[vlc-devel] VLC > 0.9.9 playing mp4(h264)/HTTP

[Robert Mattson]

Dear VLC Developers,

We're using the Mozilla firefox plug-in to provide an interface to a custom database of language learning material. We are having trouble playing mp4 media files accessed via HTTP using any VLC older than 0.9.9 (in both QT GUI and Mozilla plug-in). I posted this information to the VLC forums[0], and it was suggested that I try here.

When downloaded and played locally, the media files play correctly. Specifically, when playing the video files we have over HTTP, the player simply stops about 30 seconds in with the following info shown in a level-2 message box.

    ...</snip>
    main debug: connection succeeded (socket = 1580)
    access_http debug: protocol 'HTTP' answer code 206
    access_http debug: Server: Apache
    access_http debug: this frame size=55576460
    access_http debug: stream size=60795898,pos=5219438,remaining=55576460
    access_http debug: Content-Type: video/mp4
    mp4 warning: track[0x2] will be disabled (eof?)
    main warning: received buffer in the future
    main debug: thread times: real 0m39.015625s, kernel 0m0.031250s, user 0m0.015625s
    main debug: removing module "faad"
    main debug: killing decoder fourcc `mp4a', 45 PES in FIFO
    main debug: removing module "scaletempo"
    main debug: removing module "bandlimited_resampler"
    aout_directx debug: closing audio device
    aout_directx debug: DirectSoundThread exiting
    main debug: thread ended
    main debug: thread times: real 0m38.718750s, kernel 0m0.187500s, user 0m0.015625s
    main debug: removing module "aout_directx"
    main debug: removing module "audio_format"
    main debug: removing module "float32_mixer"
    main debug: releasing aout
    mp4 warning: track[0x1] will be disabled (eof?)
    main warning: can't get output picture
    avcodec warning: disabling direct rendering
    avcodec warning: cannot decode one frame (7991 bytes)
    main debug: thread times: real 0m39.171875s, kernel 0m0.015625s, user 0m1.656250s
    avcodec debug: ffmpeg codec (H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10)) stopped
    main debug: removing module "avcodec"
    main debug: killing decoder fourcc `h264', 19 PES in FIFO
    main debug: saving a free vout
    qt4 debug: Qt: Entering Fullscreen
    main debug: EOF reached
    mp4 debug: freeing all memory
    main debug: removing module "mp4"
    main debug: removing module "stream_filter_record"
    main debug: removing module "access_http"
    main debug: waitpipe: object killed
    main debug: Program doesn't contain anymore ES
    main debug: thread ended
    main debug: dead input
    main debug: thread times: real 0m39.265625s, kernel 0m0.515625s, user 0m0.203125s
    main debug: changing item without a request (current 0/1)
    main debug: nothing to play
    main debug: destroying useless vout
    qt4 debug: IM: Deleting the input
    main debug: Destroying the input for 'http://131.172.185.180/rob_vid1.mp4'
    main debug: TIMER input launching for 'http://131.172.185.180/rob_vid1.mp4' : 41.000 ms - Total 41.000 ms / 1 intvls (Avg 41.000 ms)
    directx debug: DirectXEventThread terminating
    directx debug: DirectXCloseWindow
    directx debug: WinProc WM_DESTROY
    qt4 debug: releasing video...
    qt4 debug: Video is not needed anymore
    main debug: removing module "qt4"
    main debug: removing module "directx"
    main debug: removing module "blend"
    main debug: removing module "freetype"
    main debug: removing module "yuvp"
    main debug: removing module "swscale"

The test mp4 file we've used is available at http://www.ltuic.latrobe.edu.au/rob_vid1.mp4
The versions we've tested are: 1.0.0-win32, 1.0.3-win32, 1.0.5-win32, vlc-1.1.0-pre3-20100502-1255-win32, 1.2.0-git-20100508-0002-win32. The playback failure issue occurs in each and every version listed.
I've also tried swapping the libavcodec_plugin.dll file included with the 0.9.9 distro into the 1.0.5 plugins hive in program files, however the dll is not recognised/" No suitable decoder module: VLC does not support the audio or video format "avc1"".

Our client is windows XP sp3 and our server is a very vanilla gentoo/apache-2.2.15 on linux 2.6.29.

I performed many packet inspections with wireshark, and the byte-range requests seem to come and go correctly (I'd like to think I'm pretty familiar with rfc2616). Besides a few odd RST's sent from VLC's end prematurely, I've successfully played some MKV files using the same method and HTTP traffic still looks good.

Does anyone have any input that would help me, I've surfed through a great deal of Trac/vlc and not found anything that quite describes this problem. I'm hoping I can write a good bug up, but feel I need more information than I currently have.


Does anyone have any feedback that might help?

(p.s. there may be delays in responses as I am located in Australia.)


[0] - http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=76123&sid=00fbc4bf7d58f08fc8f3952bddcd5fcc