Is it just me, or has anyone else found that recent versions of VLC will not
resume playing of the video part of a file if the video is paused and then
resumed? The sound continues fine, but the picture is frozen. Sometimes the
picture resumes after playing for a minute or so. The only guaranteed remedy
is to stop the video (keeping VLC open) and then start playing again, moving
to the point in the file where playback stopped working.

It happens on two different PCs (Windows 7 with ASUS EAH5450 graphics, and
Windows 10 with Intel UHD / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics*). VLC support
were singularly useless and refused to log it as a bug, even after I'd
carried out the diagnostics that they requested. V2.1.5 works fine and the
fault happens with V3.0.18; I've not tried every version in between to
determine which version was the first to have the problem. I've experimented
with various values of "Output" on the Tools | Preferences | Video menu, as
well as turning on/off "Accelerated video output" and "Use hardware YUV-RGB"
(of those which successfully play video, none fixes it).

(*) Piriform "Speccy" lists both ;-)

On 20/01/2023 12:15, NY wrote:
> Is it just me, or has anyone else found that recent versions of VLC will
> not resume playing of the video part of a file if the video is paused
> and then resumed? The sound continues fine, but the picture is frozen.
> Sometimes the picture resumes after playing for a minute or so. The only
> guaranteed remedy is to stop the video (keeping VLC open) and then start
> playing again, moving to the point in the file where playback stopped
> working.
>
> It happens on two different PCs (Windows 7 with ASUS EAH5450 graphics,
> and Windows 10 with Intel UHD / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics*). VLC
> support were singularly useless and refused to log it as a bug, even
> after I'd carried out the diagnostics that they requested. V2.1.5 works
> fine and the fault happens with V3.0.18; I've not tried every version in
> between to determine which version was the first to have the problem.
> I've experimented with various values of "Output" on the Tools |
> Preferences | Video menu, as well as turning on/off "Accelerated video
> output" and "Use hardware YUV-RGB" (of those which successfully play
> video, none fixes it).
>
>
> (*) Piriform "Speccy" lists both ;-)

What kind of file is it?
Which video codec?

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

On 20/01/2023 12:15, NY wrote:
> Is it just me, or has anyone else found that recent versions of VLC will
> not resume playing of the video part of a file if the video is paused
> and then resumed? The sound continues fine, but the picture is frozen.
> Sometimes the picture resumes after playing for a minute or so. The only
> guaranteed remedy is to stop the video (keeping VLC open) and then start
> playing again, moving to the point in the file where playback stopped
> working.
>
> It happens on two different PCs (Windows 7 with ASUS EAH5450 graphics,
> and Windows 10 with Intel UHD / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics*). VLC
> support were singularly useless and refused to log it as a bug, even
> after I'd carried out the diagnostics that they requested. V2.1.5 works
> fine and the fault happens with V3.0.18; I've not tried every version in
> between to determine which version was the first to have the problem.
> I've experimented with various values of "Output" on the Tools |
> Preferences | Video menu, as well as turning on/off "Accelerated video
> output" and "Use hardware YUV-RGB" (of those which successfully play
> video, none fixes it).
>
>
> (*) Piriform "Speccy" lists both ;-)

I've not seen this - but I run Linux.

What format video files?

Andy

"Brian Gregory" <void-invalid-dead-dontuse@email.invalid> wrote in message
news:k2vf92Ffh13U1@mid.individual.net...
> On 20/01/2023 12:15, NY wrote:
>> Is it just me, or has anyone else found that recent versions of VLC will
>> not resume playing of the video part of a file if the video is paused and
>> then resumed? The sound continues fine, but the picture is frozen.
>> Sometimes the picture resumes after playing for a minute or so. The only
>> guaranteed remedy is to stop the video (keeping VLC open) and then start
>> playing again, moving to the point in the file where playback stopped
>> working.
>>
>> It happens on two different PCs (Windows 7 with ASUS EAH5450 graphics,
>> and Windows 10 with Intel UHD / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics*). VLC
>> support were singularly useless and refused to log it as a bug, even
>> after I'd carried out the diagnostics that they requested. V2.1.5 works
>> fine and the fault happens with V3.0.18; I've not tried every version in
>> between to determine which version was the first to have the problem.
>> I've experimented with various values of "Output" on the Tools |
>> Preferences | Video menu, as well as turning on/off "Accelerated video
>> output" and "Use hardware YUV-RGB" (of those which successfully play
>> video, none fixes it).
>>
>>
>> (*) Piriform "Speccy" lists both ;-)
>
> What kind of file is it?
> Which video codec?

Sorry. Should have said. TS format, either MPEG 1 L2 or H264 codec (SD or HD
recordings from DVB-T or DVB-S).

