Would love to hear from people who actually use IINA regularly!

Mac
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I’ve been testing IINA on my Apple Silicon Mac for MKV, MP4, and HEVC files.
Has anyone else run into this issue? How often does it happen for you, and do you have any workarounds? I’m curious how others are handling audio reliability in IINA.

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Testing IINA With Real Files on macOS

I installed IINA on my Apple Silicon Mac to use as my primary video player for a few weeks. My library is mostly MKV and MP4 files, a mix of H.264 and HEVC, often with multiple audio tracks and subtitles. I wanted to see how it handles daily playback, not just isolated test clips.

Overall, it handled most formats easily. But one issue kept surfacing: videos playing with no sound.

:desktop_computer: How It Feels to Use

From the start, I noticed how closely IINA follows macOS design conventions. The interface respects Dark Mode, supports Picture-in-Picture, and responds naturally to trackpad gestures.

The layout is minimal. Playback controls appear when needed and disappear when not. The preferences panel exposes deeper controls without overwhelming the main window.

It feels built for macOS rather than ported from another system.

:control_knobs: Playback Controls & Format Handling

In daily use, I relied on:

  • Subtitle management (timing, styling, multiple tracks)

  • Playback speed adjustment

  • Aspect ratio correction

  • Video rotation

  • Deinterlacing

These features worked consistently. Subtitle syncing was straightforward. Switching between embedded audio tracks was quick — when audio worked properly.

Format support is broad. I tested MKV, MP4, MOV, and AVI containers. HEVC and high-bitrate files opened without asking for additional codecs. This is likely due to the mpv-based backend, which gives it wide compatibility.

For most files, playback was smooth and responsive.

:speaker_high_volume: The No-Sound Problem

The main issue I encountered was audio not playing on certain videos.

The pattern wasn’t random. It happened most often with:

  • MKV files containing multiple audio tracks

  • HEVC videos with AAC or DTS audio

  • Files where the default audio track wasn’t the first listed

The video would start normally. Picture was fine. Subtitles loaded. But there was no sound.

When this happened, I had to manually open the audio track menu and switch tracks. Sometimes that restored audio. Other times I had to pause, reload the file, or restart the app.

This did not affect every file. Standard MP4 files with a single audio track usually worked without issue. But with larger MKV movies, especially those with multiple language tracks, the problem appeared often enough that I started checking audio settings immediately after pressing play.

The practical impact was simple: it interrupted playback. Instead of starting a movie and watching it, I had to troubleshoot.

It didn’t make the player unusable, but it reduced reliability. If I open a file and press play, I expect both video and audio to work automatically.

:rocket: Performance & System Usage

Outside the audio issue, playback performance was stable.

  • 4K HEVC files played smoothly on Apple Silicon

  • Seeking through large files was responsive

  • Subtitles stayed synchronized

Battery consumption varied. On lightweight files, power usage seemed moderate. On longer HDR or high-bitrate sessions, battery drain increased. It wasn’t extreme, but noticeable during extended viewing.

Resource usage felt slightly heavier than very minimal players, though manageable on modern Macs.

:money_bag: Pricing & Availability

IINA is free and open-source. There are no paid tiers, no feature restrictions, and no upgrade prompts.

It is macOS-only, which is fine for single-platform users but limits cross-device workflows.

:counterclockwise_arrows_button: Considering Alternatives

Because of the recurring audio behavior, I tested a few other players.

With Elmedia Player, playback started with audio consistently during my tests. It also supports a wide range of formats, includes subtitle controls, playback speed adjustment, and additional audio customization options such as equalizer controls. Its interface exposes more controls directly in the player window, and it follows a commercial model with a Pro version.

I also used QuickTime Player for comparison. QuickTime is more limited in supported formats and does not include advanced playback customization. The interface is simpler and less modern. However, for standard MP4 and MOV files, playback — including audio — worked reliably. Since it comes pre-installed on macOS, it’s an immediate fallback for basic content.

Each player emphasizes different trade-offs between format flexibility, interface design, and reliability.

:chequered_flag: Final Verdict

IINA handles modern video formats well and integrates cleanly with macOS. However, the recurring no-sound issue with certain multi-track videos reduced confidence in automatic playback.

If your library includes many MKV files with multiple audio tracks, it’s worth testing IINA with your own content to see how it behaves. For standard files, it works as expected. For more complex encodings, reliability may vary depending on the file structure.

1 Like
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I hit the same thing on IINA on Apple Silicon, some files mute, others fine, same as what @mikeappsreviewer described. Their track switching trick works sometimes, but for me the more reliable fixes were a bit different.

Things to try that are not just “pick another audio track”:

  1. Reset audio output per file
    • Play the broken file.
    • Menu bar, Playback, Audio, Output Device.
    • Make sure it is set to “Default” or directly to your speakers or headphones, not something stale like a disconnected monitor.
    IINA sometimes sticks to an output that does not exist anymore.

  2. Disable “Exclusive mode” style behavior
    • Preferences, Audio.
    • Turn off any options tied to “Exclusive”, “Direct” or “Bypass system mixer” if you see them.
    When IINA tried to take over the audio device, some files went silent until I closed Safari or other apps that were also using sound.

  3. Check audio filters and volume normalization
    • While the video plays, open the right sidebar, Audio tab.
    • Disable EQ, normalization, replay gain and any custom audio filters.
    I had one file where the filter chain pushed volume to near zero. No error, just silence.

  4. Force a different audio output format
    Some multi track MKVs with DTS or weird AAC layouts misbehave.
    • Preferences, Advanced, open “Edit mpv config”.
    • Add a line:
    audio-channels=stereo
    • Save, restart IINA.
    This forces downmix to stereo. Helped with 5.1 tracks that refused to play on my MacBook speakers.

  5. Turn off hardware decoding for a test
    It sounds like a video thing, but mpv backends sometimes couple hardware decode and certain audio paths.
    • Preferences, Video, uncheck “Hardware decoding”.
    • Restart IINA, test the same file.
    If audio suddenly works, you hit a codec or driver quirk. You can leave hardware decode off for problem files only.

  6. Check if the track is unsupported, not muted
    For files with DTS, EAC3 or TrueHD:
    • Press “i” while playing to show codec info, or use Menu, Window, Media Info.
    • If you see an audio codec that macOS does not normally support and no audio is heard in IINA, that is usually a decode pipeline issue.
    In my setup, some DTS tracks played in VLC and Elmedia Player but stayed silent in IINA no matter the track switch.

  7. Clean configuration and test vanilla
    Sometimes older configs mess things up after IINA updates.
    • Quit IINA.
    • Move these folders somewhere else temporarily:
    ~/Library/Application Support/com.colliderli.iina
    ~/Library/Preferences/com.colliderli.iina.plist
    • Start IINA again, it will behave like a fresh install.
    Test one of the files that had no audio. If it works now, it was a config problem.

  8. Try the same file in Elmedia Player
    Since you already know it works in other players, I would grab Elmedia Player and test the exact same MKV or MP4.
    • If Elmedia Player plays audio every time, you know your system, output device and the file are fine.
    That points to an IINA specific issue, not macOS or hardware.

Where I slightly disagree with @mikeappsreviewer is I did not see this tied only to multi audio track MKVs. I had a couple of single track HEVC MP4s with AC3 that went mute until I reset the config and forced stereo output. So I would not assume it is only complex files.

If after trying the steps above the same file keeps going silent in IINA but works in Elmedia Player, I would keep IINA for stuff where its features help, and use Elmedia Player as the default for anything with DTS, TrueHD or a lot of tracks. That split setup avoided the random “no sound” surprises for me.

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I hit this exact thing with IINA on an M1 MBP and it drove me nuts for a while. Video perfect, subs fine, totally silent audio on random files, same as what @mikeappsreviewer and @espritlibre described.

Since they already covered track switching, output device, config reset, etc., here are a few different angles that helped me:

  1. Check IINA’s “Per-file” overrides
    IINA can remember per-file or per-extension settings and silently apply them. If you ever messed with audio on one file, it can stick in weird ways.
    • Open a silent file in IINA
    • Menu: Playback → Playback Settings
    • Look for anything with a “Reset to default” button for audio-related stuff (volume, audio delay, filters, track selection) and reset it
    I had a few MKVs where IINA had remembered an invalid audio track index, so every time I opened similar files, it auto-selected a dead track.

  2. Turn off “Restore last playback settings” for testing
    This one is sneaky:
    • Preferences → General
    • Temporarily disable anything like “Remember playback settings” or “Resume last playback”
    Then quit IINA, reopen, and try a problem file. If it suddenly has sound, IINA was just re-applying some broken state from a previous session.

  3. Kill any virtual / aggregate audio devices
    If you ever installed things like BlackHole, Loopback, Soundflower, aggregate devices, etc., IINA sometimes “locks on” to a device that technically exists but does not actually output anything.
    • Open macOS Audio MIDI Setup
    • Delete or disable unused virtual or aggregate devices
    • Then, in IINA, set audio output back to “System default” and restart the app
    IINA would occasionally choose a virtual device that QuickTime ignored, so other players had sound while IINA was effectively talking to the void.

  4. Check macOS per-app volume (yes, it’s a thing now)
    On newer macOS versions there is per-app volume in Control Center.
    • Play the video in IINA
    • Click the volume icon / Control Center → Sound
    • Look for IINA and make sure its slider is not all the way down or muted
    I had IINA turned down there from a previous screen-share session and forgot; other players were fine so it looked like an “IINA bug”.

  5. Watch out for Bluetooth device weirdness
    IINA seems more sensitive to flaky devices in my experience than, say, QuickTime.
    • If you are on AirPods / BT headphones, switch to built‑in speakers, then back
    • Toggle Bluetooth off and on, then relaunch IINA
    I had several “no audio” cases that were really just a half-disconnected BT headset that other apps silently fell back from, but IINA didn’t.

