Why does Sigma Media Player (SMP) only give black, white, pink or garbled (or other visual errors) video output?
Usually the problem lies in display adapter drivers. If you are too scared to update your display adapter drivers, you can change SMP settings to make video work.
If you are using Windows XP or older the easiest fix is usually to disable Accelerated video output / Overlay video output which can be found first opening Tools -> Preferences and then choosing Video. After you have unchecked the Accelerated video output, press Save to save SMP settings and restart SMP after that to make sure changes are enabled.
Image about above process see image Click.
If disabling Overlay video output doesn't help, then the next step is to change video output module. Open Tools -> Preferences and then choosing Video -> Output module. There are multiple output modules you can use.
Windows XP you can try DirectX 3D, DirectX, OpenGL and Windows GDI video output modules.
Windows Vista DirectX and Windows GDI output modules will disable Aero so if you want to use Aero, please use DirectX 3D (should be default).
Remember to press Save to save SMP settings and restart SMP after that to make sure changes are enabled.
Image about above process see image Click.
Video shows green, blue or red lines
See above.
When I open media file via some website the initial start of the SMP takes too long
Try clear your browser cashe.
You can clear your browser cashe by:
for IE 7 - Click
for IE 8,9 - Click
for Firefox - Click
for Google Chrome - Click
How can I adjust brightness or contrast?
You can adjust brightness, contrast and other settings via Extended settings. Open Tools -> Effects and Filter to adjust these settings (Video Effects -> Basic and tick Image adjust). Changes should show up realtime.
Audio output related questions and problems
Crackles, pops, hizzes and other audio anomalies
If you hear some unwanted audio problems you can try another audio output module to see if that solves the issue (Save and restart SMP after changes).
Open Tools -> Preferences (set Show Settings to All) and then choosing Audio -> Output module. There are multiple output modules you can use for audio. DirectX, Win32 waveOut and Simple DirectMedia Layer should work in most cases. Unfortunately there isn't an ASIO support in SMP.
Image about above process see image Click.
I don't hear dialog, conversations etc. while playing 5.1 audio
Make sure you have select proper speaker setup from Windows audio settings or from soundcard control panel. If you have done so, make sure VLC also has right settings. Audio -> Audio Device to select proper speaker settings during playback.
Image about above process see image Click.
How do I change my output device in case I have multiple audio devices connected to my PC?
Open Tools -> Preferences (set Show Settings to All) and if you use DirectX, then Audio -> Output modules -> DirectX and Output device. If you use Waveout, then Audio -> Output modules -> WaveOut and Select Audio Device.
Remember to press Save to save SMP settings and restart SMP after that to make sure changes are enabled.
Subtitles related questions and problems
How do I adjust subtitle delay?
During playback you can press h or g to adjust subtitle delay (adjust step is 50 ms).
Can I disable hardcoded or "burned" subtitles with SMP?
No.
How can I change subtitles text encoding?
If you see wrong characters on screen or failed to convert subtitle encoding error message you should try to change Subtitles text encoding option which can be found from Tools -> Preferences (set Show Settings to All) and Input / Codecs -> Other codecs -> Subtitles.
Remember to press Save to save SMP settings and restart SMP after that to make sure changes are enabled.
General problems and issues
How do I reset SMP settings?
If you can start SMP, go to Tools -> Preferences and then press Reset Preferences and Save to reset and save SMP settings.
Remember to restart SMP after that to make sure changes are enabled.
SMP crashes on startup
This usually happens because SMP setting files have been corrupted. Resetting SMP settings should fix this.
Can SMP burn CD, DVD, HD DVD or Blu-ray discs?
No.
Can I run multiple SMP instances?
Yes you can. Go to Tools / Preference and uncheck Allow only one instance box.
Image about above process see image Click.
Fixing Strange Behaviour
The first thing to do is to reset the SMP preferences in the preferences dialog of the application and restart SMP, or try to delete %appdata%/smp folder. If it does not get any better, ask for help using our contact form.
How do I exit Full Screen mode?
Hit the ESC key.
SMP crashes during playing video?
Try to change video output in Tools/Preferences. Try different options till you find the right for your case.
SMP suddenly non-responsive
Try to delete %appdata%/smp folder