diff --git a/ffplay.c b/ffplay.c
index beced86493..e3b156a4f2 100644
--- a/ffplay.c
+++ b/ffplay.c
@@ -2307,8 +2307,7 @@ static int stream_component_open(VideoState *is, int stream_index)
     opts = filter_codec_opts(codec_opts, avctx->codec_id, ic, ic->streams[stream_index], codec);
     if (!av_dict_get(opts, "threads", NULL, 0))
         av_dict_set(&opts, "threads", "auto", 0);
-    if (!codec ||
-        avcodec_open2(avctx, codec, &opts) < 0)
+    if (avcodec_open2(avctx, codec, &opts) < 0)
         return -1;
     if ((t = av_dict_get(opts, "", NULL, AV_DICT_IGNORE_SUFFIX))) {
         av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Option %s not found.\n", t->key);