to name the profile however you want.

5. Edit the Video Codec tab and the Audio Codec tab. Check the tick boxes for Video Codec and Audio Codec, then set the encoding parameters as shown in the images below. You can play around with the encoding parameters as you see fit.

Note: The video's file size may change as we set these encoding parameters.

6. Select the new profile we just made at the bottom of the Profile dropdown. In my case, it’s AVI.

7. After selecting the profile, select your file destination and change the end of the file name to .avi. Finally, click Start to convert the video.

Wait for VLC Media Player to finish converting your video to AVI. DO NOT close VLC Media Player until the conversion is complete.

Phase 2. Fix the. AVI video file.

1. Open the Tools dropdown and select Preferences.

2. Under the Input / Codecs section, Find the Damaged or incomplete AVI file dropdown and change Ask for action into Always to fix.

3. Click Save. We can now load the AVI videos we converted earlier.

Surprisingly, we can also fix videos with VLC Media Player. However, it requires some effort and knowledge, especially when setting the right encoding parameters for the pixelated video. After converting the video to AVI, there is also no guarantee that the media player will be able to fix the pixelated video.

Method 3. Alternative Way: Using Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is a popular tool for creating stunning animations and cool visual effects. Unsurprisingly, this software can also fix pixelated videos to some degree

However, After Effects is not the easiest tool to master, not the most affordable software to buy or subscribe to, and learning it can be time-consuming. Nonetheless, learning this app can be very rewarding if you are video editing as a hobby or for a living.

To increase the resolution (to fix some level of pixelation):

1. Increase the Composition Size to your desired size.

2. Apply a Detail-Preserving Upscale to your video, then adjust the Scale to fit the composition. You may click Fit to Comp Width or Fit to Comp Height.

3. Experiment around the Reduce Noise and Detail to achieve the best results.

Note: There are other plugins for After Effects that may produce a better result than the Detail-Preserving Upscale, which is purchasable.

If you are trying to fix blurry videos, Adobe After Effects might be the right app. With After Effects, you can improve the quality of videos that previously had poor resolution. Do note that there is a limit to how much After Effects can improve the video quality as it is still dependent on the quality of the original video.

Conclusion

VLC Media Player is a free-to-use software with limited capabilities in fixing videos, primarily designed to play media well. On the other hand, Adobe After Effects is a premium software that allows us to sharpen blurry videos and fix grainy ones. However, repairing faulty video files is not the most cost-effective option.

We recommend using AnyMP4 Video Repair as it is the easiest and most effective software for addressing our pixelated video issues. Still, try all these options and see which suits your needs best!