How to Change Video Playback Settings in Windows 10

A number of apps, both UWP (Universal Windows Platform) and third-party, use the Windows 10 built-in video platform. UWP apps are the ones that come preloaded to your system with Windows, like Photos and Movies & TV. Third-party apps using the video platform are Netflix and Hulu, among others.

You can change video playback settings for apps that use the video playback platform to enhance your experience and to ensure that things are set as per your preference. These settings can easily be changed, but one must have a clear understanding of the tools. Windows 10 also offers to option to optimize video settings for enhanced battery life.

You can change video playback settings from Windows Settings and the Power Options on your Windows 10 PC. We will discuss both the methods.

Changing Video Playback from Windows 10 Settings

Right-click on the Start Menu and then select ‘Settings’ from the Quick Access Menu.

Select ‘Apps’ in settings to change the video playback settings.

In apps settings, search for the ‘Video playback’ section on the left, and then click on it.

The very first thing you will come across in the video playback settings is a small video. This video is used to check how the changes you make in settings will affect the video quality. This feature saves a lot of time since you don’t have to switch to another app to monitor the effect of change in playback settings on video quality. Click on the triangular sign at the bottom-left corner of the video to play it.

HDR Settings

If your display device is capable of HDR, you can enable it and enhance that video quality. In case you connect another monitor to your system that supports HDR, click on ‘Windows HD Color settings’ to select it.

In Windows HD Color settings, click on the box under ‘Chose display’ to select another display device connected to your system. The display capabilities of the device are mentioned right under the ‘Chose display’ option.

Enhancing Video Quality & Videos at Lower Resolution Setting

The next video playback setting you can change is ‘Automatically process video to enhance it’. If you enable it by clicking on the toggle, your system will enhance the video quality. This feature depends on your system hardware capabilities as it uses the GPU to process the video and enhance it.

If you want to save network bandwidth by playing videos at a lower resolution, tick the checkbox right behind ‘I prefer video to play at a lower resolution’. It’s an individual choice since it depends on the user’s preference and use.

Battery Options

You can also select whether you want to optimize for battery life or video quality when on battery power. You can select the option for video quality by clicking on the box, and then selecting it from the menu.

If you want to optimize for battery life, you will have further options to chose from for optimizing the battery life.

In case you have enabled the enhance video option from above, you can select whether you want it to be on battery power or not. Since this feature relies on the GPU, it consumes more battery power, and you will run out of it sooner than before. If you select the checkbox, Windows will not process your video when your device is plugged in and not on battery power.

To enhance the battery life, you can select the checkbox to enable the last option. This option will only be visible if you have not selected the checkbox for ‘I prefer video to play at a lower resolution’ from above.

You can also optimize for video quality when on battery power. If you select this, the battery will drain faster, but the video quality will not be affected by it. If your work revolves around videos, or you cannot compromise on video quality, select this option.

Use Power Options to Change Video Playback Settings

You can also select whether you want to optimize battery life or video quality in ‘Power Option’.

To access it, search for ‘Edit power plan’ in the search menu and then click on it.

The power settings of your system will be displayed. Click on ‘Change advanced power settings’.

The ‘Power Options’ dialog box will open. Now double-click on the ‘Multimedia settings’ settings to expand it or click on the plus sign. Now, select ‘Video playback quality bias’ from the list of options. You can now customize the video performance, both on battery power and when plugged in.

Click on the box right next to ‘On battery’ to make the changes. The options here are similar to ‘optimize for battery life’ and ‘optimize for video quality’ as discussed above. The first option focuses on battery performance while the second one on video quality.

You can similarly change the settings for when your system is plugged in. After you have modified things as per your preference, click on ‘Apply’ and then on ‘OK’ at the bottom.