Typically a file can be paused once or twice, and then the picture freezes.
Dragging the time to a different part of the file doesn't cure it, but
totally stopping and restarting the playing (with the same instance of VLC)
always fixes it.

On 20/01/2023 12:23, Vir Campestris wrote:
> On 20/01/2023 12:15, NY wrote:
>> Is it just me, or has anyone else found that recent versions of VLC
>> will not resume playing of the video part of a file if the video is
>> paused and then resumed? The sound continues fine, but the picture is
>> frozen. Sometimes the picture resumes after playing for a minute or
>> so. The only guaranteed remedy is to stop the video (keeping VLC open)
>> and then start playing again, moving to the point in the file where
>> playback stopped working.
>>
>> It happens on two different PCs (Windows 7 with ASUS EAH5450 graphics,
>> and Windows 10 with Intel UHD / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics*).
>> VLC support were singularly useless and refused to log it as a bug,
>> even after I'd carried out the diagnostics that they requested. V2.1.5
>> works fine and the fault happens with V3.0.18; I've not tried every
>> version in between to determine which version was the first to have
>> the problem. I've experimented with various values of "Output" on the
>> Tools | Preferences | Video menu, as well as turning on/off
>> "Accelerated video output" and "Use hardware YUV-RGB" (of those which
>> successfully play video, none fixes it).
>>
>>
>> (*) Piriform "Speccy" lists both ;-)
>
> I've not seen this - but I run Linux.
>
> What format video files?

Broadcast SD and HD (so MPEG 1 L2 or H264 - TS file).

I don't think I've seen the symptom with Cinnamon Mint, Ubuntu or
Raspbian, though I don't tend to use those as much. I'll have a go at
trying to provoke the problem on Linux.

On Windows, all it needs is to pause and resume a video a couple of
times, maybe with a bit of frame-by-frame advance, and the picture will
freeze when I start playing again, though the sound continues as normal.

I could understand if it was one PC, but to have it happen on two
different versions of Windows with different graphics cards, suggests a bug.

On 20/01/2023 12:25, NY wrote:
> Typically a file can be paused once or twice, and then the picture
> freezes. Dragging the time to a different part of the file doesn't cure
> it, but totally stopping and restarting the playing (with the same
> instance of VLC) always fixes it.

I don't seem to be able to reproduce your problems with my recordings
from DVB-S.

Maybe there is slight corruption due to interference or weak signal?

But playing a TS file without any help from some kind of additional
index file is prone to minor problems if you don't just play it straight
through from the beginning and instead seek back and forward within it.
But usually things just go slow as the player establishes it's bearings
within the file.

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

On 20/01/2023 17:47, Brian Gregory wrote:
> On 20/01/2023 12:25, NY wrote:
>> Typically a file can be paused once or twice, and then the picture
>> freezes. Dragging the time to a different part of the file doesn't
>> cure it, but totally stopping and restarting the playing (with the
>> same instance of VLC) always fixes it.
>
> I don't seem to be able to reproduce your problems with my recordings
> from DVB-S.
>
> Maybe there is slight corruption due to interference or weak signal?

Good thinking, but the pauses happen anywhere and not at specific,
reproducible places.

> But playing a TS file without any help from some kind of additional
> index file is prone to minor problems if you don't just play it straight
> through from the beginning and instead seek back and forward within it.
> But usually things just go slow as the player establishes it's bearings
> within the file.

Given that PVR packages such as TVHeadend and NextPVR generate TS files
by default, I'd have thought that they would be a proper playable file
format. What you are saying makes me doubt this. I wonder if I should
reconfigure TVHeadend to save as MKV format - presumably a different
wrapper with the same codec inside, dependent on whether it's SD or HD.

I'll do some further tests to see if MPG and WTV/DVR-MS files have the
same problem, and also whether MP4 files, as downloaded by Get-iPlayer,
do it. G-iP files should be free of blemishes because they are subject
to normal error protection/correction of the TCP transport over which
they are delivered.

On 20/01/2023 12:15, NY wrote:
> Is it just me, or has anyone else found that recent versions of VLC will
> not resume playing of the video part of a file if the video is paused
> and then resumed? The sound continues fine, but the picture is frozen.
> Sometimes the picture resumes after playing for a minute or so. The only
> guaranteed remedy is to stop the video (keeping VLC open) and then start
> playing again, moving to the point in the file where playback stopped
> working.
>

Yes. I tried various things without solving all the problems (usually
with HEVC). My current policy is use VLC as first choice but switch to
MS "Films & TV" app if I hit the problem. Much to my surprise that
usually plays everything w/o problems.

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid