Question: I just set up a server and ran some sample video tests, but for some reason the video is showing characters and numbers instead of pixels. Here is an image of how I see it:

[![https://i.stack.imgur.com/KlOnO.png](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KlOnO.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KlOnO.png)

Do you think it has anything to do with the video card configuration, or could it be a simple matter of setting VLC's properties correctly?

I can't install any other video player at the moment because I don't have administrator privileges, so I am stuck with VLC.

Answer: 
VLC supports playing back videos as ASCII art (it does the conversion on the fly). Check your VLC settings, and ensure you choose something other than ASCII output.

*The screenshot is Windows, but it's essentially the same in other operating systems.*

**NOTE:** It's also possible that VLC is falling back to a display mode that will actually work in your setup. If you're running VLC through a terminal emulator or some kind of remoting/client-server setup, then ASCII might be the only display mode that VLC has established will work.

[![VLC Video Settings](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vszbd.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/vszbd.jpg)
### Could it be a simple matter of setting VLC's properties correctly?

You have selected "Color ASCII art video output" in your "Preferences" > "Video Settings".

To fix this:

1. Select the menu "Tools" > "Preferences" or press `Ctrl``P`.
2. Select the "Video" tab.
3. Change "Output" from "Color ASCII art video output" to "Automatic".

[![Where to change the output setting](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1nhF8.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1nhF8.png)
4. Click "Save".
5. Restart VLC.