  6. Disable passthrough formats in macOS and IINA
    If you use an HDMI monitor or receiver:
    • In Audio MIDI Setup, pick your HDMI device and set it to 2ch 48 kHz
    • In IINA’s audio preferences, disable passthrough or bitstreaming for AC3/DTS if you ever enabled it
    Some of my files with AC3 would go silent only in IINA because it tried to bitstream to a TV that did not actually support decoding it, while Elmedia Player and QuickTime downmixed to stereo.

  7. Look for a consistent pattern in the broken files
    Instead of treating it as “random”, note:
    • Container: MKV vs MP4
    • Audio codec: AAC, AC3, DTS, TrueHD, etc.
    • Number of audio tracks
    If every silent file has, say, DTS or TrueHD, that is usually not you, that is the decode path. In those cases, I stopped fighting and just opened them in Elmedia Player which handled those tracks more consistently for me.

  8. Accept a 2‑player workflow for sanity
    Personal solution after wasting too many evenings:
    • IINA as main player for simple MP4 / single-track stuff
    • Elmedia Player for “complicated” files (multi-track MKV, DTS, TrueHD, Atmos, etc.)
    Elmedia Player has been much more boring, in a good way: same files, audio every time, no random silence. If IINA opens something and I do not hear audio in the first second, I just close it and reopen the file in Elmedia Player instead of debugging.

Where I’d gently disagree with @mikeappsreviewer a bit: in my case it was not always tied to multiple tracks. I had totally vanilla single-track MP4s go silent because of remembered per-file settings and the macOS per-app volume thing. So even “simple” files can break once IINA’s state gets weird.

Bottom line: if you try the per-file reset + disable remembered settings + clean up audio devices and it still happens with the same file that works in other players, I would treat it as an IINA quirk and just use Elmedia Player for that file or that whole category. Life’s too short to spend every movie night inside the Audio tab.

5

Couple of extra angles that haven’t really been touched yet, in case you’re still getting silent files in IINA even after trying what @espritlibre, @vrijheidsvogel and @mikeappsreviewer suggested:

  1. Check if IINA is starting muted per-file
    Sometimes IINA silently remembers per-file volume at 0.
    • Open a problem video
    • Press 0 (zero) a few times to hard‑reset volume to 100% inside IINA
    • Then use 9 / 0 to see if volume actually changes
    I’ve seen cases where the on‑screen volume overlay looks fine, but mpv’s internal volume was stored as 0 for that specific file.

  2. Disable auto audio track selection logic
    I slightly disagree with the idea that this is always about codecs. IINA’s “smart” selection can misfire.
    • Preferences → Advanced → “mpv config”
    • Add:
    alang=
    aid=auto
    This basically tells it not to be clever about language and just pick the first valid track. Helped with weird MKVs that had commentary tracks first.

  3. Turn off “Silence audio on seek / pause” types of filters
    Some mpv configs or old IINA presets include things that temporarily mute during seek and then never unmute if something glitches.
    • In the same config window, check for any custom af= lines or scripts you may have imported
    • Comment them out with # and relaunch IINA

  4. Look for external audio device sample rate mismatch
    For USB DACs / interfaces:
    • Open Audio MIDI Setup
    • Set the device to 48 kHz, 2 ch
    IINA + mpv are a bit less forgiving than QuickTime if the device is on an exotic rate like 96 kHz while the file uses 48 kHz. Other apps quietly resample, IINA sometimes just outputs nothing.

  5. Test with a completely separate user account
    To rule out weird per‑user caches and audio permissions:
    • Create a new macOS user
    • Install IINA fresh there, do not import any prefs
    • Open a “known bad” file from a shared location
    If it works there every time, the issue is almost guaranteed to be local prefs, launch agents, or audio tools tied to your main account.

  6. Check sandbox / permissions conflicts
    If you run security tools that hook into audio (recorders, stream overlays, some privacy tools), try quitting them all and then launching IINA alone. IINA’s mpv backend sometimes does not like being wrapped by recorders that intercept system audio.

If after all that the same files are still unpredictably mute in IINA but fine elsewhere, at that point I stop fighting the player.

On that front, Elmedia Player is a good “boring” alternative:

Pros of Elmedia Player

  • Much more consistent audio on tricky MKV and DTS / TrueHD tracks in practice
  • Handles multi‑audio setups without the cryptic mpv config layer
  • Nice built‑in audio controls (EQ, per‑track tweaks) with a visible UI
  • Less fiddly about odd HDMI / receiver setups

Cons of Elmedia Player

  • Some advanced features sit behind the Pro upgrade
  • Interface is busier than IINA, not as minimal
  • Not open source, so you are tied to their release cycle and choices
  • No mpv-style deep tweaking if you like editing config files

Personally I keep both: IINA for when I want the clean UI and mpv power, Elmedia Player as the default for “unknown” downloads or anything with complex audio. The others here leaned on track switching and output resets; I think the core takeaway is that once you hit this no‑audio pattern with IINA a few times, using a second player is often faster than chasing the perfect mpv setting.